Suspense Review

Retired: A Suspense Novel
by Bill Vann
ISBN-10: 0972964207
Review by Heather Froeschl

When a man retires, there are times when his wife wishes he would find something to do outside of the house. Something, anything, except, I suppose, go jump in an almost frozen lake. Harry Jones, after 35 years as a bookkeeper for an automobile dealership, hits it big with some stock in Chrysler and retires. It doesn't take long though for the doldrums to set in and a need arises in Harry to get out of the house.

He finds an empty office to rent, and fools himself into thinking he is occupying himself with stock plans. His imaginary clients leave him to drink his peppermint schnapps and he is content to be out of his wife, Alice's, hair. Until one day he finds a note addressed to him, and he becomes wrapped up in a very interesting, if not deadly, investigation.

Not being an investigator, Harry wonders why this woman insists that he take her case. He wonders too, why he is doing it. As he finds himself in a small fishing boat in Lake Michigan, he wonders. As he gets off a plane and heads to Naples, Florida, he wonders. And when he finds himself almost at the mercy of two attack Dobermans, he really wonders.

Besides Harry, there is another retired man in this story who finds himself with nothing to do. Fate has a way of knocking though and he soon finds himself in an investigation to beat his entire career as a cop. Tom Morgan is searching for some answers. What he finds is a plot so warped and twisted that it could only be categorized as "As per usual", as he is known to say.

Bill Vann has written a fast paced suspense story that will find you turning pages. You'll never look at a retired gentleman in the same light. Bill shares an insider's knowledge of auto dealerships and a wealth of knowledge of the human psyche. "Retired" is one of the best books I have read lately.