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Winston Wong Cozy Mystery #1
Seniors Sleuth
Winston Wong used to test video games but has left his downward spiraling career to follow in the footsteps of Encyclopedia Brown, his favorite childhood detective. When the Pennysaver misprints his new job title, adding an extra “s” to his listing, Winston becomes a “Seniors Sleuth.” He gets an easy first case, confirming the natural death of a ninety-year-old man. However, under the surface of the bingo-loving senior home is a seedier world where a genuine homicide actually occurred. Winston finds himself surrounded by suspects on all sides: a slacker gamer administrator, a kind-hearted nurse, and a motley crew of eccentric residents. To validate his new career choice (and maybe win the girl), he must unravel the truth from a tangle of lies.
194 pages, Paperback
First published May 9, 2015
133 people are currently reading
616 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews
March 10, 2025
Winston Wong is the sina qua non of Seniors Sleuths. An impeccable Sherlock in the jazzed-up industry of modern senior citizenship. And all because of a misprint...
You see, what he wanted to do when he began his snooping and sleuthing - after the hi-tech career balloon burst - was peg himself as a detective who was well versed in the ins and outs of mystery solving.
So he wrote SENIOR Sleuth when he took his card to the printers.
A fie on inexpensive and myopic printers!
For now he has become irrevocably a SENIORS sleuth... As he'll be throughout this zany series.
Typecast thus as well in this first volume by his very first anxious client, who's concerned about her aged mom.
No wonder! Her mom's memory has succumbed to the ravages of age.
She's worried the reason her erstwhile paramour at her seniors home was found dead was foul play. Her daughter, of course, wants to allay her mom's fears. So she just plays along with everything she says.
Winston has to disprove her fears.
A Herculean labour - for this old age home fairly bursts at the seams with suspects.
Well, I won't tell you if her old mom was right or wrong, but suffice it to say that this book entertains throughout.
And Winston Wong himself being in the anxious first throes of middle age - not yet having found himself a soul mate (but that's subject to change) - the book is just plain fun wrt his new love interest as well.
I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Four stars, laughing throughout.
It was so zany, I recently bought the second book in this cozy mystery series - featuring a madcap, mysterious neighbourhood senior who invents new robots!
You see, what he wanted to do when he began his snooping and sleuthing - after the hi-tech career balloon burst - was peg himself as a detective who was well versed in the ins and outs of mystery solving.
So he wrote SENIOR Sleuth when he took his card to the printers.
A fie on inexpensive and myopic printers!
For now he has become irrevocably a SENIORS sleuth... As he'll be throughout this zany series.
Typecast thus as well in this first volume by his very first anxious client, who's concerned about her aged mom.
No wonder! Her mom's memory has succumbed to the ravages of age.
She's worried the reason her erstwhile paramour at her seniors home was found dead was foul play. Her daughter, of course, wants to allay her mom's fears. So she just plays along with everything she says.
Winston has to disprove her fears.
A Herculean labour - for this old age home fairly bursts at the seams with suspects.
Well, I won't tell you if her old mom was right or wrong, but suffice it to say that this book entertains throughout.
And Winston Wong himself being in the anxious first throes of middle age - not yet having found himself a soul mate (but that's subject to change) - the book is just plain fun wrt his new love interest as well.
I found it thoroughly enjoyable.
Four stars, laughing throughout.
It was so zany, I recently bought the second book in this cozy mystery series - featuring a madcap, mysterious neighbourhood senior who invents new robots!
May 18, 2015
Winston is smart, slightly pudgy, and fun to spend time with. As he picks up clues, he lets the reader in on his deductions, which I enjoyed. But just because Winston keeps the reader in the loop, don’t think that you’ll guess the ending. The guilty character completely surprised me.
There’s plenty of diversity in the novel, including characters with Asian and African-American ethnicity.
Some of the eccentric characters felt one-dimensional or predictable- there’s a belligerent Vietnam Vet and also an African-American who plays the piano and calls himself Jazz Man. I would have liked to learn more about their personalities “under the surface”. But the eclectic cast offers some humor and provides a colorful backdrop for the mystery, which is common in "cozies".
There’s plenty of diversity in the novel, including characters with Asian and African-American ethnicity.
