Guest Reviewer Gnarly Talks About Crimes Past by Lauren Carr! Out October 16th!

Whew! Lauren Carr's Latest is so complex and filled with unending sub-plots, that I was just a bit overwhelmed, even though I am a charter member of Carr's Phantoms! So immediately, I thought of Gnarly! He was right there through the majority of the events in Crimes Past and I decided he was just the one who could highlight what readers might want to know... Welcome Gnarly!

Hi Everybody, it's great to be back here at Book Readers Heaven to share about the latest Mac Faraday book by my favorite author--especially since she made me the Star of this entire series!

First, I have to clarify that when the Cold Case in this book took place so many years ago, I WAS not working with Mac at the time! Rather I was helping his mother with her books! So, to put it gently, there wouldn't have been a cold case if I had been there...

Nevertheless, that case where newlyweds had been murdered right after their wedding ceremony, had never allowed Mac to get over it! Especially since he promised the bride's daughter that he would discover who had killed her mother...

And, now, Gina was getting married and he was so upset that he never solved the case...that he volunteered his lodge for the wedding and invited everybody who had been at that first marriage... Seriously, well, I wasn't too sure that was a good idea, but at least I'd be there to help this time!

First, I should tell some of you who may not have heard, I have been honored to be elected as Mayor of Spencer, Maryland.
With a giant statue and all the privileges that come with the title... And I don't think it will be a spoiler to let you know that I'll be conducting a wedding as Mayor. Ok, Mac stands in for some of my duties, saying the words over the Bible and rings, but it's by Mayor Gnarly's power that they will then be married. Only thing I can't tell you is who is also getting married! And what a surprise for all fans of this series!

Truthfully, I didn't sit in on the constant discussions and rehashing of the old case as all the visitors for the wedding sat around enjoying their free visit to a luxury hotel. Mainly because I had my own problem to deal with with--a neighbor's cat who happened to die when it attacked me... But I had a witness and then that cat disappeared! Maybe I didn't kill it but this neighbor was so mean and hated dogs, while she allowed her feral cats to roam free...there oughta be a law! Seriously why don't cats have to have 

licenses. Hmmm, now that I'm Mayor, I think I'll be talking to the Sheriff...soon.
I had friends working for me and one officer even moved in of her own time to surveil what was happening since we were all sure that the "lady" of the house was really causing the problems. Wow, was she shocked when she saw more than she had been watching for! Could it be...???

But first I had to get back to Spencer Inn for my Book Launch party - Yes I wrote a book, The World According to Gnarly, (Amazon doesn't have it yet, we checked...) with Mac's wife's doing a lot of the work for me...The books are flying off the shelves since I already had so many fans! And while we were signing books, one particular conversation with Mac and others who he worked with back then, had everybody arguing as a former cop got drunk and started rambling on about who had really done the dirty when the two cops got killed long ago. Somebody must have been listening...Soon that chain-smoker was upsetting everybody when he continued drinking and to smoke inside, including in his room! Hey, did you ever hear a commode blow up!?! Boy, was everybody scrambling when that blast went off! The smoker on the throne didn't make it...

I felt bad for Mac as he had to consider and think through who might have murdered the bride and groom who were now in the "cold case." But as he was talking with so many and hearing pieces and parts of conversations that had taken place, he even had to begin to suspect one or more of the officers for whom he'd been a mentor....and he had to start thinking about whether one in particular was dirty or not... And also whether there was more than one person involved with the murders... Either way, the next murder victim is Derringer, Mac's former friend he had mentored... Bummer... 

Well by that time, I knew I had to get into the thick of this investigation. Two of the former officers were now dead and there were many potential suspects, while the actual wedding was fast approaching, after which everybody would leave. I swooped in and dealt with things--so much so that even the bad guy had to admit he didn't know I could move like I did... Sure I might snooze a lot when I'm bored...but when I'm needed "on the job," and you are who I'm after, you'll see what I was trained to do!

Gnarly launched himself off of David’s back into the seat that Gabriel had just vacated. The dog took (the killer's) hand into his jaws, clamped down on it and the gun, and shook... screams of anguish filled the air. The SUV rocked back and forth during the battle that ensued until the officers opened the passenger door to allow both to spill out onto the road. Gabriel tried to roll over to see what was happening, but David kept him pinned to the ground. “What’s going on?”

 “Our mayor is explaining his zero tolerance for crime policy,” David said.
!!!

Yes, it was one of my better moments, even though I'm not an active K9 officer all the time. But it sure has been fun to share about our new Mac Farraday book! And I know what you're going to say, so I'll do that for you too! It's a must-read for Carr's Phantoms and highly recommended for all mystery/crime procedure fans...and animal lovers too!

Good to see everybody again! And Remember ...

Gnarly