Reason for Concern: Mrs. B Mystery by Anita Kulina

Publisher:  Brandt Street Press (August, 2019)

Category: Cozy Mystery, Women Sleuths

Available in Print and ebook, 240 pages

 

 

Synopsis

Mrs. B is back on the case with a new mystery to solve!

People don’t vanish into thin air.  Yet no one has seen Alice since St. Mary’s Senior Center had their Supper Club outing on Sunday.  As Mrs. B learns more about her friend, the disappearance seems to involve a burglary, an emerald necklace and maybe even a motorcycle gang.

Where in heaven’s name is Alice?

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Excerpt

Downtown Hopewell appeared to consist of three establishments. The first looked like an old-fashioned corner store. White plastic tables and chairs sat outside, apparently to allow patrons to drink the “Ice Tea” offered prominently in their signage. A large, stately oak tree shaded the building. On a telephone pole near the doorway, a poster advertised the county fair. Up above the poster sat a metal Greyhound Bus sign. The other two buildings were a doctor’s office and a bait shop.

Anne pulled up along the curb outside the store. Mrs. B pulled her purse out from under the seat.  As they got out of their car, the roar of two enormous black motorcycles made them turn and look behind them.

Two young men in leather vests parked at the curb. The shorter one, sporting a big grin and a mass of blond curls, gave a long whistle as he walked toward them. “Nine-teen sixty eight! This your car?”

“My grandson’s. He’s in the service. Afghanistan.” Anne smiled back. “I told him I’d keep it in my garage, but you have to take them out once in a while, don’t you?”

“Sure. Blow the carbon out.” He ran his hand along the fender as he circled it slowly. “Baby blue. Bay-bee blue. This is one fine car. Original upholstery?”

Anne tilted her head to consider. “I think so.”

He nodded toward Mrs. B, then held out his hand. “Haven’t seen you ladies out this way before. I’m Boom.” They both shook his hand while a large, dark man hovered over them. “This here’s Tiny.” Tiny looked at Boom, then nodded toward the ladies.

Boom said, “You ever need that Mustang serviced, you come out our way. I promise not to sneak it out for a drive. Or two.”

Anne and Mrs. B both laughed.

As the men disappeared into the store, Boom said in a loud whisper, “Matches her eyes, don’t it, Tiny? That baby blue.” Then he gave Anne a wink as the door closed.

When the bikers were out of sight, Anne whispered to Mrs. B, “What’s that say on the back of their vests?”

“M.C., it said. I’d guess it’s an insignia for a motorcycle club,” Mrs. B said. She was looking at the poster on the telephone pole. “The county fair’s today.”

“Oh, yeah. The fairground’s just over that rise.” Anne pointed. “Always had to take the kids to the county fair when they were little.”

“Me, too. Wasn’t that a long day,” Mrs. B said.

“The kids used to love it,” Anne said. “Not me, so much. All those stinky cows.”

“They did have funnel cakes.”

“Oooh, good point.”

Anne peered over Mrs. B’s shoulder at the brightly colored poster. “When I was little, I always wanted to run away to the circus, like Toby Tyler. Didn’t you?”

Before Mrs. B had a chance to answer, Boom and Tiny came back outside, each lighting a cigarette. When they got to the bottom of the steps, a woman in a white t-shirt and jeans opened the door and said, “Hey, Boom.”

He turned around.

“You going down over the hill?”

“We can,” Boom said. “Why? What do you need?”

“Tell the professor I got those solar batteries in?”

“Sure,” Boom said.

He and Tiny walked by the ladies on the way back to their bikes. Tiny was even bigger close up. Mrs. B felt like a mouse next to an elephant. As the men drove away, they both nodded toward Anne and Mrs. B. The ladies waved.

Anne said, “I can’t remember the last time I was winked at. They were good-looking young fellows, too.” She walked toward the door of the little store, then looked back at Mrs. B. “So what exactly is a motorcycle club, I wonder. Like the Kiwanis? Or do they hold races and things like that?”

“Sometimes it can be a criminals club,” Mrs. B said.

“Well, I thought those young men were nice,” Anne said.

Mrs. B had to agree. “They were very polite.”

“They were charming.” Anne wouldn’t be dissuaded. “You know, people aren’t always bad just because they’re criminals.” She opened the door and they were hit with a blast of cold air. “Remember how nice New Cannington used to be when the Mafia ran it? You never saw drug dealings or muggings or anything like that. My cousins who lived out there didn’t even lock their doors.”

 

Guest Review

Reason for Concern: Mrs. B Mystery by Anita Kulina

Review by Betty B.

When I tell you to picture a detective or a sleuth, what do you see? Probably a grizzled old, cigar-chomping, trench coat-wearing man right? The kinda guy who never sleeps, only drinks black coffee, and solves crimes by frowning at them. You probably don’t picture a little old lady who investigates mysteries in between knitting scarves for her daughter and games of pinochle at a senior center. Enter Mrs. B.

Mrs. B is just the kind of sweet old woman that you appreciate having as a neighbor. She’s friendly, thoughtful, kind and conscientious. She loves her town and her friends and doesn’t intend to give either of them up until the day she dies. This, of course, explains why she immediately feels the need to investigate when her friend goes missing. T

he story opens with Mrs. B waiting for her friend, Alice, expecting to give her a ride home. When Alice never emerges from the senior center, Mrs. B goes looking for her, only to find that no one knows where she went. Of course, Mrs. B feels compelled to find her friend, and what ensues is the main mystery of the book. Where has Alice gone? Why has no one seen her?

This novel was right up my alley in terms of a nice mystery with a good resolution and well-written, fleshed out characters. Anita Kulina’s writing is witty, interesting and the characters just feel very alive while you’re reading them. I adored Mrs. B and her inner world. So little attention is paid to older women in our society and it’s revolutionary to see one as the main character of a novel at all, let alone a mystery. It was so nice to read a story like this from the perspective of such a unique character. I can’t wait to read more by this author!

 

About the Author

Anita Kulina has been writing since she was nine years old and kneeling, pencil in hand, at the coffee table in a house very much like Mrs. B’s.  Nowadays, she writes mystery books.  When she’s not writing, she helps people tell their family stories.  Anita’s other books are Millhunks and Renegades and A Question of Devotion: A Mrs. B Mystery.

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