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Balloons Can Be Murder: A Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries)
 
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Balloons Can Be Murder: A Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Connie Shelton (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Charlie Parker Mysteries November 15, 2005

"Shelton has created a lively hero in Charlie and puts her into situations that require prompt action and good common sense. A Charlie Parker mystery is always a good read."-Southwest BookViews

Three days before the start of the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, balloon pilot Rachael Fairfield walks into the offices of RJP Investigations. She received a threatening note, which she believes came from her father, a convicted felon whom she sent to prison 15 years earlier. To complicate matters, her brother has initiated a huge publicity campaign for the world altitude record Rachael plans to attempt on the final Sunday of the fiesta.

It seems simple enough. Charlie and her brother Ron will locate William Fairfield and keep him away from Rachael for the duration of the fiesta. But as they follow leads on William Fairfield, the threats escalate, and Ron and Charlie start to wonder whether he's really the stalker. Amid the color and beauty of the world's largest ballooning event, Charlie also finds herself at odds with her husband and reassessing her life's priorities. Only when she nearly loses her own life do the answers begin to fall into place.

Connie Shelton is a lifelong mystery fan who wanted to be Nancy Drew when she grew up. Now she relives her mystery fantasies through her Charlie Parker series. In addition to writing the series, she has served as president of her local writers group and is active in Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Shelton is also a frequent speaker at writing and publishing conferences. She lives in northern New Mexico and central Arizona with her husband, author and helicopter pilot Dan Shelton.


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Balloons Can Be Murder: A Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries) + Partnerships Can Kill: The Third Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries) + Small Towns Can Be Murder: The Fourth Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries)
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

In addition to writing the Charlie Parker series, Connie Shelton is a former bookstore owner and small press publisher. She is active in Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She is also a frequent speaker at writing and publishing conferences. Shelton splits her time between northern New Mexico and central Arizona.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 268 pages
  • Publisher: Intrigue Press (November 15, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 189076860X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1890768607
  • Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,147,677 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

...Every 5 minutes, 24 hours a day, somewhere in the world, someone downloads a Connie Shelton mystery...

A personal Thank You to all my readers who make this little statistic possible. Having fun with my writing, and connecting with readers--that's what being a mystery writer means to me. And I LOVE what I do!

It began in 1985 when I started writing my first novel, without much clue how to go about it. Two years and 500 pages later, when I finally typed 'The End,' I felt a huge rush of excitement. That book took third place in the Southwest Writers competition and began making the rounds of publishers. I simply started writing my second, and then my third books.

After publishing ten of my Charlie Parker mysteries, I decided to branch out with a second series and I created the character of Samantha Sweet. One of the ways in which I earned a little extra pocket money during my high school years was to bake and decorate cakes--hence, a career for Samantha based on my own experiences.

In 2009 I switched publishers and was off on a new adventure, seeing all of my books made available for Kindle and the other ebook devices that were just beginning to take off in the book world. It's been an exciting time in publishing and I'm loving the new formats and the ability to personally connect with readers all over the world via my newsletter and my website at connieshelton.com.


* * *

Besides writing the Charlie Parker and Samantha Sweet mysteries, Connie is an award-winning essayist. Her work has been published in both small and major anthologies, like Chicken Soup For the Writer's Soul, and her short stories have won several prizes. She has also been a commercial hot air balloon pilot and holds the women's world altitude record for size AX-4 balloons. She has been featured in Who's Who and The World Who's Who of Women. She and her husband live in northern New Mexico.

 

Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
5 star:
 (2)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
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Average Customer Review
4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous private investigative thriller, October 25, 2005
This review is from: Balloons Can Be Murder: A Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Just prior to the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, balloonist Rachel Fairfield hires RJP Investigations to keep her safe while she tries to set an altitude record in three days. Rachel shows sleuth Ron Parker and his sister Charlie two threatening letters that she received in the last couple of weeks. She insists her estranged father William sent the notes because her testimony sent him to prison when she was a teen and the wording is his. Ron explains that his agency is too small to protect her from an assassin amidst a crowd of 50,000, but the client says to just keep an eye on her dad, recently released form prison.

Charlie, whose marriage to firefighting helicopter pilot Drake Langston has problems, looks into alternative threats of which there are two possibilities, an abusive former lover and a person accusing her of costing him his inheritance while Ron looks into William's activities. Neither Parker expected the incidents to turn increasingly dangerous towards their client nor themselves, as someone is trying to insure that Rachel fails at all costs.

The latest Charlie Parker case is a fabulous private investigative thriller that also contains a powerful subplot centering on the heroine's estranged relationship with her spouse as both fails to communicate what disturbs them. The protection of Rachel is intriguing as the Parkers know they cannot keep her safe if she is going airborne during the gala, but try their best to watch the known threats. Connie Shelton brings the air balloon rave and its New Mexico locales alive as fantastic backdrop to this enchanting thriller.

Harriet Klausner

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5.0 out of 5 stars Thanks for a great flight!, May 3, 2006
This review is from: Balloons Can Be Murder: A Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries) (Hardcover)
I picked up this mystery right before my cross country flight - It was so much fun to read, I totally neglected the DVD player I'd brought along for the trip.

Shelton had my attention from the first chapter and held on to it. This was the first of the Charlie Parker series I've read, and I had no trouble getting to know the characters - I really loved "meeting" Charlie.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Balloons Can Be Murder, January 27, 2006
By 
Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Balloons Can Be Murder: A Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mysteries) (Hardcover)
Connie Shelton uses the Albuquerque Balloon Festival as the setting for her latest Charlie Parker Mystery. Charlie is approached by Rachael Fairfield to find out who is sending her threatening notes. Rachael has a theory that it might be her own father because her testimony caused him to serve a jail term which recently ended. Rachael is attempting to break the record for the highest balloon flight by a woman, so she is in the news, which causes Charlie to worry even more about her safety. Besides Rachael's father there are several other suspects who would have a reason to harm her. Charlie reluctantly leaves her husband Drake in order to travel to Albuquerque and carry on an investigation with her brother Ron. Before it's all over, Charlie and Rachael's lives are both threatened. The books in this series seem to get better and better, and this one is definitely recommended reading.
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