Some of the eccentric characters felt one-dimensional or predictable- there’s a belligerent Vietnam Vet and also an African-American who plays the piano and calls himself Jazz Man. I would have liked to learn more about their personalities “under the surface”. But the eclectic cast offers some humor and provides a colorful backdrop for the mystery, which is common in "cozies".
April 12, 2021
I smiled so many times in this book! Congrats to J.J. Chow on a great cozy mystery!
May 9, 2015
Seniors Sleuth is a cozy mystery that offers the quirky characters, fun plot twists, and intriguing settings that I love in that genre. In this case, the plot joins two environments that we don’t normally see together — elder care and video gaming. Neither are particularly familiar to me, but I loved the juxtaposition and the opportunity to learn about both.
More thoughts on my blog Seniors Sleuth
More thoughts on my blog Seniors Sleuth
June 11, 2015
No, no, no
I am a pretty generous reader, but I couldn't get past the first chapter. The dialogue was so unbelievable, and the premise was downright silly. Spare yourself this book and use your time reading something you will enjoy. Life is too short for bad books.
I am a pretty generous reader, but I couldn't get past the first chapter. The dialogue was so unbelievable, and the premise was downright silly. Spare yourself this book and use your time reading something you will enjoy. Life is too short for bad books.
June 25, 2015
Entertaining, but implausible. It seemed as though things just suddenly happened, with no lead-in or process to explain what was going on.
August 13, 2015
Dollycas’s Thoughts
J.J. Chow introduces us to Winston Wong, a man trying to start over after his investments dry up and his sister bails him out by buying him a house to live in. He decides to become a sleuth like his favorite childhood detective. He is not licensed but takes out an ad in the Pennysaver to get his new business off the ground. A typo in the ad changes his plan just a bit. Instead of a Senior Sleuth he becomes a Seniors Sleuth and his first case has him investigating a death at an assisted living center.
The author gave us the requisite quirky characters for a cozy mystery. The residents of the Sweet Breeze are certainly unique, from the bejeweled Anastasia Templeton, to the dapper gent who plays the piano, Jazzman, and the curmudgeonly amputee Pete Russell. Nurse Kristen Blake seems to be the only staff outside of the manager of the place who spends more time playing video games than spending time with the residents. This part of the story didn’t ring true for me. A place like this would be required to have more staff. The meals are delivered by Meals on Wheels and that was odd to me too. Maybe things are different in California.
Winston’s first case starts out being just a small matter of easing someone’s mind but snowballs when he learns the man that died did not die of natural causes. Yet he kept stays on the case to find the killer. This was quite a mystery for his first case.
This is a very light mystery with all the cozy elements. A really good first effort to start this series. I enjoyed it but some of the details held me back from loving it. I am interested to see where the author takes her Senior Sleuth next.
J.J. Chow introduces us to Winston Wong, a man trying to start over after his investments dry up and his sister bails him out by buying him a house to live in. He decides to become a sleuth like his favorite childhood detective. He is not licensed but takes out an ad in the Pennysaver to get his new business off the ground. A typo in the ad changes his plan just a bit. Instead of a Senior Sleuth he becomes a Seniors Sleuth and his first case has him investigating a death at an assisted living center.
The author gave us the requisite quirky characters for a cozy mystery. The residents of the Sweet Breeze are certainly unique, from the bejeweled Anastasia Templeton, to the dapper gent who plays the piano, Jazzman, and the curmudgeonly amputee Pete Russell. Nurse Kristen Blake seems to be the only staff outside of the manager of the place who spends more time playing video games than spending time with the residents. This part of the story didn’t ring true for me. A place like this would be required to have more staff. The meals are delivered by Meals on Wheels and that was odd to me too. Maybe things are different in California.
Winston’s first case starts out being just a small matter of easing someone’s mind but snowballs when he learns the man that died did not die of natural causes. Yet he kept stays on the case to find the killer. This was quite a mystery for his first case.
This is a very light mystery with all the cozy elements. A really good first effort to start this series. I enjoyed it but some of the details held me back from loving it. I am interested to see where the author takes her Senior Sleuth next.
October 22, 2019
I struggled to get through this. At one point I was going to move it to the didn't-finish shelf, but then the plot took a twist, so I kept going. I did manage to finish, but I won't continue with this series. The gormless Winston is just too silly. In fact, most of the characters were just a bit too much - too villainous, too sweet, too ditzy, etc. - to be at all believable. So I got tired of them quite quickly. The plot twist came just in time!
