Favorite Author, Lauren Carr, Presents Her Latest - Shadows of the Missing - A Chris Matheson Cold Case Book 5 - A Personal Favorite! With Playlist...

With a heavy sigh, she collapsed into his arms. “What if she pushes one button too many and I end up killing her?” “You can call Elliott and me, and we’ll help you get rid of her body.” She chuckled. “You’d do that for me?” “I vowed for better or for worse.”

Kassie gave a short, humorless laugh. “Always the cop, huh? Even when it’s family.” “Especially when it’s family.” Helen finally met her gaze. “I spent over thirty years wondering why people disappeared on us. I’m not losing you to something stupid like this.”

“How many pitchers of beer did you drink?” Elliott asked with a wicked grin. “Three,” Chris asked. “But Helen and I weren’t driving and—” “But buzzed enough to kill all inhibitions,” Francine giggled. “Let’s just say while this hotel is nice, the walls aren’t that thick,” Elliott said. “I’m in the mood for love,” Doris sang. Helen’s face flushed. “We are married.” Doris held up her hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m glad that you and my son have a sexually happy relationship.” With a sigh, Chris rubbed his flushed face. “Not for the rest of our stay here.”

It's been quite some time since I read a book by Lauren, but I knew that there would be a basic sameness that made me make her one of my favorite authors... First, a dog will always be a member of the family... Indeed, Lauren started out with a family series and has continued the saga down through the years, spotlighting each generation in one way or another... In my mind I might not be able to remember the ancestral lines, but I can still picture the first main character and how he came to be a rich cop! LOL

And, you will always feel like you're in the midst of a family event... Even with the latest, which includes the Geezer book club (the club is a cover for solving mysteries) there is a feeling of kinship, of laughter, of warmth and sharing that also comes along with backgrounds of individuals which makes the pain and hurt even more poignant to read about... If you're looking for a long-time series or a quick read, do check Lauren Carr out, by entering her name in the right column and pulling up book after book that has brought pleasure to thousands if not millions!

“I’ve made absolutely no headway,” Doris told Helen as she took a seat across from her. “But I’m going to crack this case. All the book club has to do is identify her, then we can find out who killed her and stuffed her in a barrel.” A group of retired law enforcement investigators, the Geezer Squad pretended to be a book club—because they were afraid of what their families would do if they knew that instead of reading crime fiction, their parents and grandparents investigated true crime. Their latest case was The Lady in the Barrel. “Mom is obsessed.” Chris refilled his glass of lemonade and joined them at the kitchen table. “Aren’t you going to take a shower?” Doris asked. “You’re sweaty.” “I’ll take a shower before dinner. I just want to rest for a few minutes.” He reached across the table and slid his mother’s copy of the folder containing the details of that month’s cold case. 

“Can you imagine contracting to have your deck rebuilt and finding a dead body encased in a barrel that has been there for decades?” “How do you not notice a fifty-five-gallon barrel under your deck?” Helen picked up the copy of the forensics report of the barrel’s contents. “Do you know what’s under our porch?” Doris asked with a wicked grin. “Our house is a hundred years old. There’s no telling what secrets the Matheson family has hidden inside these walls or under our floors.” “The key is the barrel.” Chris pointed a finger at the picture of the rusty barrel on the report Helen was scanning. “How many people have fifty-five-gallon barrels lying around? It isn’t something you just pick up at the local hardware store. If we contact the company that made the barrel, they may steer us toward the killer.” “That combined with the used motor oil they found inside with the lady,” Helen said, “That’s a lot of used motor oil. We’re talking about a service garage.” “So, the killer has to have some connection to automotive.” Chris picked up the picture of the composite sketch of the Lady. “What details has the forensic pathologist given us to narrow down our search of the missing persons database?” “He believes she was in her late twenties to early thirties,” Doris said. “Female. She had long blond hair. She was a bleached blonde. Five feet four inches tall. Weighed approximately one hundred and fifteen pounds. She had given birth at some point.” The three of them passed around the picture of a young woman with long blond hair. She was a pretty woman. “What was the cause of death?” Helen asked. “I doubt if she crawled into that barrel to die of natural causes.” “The investigators said she died of asphyxiation,” Doris said. “She’d been strangled.” “Strangling someone with your bare hands is up close and personal,” Chris said. “Whoever did this went to a lot of trouble to hide the body. The killer got the barrel, sealed it, and concealed it in a location he knew would remain undiscovered for a considerable period.” “The homeowner had lived in that house for three years,” Doris said. “Law enforcement completely cleared him. Law enforcement has accounted for every woman in his life. Francine researched every homeowner from the time the house was built forty years ago to the present and discovered no potential victims. One of her sources told me that law enforcement has done the same. There’s no missing woman connected to anyone who lived in or had any connection to the crime scene.” “Did they find anything else in the barrel besides the body and dirty motor oil?” Helen asked. “The victim wore white jean shorts and a blue and white striped shirt with shoulder pads,” Doris said, “Now the shoulder pads tell me that this murder must have taken place in the 80s. Shoulder pads were a big thing then.” Chris mentioned the house was built in ‘83. “Forensics determined the clothes were all upscale designer brands,” Doris said. “Even her underwear was expensive. We’re not talking about Rodeo Drive. But we are talking about Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. The type of woman that people would notice if she had disappeared.” “That points to our victim having an expensive taste in clothes,” Helen said. “I’d say,” Doris said. “Not only was she wearing designer clothes, but jewelry, too. She also had diamond sand dollar earrings. We're looking at a woman with means.” “Someone has to have reported her missing,” Helen said. “We just haven’t found the report yet.” “Did they find any other jewelry?” Chris asked. “Wedding ring?” “Nothing. No purse or wallet or driver’s license giving her name,” Doris replied. “That’d be too easy,” Helen said while giving Sterling a cracker with a slice of cheddar cheese on it. “No hit with her DNA in the national database?” “Or familial DNA.” “You said she had given birth,” Helen cast a glance at Chris sitting next to her. “That means she’s someone’s mother. She’s got family out there looking for her.” “We’ll find her. The Geezer Squad is on the case.” Doris gathered the reports and cleared the table for dinner. 

