Thursday, April 5, 2018

A Hole in One

Genre: Mystery

Hoping to promote the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, co-owners Arabella Carpenter and Emily Garland agree to sponsor a hole in one contest at a charity golf tournament. The publicity turns out to be anything but positive, however, when Arabella’s errant tee shot lands in the woods next to a corpse.

They soon learn that the victim is closely related to Arabella’s ex-husband, who had been acting as the Course Marshal. With means, opportunity, and more than enough motive, he soon becomes the police department’s prime suspect, leaving Arabella and Emily determined to clear his name—even if they’re not entirely convinced of his innocence.

Dogged by incriminating online posts from an anonymous blogger, they track down leads from Emily’s ex-fiancĂ© (and the woman he left Emily for), an Elvis impersonator, and a retired antiques mall vendor with a secret of her own.

All trails lead to a mysterious cult that may have something to do with the murder. Can Arabella and Emily identify the killer before the murderer comes after them?

EXCERPT
Levon smiled, the full-on one he tended to keep in reserve, and Arabella felt something tug inside of her. She had heard quite enough about Gilly Germaine and how amazing she was. It wasn’t as if she was jealous, exactly, more like she felt Levon slipping away from her little by little. They might not be married any longer, but she never stopping thinking of him as a friend, someone who knew her and loved her, blemishes and all. Since Gilly had arrived on
the scene, Levon had become more and more distant. This past month he’d been all but absent. Today was the first time they’d spoken in two weeks.

It didn’t help that she’d recently split up with Aaron Beecham. For a small town cop, he seemed to be on duty more than off.

“I should get going,” Levon said, interrupting her thoughts. “Gilly is relying on me.”

I’m sure she is. “I better get going as well. We’re starting on number two.”

“Just remember not to hit the ball until the shotgun sounds.”

“Gilly’s using an actual shotgun? I thought everyone used sirens or horns these days.”

Levon laughed. “Gilly’s as much of a stickler for research as you are. She thought it would be more authentic if she used a shotgun, too. You of all people should appreciate that, Arabella. After all, isn’t that your motto? Authenticity matters?”

It was, but Arabella didn’t like it that Gilly had adopted the same motto.

She didn’t like it one bit.



MY REVIEW       For a link to my review, click HERE.

Does getting divorced mean you don’t like each other?  It surely means you don’t want to get back together, right? On the other hand, it surely means you’d help one another out of a little predicament, right?  Unless maybe it’s murder.

This is a fun, easy read.  There are some very sweet unexpected moments in this book making it have some twists and turns as well as reminding us there are good people in this world too. A nice change. It doesn’t involve much golf if that’s what you’re worried about. The golf and the hole-in-one pertain to a charity to help kids, well…and a big prize for big kids too. Other than being just a really enjoyable read, I liked this book because the main character, Arabella, owns an antique shop called The Glass Dolphin. This was not a book filled with chapters full of tips on antiques but it does touch on them and I enjoyed reading about a few very collectible pieces. This is a community where everyone knows everyone and rumors fly like bats in the night.  The characters were likeable while not especially dissimilar from other books of this type. That sounds as if I don’t think the author developed her characters well and that is not my intent.  I’m only saying there were the expected characters as there are in many books of this type; your handsome cop, an ex-husband, a business partner, a jealous woman, and your community gossip. Nonetheless, I can tell you I didn’t put it down for a minute til the very end.

This is Volume 2 of a series titled “Glass Dolphin Mysteries” and I see Judy Penz Sheluk has really good ratings on many of her books. Let’s just hope she keeps writing more entertaining ones like this.

AUTHOR Bio and Links: 

During the tour Judy will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter. (see below)

An Amazon international bestselling author, Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of two mystery series: The Glass Dolphin Mysteries (THE HANGED MAN’S NOOSE and A HOLE IN ONE) and The Marketville Mysteries (SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC). Her short crime fiction appears is included in several collections, including LIVE FREE OR TRI.

Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors as the Regional Representative for Toronto/Southern Ontario.
Find Judy on her website/blog at www.judypenzsheluk.com, where she interviews and showcases the works of other authors and blogs about the writing life.

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Buy Links for A HOLE IN ONE:


Barnes & Noble




Barking Rain Press

GIVEAWAY







12 comments:

  1. Thanks for the great review! Much appreciated. If you'd like to read the first book, I can send you a download code for it. Contact me form on my website.

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  2. I enjoyed getting to know your book; congrats on the tour, I hope it is a fun one for you, and thanks for the chance to win :)

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  3. Looks like people like your book already Judy. Hope they all buy it AND hope one of them wins the prize too.

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  4. What book would you like to see a sequel to? Bernie Wallace BWallace1980(at)hotmail(d0t)com

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  5. I'm unclear which one of us (Judy or myself) you are asking about a sequel. So...I'm going to answer and hope she will too. I like these "Glass Dolphin Mysteries" so another of those would be great. However, if she decides to write in another series, I think she'll do well there too. Maybe she has a secret she'll tell us.

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  6. While I'm on here this evening, I want to thank everyone for stopping by. I wish you the best of luck in winning the Giveaway.

    Also hope the best for Judy Penz Sheluk's new book.

    If you don't purchase it right away, put it on your TBR list and Tell your friends about it --kathy

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  7. I am currently working on the third book in the Glass Dolphin Mystery series. I expect, however, that it won't be published until Spring 2020. Thanks for asking!

    Btw, I do have another series, the Marketville Mysteries. Skeletons in the Attic is book #1. Book 2 will be out later this year.

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  8. I enjoy reading the excerpt! Congratulations on the tour! Thanks!

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