DOA in a Florida HOA

Read Time: 3 Minutes

DOA in a Florida HOA by Ralph Monti is a murder mystery wrapped in the aggressively manicured nightmare of suburban HOA life. I’ve heard nightmare stories of power-tripping HOA presidents and committees enforcing ridiculous rules to an absurd degree but never given them much thought. It’d be easy to see how someone living in a HOA community like Heavenly Isles could be driven to murder!

The story follows Moses Rose, who somehow finds himself elected president of the Heavenly Isles HOA only a few months after moving in. Not quite the presidential gig his parents envisioned for him, which was heavier on the global diplomacy side of things than rogue sprinklers and grass length inspections.

The story follows two seemingly separate threads. One centres on the murder of Katie, the committee member in charge of fining residents for every minor infraction. The other follows Olivia, a former nun living in a Mexican city controlled by Rogelio Delacruz, head of a drug cartel who has seen the error of his ways and now wants a community centre that can help the people rather than hurt them. Olivia just wants what is best for the community, but she’s been coerced by the DEA under threat of incarceration to set Rogelio up even as he tries to make amends.

The peek inside the lives of people inside the HOA had me shaking my head in bemusement as to why anyone would voluntarily to live in such a way. Monti manages to make the HOA sound reasonable by comparison at some points, not against the cartel but against some of the residents and their pettiness. Truely a wildly weird cast of characters to keep things interesting.

The writing is tight, and the plot moves well, flicking between Florida and Mexico. Enough hints and red herrings (or should that be red alligators since we’re in Florida) that kept me guessing along the way and enough double-crossing to make me doubt myself. And through it all, there’s a vein of dry, satirical humour that hits just right.

The narration by Steve Quinn was solid throughout. An easy to listen to voice, good pacing, and no production issues to pull me out of the story.

I wouldn’t live in a HOA if you paid me, but I’m happy to experience their shenanigans at a safe, audiobook-shaped distance. DOA in a Florida HOA lets you live vicariously in a regulation-obsessed hellscape of perfectly manicured lawns and identical houses where even the smallest infraction might land you in court, or at least deep in passive-aggressive fines.

In short, DOA in a Florida HOA is a fun, fast-paced mystery with a strong sense of satire. On the shorter side for an audiobook at just a smidge under 5 hours, but a decent story well told.

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