Breakaway Books

Authored by Leonie Swann; Published 2023; Mystery

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️

If I had to pick one word to describe The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp, it would be: kooky. There’s something about centering your story on five senior citizens who no longer care how they come off to the world around them that gives an air of weirdness and freedom. 

Agnes Sharp has a house share with other older adults who want to avoid dull nursing homes, and everything is going swimmingly—until their fellow senior citizens start to die. Agnes can’t help herself from diving into the mystery and trying to save her home and her friends. While I wouldn’t say I would get along with Agnes in real life, she had all of the characteristics of a great heroine: grit, moxie, and wit. 

It’s just that her wit, and those of her roommates, has been somewhat dulled by the passage of time. Even as they try to follow the clues to find the murderer, they have to combat their own failing memories. At times, these mental failings are played for laughs, but at other times, they’re used brilliantly to build suspense and add unique twists to the plot. Agnes must deal with both her trauma and her own mental fallibilities even as she tries to track down the culprit.

This book is not a glamorous glimpse into old age, and I’m not sure I’ve ever thought (or wanted to think) quite so much about how I want to spend the so-called golden years of my life. At times, it was painful to read the detailed accounts of Agnes and co’s physical and mental impairments, partially because I know they’ll be coming for me too. But, in spite of the less than rosy reality of their health conditions, this novel has plenty of humor and hijinks. It’s impossible not to love their pet tortoise or the cat burglar that the house adopts as their very own. Even the arrival of one of the residents’ grandchildren is a quirky departure from the perceived normal grandparent-child relationship. 

The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp is quirky, funny, and plenty twisty. What’s not to love?