Ignoring Alva
by Emilie Khair
About Ignoring Alva
Ignoring Alva
Cozy Mystery/Sibling Fiction
Setting – Minnesota and Wisconsin
Publisher : Current Words Publishing (February 4, 2025)
Paperback : 282 pages
ISBN-10 : 1957224452
ISBN-13 : 978-1957224459
Minnesota and Wisconsin
Digital ASIN : B0DW4F61RW
Audiobook ASIN B0DW1Q5J9X
Meet Alva and Millie…. not your typical eighty-something sisters.
While recovering from a mild stroke, Alva’s vivid dreams of daring exploits spark a restless desire to break free from the predictability of her quiet life. Her sister Millie-a practical yet spirited counterpart-is skeptical of Alva’s newfound boldness. But when Alva suggests an impulsive road trip, not even Millie can resist the call of adventure.
What starts as a lighthearted escapade quickly spirals into a whirlwind of mischief, suspense, and unexpected heroics. As the journey unfolds, the siblings face long-buried secrets, stand up for the underdog, and confront dangerous foes with a fierceness they never knew they possessed.
Through it all, Alva and Millie prove that courage, resilience, and the drive to rewrite your story aren’t confined by age-they’re only sharpened by experience.
Witty, heartfelt, and brimming with surprises, Ignoring Alva is an unforgettable tale of sisterhood and reinvention. It proves that life’s greatest adventures can happen when you least expect them.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Octogenarian sisters Alva and Millie decide to go on an adventure as Alva recovers from a mild stroke. Alva is pretty much back to normal, but she has strange visions at unexpected times. She and Millie want to see more of the world, well, at least the United States. They think they will have about three weeks before people start to worry, so with a destination of Niagara Falls, they set off on a road trip.
They make it out of Minnesota and into Wisconsin, but it isn’t long before this “adventure” turns into a scary drama. A little town in Wisconsin is full of secrets, lies, and evildoers, and the sisters find themselves right in the middle of it. They are written off as old, forgetful, or hysterical women who don’t have a clue, but they are determined and will not be ignored.
Can Alva and Millie solve the mystery happening outside of Norway, Wisconsin? Will Alva’s visions help them? Or will their adventure come to a fatal end?
Ms. Khair has crafted absolutely wonderful characters in this story, and not just the two main characters. Every character had depth and growth. Alva and Millie are fantastic. That sisterly bond rings true; they love each other but annoy each other a lot, always have each other’s backs, and their banter is spot on. Even in their 80s, they are still learning new things and new things about each other. They are also very courageous for being in their senior years. I hope I have their spunk and grit when I am their age.
All the characters the sisters meet on their journey are unique and very well developed. Each character had a purpose and made sense in the story.
In addition to introducing dynamic characters, Ms. Khair knows how to set a scene without being overly wordy. I could easily envision every person, place, and thing clearly. Their entire journey played like a movie in my head. Alva’s visions added to the story and made me wonder about others’ experiences after strokes.
It would have been easy for Alva and Millie to ignore what was happening around them. Just get in their car and continue their adventure. But these two ladies knew there was something very wrong and put their lives in danger trying to figure everything out. Their determination leads up to a very suspenseful conclusion.
This story turned out to be much more than I expected. It has all the elements of a cozy mystery: quirky characters, a small town setting, and a heck of a mystery to solve. It was also a delightful story of sisterhood as Alva and Millie’s journey brings them closer together. Maybe closer than they have ever been.
Ignoring Alva takes on some hot topics like elder abuse, ageism, greed, gambling, addiction, and small towns and businesses fighting to survive. It is also full of plenty of humor and heart. I totally enjoyed the story and highly recommend it to everyone who likes stories with well-developed characters, including two feisty women, with a mystery to solve.
The only thing that breaks the cozy realm is the few instances of explicit language.
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.
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About Emilie Khair
Emilie Khair is the author of the biographies Passion’s Piano: The Eddie Heywood Story and A Beautiful Puzzle: Nadia’s Journey from East to West as well as the children’s book, Kudzu for Christmas. She holds undergraduate degrees in theatre arts and English education from the University of Minnesota, a master’s degree in special education from the University of West Georgia, and a doctorate in sociology from Georgia State University. She has two sons and resides in McDonough, Georgia, with her husband of thirty-five years. While Emilie’s roots are in Minnesota, her southern experiences are an inspiration to her writing.
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Amazon – B&N – Bookshop.org
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