Senior comedy is in the works because Mags and her friends, renegade octogenarians all, will do whatever it takes to save their homes. They’ll even rob Bayside Community Bank, the bank about to foreclose on the mobile home park where they live, so they can pay off their mortgage.
The senior gang has cased the joint, planned carefully, assembled their disguises, rehearsed their every move — so what could possibly go wrong? Plenty.
Some people think they can take advantage of the elderly. They haven’t met Mags and the AARP Gang or they’d know better. Sure, they’re older, but not too old for the adventure of a lifetime or to risk everything for the sake of friendship. Along the way, they have to become senior sleuths and pull off two complicated stings, but it’s all in day’s work in this feel-good senior comedy.
K. Hudecek
Entertaining and Fun
Mags and the AARP Gang is a story about a group of senior citizens who decide to rob a bank. Before you think these people are addled in the head or bored and just looking for something to do, it was due to desperation.
Mags and her friends live in a trailer court, which is about to be foreclosed on. They have no way of getting together $7,727 that each would have to come up with in order to save their homes. They can’t afford to move to a retirement community and are all self-sufficient and ambulatory enough to take care of themselves. They are not candidates for a nursing home. They have no other way to save their homes (and themselves) except to rob a bank.
We are introduced to the characters as the planning begins. Harvey, the ring-leader has everything planned out, including the getaway car that will be driven by Batty Betty, who has Alzheimer’s Disease and has problems remembering things. This heist was immaculately planned and would have gone off without a hitch, but, as things go, stuff happened.
Mags and Harvey are good friends, so, of course, she was his first choice as an accomplice. Jean is Mag’s best friend and is included. Then we have Larry in his mobility scooter, who is as colorful as a tie-dyed t-shirt. He made me laugh. Everybody did at some point in the story.
The book is a comedy, yet it has some serious undertones. People losing their homes is never a fun thing, but it just seems worse when it happens to the elderly, especially when they have no place else to go. This book addresses a serious issue with a comedic flare.
The story was a fast-mover and entertaining. The characters were well-developed, interesting, and easy to care about. They are smart, convincing, and shrewd. I had to hand it to them for their ingenuity, determination, and spunk. It was easy to be drawn into them and their lives.
The writing was great and the book was well-edited. These things, combined with the tight plot and the great characters, earn it an easy five-star rating.
Great book. I loved it!
*Reviewed for the Say What?? Book Club
Viv Drewa 