“How did your helpers do?” The sly grin on her face revealed she knew the answer to her question. Chris let out a sigh filled with exhaustion. He laid his head in his arms on the table. “The highlight was the last hour when Katelyn got a splinter in her finger. While Sierra, Victor, and Buck administered first aid, Nikki and I collected the last two truckloads of hay and hauled them to the barn.” “Three people to remove one splinter?” Helen asked with a laugh. “Katelyn takes after her grandma,” Chris said. “I never needed a splinter to wrap a man around my little finger.” Doris winked at Helen. “All I needed was to turn on my irresistible charm.” “Why didn’t you use your irresistible charm on Elliott to get him to help me bale hay?” Chris asked in a sleepy tone. “He would have, but he had to go help that friend of his down in Georgia. Do you know where you made your mistake?” Doris shook the case file at him. “You should have had a bigger family. When I was growing up on our farm down in southern West Virginia, hay season was a big thing. All our aunts and uncles and cousins would come out. The women would cook all day and make desserts while the men would be out baling and hauling in the hay. Then afterwards, we’d be eating and gathering around the bonfire and shooting off firecrackers.” She continued to recount stories about her childhood in rural Appalachia as she put away her research and prepared dinner. Their voices lowered to a very dull roar in Chris’s ears as he drifted off to sleep. “Who’s that?” His mother’s question crashed through his slumber.

~~~~

Whoa, did you notice that the setting for at least part of this latest case is centered on West Virginia and Morgantown, where I used to live, as part of the search area? Carr is known for her novels being set in this particular area, but tapping into Morgantown was a bit more closer home for me. Made me connect more right from the beginning!

Before we go any further, this book starts out as a specific cold case, but becomes so much more that you will boggle at the complexity of your story line... So be prepared!

Christ Matheson is the ancestral main character; however, his wife, Helen, and her sister really set the stage for the entire book. You see, quite recently his wife's sister, Kassie, contacted her. The two sisters have been estranged in recent years... The girls lost both their parents at early ages. They both disappeared. Helen had been adopted and had a better life than Kassie who had been in several different homes during her childhood. But Kassie had come to realize that she needed to find some place--somebody--to be a part of a family for the rest of her life. She started with finding Helen and asking her to work with her to find out what had happened to her parents... And once that decision was made, of course, the entire Geezer group became part of the search. These individuals, by the way, all have some type of background that provides them a special expertise by which they can help in a formal criminal investigation. And when they started working a case, the pace, I must say, is much faster than any normal police procedural book you will ever read! LOL!

Once a plan has been made, they start the investigation, which almost immediately, led to the discovery of a body. It was not the girls mother, but the body did still wear costly jewelry, which could be identified and allow moving on to the next step in the search. In fact, each action that was discovered, soon resulted in the discovery of more bodies!

Just not the girls parents!

Staring out at the historic downtown buildings and the distant silhouette of Halliehurst Mansion against the forested ridge, Helen nodded. “Or maybe we just got bigger.” Her voice was quiet, laced with the weight of questions they’d carried for decades. They were here to uncover the truth about their parents, and in this quiet Appalachian town—gateway to endless trails yet rooted in its own stubborn history—that truth felt closer, and more daunting, than ever. Kassie turned at a light to take an exit ramp off the freeway leading into Elkins. “You can be the bad cop. You’re good at that.” Shooting a sideways glance at her sister, Helen ignored the dig.

“I used to entertain you kids by singing Dolly Parton songs.” “And play the guitar,” Helen said. “That was me.” Dani did a deep bow at the waist. “I perform most weekends at the local saloons.”

But soon they were traveling back to where the family clan was still living. Helen visited first and was immediately welcomed back with their pet name for her--this would be important as the search gets more tense! But an interesting event they discovered was that their mother had become involved with a group of call girls called the Suzy Qs, but she was known for her helping them with the business management rather than actually being involved... And all the SuzyQs that were still in town praised what their mother had taught them to be able to get out on their own and made a better life...

“Suzi Q was a class operation,” Dani said. “Didn’t any of you feel you were being exploited as sex workers?” Helen asked. “Nobody grows up saying they want to become a sex worker.” Trudy shrugged her shoulders. “In my case, I was being sexually abused by my stepfather. I ran away at sixteen–to Abby’s house. We had been best friends forever. I happened upon what Abby’s mother did for a living. I thought, why not charge for it? At least I could support myself. Your mother tried to talk me out of it.” “My grandmother was a prostitute.” Kassie stared at her uneaten slice of pizza. “My mother was a madam. My father came from a family of thieves.” “Oh, so you know about that,” Dani said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Do you ever regret taking up that line of work?” Helen asked. “I did what I had to do to survive,” Trudy said. “When it was time to turn the page on that chapter, I turned it and never looked back.” She leaned toward them. “Your mother wasn’t proud of what your grandmother did. She tried to get her out of that work. But just when she thought she was making headway, your grandmother would slide right back into it. She made good money, and she needed it to support her bad habits.” “Being level-headed, Abby could see things more clearly than any of us,” Stephanie said. “We all had baggage. Mostly low self-esteem. Abby knew we needed someone with a steady hand to guide and encourage us to look toward a future beyond Suzi Q.” “Use Suzi Q as a stepping stone to something better,” Helen said. 

