A Neighborly Killing: A Regan McHenry Real Estate Mystery Brings Readers to Santa Cruz, California!

So our neighbor was shot," Regan sounded triumphant.
Dave scrunched the features of his face into a tight scowl. "Probably not. Tests are still being done, but based on the preliminary findings from the gunshot residue found on your neighbor's hands, it looks like he fired both the rifle near his body and the handgun that killed him, which he still clutched in his col dead fingers, by the way..."
"And. not that I'd expect an amateur sleuth-meddler like you to know it, all gunpowder has a signature to it. A weapon used to blast out his brains would have left a lot of gunshot residue--residue that, if it was from another weapon, would have a different signature, but they only found one kind of gunshot residue on him.
"So you're saying another person as present but they didn't shoot him? How can that be? It doesn't make any sense that Paul would go rushing through the woods at night firing a rifle as he went only to catch up to someone, argue with them and then kill himself.
"So now in addition to your many othr talents, you're an expert on how your neighbor behaved in his final minutes? Are you a psychic now, too? Have you figured out what he was thinking as he pulled the trigger?,,,

~~~

A Neighborly Killing:

A Regan McHenry Real Estate Mystery

By Nancy Lynn Jarvis

You may remember meeting the author when we enjoyed Mags and the AARP Gang...do check my review out if you missed this one! Her Regan McHenry Mystery series has been going on for quite some time, but this is the first book for me...Will it match Mags?!!!

It wasn't as if Regan McHenry had purposely tried to get involved with the death of her neighbor, even if she and her husband had managed to get concerned with helping to solve local police investigations in the past. But this time, the dead man had been their neighbor and, more importantly, they had heard all that occurred that night!

They definitely heard their neighbor yelling and chasing somebody and shooting at them and they definitely heard an argument! Then they had found him dead, right outside their bedroom door! So they immediately told their friend and police officer what they'd heard... Of course, Dave had thanked them for their information and immediately told them that he'd take it from there...but because they were friends, he always enjoyed a little kidding with Regan about her actions to get involved with his cases...

But the verdict of the death came back suicide!

Neither Regan nor her husband, Tom, were willing to accept that their neighbor had taken his own life...So, of course, they started asking questions on their own as amateur sleuths are prone to do... 

This wonderful video tour created by a SC Realtor stands in place for Kiley and Associates, the company owned by Tom and Regan...

I don't understand how he could
have been forced to take his own
life if he still had bullets in his
handgun and therefore, the means
to fight to save himself. And if he
somehow was forced to commit
suicide, to my way of thinking,
that makes his death murder."
Regan nodded slowly, "What
are we going to do?"
"We heard the last moments of
our neighbor's life, in a bizarre
way shared them with him.
Granted we didn't know him
well, but that's such an intimate
connection. I don't think I can
let it go." Regan squirmed as
she spoke...
"That's why I'm not suggesting
what logic says I should. We
can't pretend the coroner's
report is the end of this for us.
I don't know what good we can
do, sweetheart, but we need to
ask some questions and see
what happens. We were both
there when our neighbor died,
so however we work on this,
we're going to do it together."
~~~

Regan knew exactly where to start her investigation. Her neighbor's property had been up for sale for quite some time and one of her associates had once handled it. She was shocked, however, to find that they had had an affair, until the woman had learned that he was just using her to keep actions moving on the sale...even though he really didn't have the desire to sell his house... He was using it as a ploy to keep his divorce from moving ahead since it required the sale of the property before it could be finalised!

.But that was just one of the issues that Regan and Tom began to hear about as they started asking the right questions to the right people...

Very early on another neighbor starts making appearances as plans began to finally proceed with the sale. A neighbor who was very involved with preserving the environment and in particular the woods surrounding all of their property... and goes back and forth between fighting and wanting help from Regan...

Regan had gone to meet with the wife of the deceased and they had taken an instant liking to each other, with Regan even agreeing to handle the sale, which wound up to be much, more more!

I must say that Regan, once she has become connected to somebody takes a hold of that friendship for dear life, since, as things moved on, it was the wife who began to be the choice for a murder...if it had been one. LOL

Yes, it becomes confusing, but if you follow the activities, you won't get lost and you'll probably begin to make your own decisions, like I did, as to who did what to whom...

