S&S Book Club: Spencer Quinn’s Mrs Plansky’s Revenge
Lida brings a writers’s eye to Spencer Quinn’s Mrs Plansky’s Revenge
Our website is supported by you, our readers. We sometimes earn a commission when you click through the affiliate links on our website. We appreciate your support.
By Lida Sideris
Through Lida’s eyes: Loretta Plansky, a 71-year-old widow and ace tennis player is known for being athletic (even a hip replacement can’t hold her back), intelligent, competent, and entrepreneurial. She is a wealthy woman, thanks to a unique household item–the Plansky toaster knife–that she and her late husband patented and later sold for a very tidy sum. Impressive, right? Since her husband’s recent passing, Loretta lives a contented life in a retirement community until she becomes the victim of a scam that cleans her out financially. Not only does she feel humiliated by the ordeal, she is stunned that law enforcement is unable to assist in getting any of her hard-earned money back. Her adult children now regard her as helpless and hapless.
After talking to the FBI, Loretta manages to uncover an important clue to the scammers’ whereabouts: they’re based in Romania. And she’s off to hunt them down.
I love the premise–that’s what drew me to this book. Loretta’s determination and grit were admirable, but the novel wasn’t quite what I had hoped it would be. The first seventy-five pages were mostly background and character development that had me wondering when the action would begin. Once the story started rolling, I found myself pausing at various coincidences and situations. This is fiction and things aren’t meant to be realistic, but I started asking, “Really?” Despite these observations, I appreciated the engaging and spunky heroine, and that she takes matters into her own hands to make things right.