As with most stories these days, we soon are introduced to the fact that Helen and Kassie had come from the wrong side of town and had been frowned upon by those with money or power--and there is both. I really don't know whether it is on purpose, or whether every rich family acts like many political families or their rich neighbors, but we certainly have them in this book... 

And that leads me to a point I especially wanted to mention about Lauren's books...Readers will be totally involved in "life..." with every facit... One minute the team will be involved in searching for possible cars in a waterway. While Helen, watches her sister dance in shadows as she waits for her friend who will be searching for any cars. Helen hides, not wanting to spoil her sister's moments of joy as she waits to have her close friend join them... For me, this helps to blunt the vision of the crimes that had been committed years ago, while, these breaks of wanting to be with a loved one allows us to gain warmth and safety, as we realize we are not alone in any type of tragedy... Carr excels at this type of twist and turn from one type of scene to another!

It was those in the higher class of town who conceived the story that Helen and Kassie's father had run away with a wife of another to go to Hollywood... But as the investigation developed in depth material, there was no evidence of their father being the man who had traveled out of state. Indeed, soon there was evidence that the woman he supposedly went with, was not the one who traveled out of town--in fact, did anybody? Yet the same rumor was repeated over and over and over, as if lies could make something false become true...

In fact, there was only one specific clue about, on the other hand, what had happened to their mother years later... And it was that Kassie, at age 5, had seen her mother get into a van with Pee Wee Herman... with his famous pinstriped suit... Could a child have correctly remembered that image for decades?

The group settled in, voices dropping lower, the office suddenly feeling smaller—and the stakes, somehow, larger. Outside, the dining room carried on with its usual clatter, but here, forty-five years of secrets had just surfaced...

“Can’t you see that those of us living in the present have lives to live? Some shadows are best left alone.” “Would you be saying that if it was your daughter who went missing and Destiny here had to grow up without her mother?”

You may think we are coming to the end of the story...but you'd be wrong...Wonderfully wrong!!! Because this author not only closes out every single issue/murder event, she presents a fantastic scene for each! Some are funny, some are sad, some reveal accountability which is much needed these days... You get the idea, right? Because this author is one of the best to be found for a totally unique type of family drama which happens to include exciting and intense scenes, one of which has to be read to believe, when Sterling acts to save the day! The signaling between Chris and his K-9 was so extraordinary, I'd defy anybody to figure out exactly how it occurred, unless you're a dog master too! LOL

“Always wanted to flatten high society. Feels better than I imagined.”

Helen and Kassie walked down the aisle together, heads high, family—blood and chosen—following to the front. The organ played “Amazing Grace.” Jethro stepped to the pulpit. “Dearly beloved,” he began, voice carrying to the rafters, “we gather to lay Michael and Abigail Hartman to rest—two souls taken too soon but never forgotten. They leave behind children who carried their light through the dark, and a family fractured too long. Today, that fracture mends.” He looked out over Hartmans, Suzi Q ladies, Geezers, and cousins. “Mike and Abby didn’t see this day. But I believe they’re watching. And I believe they’re smiling.”

Grab any book from Lauren Carr

Find justice, accountability, and Family Love and Truth

This one is a Personal Favorite for Me!

GABixlerReviews

The Geezers. Lots of Carr's Characters All Back in The Last Thing She Said, by Lauren Carr!

In The Last Thing She Said, a Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery, Lauren Carr has brought together most of the main characters from her various series. Gnarly, of course, was right there in the midst of another fantastic novel, when Carr does a political spoof that is priceless, ingenious and so funny and..."spot on!" I couldn't help but share, even though it's not really a part of the mystery! And, of course, that's one of the delights for which Carr is known...going beyond the mystery into family, pets and romance! Another wedding is on the way after this book, for instance!

“Is that Buttwrinkle?” Chris tucked Sterling behind him—as if no one would notice the hundred-pound German shepherd concealing his appearance under a floppy cruising hat and mirrored sunglasses. “Yeah,” Mac said with a grumble in response to his observation. “It’s surprising to wonder how that big of a head can sit on those shoulders without a neck.” Chris was aware of the hour approaching ten o’clock. At the Spencer Inn, Lucille Del Vecchio was expected to be running the blood drive. Helen and Archie were on their way to interview her. If the chairman of the town council’s revelation took too long, Chris risked missing the entire interview.
Depending on what evidence Buttwrinkle had, Sterling risked missing a lot more. Sensing that trouble was brewing, Sterling huddled behind his master’s legs and surveilled the little man commanding the roomful of journalists and other local officials in the town council’s press room. 
His arms folded across his chest, Police Chief David O’Callaghan kept a close watch on everyone entering and leaving the room. Two of his officers waited behind him—as far from the odor wafting from the podium as possible. As David had predicted, the chairman of the town council wore his stench like a badge of honor gained from his ongoing war against the canine mayor. In addition to the skunk perfume, he also wore a round bruise in the middle of his forehead. 