But I wouldn't have planned on Regan becoming the next target! Whew!

One side fun issue was the placement of a large furniture structure on the deceased's property which he then used to hide activities that local officials had denied him being able to do...Yes, the man was somebody that had many thinking about how to get rid of him...

But then things really started happening and being uncovered, including a possible extortionist who promised to heal people through prayer...for a price...and the FBI became involved. This mystery while it becomes somewhat complex is not one that keeps you guessing. Readers are aware of what is happening and can consider the case at the time each action takes place. As with most cozies, the enjoyment comes from the characters who get involved with the investigation, seeing how each possibly affects the outcome and pitting your skills against the law officers and maybe even the amateur sleuth if you think she is way off the mark! But what if Paul, the deceased, helps too?!?

This book is the sixth in the series but is certainly free-standing and if you haven't read Jarvis, like I hadn't for this series, you might want to start with her latest! There is enough real estate matters and routines to keep readers involved with property transactions without being overly invasive into the mystery...The book is engaging, provides some light humor. many great characters that adds depth and complexity to the story--yes, even the guy with green hair, a ghost, and the possessed cat(!)--and the story is strong throughout keeping you involved from the first to the last page... One that must be highly recommended!


GABixlerReviews




Nancy Lynn Jarvis was a Santa Cruz, California, Realtor for twenty-five years but was having so much fun writing that she let her license lapse in May of 2013.

After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, she worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager of Shakespeare/Santa Cruz. Nancy's work history reflects her philosophy: people should try something radically different every few years. Writing is her newest adventure. 

She put Regan, Tom , and Dave from the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries Series on hiatus to write Mags and the AARP Gang, a comedy/adventure about a group of octogenarian bank robbers and squeezed in editing "Cozy Food," a compilation cookbook in which 128 cozy mystery writers contributed recipes from their books and their lives, but she missed her characters, so they came back to solve more murders in "The Murder House" and recently released "A Neighborly Killing."

What she will work on next is unclear. She has ideas for a seventh Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries, a complete departure book of historical fiction, and for a new cozy series called Geezers With Tools about two old guys who encounter murder while working as handymen and pursuing widows.

She'd love to hear from you about what you might like to read.

Murder Run by Shelly Frome - Can You Ever Stop Running? A Mystery You'll Never Solve...

They had just been talking, planning for a full field of wildflowers like they'd seen one day on the way back from town with supplies...All they had to do was pick out the particular flowers or just get a variety and enjoy whatever came up.

But even as they had stopped along that road, admiring the flowers, she had been on edge, looking around to see if anybody else was there--often glancing back to the road to see if there were any vehicles coming toward them...

Now he knew he'd failed...it was too late for him to protect her from harm... But he couldn't stop thinking of the subtle hints she'd thrown his way...

That time he'd finished setting up the tree he'd cut for her. And he'd stoked the fire he'd made of apple wood from the old orchard. She wanted him to listen closely to the ballet music from Appalachian Spring playing on her CD player. She'd said that her all-time favorite, Martha Graham, had danced the lead. She'd also said the story--which she thought Jed could relate to--had to do with pioneers who'd built a new farmhouse. This particular passage had to do with a young bride and her intended which was "very sweet."

