Malvern View Retirement Village, an English country residential area, is the scene for this amateur sleuth novella. I’ve enjoyed Lucy Emblem’s mysteries featuring dog trainers and craftspeople in the Malvern Hills, and this story of seniors takes place in a similar location, but mostly indoors. A TALE OF PAWS AND MURDER does, as the name suggests, include pets, as this is a pet- friendly retirement complex.

Friendly ladies Charity and Dorothy with their dogs, Eddie and Muffin, are our guides. Senior people who enjoy gossip and minor machinations will be best suited to this story. Amateur dramatics are being provided by The Midland Mummers, a travelling group, and everyone is keen to play a part. While the ladies want to put on The Importance of Being Ernest, it turns out that a newly written play by a modern writer will be used. Aloysius Gorringe, the show’s somewhat egotistical director, is busily trying potential actors and assigning volunteers to stagecraft. All is going well – until someone is found dead, right there in the centre.

This violent death must be terrifying in a place of safety. Charity did previously manage to solve an unexpected death, and some people look to her for help in making sense of the crime.

I did get a little tired of the scene not changing much, the picky personal comments - who on earth describes a new lady arrival as short and dumpy? And I could do with more reference to the jobs people used to hold, one lady having been a primary school teacher, as now they all sort of blend into old lady, old gentleman, roles. The dogs and a cat are lovely. I especially like this aspect, as some people would be heartbroken if they had to leave a beloved pet behind, and others would refuse to move into a home if they could not care for the pet. Maybe this is the strongest lesson of the story – seniors need retirement villages that respect their human need to care for their dependents, pets included. The pets then add so much to the experience for everyone.

A TALE OF PAWS AND MURDER by Lucy Emblem is the third in the Charity and Muffin Cosy English Mysteries series. She has several other series for interested readers. Dog lovers and crime fiction fans alike can have a good time.