“Your guess is as good as mine,” David replied when Chris asked about the source of the wound. “Buttwrinkle refuses to tell me anything. He says I’ll cover it up.” For his moment of triumph, Adam Buttwrinkle had set up not one, but two huge monitors on which to unveil his evidence of Gnarly’s criminal activities in action. In contrast to his ego, Adam Buttwrinkle was a little man. Clad in a blue suit and tie, he smirked and posed for the cameras from behind the podium. 
Offended by the odor, the journalists filmed the lead-up to the unveiling from as far away as possible. A routine developed for each journalist. He or she would head for the first row to catch all the action. Upon entering the stench field surrounding the chairman, the news person would do a U-turn and head for the back of the room. 

Oblivious, or maybe it was indifference, to Adam Buttwrinkle’s goal of obtaining his downfall, Gnarly sat front and center in the gallery with his unblinking eyes focused on the councilman. “Enjoy your freedom while it lasts,” Adam hissed at the German shepherd. “Your authoritarian reign over this town ends now.” 
Garrett County’s prosecuting attorney, Ben Fleming, entered the press room. After shaking hands and engaging in a brief conversation with the police chief, the sophisticated gentleman dressed in a fine tailored suit made his way toward Mac. Upon seeing the county’s top legal counsel, Adam trotted down from the stage toward him. As the stench closed in on him, Fleming backed away while cautiously stretching out his hand.
“I hope you brought a subpoena with you,” Adam asked while smirking in Mac’s direction. Ben exchanged quick glances with both Mac and David. “I figured you didn’t. Doesn’t matter. After I’m finished, the citizens of Maryland are going to demand the DOJ take swift action against Spencer’s criminal mastermind.” Adam puffed up and rose his voice to demand the attention of every journalist in the room. 
“I don’t care how much money and power Faraday has, the people will demand that there be justice. If this terrorist attack against me—an elected citizen whose only goal has always been to do what is right and just—is allowed to go without the perpetrator being held accountable—then our nation is truly in the state of a constitutional crisis.” He pointed at the monitors on the stage. 
“If this crime that you are about to witness had been committed by anyone else in Spencer—the perpetrator would have been arrested by now and be sitting in a jail cell!” Standing tall, he made his way back to the podium. Those in the room stepped back to allow plenty of room for the odorous cloud that encompassed him. At the podium, he turned around and took in the sea of journalists, members of the city council and county commission, law enforcement officers, county prosecuting attorney, and chief of police crowded at the opposite end of the room. 
Staring unblinking at him, only Gnarly sat in the front row—daring Adam Buttwrinkle to continue.
“Mac,” Chris said, “I hope you know what you’re doing.” 
“Wait for it.” Chris stiffened when he saw Mac slip his hand into his jacket pocket. He’s not seriously going to shoot that twerp in a room filled with witnesses!
“At three o’clock this morning,” Adam Buttwrinkle said, “a crime boss running his criminal enterprise right here in Spencer, launched a terrorist attack against me—” he pounded his chest—“an elected official, in an effort to obstruct justice. He knew I was closing in on exposing him for the crime boss that he is. For that, he sent his goons to attack me.” 
“What had Gnarly done?” one of journalists asked.
“What crimes have you been investigating?” 
“Terrorist threats for one.” Buttwrinkle pointed at the sea of journalists before him. “He’s made terrorist threats in plain view in front of most of you.” 
“Oh yeah,” Police Chief David O’Callaghan said. “How can any of us forget when the mayor peed on your leg after vetoing your law against snowball fights?” 
“Which is why I didn’t bring this evidence—real evidence—to you.” Adam pointed across the room at David for the journalists to photograph. 
“David O’Callaghan was appointed to be Spencer’s police chief, but instead he has been working as Gnarly’s personal protector. Instead of working for justice for Spencer’s citizens, O’Callaghan has been covering up our mayor’s crimes—like breaking into the grocery store last night and stealing every roll of toilet paper to use in his attack on my home.”
“Is that true?” A journalist near David stuck a microphone into the police chief’s face. 
“All evidence at the grocery story indicates that the toilet paper was stolen by squirrels and raccoons,” David said. There was a confused murmur throughout the room. “And the odor that you are smelling in this room is from skunk,” David said. “Not dog. And the landmines left at Mr. Buttwrinkle’s property have been traced back to black bears in the area—not canine.” 
“Then—” a journalist tried to ask only to be cut off by Adam Buttwrinkle pointing a finger at Gnarly, whose gaze was fixed on the councilman. 
“Acting on Gnarly’s direction—like the canine crime boss that he is!” 
Many of the journalists scoffed before one called out, “Are you seriously trying to tell us that Spencer’s squirrels, raccoons, bears—” 
“And let’s not forget the skunks,” another said with a laugh. 
“How could we?” yet another said while waving her hand in front of her face. “—actually launched an organized attack on you upon orders from Spencer’s mayor?” One of the more timid reporters cautiously asked, 
“Mr. Buttwrinkle, are you aware that Gnarly is a dog?” She glanced at the German shepherd in the front row as if to double check her own assessment. “He’s not a dog!” Adam Buttwrinkle shouted. “He’s Al Capone in a dog suit! I have him on camera—three o’clock in the morning, barking orders, standing on my property, directing the raccoons and the squirrels and the bears and deer.” To prove his point, Adam pointed at the bruise in the center of his forehead. “A big fat squirrel did this. Hurled a nut at me from the porch rail—hit me square between the eyes.” 
“With all due respect, sir,” a curvacious young journalist said in a loud voice, “I find it disgraceful for you to body-shame a poor defenseless squirrel. How do you know he didn’t have a thyroid condition?”
“I was right,” Chris told Mac in a low voice. “Squirrels do have thyroids.” Cringing in pain, Buttwrinkle jabbed at the bruise on his forehead. 
“That defenseless squirrel launched a missile at me. As I was blacking out, I heard him”—he pointed at Gnarly—“laughing at me!” 