But it wasn't only that which was getting to Jed. It was the memory of that same Christmas box. She'd been riffling through it holding up some ornaments for his approval when she said. At times like this, how can you help feeling safe and snug? What do you think Jed? Tell me things are going to be okay, even if you don't mean it.

~~~

"Wake up, Pal, we got a situation. . . . Hey, I'm talkin' here. Maybe she makes it, maybe she don't I'm sayin' you better move it?"

The voice came out of the past. The words cut into the here and now of the Connecticut night. Left with just the dial tone, Jed Cooper hung up, got off the cot, and tried to get his bearings. Though he'd been house sitting this junk trailer for a while, he still had to grope around to find the pull cord for the lights. He waited a few seconds more and punched in the unlisted number of the she the guy must've been talking about. It was busy...

Jed straggled out into the March dampness, skirted around the rusty snow plow blade, and hurried up the path. He slid behind the wheel of the Chevy pickup, cranked the old motor, gave it hardly any time to idle, and took off onto Green Hill Road.

Off the beaten path in the Litchfield Hills, there were no street lights. Under the misty cloud cover, his brights only made matters worse. And way out here his cell phone was useless...

Taking the dips and rises as best he could, he began to have second thoughts. Granted, the guy had to be talking about Miss Julie. Putting aside what in God's name he was doing at her place, what if he was lying in wait? And even if he'd split, what were the repercussions? Could Jed just tear into a single woman's hidden drive this late at night? And then what? Check things out, or call up to her window to see if she was okay? Or, hoping no one had spotted him, ring her bell? Suppose he got no answer?

Besides, there were too many incidents already on his record. One more, and he'd had it.

But then again, she'd gotten so skittish today, she didn't even let him finish his chores. Told him to put down the chainsaw and completely changed her mind about clearing the drive. "If I can see the road, someone can see me," she said. "I want you to go up to the attic and put a latch on the crawl space."

But why? What was that all about? She didn't say; wouldn't tell him...

~~~

Murder Run

By Shelly Frome

I have been very fortunate in finding a "handyman," Steve, who had just started mowing for me this summer, but stayed on to accomplish some really amazing things that had needed to be done on the Cabin. I never knew how handy it was to have a man around the house until I met Steve... So when I read the blurb of this book and realized that a handyman was the main character, I immediately decided I'd want to read it... I didn't know at that time that the single woman for whom the handyman was working would be murdered! LOL

Because, of course, everybody in town assume that Jed, the outsider, the vagabond, who had worked for many other older women, had to be the killer! Who else?!

He didn't have to wait to find out what was
next. First the crackle of the police radio
and, in practically no time, Road Trooper
Charlie Take was up the stairs and upon him.
Tate glanced at the lifeless form on the bed,
glanced back, and uttered the inevitable
words:
"Right. Jed Cooper. Now how in hell did I
know it would be you?
~~~

One thing to be noted immediately, this writer will give you no "clues" about whodunit--that is unless you read very carefully!

For instance, if you didn't catch that Jed had recognized the voice that had called him about heading to his employer's house, you might have missed that Jed was not just an unlucky vagabond who had never been able to hold on to a job, drifted around the country to pick up jobs where he could and, perhaps now, was being framed...

Certainly the local police or local road trooper were not even willing to listen to what Jed had to say. All they were waiting for was a confession, or they would keep hunting until they found evidence regarding the murder. Which they didn't work hard to do.

But one thing soon caught Jed's attention, Trooper Charlie Tate was at the "right place at the right time" too often to be coincidental...

Jed had gathered a few clues as he'd made his way to her house. He'd seen a white very distinctive car hidden away from the road and had gotten there early enough that he'd seen the man run from the house, knew he had a limp, and had tracked him into the woods... While the information was turned over to the assigned investigators, neither paid much attention nor tried to follow up to find the car or man... Jed was on his own if he was to escape being charged for murder...

Small town America was in full play as most considered him guilty, while a few independents chose to give him a chance. It was the women who were willing to help him get out of town--Jed knew who owned that car!

He was headed home--to the place where his mother still lived but had allowed him to be taken from... Only one good thing happened on that trip, he met his boss' niece who had inherited her home and began to get to know each other.

Think of Jed as a whistle-blower, if you will. An individual who knew a lot about people and what had been happening during his earlier years... Then consider that when going back in time, he finds that much has changed about the "business" that had been carried out in those years. In fact, new management had taken over that business...

And many stumbling blocks were thrown out to Jed to keep him from trying to find out more...Take for instance, the two "sweet things" that came into a bar where he was drinking...

Ginger and Dee didn't at all like the way things were going and switched gears. First by ordering another round for themselves, which Butch complied with as offhand as possible. And then by going into a biker song routine.

"Hey," Ginger piped up, "how about 'Motorcycle Mama'?" Getting more and more sloshed by the minute, she got to her feet, began wiggling around, and tried to drown out the speakers.

"Motorcycle Mama, won't you lay your big . . .down? What is it--ass, feet, butt? Help me out here."

Another dirty look from the bank girls, another finger from Ginger.

"Never mind. The next lyric's for you, Jed." Shaking it a little more, still hollering over the speakers, Ginger sang, "I always get in trouble when you bring it around. Ring any bells, hotshot? Huh? Huh?"

When this got her nowhere, she tried to shop Dee. Claiming that Dee was a combo of "Motorcycle Mama" plus the gal in the Neil Young song. While insisting on a large 7-up chaser to make sure she stayed on top of her game...And then it happened all at once. Without really looking, Ginger reached for the tumbler of 7-Up and knocked both it and her cocktail onto Jed's lap. Before he knew what was happening. Ginger leaned over the bar giggling and shoved a towel onto his lap yelling, "No, no, my bad, my pleasure, sir..."

Jed help up his hands in mock surrender. He told the guys who were crowding him out the door he was just leaving anyway...