January 9, 2022
I enjoyed many aspects of this mystery - the elder care background, the medical knowledge and the glimpses in gamer culture - but its jaunty detection style is not for me. No one ever asks for Wong’s professional credentials, patient privacy is a joke and for such a poor guy, Wong only takes his potential sweetie out for expensive meals. I can only hope the author builds on their story’s strengths for the next in the series.
March 23, 2020
This is the first book by this author I have read or listened to but it won't be the last because I really enjoyed and have already downloaded book two. I really liked the characters as they were well written and you could easily picture them as people. I found the main character to be likable and I liked the way he cleverly worked out who the killer was. The story had a number of twists that kept me changing my mind as to who the killer was and I think In the end I suspected everyone. The story had a little budding romance and family life to round the story up. All in all a great start to a series and one I will be keeping an eye out for the next release.
Winston Wong has just accepted his first case as private investigator. It should be easy, just visit a senior home and prove that the death of an elderly man was natural causes. His client is the grand daughter of one of the residents who has alzheimer and believes the dead man is her husband who died years ago. Winston soon finds out that things are not that simple firstly it wasn't natural causes and he finds his first investigation is actually a murder case. The suspect list should be small as he lived in a senior home but as Winston investigates he finds that it is not only the residents in the home that become suspects. The dead man had an ex-wife with a jealous husband, a computer geek for the homes manager and even the careers themselves look suspicious. Can Winston solve his first case?
I liked the narrator and thought he did a very good job with the characters, it was very easy to tell the characters apart because they all had there own voice.
Winston Wong has just accepted his first case as private investigator. It should be easy, just visit a senior home and prove that the death of an elderly man was natural causes. His client is the grand daughter of one of the residents who has alzheimer and believes the dead man is her husband who died years ago. Winston soon finds out that things are not that simple firstly it wasn't natural causes and he finds his first investigation is actually a murder case. The suspect list should be small as he lived in a senior home but as Winston investigates he finds that it is not only the residents in the home that become suspects. The dead man had an ex-wife with a jealous husband, a computer geek for the homes manager and even the careers themselves look suspicious. Can Winston solve his first case?
I liked the narrator and thought he did a very good job with the characters, it was very easy to tell the characters apart because they all had there own voice.
March 21, 2020
Winston Wong had a typo in his ad that made him a seniors sleuth rather than a Senior Sleuth. So, naturally, the first client that walked in was a rickety old lady, who just wanted to know who killed Teddy. But since the old lady is senile and confused, that granddaughter wanted Wong to “investigate” the case and help granny forget about it and move on. I liked the idea of tricking the old lady—it’s what you have to do sometimes (out of necessity and for fun, of course.) Needless to say, this was Wong’s first case and he needed the paycheck, so why not?
Overall, this was witty and easy-to-read. Some of the old people were not that interesting, like the Jazz Man. I don’t know, the idea of an old senior case sounded interesting, but, in reality, it really wasn’t. Yes, Winston Wong had that funny, crotchety “Jack Lemon” persona, but the mystery was kind of slow (like old people.)
This was an okay read.
Overall, this was witty and easy-to-read. Some of the old people were not that interesting, like the Jazz Man. I don’t know, the idea of an old senior case sounded interesting, but, in reality, it really wasn’t. Yes, Winston Wong had that funny, crotchety “Jack Lemon” persona, but the mystery was kind of slow (like old people.)
This was an okay read.
January 11, 2022
While the plot is twisty and interesting, the characters are bizarre and there are too many unlikely occurrences. Winston is an unlicensed investigator, but we see him fingerprinting people and casually searching private premises. He has a group of helpful friends who pop up when needed and do whatever Winston asks. I kept setting the book down and thinking, "Really?"