Sensing that they were witnessing a mental breakdown before their very eyes, the journalists back away. Even in their rising fear, they made certain that they were recording everything for what promised to be breaking news. 
Their skepticism enraged Buttwrinkle more. “You may think that having a canine mayor who disregards our laws and obstructs justice is okay, but I’m not all right with that! No one is above the law!” 
He spun around and pressed a button on a remote. Ben Fleming turned to Mac. The corner of Mac’s mouth kicked up into a crooked grin. Chris tucked Sterling behind him. He hoped there was no image clear enough for the dog to be recognized. Gnarly sat up taller in his seat. Unblinking, his eyes were trained on Adam Buttwrinkle. The monitors behind the podium sprang to life. 
The journalists watched as the view of a table in an outdoor restaurant came into view. Adam Buttwrinkle was one of two men sitting at the table as the server walked away. 
“What—where—what the—” Adam sputtered upon seeing the image that splashed across the two monitors. 
In the recording, Adam Buttwrinkle chuckled at his companion while ogling the buxom server walking away from the table. “What I wouldn’t give for a piece of—” 
“I thought you ran on respect and dignity for working women,” the other man at the table said. 
Behind the podium, Adam pointed two remotes at both monitors and pressed button after button while trying in vain to turn them off, but nothing happened. Chris saw Mac take his hand out of his pocket to reveal—not a gun—but a remote identical to the ones with which Adam was wrestling. Mac winked at Chris. 
“Look, the average voter is just plain stupid.” Adam laughed on the video. “They’re so easy to manipulate. All you have to do is say what they want to hear, and they’ll vote for you—even if what you’re saying is idiocy.” 
“This is your doing!” Adam pointed a finger at Gnarly. On the monitor, Adam told the man across the table, “You haven’t deposited the money into my account yet.” 
The conspirator looked at his phone. “What assurance do my partners and I have that you’ll be able to come through with removing Spencer’s ordinance protecting the forest and wildlife on the north side of the mountain. Our people can’t move forward on the development project as long as that ordinance is in place.” 
“Most of the town council is made up of moronic puppets—” 
There was collective gasp among the council members in the room. 
“—and those with the guts to go up against me will learn real fast to fall in line.” Adam chuckled. “Everyone has skeletons in their closets. Once my people find theirs—What’s the saying? I’ll make them offers they can’t refuse.” 
“They had no right spying on me!” Adam yelled at Mac from the front of the press room. The audience that Adam Buttwrinkle had gathered together was riveted by the true colors of the town council’s chairman being fully displayed in the recording. 
Adam’s dining companion was not yet convinced of his ability to deliver his task in their conspiracy. 
“But Mac Faraday is a Spencer and it was his ancestors—” 
“Once I manage to bring down the mayor—” 
“You’ve been smearing the mayor ever since he took office. My people got the state attorney general to assign four prosecutors to that dog’s case. They’ve spent over two-hundred thousand dollars of taxpayers’ money digging into that dog’s life and no one has found any concrete evidence to use to remove him from office. The closest thing they’ve got is him palling around with a Russian blue cat, but there’s no law against that.” 
“As long as we stick together and continue to sing the same tune over and over again, the people will run him from office, if only by not re-electing him. It’s like that annoying song you keep hearing on the radio—you hear it over and over and over again until you can’t get it out of your head. Gnarly’s corrupt. Gnarly’s a criminal. Gnarly’s a crime boss. Gnarly’s a terrorist. Gnarly’s obstructing justice. After a while, no one needs any proof to believe it. The lie will seep into their collective consciousness until they believe it. By the time I’m through, he’ll be in the pound with a needle in his paw and I’ll be in charge.” 
Adam eased away from the podium under the dozens of daggers aimed at him. His exit from the room was blocked by the county prosecutor and a line of Spencer police officers. 
“And the zoning?” the companion asked. 
On the monitor, Buttwrinkle waved his hand in dismissal. “I’ll quietly make a recommendation to the county commission to change the zoning. No one will notice what’s happening until it’s too late. Your company will mow down the trees. Those flea-bitten squirrels, raccoons, and bears that the Spencer family so stupidly willed to be protected will be shipped to the zoo before anyone knows they’re gone.” He laughed. “We’ll all be rich.” 
He held up his phone. “But before any of that can happen, you need to pay my consulting fee.” Adam’s companion picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons. Bouncing with delight in his seat, Adam watched the screen on his phone. His face broke into a broad grin. “Thank you very much.” 
At the podium, Adam Buttwrinkle uttered a gut-wrenching yell and yanked a gun from his suit pocket. He aimed his weapon at Gnarly, who snarled in response. 
Before anyone could react, there was a blur from the back of the room. Sterling caught hold of Adam Buttwrinkle’s wrist. The gun went flying across the room. Buttwrinkle screeched like one of the wild animals he was aiming to displace in exchange for riches. The momentum of Sterling’s attack spun the town councilman like a top. 
Like a child joining in a fun game, Gnarly caught Buttwrinkle by the other arm. In a matter of seconds, the two dogs had the chairman pinned to the floor. Cameras poised, the journalists rushed forward to catch the photo op—and backed away just as quickly upon entering the skunk field. 
“Councilman Adam Buttwrinkle, we have a warrant for your arrest for accepting a bribe.” 
David O’Callaghan handed a pair of handcuffs to one of his officers. “Parker, cuff Buttwrinkle.” 
The officer covered his nose. “Why me?” 
Mac turned to Chris. “Told you I had everything under control.” 
Chris cocked his head at him. “Ain’t it ironic? He’s been doing everything that he’d been accusing Gnarly of doing?” 
“When Buttwrinkle started digging for dirt on Gnarly, I told him, ‘You go after Gnarly, and I’ll go after you—and I’ll bury you.’ He should have listened.”

