Fishen-Rodd Mystery Books in Order

The Fishen-Rodd Mystery series shifts Suzanne Young's cozy sensibility from New England to the Front Range of Colorado. Instead of one sleuth, it pairs two widowed friends, Beryl Fishen and Nadine Rodd, who live in the same retirement community and discover that life after seventy can be anything but quiet.

In the first book, The Wrong Coat, Beryl attends a local theater performance and heads home wearing a shabby coat that is not her own. At first the swap looks like an honest mistake, but a closer look at the pockets, a grocery list, a library slip, a fast-food receipt, a scatter of candy wrappers, makes her wonder whether someone deliberately walked off with her much nicer wrap.

Annoyed at the idea of being taken advantage of, Beryl pulls in her neighbor Nadine, and the two treat the mysterious coat like a treasure map. Following its scraps of evidence leads them through their retirement complex and out into the surrounding town, where they cross paths with everyone from a fitness-obsessed young bodybuilder to a female firefighter, an aspiring actress, and a wary stray cat. The clues are small and ordinary, but they point toward something darker than a simple petty theft.

As the women ask more questions, the stakes escalate from nuisance to danger. A midnight intruder, a house fire, and a suspicious death force them to decide how far they are willing to push. They have no formal training, only sharp eyes, long memories, and the advantage of being underestimated by almost everyone around them.

The tone stays light and conversational, with plenty of humor about creaky knees, community rules, and the quirks of neighbors, yet the story never forgets that violence is real and that older people are often at risk. Beryl and Nadine wrestle with grief, independence, and the fear of becoming invisible, even as they take real satisfaction in outthinking younger, stronger opponents.

Although The Wrong Coat is currently the only published Fishen-Rodd novel, it functions as a clear blueprint for the series. The retirement village, with its mix of privacy and gossip, gives Young endless room for new crimes and new visitors, while the partnership between Beryl and Nadine lets her explore friendship and loyalty alongside the mystery. Readers who like the Edna Davies books but want a Colorado setting and a duo of sleuths instead of one will find a familiar mix of gentle humor, intricate clues, and late-life courage here.