Alice has a secret but it isn't that she murdered Babs no matter how much the woman irritated her by feeding the pigeons. Now, she's working to find the real villain with the help of her friends Mia, Sasha and George. This shifts between the narrative and police reports (I liked these). Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. The setting is fun, the characters a treat, and while the mystery isn't too twisty, it's still a good read.

Life is pleasant for Alice Sanders until her neighbor Babs decides to start feeding the pigeons. The two women live in connected townhomes. Their homes share a wall, and a fence divides their patios. Now Alice’s patio is covered with bird poop.

Friction continues between the two women until the day that Babs puts on her raincoat and hat and decides to go around to feed her feathered friends on Alice’s patio while Alice and her friends are away for a few days. She’s thinking it would be a nice surprise for Alice to find when she returns.

While Alice and friends are gone, Babs is reported missing.

Her body is found on Alice’s patio with a bullet hole in her head.

Alice and her friends hear about Bab’s death while away and Alice knows it’s time for her to move on. Her friends George, Sasha, and Mia eventually get her secret out of her but instead of leaving her and returning to their old lives, they decide to help Alice escape.

Can a group of senior citizens investigate an incident from Alice’s past so that she doesn’t have to create a new life, or are they all going to become accomplices to a decades old crime?

This is a great story about how a split-second decision can change your life and the strength of friendship can save it.

This is a new-to-me author, and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Scheduled release date is May 6th

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for an advance readers copy for my honest review.

A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run by Gwen Florio (e- ARC)
Pub Date: 6 May 2025

Short Synopsis:
Alice Sanders, a lively retiree in her seventies, moves to the peaceful Timeless Pastures retirement community in New Jersey, hoping for a calm and quiet life. But when her eccentric neighbour, Babs, turns Alice’s garden into a pigeon-infested mess, everything goes awry. After a fiery confrontation, Babs is found dead, and Alice quickly becomes the prime suspect. With her loyal friends by her side, Alice embarks on a fast-paced, quirky adventure to clear her name and uncover long-buried secrets from her past.

My Thoughts:
I really loved the premise of A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run. The idea of retirees going on the run is a unique and fun twist on the cosy mystery genre. The characters, particularly the seniors, are brimming with charm and personality, and the witty banter throughout made the story so enjoyable. I also appreciated the alternating format between the main narrative and the police interviews, which added a dynamic layer to the storytelling.

That said, the pacing felt a bit slow at the beginning, and there were moments when I almost considered putting the book down, but in the end, I didn’t because I still felt curious about how it would all unfold. While the mystery itself was decent, it lacked the suspense I had hoped for. The ending was quite intriguing, but it left too many loose ends, especially when it came to Alice’s past. Additionally, the sudden focus on Mia’s romantic subplot towards the end felt a bit out of place and unnecessary, unless it’s setting up for a sequel.

Overall, A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run is an entertaining and heartwarming read with a quirky premise and lovable characters. While it didn’t quite reach its full potential, I still enjoyed the journey and would recommend it if you're looking for a light, fun, and heartwarming mystery.

Overall Rating:
⭐️: 3.75/5

Thank you to @netgalley and @severnhouseimprint for the eARC in exchange for my honest thoughts on the book!

I like the premise of this book, and the quirky senior characters are fun. The plot just felt disjointed and slow moving in some spots. There just wasn’t any excitement for me, which I really wanted from these wacky seniors.

ok Judi Dench and chums have to play this in the movies. i mean come on doesnt our main character just scream the brilliant Dench to you!?
shame Maggie isnt still with us as i can prescribe her in this movie too. but ive already got a Calendar girls esq cast playing the roles of this lot in my head. it was a fun and fab cast that takes you to the land of whip smart characters and plotting all the way through.
weve got Alice Sanders who thinks its cosy time when she moves into her retirement community. well, no such luck for Alice. not least because of the constant bickering she has over some pigeons. these pigeons are fed by Babs. and Babs and Alice do not get along. so when the former is found dead its obviously ALice in the frame. but she cant be bought in for questioning. not when that would threaten for her secrets and passed to come to light. so what does she do. oh, just what any normal retiree goer would do right? yep, she goes on the run. oh and the other matter of bringing a group of friends with her of course!
brilliant. loved this book so much.

*3.5 stars*

Senior citizen, Alice Sanders, is just a sweet little old lady right? Well no actually, she isn’t, and her criminal past is about to catch up with her in spectacular fashion. Weirdly, her demise was brought about by a flock of pigeons!

Alice lives in a retirement community “Timeless Pastures” in New Jersey, but one person spoils it for her and that’s fellow resident and next door neighbour Babs. Babs insists on feeding those darned pigeons and Alice is sick of it. It’s well known that Alice and Babs constantly bicker about it, so when Babs is found murdered, Alice is obviously the prime suspect. The thing is, Alice can’t afford to be interviewed by the police because they might just find out who she is and what she did all those years ago! There’s nothing for it but to go on the run, and incidentally, her best friends join her on this crazy escapade too!

Though a little unrealistic at times, it was nevertheless an entertaining read.

A Senior Citizen's Guide to Life on the Run was fun! Overall enjoyed it, although some parts felt as though they dragged on a little bit!