~~~

What you'll find is one hell of a mess...a dangerous mess, where problems are handled by getting rid of the people causing those problems...

One reason it all seems a mess is that the author had not identified the business early enough so that readers must play close attention to the characters, their names, and their demeanor to know who are the old players and the new. Others don't even identify themselves when they confront people like Jed and some of the other characters from the old hood... I can give you only one hint. The book is a crime novel--don't expert too many people beyond Jed who you would consider to be the good guys...

And the amazing thing is that it ends that way...some things get so complicated that it is better to make the best of a mess and move on... And somehow that makes a certain kind of sense out of an extremely complicated mystery... Dare you try to solve it? I certainly didn't, but managed to put most of my unanswered questions to rest and confirm that the ending was the best it could be for me to be satisfied... Yet, the details linger in my head, puzzling, provoking attention to what would have or should have come next... 

My only lovely gift from the author? Jed was a strangely intriguing character...and he had met someone and they seemed to be happy in their new relationship. And he was hard at work creating that field of wildflowers that he'd once promised to a memorable woman... An honorable handyman indeed!

GABixlerReviews

Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor and, all told, has written over twenty-five plays in addition to his articles and novels. 
A frequent contributor of articles on all facets of creative writing and acting, Shelly appears in numerous periodicals including Southern Writers Magazine where he is the film columnist. He is also a contributor to writers' blogs and websites in the U.S. and the U.K.
His fiction includes Twilight of the Drifter, The Twinning Murders,and Lilac Moon. His Hollywood crime caper Tinseltown Riff was released in March 2013. His latest crime novel Murder Run was just released in August.
Among his works of non-fiction are the acclaimed The Actors Studio and texts on The Art and Craft of Screenwriting and writing for the stage. Shelly lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Perfidy - A Circle City Mystery - Good Storyline...But...

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."

--Confucius--504 B.C.

Prologue

The full moon and stars sparkled atop the dark surface of the lake. The air was unseasonably cool, a sign autumn neared. The engine purred as he maneuvered the boat around a small, tree-filled island. The water was deepest here and well hidden from view of the lake houses. This was the perfect disposal spot.

"I think this is a good place," He cut the engine and turned to her. "It's really dark on this side of the lake. There aren't any houses for miles so no one will see us. Let's dump our, uh...cargo and get the hell out of here."

"Why so nervous?" she asked in a calm, smooth voice caressing his cheek. "The worst is over. No one will ever suspect you or I had anything to do with this. All we have to do is stick to the plan."