 ~~~

What's especially fun about the Geezer Squad is that, those who have been dedicated to their jobs, even through retirement, have decided to form a book club...a club where they take on "cold cases" that were remembered by each of them, or new ones that have come to their attention.

The latest one came via Chris and was a mystery in itself! You see, the letter came as a request to discover who had killed her husband who had been found killed 40 years ago... The request came from his wife who was also dead...

True love is the basis for putting together this complex case which included, actually, lots of murders, some for their present case and some for another former cold case! Whew. So many trails were being followed that the Geezers split up to travel to various places, while, Chris and Helen, were schedule for lunch in Spencer, but got hung up on personal issues! LOL

But the network worked as each of the characters from other books were brought in to lend their expertise, although I admit, I really didn't have a clue whodunit! 

And, being built on a love story that was built over years of marriage and family, together with working within a town and building friendships...it was a shock. Especially, since Christopher was only seven when he witnessed much of what had occurred so many years ago, giving readers a dimension of background that was wonderfully handled.

Too many twists and turns to easily share about this book. Nevertheless, Carr has pulled off another "hit" that kept me reading in one setting until the clues were so well together that the villain fell into our laps...or Chris's, LOL Carr has put a lot into the book beyond the mysteries this time...Characters enjoyed chocotinis, visited book stores...and even blundered into getting engaged (the ring had been purchased 4 months ago)... But, for me, a special thank you for the political spoof at a time when politics at the national level is devastating, gave me a laugh and lightened the load of it all!


GABixlerReviews 

Lauren Carr Guest Post - Meet the Geezer Squad! Latest, Winter Frost, Out Today!

Meet the Geezer Squad

By Lauren Carr

The second installment in the much-loved Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, Winter Frost is scheduled for release January 28--Today! It is now available for preorder! Readers and reviewers have immediately fallen in love with the protagonist Chris Matheson and his allies, The Geezer Squad. Below, learn about how Lauren Carr conceived this motley crew and who she’d envision playing them on the big or little screen.

Doing new stuff is always exciting. 

Granted, as the author of three mystery series, I have enjoyed diving into my series characters, exploring their psyches, and watching them grow. It’s very much like being a parent. Since I average three mysteries a year, I considered my plate full with a new release for each series every year.

Truthfully, I was not looking for inspiration for a new series when Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad came crashing into my life.

One evening, I was looking for a good mystery to watch on Netflix when I happened upon a true crime series entitled The Keepers, which explored the unsolved 1969 murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik in Baltimore, Maryland. As fascinating as this series is (and I do recommend it to any mystery lover), as a writer, I was drawn to the “detectives” investigating this cold case. They were former students of the victim. Now, decades later, retired, they were each using their individual skills to solve this case that keeps them up at night. 

For example, the outgoing former student would meet and talk to potential witnesses. The bookish one would scour the newspaper archives in the library. 

I couldn’t get the concept out of my mind. The writer in me twisted and turned the idea. In a matter of days, the Geezer Squad—a group of law enforcement retirees who work those cold cases that keeps them up at night barged into my imagination. This pushy group of retirees practically upended my current work-in-progress. Surprisingly, I discovered during my research that some police departments actually have Geezer Squads working on contract—retirees tasked with working cold cases.

You will notice that I have named my new series The Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. A retired FBI agent, my protagonist is a young retiree. Chris is in his mid-forties and the single father of three little girls. His wife died in a terrorist attack in Nice, France (more about that in Winter Frost). After the sudden death of his father, a retired state police captain, Chris returns home to the family farm to live with his mother, a library director.

