Dying to Go (Nothing to Gush About)

Tucson Valley Retirement Community Cozy Mystery Series, Book 1

By: Marcy Blesy

Narrated by: Torii Alaniz

Length: 5 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Cozy Mystery....

Thirty-nine-year-old Rosi Laruee—named Rosisophia Doroche after her mother’s beloved Golden Girls—decides that the end of her twenty-year marriage and her dad’s impending knee replacement surgery are all the excuses she needs to visit Tucson Valley Retirement Community. But the drama follows Rosi when she finds the body of local tart and business owner, Salem Mansfield. The information she discovers using her newspaper reporter sleuthing skills coupled with the clues she picks up from lackluster Police Officer Dan Daniel lead to a surprise discovery when the murderer is revealed. Along the way, she meets a cast of characters in her parents' social circle who leave her questioning her parents' choices in friends while simultaneously befriending many of the residents, including a handsome landscaper and a brand-new Golden Retriever puppy she names Barley. Rosi’s visit to Tucson Valley proves more than she’d bargained for, but maybe, she realizes, it’s just the kind of change she needs.

***Laugh out loud with Rosi, and be prepared to get the happy feels along the way!***

Book 2 Dying For Wine (Seeing Red)*

Book 3 Dying For Dirt (All Soaped Up)*

Book 4 Dying to Build (Nailed It)*

©2023 Marcy Blesy (P)2024 Marcy Blesy

great listen!

The perfect cozy mystery! All the right elements and great storyline. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Loved it!

I really enjoyed the authors writing style. It was an easy and fun listen!

Funny and light hearted cozy mystery!

The narrator compliments the story and brings all the hilarious antics to life. Love the Arizona setting and the characters and I definitely can’t wait to see where this series goes!

Super fun and funny cozy mystery

I loved this audiobook. Rosi, a newly divorced empty nester mom, goes to Arizona to help her parents in their retirement community after her dad's knee replacement surgery. She meets a great cast of characters including a cute landscaper, an adorable puppy, and a mixed bag of her mom's gossipy friends. Then, of course, she stumbles upon a body in the local bookstore which throws her into the investigation. The narration is nice, too.

Rosi finds drama & new possibilities in this debut

Rosi Laruee's marriage is over so she's at loose ends. She decides she needs a break & goes to Arizona to visit her parents at the Tucson Valley Retirement Community. But Rosi soon finds herself involved in plenty of drama amongst her parents' social circle, including finding the body of unpopular used bookstore owner Salem Mansfield. Using her newspaper reporter skills, Rosi decides to help the incompetent police to find the killer. This was a fun debut mystery with an eclectic cast of characters, including a handsome landscaper and a Golden Retriever puppy named Barley.

Fun!

Had a fun time listening to this one. Really liked the main character. The mystery was solved a little differently in this one and I liked that.

Delightful cozy mystery!

A delightful first in series cozy mystery. I loved it right from the start. Wonderful cast of characters. I love the relationship Rosi has with her parents and look forward to the budding romance with Keaton. The narrator is phenomenal. This one kept me guessing to the end and can’t wait to see what’s next for Rosi.

A fun cozy mystery with a sleuth to love!

This book started out with laughs and a great cozy sleuth introduction. I liked Rosi right away and thought she was a very good judge of the people she encountered. Her backstory had me crushed and I felt all the anger and hurt she was experiencing, especially being stuck in a less than idea situation with her house and dealing with her gross ex, while trying to be a good mother and daughter. But she is not a pushover and I always enjoyed seeing her stick up for herself especially with some of the (purposefully) awful characters she met during her time in Arizona. The mystery was cozy and not too complicated, which made it a delightful story to listen to. I honestly think just following Rosi and learning more about her, and her potential budding romance were the best parts, but I was of course invested in figuring out the killer! I enjoyed having an "older" sleuth in someone that is looking to start their next phase of life and I can't wait to see what other adventures she gets involved in.

I really enjoyed the audiobook and highly recommend this format especially for the characterization of some of the characters.

Unique and authentic cozy feel

This cozy mystery is set in a retirement community in Tucson AZ, which I thought was as a unique setting. In someways the setting and characters being older; the sleuth nearly 40 and parents at retirement age hit close to home for me 😆. To quote Rosi “I’m not a spring chicken 🐓 anymore”.

What I loved most about this book was how authentic the characters felt. The way they interacted and the dynamics of their relationships were very convincing. I particularly adored Rosie and Keaton’s conversations. Rosie is recently divorced and hasn’t dated in 20 years, so her reactions to what to do next with her life and how to deal with her terrible ex, as well as how to behave around an attractive man, were completely natural. I would react the same way if I were in her shoes. I also enjoyed the 80’s sitcom references.

The audio narration was well-done, and the narrator did a great job of capturing the intentionally grating characters. Although this was a fairly short read, I didn’t feel that any details were rushed. I was guessing right up till the end how things would pan out.

If you are looking for a new cozy read you might want to give this one a try. Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy of the book and audio to try out. All thoughts are my own.

Super cute cozy!

Dying to Go is a lovely cozy mystery set in the Tuscon Valley Retirement Community. The main character Rosi, a 39 year old divorcee, was visiting her parents to help take care of her father after knee replacement surgery. She realizes her parents didn’t really need her help, but drama ensues when she discovers the body of Salem, the book store owner that she had a brief encounter with. Rosi’s newspaper reporter skills help along the way while she is working to find the killer. The cast of characters is lovely, charming, and witty, including a litter of puppies! Super cute read!

The audiobook was given to me complimentary from the author, but the review is my non-biased opinion.