In Pineapple Lies by Amy Vansant, 25-year-old Charlotte lives in the senior citizen village of Pineapple Port in Florida because when orphaned at the age of 11, she moved in there with her grandmother, who lived only one year past Charlotte’s mother. The sheriff then made arrangements for Mariska and Darla, best friends of Charlotte’s grandmother, to oversee her care, while Charlotte was able to inherit the cottage of her grandmother, making her the only one under 55 to live in Pineapple Port. Now at 25, Charlotte works part time embroidering personalized items for people but is often at loose ends. So one day, Charlotte decides to do some gardening after having just gotten someone to break up the concrete that has covered the back area since before her grandmother moved into the community. But just as Charlotte starts to dig, her dog jumps in and pulls up a bone. It’s a human skull.
As police come to excavate the area, the owner of the local pawn shop/ antique shop shows up, having heard only that there has been a death and hoping to get some furniture from the deceased. But Declan discovers that not only is there no furniture for him, but the necklace found with the bones belonged to his mother, who had disappeared 15 years earlier when he was 11. Charlotte and her two surrogate grandmothers try to comfort Declan, and they determine that they are going to do everything they can to help Declan find closure by learning what happened to his mother.
I highly enjoyed Pineapple Lies, which strongly fits its description as a humorous mystery. There is a lot of fun wordplay and creative little humorous details, such as the blind date that Charlotte gets stuck going on with the arrogant grandson of one of the residents. The developing relationship between Charlotte and Declan is also a lot of fun to observe. Declan’s uncle, Seamus, provides a form of comic relief as well. In addition, Mariska and Darla make the book a lot of fun in snooping as well. Plus, it’s funny to see how Mariska pushes nonstop food on anyone and everyone, especially as her means of trying to help Declan upon the discovery that the body belongs to his mother.
The plot of this book moves creatively and kept me guessing. Just when I thought I had figured out the solution, a new twist would occur to make me think I was wrong. The path Charlotte takes in getting to the truth is a creative process and a really well-written plot.
Rosemary Benson does a really great job of performing the audio version of this book. She uses good voices for each character and strong depictions of all events. Her expressions make this clever book all the more fun.
I really had a fun time listening to Pineapple Lies, a clever, delightful book. The plot is creative from start to finish, and the characters are both humorous and believable. I give this book five stars.
