Loved the premise. Didn't like the implementation.
Paul Jacobson wakes up in a strange place with no memory of where he is or the previous day. He's gruff with the nurse that comes to give him his daily medications and eventually finds his way to breakfast in the retirement home dining room with his table companions from the day before, who fill him in on some of the who, where and what of his new situation. Then he discovers a dead body and winds up the main suspect in the murder.
That's a cool set up. And it could have been the foundation of a both an interesting mystery and an interesting examination of geezer-life. Except... The prose and dialog are as wooden as can be and riddled with ancient cliches and comebacks instead of any attempt at reality. In this reality, a patient that clearly belongs in memory care is living independently, nobody has empathy, and garbage chutes have locks (?!). Most attempts at humor were also passe and trite. Several chapters in, I hoped it would get better and kept grinding through, hitting more and more reality breaks and improbable behavior. Finally, I simply started skimming to get the main points and make it to the revelation of the killer and their motive. Unfortunately, even that is disappointing and barely makes it to the level of a mediocre detective show from the sixties.
Obviously, that's what this is. A mediocre detective story from a time gone by. Except this was written in the 21st Century and misses the mark of modern story-telling. ( )

Not really a 4 star book, but close. It was a quick, light murder mystery, but the characters tickled me. The main character is an 80 year old man who can't remember anything for the past 5 years once he falls asleep unless he's had sex, in which case he can remember for a couple of days. That makes his predicament that much tougher to figure out & adds more humor.

I thought the ending was a bit weak. I hate it when the crook confesses all completely, but that didn't ruin it. Everything wrapped up nicely. ( )

Attention Boomers! If you haven't read this book do so now. It' a laugh out loud mystery starring Paul Jacobson and the quirky residents at Kina Nani Retirement Home. Paul has a bad memory problem and can't remember day to day so he keeps a journal, and wait until you find out what kind of "cure" Paul comes up with. I plan to buy these for my home library! Thank you Mr. Befeler!!!! ( )

Quirky mystery about Paul Jacobson who wakes up in a retirement home one day having no idea how he got there. Unfortunately, that happens EVERYDAY as his mind has lost its ability to remember the previous days events when he goes to sleep each night. Then, he finds himself involved in murder investigation where he is the prime suspect. He doesn't believe he did it, but how would he know, since he can't remember yesterday?
This book in an entertaining exposure into "Geezer Lit". The plot is entertaining if not somewhat unbelievable at times. The main protagonist is a crusty octogenarian with amazing feats. But, I like the change of place(Hawaii) and locale(retirement home) to continue to the second in the series. ( )

First Line: Where was I?

How would you like to be stuck in your own personal loop of Groundhog Day? That's exactly what octogenarian Paul Jacobson has to deal with every single day. When he wakes up in the morning, he can't remember a thing from the day before. His children are worried about him and install him in his own apartment in the Kina Nani Retirement Home in Hawaii. His first morning there, he wakes up, doesn't have a clue where he is, but notices that the trash needs to be emptied. Given directions to the trash chute, he discovers that the reason his trash won't go down is because someone's crammed a dead body in there ahead of him. If that's not bad enough, he's the prime suspect because he had a grudge against the victim.

How on earth can an old man with no short-term memory find a killer? He gets by with a little help from his friends, namely Meyer Ohana, who is legally blind:

"We're quite a pair of detectives, with my memory and your eyesight. Between the two of us, we don't even make one lame-ass amateur."

It is Meyer who suggests that Paul doesn't go to bed until he's written down everything that's happened that day. When Paul wakes up in the morning, he can read what he's written and know what's going on...even if he doesn't remember a thing.

Author Mike Befeler coined the term "Geezer Lit" for his series of mysteries featuring Paul Jacobson, and it's a term that lets you know that there is plenty of humor in the books. Not only are Meyer, Paul and their meal partner Henry funny, but so is the cab driver they use during their investigation, and one way they discover to improve Paul's memory. But it's not all fun and games. These are old people with serious problems. Meyer's family doesn't visit much, and Meyer's health is deteriorating. Paul doesn't take his memory loss and life in a retirement home well. There are some days that he stays in his apartment feeling sorry for himself. There is such a clear-eyed portrayal of what it's like to be an old geezer that it's all too easy for Meyer and Paul to make you laugh while they're breaking your heart.

The only thing in the entire book that I didn't like was the motivation of the killer. It just didn't seem to ring true and was a letdown. But the partnership of Paul and Meyer is the real strength of this book. Sometimes you just can't take the fight out of old dogs, and that can be a wonderful thing. ( )