"There's just one little hitch," he said. "Mandy."

~~~

Perfidy:

A Circle City Mystery

By M. E. May

Perfidy is a great murder mystery with a story that led me close to the end before I knew what was happening...I enjoyed the story... 

But I was disappointed big time... I received a copy of the latest edition. The book has been picked up by Worldwide Mysteries [Harlequin]. Thinking it was great for the author to be picked up by a well-known publisher, I was dismayed to see that it had apparently not been edited in any way. It is full of small errors--the kind of errors that are made by the author while writing, easily caught by a good proofreader. 

Strangely, the back cover has a complete paragraph about something that apparently happened in a previous book, but then is not mentioned in this one...so the reader is left wondering what that event may have to do with the present situation...

Another editorial issue was the inconsistent use of Miss/Mrs... For instance, two mothers with two daughters may all be called Miss in one paragraph and then be referred to in the next as Mrs. Each time, the reader has to stop and think now is it the mother or the daughter this time??? I am not sure, but believe that the "miss" salutation was used by just one character as a reference to his race; however, in no other way was that character identified to justify this colloquialism. Whether by the author or the lack of proofreading, this was so poorly done that it pulled away from my overall impression of the book...Too bad...

Note that this edition is not available on Amazon, nor is there a place on the Harlequin to publish reviews... 

However, I am going to go ahead and share a little about the mystery for my readers since I won't be posting at Amazon...

Mandy Stevenson has noted that her mother has been gone from home too long. She has disappeared before but not in the same manner. Those times, she has left a note or called and has taken personal items with her. This time everything has been left behind. 

Mandy's father, a cop, doesn't seems concerned so Mandy goes to her godfather in the Missing Persons Unit and files a report. They immediately take it seriously and start an investigation...

Unfortunately at this point, I also had a problem because Mandy, who seemed so concerned about her mother, almost immediately becomes involved with several other issues that may or may not be related. A number of the same individuals are involved to explain the overlap. Mandy takes on the role of  amateur sleuth, handling the cases like many unofficial investigators in cozy mysteries... What that results in is that all of a sudden, the daughter of the missing mother is no longer apparently concerned enough to continue to investigate her mother's absence! The problem is that there is no insufficient and/or internal dialogue about what the daughter is thinking to go off to look at these other events...

So what am I saying? I did enjoy the book's mystery story line... Ultimately, it all comes out effectively and everything fits together. Yet, I got hung up on what should have occurred editorially in a new edition to correct these flaws in the development of this novel. 

Does it make sense for me to recommend it as a heavy mystery plot, but... well, in my mind, really, it should receive a total editorial update by an effective, caring editor. Sorry, I have no way to know whether this same information reflects the condition of the books now being sold on Amazon...


GABixlerReviews

Welcome to Catherine Dilts, Author of Stone Cold Case, on Her September Blog Tour!

On the Blog Tour? Check out Other Locations!

Morgan rested her hands on her hips and forced herself to breathe. Think. Trevin may not be worried right now, but soon he would realize something was wrong..."Hello!"

The forest muffled her voice, soaking it up like the rocky earth absorbed the rain. Morgan thought a person had to be spectacularly stupid things to get lost in the wilderness, but apparently all it took was losing your footing... When she glimpsed blue through the brush, she dared hope it was a windbreaker worn by one of her classmates. Morgan abandoned the bank of the stream. She trotted across a patch of open ground, where a rock campfire ring corralled rusting tin cans...

Prospectors' shelters dotted the Colorado mountains in varied forms, from crude sod huts to finely constructed log cabins. This dugout was somewhere in between, and in better shape than the crumbling ruins Morgan had seen. From the front and both sides, it appeared to be a rough-hewn log cabin...

Flowers in neat mounds framed the doorway. Morgan stooped to squint at them. Rows of tiny elephant heads lined up along the stems. No one would believe her, if she survived the night to tell about them. Maybe fear was making her delusional. Morgan snapped a photo. The flash probably frightened off any woodland creatures in the increasingly dark forest. Either than, or it alerted potential predators...Morgan peeped inside. The shelter was too dark for her comfort, but most likely perfect for spiders and centipedes. She could dig a flashlight out of her pack once inside, but for now she used the flash on her cell phone camera...

A dog barked once. A human voice muttered something then seemed to quiet the dog. Morgan strained to see through the gloom...Morgan edged deeper inside the dugout, groping for her pack. Footsteps crunched toward the entrance...This had to be how Sasquatch sightings started... Morgan took another step backward. Her heel landed on something hard, twisting her ankle despite her firmly laced hiking boot...The footsteps stopped...

When she couldn't bear sitting motionless any longer, her body aching with tension, she rolled slowly to her hands and knees. Her right hand planted firmly on the object that had tripped her. A blanket neatly covered the mound. If she had to spend the night here, at least she had a way to keep warm. She pushed herself to her feet. As she tugged the blanket up, a cracked leather hiking boot tipped to one side. Morgan squinted in the dim light. An aspen branch seemed to extend from the bottom of a jeans leg to the boot.

That can't be right, Morgan thought. Why would someone put clothes on sticks?

Her mind stumbled through several explanations until the obvious answer slammed home. The rips and holes in the tattered jeans revealed bone.

