New Jersey Snowbirds Nick Rossano and his wife Gloria vacation in Florida every winter with Vince & Esther Rossano, Cy & Sylvia Arbuckle, and Howard & Joan Maloney. The year after Gloria's death, Nick scandalizes the sexagenarian crowd by cavorting with a ginch (a.k.a.: sexy young woman) about the age of his granddaughter. It is the last straw when she moves in with Nick at the Costa Brava Marina Apartments. Joan, Esther and Sylvia just know he is going to have a heart attack keeping up with that hustler, but Nick is willing to try even if it kills him. When he does die, Bunny becomes a very convenient woman to blame.

PI Gin Ritchey lives on a sailboat docked at the Costa Brava and has watched the romance blossom and listened to the wives gossip. When suspicion is directed toward Nick's cousin, Vince, Esther asks Gin to investigate, whatever the consequences.

I like PI stories in general and think Gin Ritchey and Kinsey Milhone (Sue Grafton's Alphabet Series) will have a lot in common when Kinsey grows older. They both have the same deliberate and thorough approach to solving a problem; both listen carefully and make notes to keep things straight. Gin has a mixed package of friends and enjoys her casual lifestyle exercising, sunning, sailing, and hiking between cases.

I specifically liked A Woman to Blame because of what it doesn't have. There are no vampires, angels, religious fanatics, split personalities, child molesters, or serial killers. While it makes us feel better to think it, not every murderer is a monster. Some are perfectly ordinary and foolish people. There are no cats or psychics, and the author isn't trying to teach me tolerance, awareness or morality. It isn't a how-to-knit, -cook or -throw pots book doing double duty as a mystery. A Woman to Blame is a good, old-fashioned gumshoe follow-the-money, follow-the-honey story with interesting characters and a satisfying ending. It was a great way to spend my afternoon.