In this offshoot of the Murder In … series, Rodney Strong focuses on witty Alice, Amanda’s grandmother and retired con artist extraordinaire, who taught her granddaughter everything she knows and helped Oliver resolve several hitchhiker matters.

Although she’s 97, no one in the Silvermoon Retirement Village is sharper than Alice, and rarely does anyone get the upper hand on her. So when she loses the annual poker tournament to a new resident, it’s a surprise. However, the real shock comes when her friend Betty collapses and dies as the competition concludes.

With the help of her pal, Silvermoon concierge Vanessa, Alice embarks on finding Betty’s killer. Her old skills come in handy as the two pretend to search for a long-lost sister at the funeral home, which gives Alice the chance to inspect Betty’s corpse. She finds something off-kilter, but what does it mean? How does the discovery relate to Betty’s covert exit from the exercise area the day before she died? And why was she complaining about Village lothario Gordon shortly before her untimely death?

The first book in the Silvermoon Retirement Village cozy series puts the irrepressible nonagenarian at the center of the action, and it’s thoroughly enjoyable. Alice may be nearing the century mark, but there’s nothing old about her. Poker Chips and Poison is pure reading joy.