The residents of the Coral Sands Assisted Living Retirement Community are enjoying their golden years until Colonel Winston discovers the body of Mr. Yamaguchi, the head gardener, under some bushes. Not long afterward, a private investigator looking into Yamaguchi's death, is also found murdered.

The police are at a loss to find a motive for the crimes, though they believe them to be related. Since Yamaguchi was a sweet-tempered quiet man, with no known enemies, the police think his murder may be race related. They begin by examining the past of all the residents who may have a connection to World War II and, hence, a reason to hate Japanese people.

Several subplots are also developed in this book. Betty Jablonski, who communicates with her dead husband, Eugene, through a Ouija board, is being harassed by her son who wants to get control of her money. Mildred Perkins is conducting an online romance with a very shy fellow named Timothy. When Mildred is subsequently killed, the police and fellow residents wonder if her death is related to the two previous ones.

This is the second book in a series featuring the residents of Coral Sands. It is not necessary to have read the previous book to understand and enjoy this adventure, although some background on major characters is given which is not repeated in the second book. The characters are not developed in depth, but each seems to have his own distinct personality, making it easier to keep a rather large cast of characters straight.

The story moves along at a fairly rapid pace and the subplots add interest as well as humor. One resident believes himself to be Henny Youngman at times, providing a running comic monologue. At other times, the same resident transforms himself into Sherlock Holmes to help solve the crimes.

I did wonder about the jarring inclusion of a stream-of-consciousness dialogue, presumably that of the murderer's, although not so indicated, right in the middle of the story line. I assume this was done to justify the actions of the villain, at least in the villain's mind. However, these passages seemed quite out of place.

As Crime Goes By offers insight into the minds of older people. The residents of Coral Sands may have retired from their former professions, but they have not retired from life. As one of the characters remarks, "You want peaceful, you get a cabin in the mountains or a deserted island in the tropic. Otherwise you're still a part of the world, and the world is not peaceful." Perhaps not peaceful, but the world at Coral Sands is pretty entertaining.

--Andy Plonka