On the plus side, Winston is an engaging anti-hero with good intentions. I enjoyed the banter between him and his sister Marcy, and the references to Asian-American culture. The resolution of the mystery is moderately satisfying (if one overlooks the aforementioned lucky breaks). The book also provides an unvarnished look at the care home business and the situations of many older people. Descriptions of grimy and smelly situations are almost too well done. This book might be described as a gritty cozy. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
On the plus side, Winston is an engaging anti-hero with good intentions. I enjoyed the banter between him and his sister Marcy, and the references to Asian-American culture. The resolution of the mystery is moderately satisfying (if one overlooks the aforementioned lucky breaks). The book also provides an unvarnished look at the care home business and the situations of many older people. Descriptions of grimy and smelly situations are almost too well done. This book might be described as a gritty cozy. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
March 25, 2021
The story got off to an interesting start, albeit not the one Winston Wong had anticipated when he first got his business cards printed. He finds himself attempting to verify the death of "Joe" in a home for seniors, hired by the daughter of a resident who has dementia and cannot accept that Joe has died, especially when she constantly refers to him as her former husband, Teddy. At this point, there is no "suspicious death". Until Wong realises that Joe really was killed and his investigation turns into a bona fide case.
It's a convoluted plot, and just when someone is charged with Joe's murder, it all kicks off again and yet another investigation begins as it seems the first "culprit" maybe innocent after all.
A fun story with quirky characters and an ending that is worth waiting for.
The narrator does a great job.
It's a convoluted plot, and just when someone is charged with Joe's murder, it all kicks off again and yet another investigation begins as it seems the first "culprit" maybe innocent after all.
A fun story with quirky characters and an ending that is worth waiting for.
The narrator does a great job.
April 29, 2019
I really enjoyed this narrator. He’s clear, crisp, right amount of emotion, keeps the story moving.
Overall I thought story had a strong start with a great premise. Winston, the Seniors Sleuth is a smart, fun and quirky character. He stumbled & bumbled into this new profession and was seemingly making the most of it. Something I could definitely relate to!
I loved the seniors in this book, but would have enjoyed a little less characters and a lot more development for the mystery novel it was. Somewhere about 3/4 the way in the story started to get a bit swirlly for me. That’s not to say that I had any idea how it was going to end! The narrator really kept me engaged.
I’d definitely be interested in listening to another mystery with Winston.
Overall I thought story had a strong start with a great premise. Winston, the Seniors Sleuth is a smart, fun and quirky character. He stumbled & bumbled into this new profession and was seemingly making the most of it. Something I could definitely relate to!
I loved the seniors in this book, but would have enjoyed a little less characters and a lot more development for the mystery novel it was. Somewhere about 3/4 the way in the story started to get a bit swirlly for me. That’s not to say that I had any idea how it was going to end! The narrator really kept me engaged.
I’d definitely be interested in listening to another mystery with Winston.
August 8, 2022
I liked all the characters and the plot of the book itself. I am not a stickler for details, but a little attention to details would have been nice.
1. It takes a long time to get a death certificate. You don’t get one the day after someone died.
2 Winston could not possibly look into people’s medical and personal files, or go snooping around in their rooms without permission.
3 how did the culprit get arrested by an officer who had no insight, no reason to suspect murder and was just next door when someone says there was poison in the softdrink? The drink wasn’t tested, there was no investigation and no warrant.
And there we a few more things like that. It ruined a good story for me
1. It takes a long time to get a death certificate. You don’t get one the day after someone died.
2 Winston could not possibly look into people’s medical and personal files, or go snooping around in their rooms without permission.
3 how did the culprit get arrested by an officer who had no insight, no reason to suspect murder and was just next door when someone says there was poison in the softdrink? The drink wasn’t tested, there was no investigation and no warrant.
And there we a few more things like that. It ruined a good story for me
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 21, 2023
I enjoyed this cozy mystery and appreciated the fact the author used seniors as supporting characters. It was wonderful that she made them credible and strong vs doddering incompetent people. I appreciated the Asian cultural influences to the story that she’s familiar with from her heritage. The mystery was a clever one that was constructed well. The main reason I didn’t give it a higher rating was a sense of rushing/ time warp. Things were supposedly evolving at a too rapid of pace. Even the epilogue felt like the follow up was much lengthier in time than the stated one week. I think Ms Chow has great potential to have a good series just needs to work on the time aspect and develop a bit more depth in her characters. She’d scratch at something deeper but then didn’t expand.
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November 21, 2023This was not my cup of tea. I found every single character deeply unlikeable. And the number of times I found myself shouting, 'That's not how this works' was really much too high. Why does everyone just go ahead and tell Winston things – confidential things that should get them sacked and sued? And how does a house get listed one day, have the price halved the next day, and have the new owners move in the following day? And if, as Winston keeps insisting, he's doing this for the money, then who's paying him?
