TWISTED REASON
by Diane Fanning
What’s happening to all the senior citizens who are demented, missing and feared dead?
A lifeless old man is found on his son’s porch. Because the cause of death is unknown, Jumbo Butler, from the Missing Persons section, calls on homicide investigator Lucinda Pierce for help. It turns out that more than one elderly person suffering from dementia has recently disappeared. Ordinarily such cases are quickly resolved by the discovery of either the person wandering nearby or a corpse. But this time the people in question have simply vanished. When the bodies of two of the elders are found in a pond, Lucinda can’t forget the case even though there’s no evidence of foul play. Perhaps the trauma of losing her own parents keeps her stubbornly investigating and learning more about the pain of the children whose parents now live in a twilight world. Lucinda’s investigations point to a relative of one of the elderly who believes dementia is all part of a conspiracy. Could he have something to do with all the disappearances?
As usual, Fanning (Mistaken Identity, 2010, etc.) poses Lucinda a quirky mystery, this time providing a thoughtful look at the stress of those caring for loved ones with dementia.