Charlotte grew up in the retirement village after her grandparemts passed away, and the residents decided they weren’t losing their adopted grandaughter. While expanding her back garden, she digs up her patio, and her neighbour’s dog helps…by digging up a body. The gossip network goes into overdrive, and rumours and stories fifteen years old are quickly dug up to go with the bones. It doesn;t help when the dishy pawnbroker takes one look and goes pale. There’s a mystery here, and if Charlotte has nothing else to do, she might as well solve it. After all, it was her patio.

Pineapple Lies is not just a mystery, it is a funny, comedy, romance which is not something I thought I would ever say about a book that starts with a buried body. The characters are life-like, the community believable, and you find yourself drawn in without realising. I didn’t notice until I had to put the book down, and suddenly realised how reluctant I was. The writing sparkles, with little asides and observations that bring the story to life and give the reader a chuckle on each page.

“build it and he will come…Apparently Field of Dreams and IKEA had little in common.”

Charlotte is likeable, flawed, and not happy about the body under the cement or the gossip network she has to persuade she wasn’t an eleven-year-old killer. Declan, the owner of the local pawn shop, is tied to the case and and not happy about that, and watching them fumble through a relationship is comedy gold. The local old girls group of Charlotte’s best friends interfering with both romance and investigation – because it’s just so exciting, and, yes, they do mean both – is amusing, but so very true to life. Even the background characters are detailed, with more personality for the bystander of the street than some books manage for their leads.

The resolution to the mystery, which I won’t spoil, is believable and the whole situation is the type of mess that could only happen in a closed community. While the only thing ground-breaking in the book is the patio, the characters are great, the writing sharp and the humour gentle, but quick and well-observed. Pineapple Port is a wonderful example of the cozy mystery genre.

Fans of cozy mystery or small town stories will love this book, and frankly so will anyone looking for something to lift the mood, a clean romance, or a comedy of errors crossed with farce. I suspect older ladies will adore it.