~~~

Stone Cold Case:

A Rock Shop Mystery

By Catherine Dilts

It's great to be hosting Catherine Dilts on her September Blog Tour! The link above, or the tour pic, will take you to her schedule, which has already been going on and there are three reviews scheduled today! I figure by the end of today, you'll be heading out to purchase this fun cozy...Ok, I recognize that cozy is not used these days...but there are still readers out there that don't yet know that they are now called "amateur sleuth mysteries." Stone Cold Case is the second in this series, but each easily stands alone of course! This was certainly a fun and entertaining tale!

Morgan Iverson is still pretending that she's not interested in solving mysteries as we begin the story...but she sure does use her time and thinking in this one, especially since she found the body! Of course, it could also be because Kurt Willard who owns the local newspaper, has also taken an interest... Expect more involvement between these two, I am sure, in later novels!

"The paper's archives go back to the
beginning of time," Kurt said. "It took
us all morning to locate the correct
decade, but we found a considerable
amount of information about the
Carlee Kruger case."
"I didn't mean to put you through all
this trouble," Morgan said.
"Are you kidding?" Kurt came around
the table. "Golden Spring's only
unsolved case post horse-and-buggy
era? You're not the only one who can
play amateur sleuth."
Morgan held up her hands. "Oh, no. I
learned my lesson back in January.
The only reason I got involved in that
case was because someone was out to
get me...
Morgan reached for a folder on the
table. "Ah, not yet." Kurt threw himself
in front of the table. "I want to get
everything organized before we start
assembling the clues."
"I have no interest in solving the case,"
Morgan said. "But Gerda needs answers."
~~~

Morgan Iverson was unexpectedly asked to manage the Rock of Ages Shop, when her brother and his wife mysteriously too off! Morgan knew nothing about fossils and gems, and she was on a geological class tour when she found the body! Their store had a little bit of everything, including unopened geodes which a lot of students and artists loved to purchase to see what was inside...

but their most valuable piece was a seventy-year-old Triceratops Horn!

In this book, Morgan's brother calls and asks for $3000 from Morgan to come home... My guess is that this might lead to the next book since the money requested was more than he would need for plane tickets! What had he gotten himself into?! 

However, Morgan has already sold her home and has made the Shop her location for the future! What will her brother do when she won't let them take the shop back?! Should be fun to watch!

Everybody in town quickly began to wonder if the body was of Carlee Kruger who had vanished from town 15 years ago! Gerda, her mother, owner of the local auto mechanic shop has withdrawn from the world and has become an alcoholic who is really not pleasant to be around. Especially since she had her other daughter also leave town soon after Carlee was missing and they hadn't seen each other since...

While the local police tell her to stay out of this, of course, Kurt tries to convince Morgan to start checking on everything and Morgan finally convinced herself that Gerda really needs to know...

Morgan was still learning about everything her new job entailed, but she had part-time help, Cindy, who had been helping her, as well as Del, who had worked there so long, he had now moved into the main building. Both of these characters are great to get to know, and Del, especially, has a background that keeps Morgan in suspense, wanting to know more.

"The donkeys," Morgan said. "Something's wrong. Morgan grabbed her jacket off a peg. She threw open the kitchen door, panicked by the insistent braying of the donkey.
"Bring your cell phone," Del said, "in case we need to call the vet."
Adelaide, a donkey of advanced years, was with foal for the first time in her life. Morgan and Del raced toward the barn, following the hoarse, raucous braying.
"Over there."
Del aimed his flashlight. Morgan followed with her own shaky beam. A man and a dog loped across the pasture, followed closely by Houdini. The female donkey waddled several yards behind him. Del pulled his handgun out of the holster strapped under his left arm. Morgan placed a hand on his arm. "You might hit Houdini."
"He's too far away." Del replaced his gun in the holster. "Did you get a good look?"
...:"Even from the distance," Morgan said, "I'm sure it was Big Foot. Ratty Clothes. Wild hair. Wolf dog."
The donkeys abandoned the chase at the rear pasture fence...walked purposefully toward Morgan and Del. "Yet again," Morgan said, "I wish those two could talk."