At his mother’s insistence, Chris agrees to attend a book club meeting at the library with Elliott, one of his late father’s friends. Since the club is made up of law enforcement retirees, his mother, Doris believes he would make some new friends.

As you can see from this excerpt from Ice (the first installment in this series), she had no idea!

Excerpt:

Chris watched Helen hurry out into the cold. A gust of wind ruffled her hair while she yanked open the door and climbed into the car.

“Why didn’t you ask her out?” Jacqui called over to break the memories of adolescent romance flowing through Chris’s mind.

“Why is it that every time a man admires a hot woman, people think they should immediately slip between the sheets?” Elliott asked.

Meanwhile, Bruce was pouring red wine into a goblet. His muscular frame and sun kissed face indicated long days working in his vineyard. Peering at Chris with green eyes, he held out the glass to him. “Taste and tell me what you think, Christopher.”

While Chris tested the wine, Jacqui waved her arm to indicate the work room behind Doris’s office. “I didn’t ask why he didn’t take her into the back room and hook up with her here and now. I asked why he didn’t ask her out. I was thinking about lunch. Your mind went straight to sex.”

Disregarding his colleagues’ conversation, Bruce stared at Chris. “Well?”

“It’s good.” He picked up a cracker which he covered with a slice of cheese from the tray.

“Maybe he didn’t want to be pushy.” Elliott handed a paper plate to Chris. “It isn’t like he doesn’t know where to find her. Her daughter works here.” 

Chris set his copy of the book down on the table to fill his plate with Swedish meatballs, and cheese and crackers. 

“Good?” Bruce’s expression was similar to that of a man who had just lost his job, home, and family. “He said it was… good?”

Cursing under her breath, Jacqui struggled in setting up the computer and monitor for the remote hook up. Ray snapped instructions to her from a speaker phone.

Sitting down to eat, Chris noticed that he was the only one who had a copy of the book that Elliott had said they were covering that evening. Everyone else had folders and binders. 

Must be some heavy-duty reading group.

“Screw it, Jacqui!” Ray said. “Where’s Francine?”

“I’m right here, Ray.” A short woman dressed in a thick winter coat with a furry hat pulled down over her ears ran in from the side entrance. She dumped a book bag thick with folders and notebooks into a chair. “Sorry I’m late!”

With a sigh of relief, Jacqui backed away from the equipment. She moved on to fill a plate with cheese and crackers. 

  “The internet went out at home just as I was leaving,” — Francine checked the settings and pressed buttons on the keyboard — “and my grandson promptly became mildly hysterical. Luckily, all I had to do was reboot the system.”

Jacqui took a sip of white wine from a goblet. With a grin, she held up the glass in a toast. “This Sauvignon Blanc is lovely, Bruce. Delicate but strong. Its sweet taste compliments the hearty boldness of the cheese. Yet, it’s not a wimpy wine either.”

“So you don’t think it’s good?” Bruce shot a glance in Chris’s direction.

Elliott took the seat between Chris and the vineyard owner. “Now, Bruce, not all of us are wine enthusiasts.”

“I said it was good,” Chris said, “which is a compliment.”

“Yeah,” Jacqui said, “he could have said it was bad.” 

The face of a man with a gray beard and thick eyeglasses filled the computer monitor.

“Hey, Ray!” the members of the book group called out almost in unison.

“Nice to see you guys, too.” Ray saluted them. Abruptly, his smile dropped. “Who’s the kid?” 

Francine spun around to notice Chris on the other side of the table. A broad grin crossed her wide face. “Well, it’s about time we got a touch of class.”

“Kind of young if you ask me,” Ray said with a grumble.  

“This is Kirk’s boy, Chris,” Elliott said. “He’s retired FBI.”

“He’s forty-five,” Jacqui said.

“Forty-six,” Chris corrected her.

“Still not even fifty.”

“I’ve got underwear older than he is,” Ray said.

“And he doesn’t know anything about wine,” Bruce said.

“I said it was good. Look, I had no idea this book club was so selective about new members.” Chris started to stand up.

With a hand on his shoulder, Francine, who had rushed to move her seat next to his, shoved him back into his chair. “Elliott says he’s retired FBI. That’s good enough for me.” She leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I’ll do the talking, sweet cheeks. You just keep sitting there looking handsome.” With a salacious grin, she admired his attractive features and let out a moan of pleasure. 

“Chris is Kirk’s son,” Elliott said. “Doris suggested that I invite him to—”

“That explains everything,” Jacqui said with a heavy sigh.

“What explains everything?” Chris asked.

“Doris,” Jacqui said. “Elliott can’t say no to Doris Matheson.”

“I can so say no to her,” Elliott said. “As a matter of a fact I said no to her just today.”

“In reference to what?” Francine asked.

“She asked if I’d gotten a haircut.” Elliott raised his voice to be heard over their laughter. “But that’s not important. Point is, Kirk was our founder, which means Chris here has a right to be a member of our group. Our primary rule for membership is retired law enforcement. Chris is retired FBI. If that doesn’t allow him in, then what does?”

“His retirement is basically only a technicality,” Jacqui said. “He’s too young. Some agency or contractor will make him an offer and he’ll be back out there talking about the Geezer Squad.”

