BellaOnline Forums Books and Music Mystery Books Senior Sleuth Mysteries on the Rise

I've noticed the past few months that there are many more senior sleuth stories than before. I just picked one up on Kindle today - a series written by William Doonan. The name of this book is Grave Indulgence and I'm sure you will see a review on this forum thread.

Henry Grave is an 85-year-old investigator for the Association of Cruising Vessel Operators, and he is described as cunning as he is charming.

My question today is, do you read a particular age-group of mysteries or are you open to reading all ages?

If you use a Kindle reader, the book is free at this time. Grave Indulgence

I am open to reading any age group. I just read a mystery - The Whole Cat and Caboodle- where seniors work with a younger woman to solve a mysterious death.

I really like that more books have seniors as the protagonists. It is good to see them portrayed as smart and capable. I know many seniors and they are smart and independent. It is about time that books reflect this.

I do wonder if this is a trend mirroring the aging of the baby boomer generation.

I'm open to reading all age groups. I think Sandra has a good point about the aging of the baby boomer generation. There's just so many of them that they set the trend.

Plus, a lot of mystery series have been written for so long that the protagonists have had to age, sometimes by a decade or two. For every series like Sue Grafton's Alphabet series where she keeps her protagonist in her 30s and restricts the flow of time, there are other series like James Lee Burke's Dave Robicheaux series where the established backstory (e.g., he's Vietnam veteran) and the time passing between all the books in the series have made him a senior sleuth. I think the character must be about 70 by now.

For some reason I'm finding that I don't really like reading many of the mysteries involving the 20's and even 30's if they act to young. Probably the age I'm at, but just don't have the patience when the mystery story seems too "silly" for me. Guess I am showing my age.