~~~

There are a number of different things that are happening in the story--are any or all of them related to the dead body that was found? First, there is a mountain man that was at the site where Morgan found the body. Now he was showing up at Morgan's home site. Fortunately, their two donkeys were both just like watch dogs, and also magicians, since both had learned how to get out! Houdini had even gotten into the habit of breaking out and heading for their neighbor's farm. Could it have anything to do with whoever was cutting the locks on their fences and then riding right into their land, and digging...maybe, prospectors?

"Ammolite is an organic gem."
"I thought all rocks were
organic."
"People call everything organic
nowadays," Del said. "They
throw the word around to make
things sound healthy. I mean
organic in the sense that it was
alive once. Rocks are minerals,
but ammonites are fossils.
Shells, specifically. And when
just the right minerals happen
along during the fossilization
process, it turns into this."
~~~

He picked up a dazzling blue,
green, and gold gem.
"Ammolite."
..."So there are only three
gemstones produced by living
organisms. This stuff, pearls,
and amber. Wow."
"If there's ammolite in the hills
around here, all heck will break
loose..."very rare."
~~~

For also at the grave site, Morgan had picked up pieces of what looked to be gems, though she didn't know what they were... When new people started dropping into the Rock of Ages, asking about what Morgan might have new, she quickly knew that word was out... Even though small particles had only been found, Del had identified it--Ammonite! He quickly urged Morgan not to tell anybody--at least until they could investigate and file a claim! Otherwise, there would be a rush of new prospectors coming into town, and it seemed that some people were already aware of it!

There's More Than Gold in Them Thar Hills!

So did that explain why various individuals from town were coming to check out what Morgan knew? They realized that the ammolite found at the burial site had clearly been brought there, just as the elephant ear plants had been. But was there ammonite in "them thear hills?!"

But then seeming accidents started to happen...first Carlee's mother, Gerda's brakes failed...and soon so did Morgan's... It had already been proven that both cars had been tampered with...

There is enough complexity to the story that readers will have many potential answers to how and who had killed Carlee--her family, of course, had to be considered. But Carlee's former fiance' was also still in town, now married. Or was it the mountain man who had perhaps killed her accidentally and had then kept her body in the hills? Actually if you're a careful reader, you will know who the mountain man is almost right from the start...I did!

Only one thing could bring this mystery out in the open... The church had planned a memorial service for Carlee, and had searched out Gerda's other daughter and talked her into coming home. 

And her daughter looked just like Carlee when she had disappeared...

If you enjoy playing amateur sleuth, I highly recommend you consider Stone Cold Case. It is intriguing enough to hold your attention, yet, light enough to not get too deep into dangerous situations...at least it was until the climactic ending! Enjoy!



GABixlerReviews

About Catherine Dilts

To Catherine Dilts, rock shops are like geodes – both contain amazing treasures hidden inside their plain-as-dirt exteriors. Catherine caught mountain fever after a childhood vacation in Rocky Mountain National Park. Determined to give up her flat–lander ways, she moved from Oklahoma to Colorado. Her husband, a Colorado native, proposed to her as they hiked Barr Trail on Pikes Peak. Catherine works as an environmental scientist, and plays at heirloom vegetable gardening, camping, and fishing. Her short stories appear in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. In her spare time, she attempts to lure wild donkeys to her property in the mountains.

Find Catherine and Stone Cold Case online:

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Tattered Cover

Kirkus review for Stone Cold Case

https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/catherine-dilts/stone-cold-case/

Stone Cold Case - A Rock Shop Mystery

ISBN # 9781432830991

Release date September 16, 2015 by Five Star - Cengage