April News

This month is the five year anniversary of the publication of my first Malone mystery, Mixed Messages. I can’t believe so much time has passed and that, since then, I’ve added four other books to the series.

On April 1^st and 2^nd, author Marilyn Meredith will host me on her blog. My topic is “The Last Malone Mystery.” 
http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

On Saturday, the 15^th, I’ll participate in the Get Lit festival hosted by my publisher, Eric Beebe, of Postmortem Press. If you're in the area, I hope you’ll stop by to visit. I think it will be a lot of fun!

Update 4/11: I'm thrilled to be a guest on Sharon Vertetis Aguanno's blog. Sharon is an avid reader (not a writer) and she posts author interviews and book reviews. She does a fantastic job and I hope you'll stop by. https://newyorkarmymom.wordpress.com/2017/04/11/i-have-met-yet-another-i-must-read-everything-she-writes-author

And, of course, Easter is the day after the event, which reminds me to mention that my third Malone mystery, Desperate Deeds, takes place at this time of year. Since each of my books may be read as a standalone, this might be a good time to pick up a copy for yourself or as a gift.

As Ann Malone Kern starts her new business as an interior decorator, the temperatures have risen, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and there’s a feeling of endless possibilities in the air. She has no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down.

When Janis Riley, a woman for whom money is no object, contacts Ann to redecorate her house, she is elated. But the initial visit with her first client leaves her with mixed emotions. Why did Janis react so strangely to seeing a photo of Ann’s six-year-old son?

But Ann has bigger problems. Her husband, David, a recovering alcoholic, has lost both his mother and his job and Ann worries that he’ll start drinking again. To add to her concerns, their next-door-neighbor, Dorothy Baker, is severely depressed but Ann’s efforts to help her are rebuffed.

Ann is terrified when she wakes up the day before Easter to find Davey gone. Another child, Kelly Kramer, has been missing since December. Where are the children? And what, if anything, can Ann do to get her son back?

http://tinyurl.com/k5uh5jm

HAPPY EASTER!

And, as always, HAPPY READING!

February News

I'm thrilled to announce that my publisher, Post Mortem Press, will release "Marnie Malone," the fifth Malone mystery, in early March! (I'll update this post when I know the exact date.) Update: Marnie Malone will be released on March 14th! Here's the link to pre-order the Kindle version: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06WP28GGF

When my first Malone mystery, "Mixed Messages," was accepted for publication, I was ecstatic! Finally, after many, many years, my "baby" was going to be "born." And, when I held a copy in my hands for the first time, I remember cradling it to my chest, as if it were a real baby. With each new book, my excitement returns.

Although Ann Malone Kern is the main character in the first four books, her sister, Marnie, plays an important part in Ann's life and in two of the books. At some point, I realized that Marnie deserved to have a leading role in a book. So, that's how "Marnie Malone" came about. Here's a preview:

Someone is stalking Marnie.

It’s Marnie’s last week at the law firm of Cliburn & Reeves and she feels like she’s riding an emotional roller coaster. Up when she wins the divorce and custody battle for Callie Jackson against her abusive husband, Jed. And plummeting down when one witness after another decides not to testify against Mark Hall, an attorney at another Charleston firm and an “alleged” serial rapist.

Marnie receives one threat after another and she constantly feels the need to look over her shoulder, convinced that someone is stalking her. With Sam out of town on business, she’s alone in the big, old farmhouse and strange things are happening. Noises in the attic, creaking floorboards and someone watching her from the woods.

As she tries to determine the identity of the stalker, the list of men who have grudges against her grows longer each day. In her line of work she’s made enemies. Is the stalker someone from the past or one of the men on her list? And, how far will he go?

 

Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees

I love to read a mystery series from the beginning because it isn’t just about an intriguing plot for me; it’s about the lives of the characters. In a series, we get to know the characters and care about what happens to them. I always want to know what happens to them next. 

But, sometimes, it doesn’t work out that way. Sometimes, a book by an author I've never read will attract my attention (it's often a new release) and I'll order it and read it. If I really, really like the book and want to spend more time with the characters, I then go back and read the whole series, starting with the first book. Here are two examples (there are so many more) that come to mind:

I read Old Murders Never Die by Marja McGraw and I loved it. So, I went back to the beginning and read the four novels that preceded it. I'm so glad I did. What a great series! A Well-Kept Family Secret is the first book in Ms. McGraw’s Sandi Webster Mystery Series for those of you who would like to start with Book One. (And, a little birdie told me the author is currently working on the next book for her series.)

Another example: The Rocky Bluff PD series by F.M. Meredith. After reading No Bells, the eighth book in the series, I knew I wanted to read all of her books. I read Final Respects, book one, and went on to read the other novels. I look forward to a new book in the series every year!

But, unfortunately, money doesn’t grow on trees. I'm an avid reader and, because I live on a budget, I often buy books in eBook format when I’d much prefer to read a paper copy.

I’m offering a chance to win a paper copy of the Malone mystery of your choice to someone who leaves a comment on this post. (By the way, the fifth book in the series will, God and my publisher willing, be out before the end of 2016.)

Book 1 – Mixed Messages

Book 2 – Unfinished Business

Book 3 – Desperate Deeds

Book 4 – Mistaken Identity

Please be sure to include your email address so I can contact you if you're the winner.

Happy Reading!

When Real Life and Fiction Collide

Cincinnati Skyline

In 1965-1966, my main interests were boys, learning how to drive and school, pretty much in that order. So I paid little attention to the news, never realizing how what was going on then in my city would mirror the novel I would write many years later.

You see, after my first Malone mystery was published, I learned something that actually gave me chills. From October 1965 to December 1966, a man attacked, raped and murdered seven Cincinnati women. He strangled them, using either an article of their own clothing or something that was readily available to him. With one exception, the women were attacked in their homes. The media dubbed him “The Cincinnati Strangler.”

The Cincinnati Police apprehended Posteal Laskey, a cab driver, after the last attack. He was arrested and convicted of the seventh murder. He never confessed to having committed any of the crimes but the attacks stopped when he was taken into custody. He died in prison in 2007.

If you’ve read Mixed Messages, much about The Cincinnati Strangler will sound familiar to you. Although I didn’t know about the real life case when I wrote my novel, there are so many similarities between what I wrote and what actually happened. Hence, the chills!

In the book, The Westwood Strangler attacks women in their homes and he uses whatever is at hand to strangle them – just like The Cincinnati Strangler. The Westwood Strangler is on the loose in a neighborhood on the west side of Cincinnati. All of The Cincinnati Strangler's victims were attacked within a few miles of Westwood. Without giving away my plot for those of you who haven’t read Unfinished Business, the sequel to Mixed Messages, I’ll let you in on a secret: the total number of victims for The Cincinnati Strangler and The Westwood Strangler is exactly the same!

Was it merely a coincidence that what I wrote all those years later so strongly paralleled what really happened? Or, even though I didn’t consciously remember the news stories, did my subconscious retain bits and pieces for all those years? I guess we’ll never know. 
Leave a comment for a chance to win paper copies of my first two Malone mysteries, "Mixed Messages" and "Unfinished Business."
Jean Henry Mead is the winner! Jean, your books are in the mail. I hope you enjoy them! 

Happy Halloween!