Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody by Barbara Ross is the debut of A Jane Darrowfield Mystery series. Jane Darrowfield is retired from the telephone company and her only son lives on the west coast. After organizing her house and traveling, Jane is at loose ends. Playing bridge with her three friends does not take up all her time. Jane has discovered that she is good at solving problems and word has spread within the town. Now Jane has a paid assignment. She needs to uncover why the various cliques at an over 55 community are at odds with one another. Things go well until one of the ring leaders turns up dead. Jane Darrowfield is a spirited main character. She is smart, notices details, and likes to be active. I like that she is an older protagonist. Jane has her three friends (Helen, Phyllis, and Irma) with whom she plays bridge regularly. Phyllis enlists Jane's help in weeding through the men interested in dating her since her own judgement is not to be trusted. Phyllis has created profiles for the two of them on a dating site and arranged coffee dates for Jane with the top matches. I found the dates to be entertaining. I just loved the baristas reactions. I thought Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody contained good writing, it was just the right length, and it had a steady pace. The mystery was interesting with a variety of suspects. Jane questioned people, followed leads, and searched for clues. It was fun solving this clever whodunit. I look forward to the next A Jane Darrowfield Mystery. Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody is charming cozy mystery with a gone golfer, suspicious suspects, surprising secrets, a crafty killer, and a smart senior sleuth.

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Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody is the debut of the Jane Darrowfield series set in West Cambridge, Massachusetts and featuring divorced, retiree Jane Darrowfield. Bored and just one year into her retirement, Jane's penchant for nosiness has landed her a role helping her friends out of sticky situations - ones that don't necessarily need police assistance but instead a firm yet delicate hand in intervention and resolution.

Jane is surprised when Paul Peavey, director of the nearby retirement community Walden Spring approaches her and offers a well paying job to come and help resolve a conflict between the residents. It appears that a high school clique mentality has developed between the "popular" kids and the "motorcycle" gang. While nothing dangerous has happened between the dueling parties..yet, the pranks each group is playing on each other are starting to escalate.

After agreeing to move in temporarily, Jane soon discovers the root of the problem between the two group leaders - Bill Finnerty and Mike Witkowski. Based upon her observations Jane offers up a solution to Paul Peavey but, before he can act on her advice the body of Bill Finnerty is found bludgeoned on the private golf course.

Further investigation reveals that the playboy Bill isn't really who he claimed to be and there are a lot of people whose feathers he'd ruffled lending them to be prime suspects. Determined to uncover the real killer, Jane's reputation as a busybody puts a target directly on her back.

A quick moving plot with likable characters. Subplots include a secret relationship between two Walden Spring employees, the sensitive subject of Alzheimer's and a woman's quest to look after a relative, the challenge of navigating a romantic relationship where there is a significant age gap and the difficulty of Seniors getting back into the dating pool. Faithful readers of the author's Maine Clambake series will enjoy this new cozy collection.

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