This made me laugh out loud a few times and made me realise that retirement did not have to be boring. Personally I don't have the time to go on the run but appreciated that I could experience it in this book. Loved the police interviews.

This book is fun, but it’s difficult to follow for a linear thinker like me. It was impossible for me to juggle all the moving parts with so many points of view and movement back and forth in time. There was also a disconnect in tone for me between the silliness of the rivalry over the pigeons and the seriousness of Alice’s past. DNF at ~38%.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.

A Senior Citizen's Guide to Life on the Run was a fun, quick read with wacky characters. I enjoyed it! Thank you NetGalley and Severn for this advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest. review.

Overall, I like the story and the way it alternates between narrative and police interviews. But the characters never quite felt fully developed. They were just two dimensional, more like plot devices than people that I actually cared about.

“A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run” is yet another cozy mystery in the senior sleuth trope which is all the rage these days. In this one, the story alternates between humorous police interview scenes and the main narrative about who really killed feisty Alice’s busybody neighbor, Babs. The pacing was quick & the was lots of humor & quirkiness - an easy read that was quite fun. My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for my advance readers copy - appreciate the opportunity to read & review.

Quirky..
A peaceful and settled retirement home in New Jersey awaits septuagenarian Alice - bookclubs, friends and a generally relaxed existence. Or does it? It is not be - as when one incident unleashes a fatal sequence of events, all hell will be let loose. Quirky and rather delightful, with a cast of eclectic and eccentric characters and a frothy, madcap plot, this is a genuine slice of cosy escapism.

The book has a lot of strong points. The plot is captivating and there is a great cast of well-developed characters. The pacing is excellent and the story never gets bogged down. I loved the police interrogation scenes and the way they are interspersed with the rest of the story. And some of the writing was very clever. I did have one quibble with the book as I felt several times the author strayed away from the story and onto a soapbox. Nonetheless, this was a great read. Thank you to Netgalley and Severn House for the advance reader copy.

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

★★☆☆½ rounded up to 3

A Senior Citizen’s Guide to Life on the Run promises high jinks, hijinks, and hilarity—but delivers more of a lukewarm shuffle through plot points that never fully click. The idea of retirees ditching the quiet life for a rogue adventure sounded like a blast, but the story never really commits to the chaos.

Some moments are genuinely funny, and there’s a warm undercurrent about friendship and freedom in later life—but the pacing is uneven, and the characters felt more like plot devices than people.

There’s potential here, and a few readers might enjoy the gentle rebellion vibe, but for me, it didn’t quite earn its passport to excitement.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the ARC of this book!

I am loving the senior sleuth trope that has become popular the last few years. This motley crew of detectives brings unique skills to the table to help bail out their friend and pin the crime on the real culprit. The novel alternates between comical police interview transcripts and traditional storytelling which was entertaining.

While I thought the idea was a good one, I thought the characters were a bit cliche and tried a little TOO hard to check off the diversity and inclusion boxes (and I am all about DEI) in a way that seemed forced. Overall, the story was a fun, easy read.

Omggg this is the best! If you like Richard Osman and Vera Wong books, any cosy crimes featuring older characters, then you’ll love this. It was humorous and well paced, and just a delight!

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

Prepare for a delightful dash through the world of retirement living gone awry in Gwen Florio's "A Senior Citizen's Guide to Life on the Run." This quirky cozy mystery delivers a heartwarming yet suspenseful tale that will keep you entertained from start to finish. 🌟🔍

The story revolves around Alice Sanders, a sprightly septuagenarian hoping to enjoy a peaceful life in the Timeless Pastures retirement community in New Jersey. But peace is hard to come by when her next-door neighbor, Babs, is feeding pigeons and turning Alice's serene garden into a war zone of bird mess and chaos. 🐦🎨

When Babs is found dead shortly after a spat with Alice, the tranquility Alice sought is shrouded in suspicion. The story's clever use of police interviews interspersed with the main narrative adds layers of tension and humor, drawing readers deeper into the mystery. 👮‍♂️🔎

Alice, along with her loyal friends Mia, Sasha, and George, find themselves on the run and dodging the police while uncovering hidden secrets about Alice's past. The group's antics and camaraderie provide both humor and depth, painting a vivid picture of seniors dealing with far more than bingo games and book clubs. 🏃‍♀️💼

Florio crafts a fast-paced narrative filled with colorful, well-drawn characters. From nosy neighbors to the quirky and endearing crew helping Alice, it's a breezy and enjoyable romp through chaos and crime. The story cleverly balances mystery, humor, and drama, though the ending may feel a tad rushed to some. ⚡️😂

There's a dual timeline element masterfully woven into the narrative, enriching the plot without confusion. However, some readers may wish for a more satisfying resolution, especially concerning Alice's character development and her reflections on the outcome. The focus on Mia's love interest toward the end might feel misplaced, diverting from the main narrative. 💔🤔

In summary, "A Senior Citizen's Guide to Life on the Run" is a charming and laugh-out-loud adventure. With its blend of intrigue and humor, it spotlights the vibrancy of its senior characters and promises a delightful journey filled with unexpected twists. Highly recommended for those looking for a cozy mystery that warms the heart while tickling the funny bone. 🧓❤️🎭

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5