“I’ve said nothing to him about the Geezer Squad,” Elliott said with a crooked grin. 

“What’s the Geezer Squad?” Chris asked.

“Hey!” Bruce sat up straight in his seat. “What’s the number one rule about the Geezer Squad?”

“Never talk about the Geezer Squad,” the group, including Ray on the monitor, said in unison.

One interview question that befuddled me is, “What actors do you envision playing your characters?” Truthfully, when I write a book, I don’t see celebrities playing any of the characters. They come to life as unique personalities all their own. For this reason, I’m stumped.

However, for this guest post, I have done some “casting calls” and found some celebrities who I can see playing the Geezers. 

Christopher Matheson (Chris): Played by Mark Walhberg. Chris Matheson made his career in the FBI working undercover in a variety of covers. From what I have seen, Mark Walhberg is a very versatile actor who has played a wide variety of roles. I’ve seen Walhberg playing roles from sophisticate businessman to oil rig operator. A retired FBI agent, Chris takes care of his family farm, and I have no problem seeing Mark Walhberg cleaning a horse stall. 

Francine Duncan: (Played by Bernadette Peters) Francine is a retired investigative journalist from the Associated Press. Divorced children and grandchildren living with her. Fast talking, she’s a scrappy character who isn’t easily intimidated. In Ice, when Chris leaves the library to follow up on a lead, she jumps up and follows without being invited. Short, she wears big sweaters and hats that she pulls down to cover her ears. She is not a clothes horse. Also, as you see in this excerpt, she has a great appreciation for attractive men. I can see Bernadette Peters with all of her curly hair flying out from under her hat while checking out Chris’s buns as he walks away. Bernadette can easily deliver Francine’s fast-talking lines with great comic timing.

Jacqui Guilfoyle (played by Jamie Lee Curtis): Retired medical examiner from Pennsylvania. Widowed with no children. Lives alone in an elegant home on a mountaintop overlooking Shenandoah Valley. Jacqui is demure and classy. She is described in the Geezer Squad as having long blond hair and being very attractive. Yes, Jamie Lee Curtis has short gray hair, but the more important trait about Jacqui is her intellect and sophistication. Jamie Lee Curtis carries these traits off so well. 

 Bruce Harris (played by Patrick Stewart): Retired attorney general from Virginia. Owns a winery in Purcellville, Virginia. His wife is an architect with her own firm in Leesburg. Has son in college. When I developed Bruce, I envisioned him having hair. I was actually torn between Patrick Stewart and Sean Connery, but have decided on Sean Connery for Elliott, as I’ll explain later. Bruce Harris is the self-described devil’s advocate of the Geezer Squad. He figures the legal angles of their cases. Unofficially, he is the leader because he is a retired state attorney general. He tells them what they need to uncover to bring the perpetrator to justice. Also, as they close in the killer, Bruce thinks ahead to what loop holes the murderer may use to get off. Bruce’s character drips with elegance and breeding. He’s spent his life surrounded by wealth and power, which he knows very well—including the slimy underbelly. It’s a good thing he’s one of the good guys because he uses that knowledge to help the Geezers. Having played this role in Star Trek and the Mutants, Patrick Stewart is a natural. 

 Ray Nolan: Played by Wallace Shawn: This Geezer established the cyberwarfare task force after 9/11. He was shot in the back by a homegrown terrorist and is now wheelchair bound. He lives with his daughter (who shot and killed the terrorist in a Chuck E. Cheese parking lot) and her family. His daughter is one soccer mom you never want to mess with. Many of you may not know Wallace Shawn, the actor I have chosen for this part. But I bet when you see his picture you will know him. Wallace Shawn is one of those faces that you recognize but not the name. He’s got a distinctive voice and terrific comic timing, which is Ray’s strong suit.

 Elliott Prescott: Played by Sean Connery: Founding member of the Geezer Squad. He could tell you what he did before he retired, but then he’d have to kill you. Elliott Prescott’s past is a mystery. In Ice, he reveals a lot of knowledge about the drug trade and how they operate in the area. In Winter Frost, he tells a suspect that he’s with the U.S. Marshals. He’s mysterious and masculine. But he’s got a very soft spot for Doris, the widow of one of his best friends. In Ice, he shows up at a black-tie benefit to sweep Doris off her feet—so James Bond. So, it was only natural that a former James Bond would play him.

 Doris Matheson (played by Michelle Pfeiffer): Chris’s mother is not included in the excerpt above, but she plays a big role in the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and figures prominently in the Geezer Squad. Doris is a sixty-five-year-old ageless beauty—much like Michelle Pfeiffer. It is revealed in Ice that she is a former Miss West Virginia who purposely threw the Miss America pageant so that she could marry Chris’s father. (Chris was born six months later.) She’s

not your average beauty queen. Doris is independent, strong, and intelligent. A take charge type of woman, she starts snapping orders when a woman goes into early labor. When the woman assumes she’s a nurse, she replies that she isn’t, but she did read about how to deliver a baby in a book.

These actors listed are not who I was envisioning while writing the Geezer Squad books. So, when you pick up one of my Geezer Squad mysteries (and I hope you do!), or if you have already read Ice and can think of someone else playing your favorite Geezers, then let me know in the comments section of this blog. It will be fun knowing who you would like to see in a Geezer Squad movie!