Center of Gravity: A Sort of Mystery

Octogenarian Gunther Nowotny is irritated because his children insisted on his moving into a retirement center, Bedside Manor. His career as a lawyer was successful except that it left him with a nagging dissatisfaction: he was never able to realize his dream to be a detective and solve major crimes. An opportunity to do such a thing falls, almost literally, at his feet. The body of a woman, a fellow resident, is found in the garden in a flower bed beneath the balconies of the Manor's high rise. The police rule the incident a suicide. Gunther thinks that she was thrown off a balcony and he proceeds to look for the killer. Failing to turn up a suspect among his fellow residents Gunther and his friend Dr. Ed Farnsworth travel to Florida to seek information from the victim's daughter and sister. The sister, Julie, eagerly joins in to help with the investigation. She tells them about her sister's colorful past in Colorado and this leads to Gunter's adventures there which include a scary balloon ride and a tough mountain hike to trespass on a secret religious enclave, the Pearly Temple. Ultimately, back at the Manor, Gunther gets lucky and catches the murderer. Sort of! ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Tweed Hannah, 84 years of age, lives in a retirement center in Houston, Texas. He is the author of a novel based on the life of a wayward uncle and of two books about flyfishing.