As the registrants gather for their week of sun and fun, we meet some of the participants. James P. Dandy aka as "Jim Dandy" is a semi-retired physical therapist whose wife had died a few years before. Suckered into attending to accompany an elderly uncle, he is there by himself since his uncle died prior to registration. Dandy is characterized on the blurb as cranky; believe me that is overgenerous. Dandy whines his way through the pages as he meets his fellow classmates.

Dodee Swisher is self employed and sole parent to her children since her alcoholic husband deserted her years ago. She is perky, attractive and seems willing to tolerate Dandy's moods. Their bonsai teacher convinces them that they should procure their own bonsai tree, and that digging up one on a roadside is an inexpensive way to acquire one. The cliché "it is better to apologize than ask permission" is used to justify their midnight foray to a nearby roadside with the motel's handy shovel.

Naturally the police swoop in, take them to headquarters for questioning, and after a reasonable time let them go. By this time the aunt who had accompanied Dodee is fast asleep without her hearing aid, and the desk manager is nowhere in sight. So she accepts Dandy's invitation to share his room for the remainder of the night.

His massage skills keep the evening going with a new and different tone, and by morning they are in the midst of a love affair. Dodee creeps out early to return the shovel and discovers a murder victim impaled on a bonsai tree. The same police who arrested them earlier return to the scene, and the search for the killer or killers is on.

The investigation proceeds at a predictable pace, with an unsurprising ending. I have rarely, if ever, read a novel so uniquely set, with such a bizarre murder weapon. Unfortunately, this cleverness and originality is more than offset by things like cliché-ridden dialogue and poor scene transitions. Further, it is hard to enjoy a novel when the whiney nature of the protagonist keeps one from really caring what happens. But…if you find the idea of a mystery involving bonsai trees and elderhostels intriguing, this may the book for you.

-- Thea Davis