Sorry, just too implausible for me.
Sorry, just too implausible for me.
October 26, 2019
This was a good story. A new PI is hired by a woman who states her grandmother is still looking for her dead husband. At the retirement home she lives in, a man recently died, that she thinks is her husband. Winston is asked to look into the death. He, along with one of the nurses, discover the man was poisoned. As he looks into the people of the home, the police finally settle on the director. Winston keeps searching for the truth. The ending is kind of suprising. I enjoyed the story.
March 28, 2020
Winston is not licensed as a PI, so he's decided to become a Senior Sleuth after his job as a video game tester evaporated. This is his first case and it is presented as a sham that would appease the client's elderly mother. But it becomes way more complicated than that as he does a respectable job of sleuthing and discovers the charms of a nurse at the Elderly Home where the action takes place. A really fun read!
Noah DeBiase is the expressive narrator!
Noah DeBiase is the expressive narrator!
July 9, 2019
Several weeks ago I read my favorite book of the year to date; this book is at the other end of the scale. Hard to believe this book was published. Story was lame, I didn't engage with any of the characters. The title says this is the first book in the Winston Wong Cozy. It's one and done for me.
October 30, 2019
Disappointing
I was looking forward to an interesting new sleuth, but the main character is a not--so-bright, socially inept, not very likable bumbler. That could be appealing but in this case, he's more irritating than likeable. Boring even. The storyline starts out interesting but by two-thirds through it becomes predictable. Will not continue with the series.
I was looking forward to an interesting new sleuth, but the main character is a not--so-bright, socially inept, not very likable bumbler. That could be appealing but in this case, he's more irritating than likeable. Boring even. The storyline starts out interesting but by two-thirds through it becomes predictable. Will not continue with the series.
November 5, 2022
Enjoyed the mystery quite a bit, but really did not like nor care for Winston :/ Kristy was really too good for him and Marcy deserves a sweeter younger brother. But loved the mystery, at first I was confused at why the killer was revealed halfway through the book but then....Kristy totally saved the day ngl.
October 19, 2019
Where is the Grammar Patrol when you need them? Or at least when Winston needed them. Don’t trust someone who self-diagnoses themselves. Dementia affects different people in different ways. I enjoyed the story and recommend the book.
October 23, 2019
I enjoyed this book
I loved the seniors sleuth, Winston. He unraveled truths from all the interesting characters to solve the crime. Nothing really dirty nor irreverent. Just good ole mystery solving with a twist.
I loved the seniors sleuth, Winston. He unraveled truths from all the interesting characters to solve the crime. Nothing really dirty nor irreverent. Just good ole mystery solving with a twist.
February 1, 2020
Love the main character
Everything about this story grabs me, but especially the unassuming Winston who finds his way methodically and perhaps by chance. The typo that sets him on his path. A fight while wearing flip flops! A very enjoyable read.
Everything about this story grabs me, but especially the unassuming Winston who finds his way methodically and perhaps by chance. The typo that sets him on his path. A fight while wearing flip flops! A very enjoyable read.
December 19, 2022
Good mystery- i wasn’t able to guess the murderer until the author revealed. Funny in parts, gives a glimpse into an nursing home, with its struggles, drama and personalities. Also a nod to Asian mindset, as the sleuth is Asian, and pokes (light) fun at himself and his heritage.
January 15, 2023
I didn't enjoy this book. It felt as though it would start and stop. The protagonist was not the sharpest knife in the drawer. The characters were all one dimensional. To me it was not a very good book.
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October 27, 2019Liked the lead character and the quirkie elderly residents. A little wordy but the ah oh turn around after arrest was great!!
January 13, 2020
ear old detective involved with helping seniors.
I am nearly 76 and have read mysteries all of my life. Like this new twist. Great job , Jennifer!!
I am nearly 76 and have read mysteries all of my life. Like this new twist. Great job , Jennifer!!
June 6, 2020
Good intriguing plot, enjoy these quirky characters, and what they are into. Good flowing plots, and good narration. Given audio for my voluntary review and my honest opinion
Displaying 1 - 30 of 54 reviews