Don’t be surprised if author Nina Simon’s unputdownable mystery novel Mother-Daughter Murder Night becomes a hit web series. Simon has a distinct style of brilliantly weaving in family dynamics and murder mystery in her book. Although some characters are a bit pale and grey, there are plenty of twists and turns and red herrings that will keep the reader glued to the end. The story revolves around three single women from different generations – grandma, daughter, and granddaughter. Lana is a formidable LA real estate tycoon, who has a big real estate empire. She is diagnosed with cancer and is now seriously ill. As a result, her estranged daughter Beth and granddaughter Jacqueline aka Jack (15) move in with her temporarily in her plush property in a sleepy coastal town.
The three independent women have pet peeves and idiosyncrasies. Lana has impeccable taste in all the good things that life can offer. But now she suddenly has Beth and Jack in her life. Simply, too close for comfort. There are temper tantrums, inhouse rebellions, sharp and witty acerbic exchanges, but gradually the three women mellow down, adjust, and learn to live under one roof. Jack is fond of kayaking and is a rebellious teenager. One day while kayaking, she comes across a dead body in a marshy stretch of Monterey Bay’s Elkhorn Slough. And before you know it, the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos.
Simon’s storyline and plot are perfect. There are languorous moments and when the murder mystery unfolds, the pace of the ‘whodunit’ novel changes. The deceased is identified as Ricardo Cruz, a young man who worked for a local land trust. When the local sleuths question Jack as a suspect, there is suddenly an eerie silence in the Rubicon household. Unable to handle the tension, Beth pesters her mother Lana to hire one of the best criminal lawyers to save her daughter. But a terminally ill Lana is determined to solve the murder mystery herself. As the three women work in tandem to find the real culprit, they stumble upon family secrets, personal vendetta, a web of lies, land disputes, and hidden dangers.
The amateur Sherlock-ian investigation of the eccentric trio leads to a climax. There is a lot at stake with powerful ranchers and conservationists in this idyllic coastal village, who have their own agendas and vested interests.
In the process of tracking the real murderer, the three women also learn a thing or two about familial bonds, hardships, trust, love, and lasting relationships in this mother-daughter murder night mystery.
