Memories Can Be Murder: The Fifth Charlie Parker Mystery (The Charlie Parker Mystery Series) [Kindle Edition]

Connie Shelton (Author)

Book Description

Charlie has no idea, when she begins organizing storage space for her fiance's move-in, that simply moving boxes in the attic will throw her back in time to the events leading up to her parents' fatal plane crash. Drake will arrive in a few days and Charlie is making room to combine their two households.

But the dusty attic holds more than just memories. In her father's small leather notebook is a cryptic message that translates into danger for Charlie as she discovers that his top secret work as a scientist at Sandia Labs during the Cold War years still has certain people worried. And Charlie's poking about in dark secrets may well lead to disaster.

Here's what others have said about the Charlie Parker mystery series:

"Charlie is...just what readers want in an amateur sleuth." -- Booklist

"Tension is fast paced..." -- Bookwatch

"A well written by-the-book who done it that will enthrall purists." --Midwest Book Review

"Memorable details and an edgy, paranoid atmosphere." -- Booklist

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Upon returning to her New Mexico home after visiting her fiancein Hawaii, private investigator Charlie Parker discovers that her mother and father, who was a scientist at Sandia Labs, were killed in a suspicious small plane crash. When Charlie starts asking questions, a series of thefts ensues, and the body count climbs. She ultimately realizes that she must unravel the past to save her future. Despite its convoluted plot, which reaches back to the cold war, and its abrupt ending, this novel offers memorable details about flying and an edgy, paranoid atmosphere. Recommend this one to those who like the scientific mysteries of Camille Minichino. John Rowen

Review

"Charlie is slick, appealing, and nobody's fool - just what readers want in an amateur sleuth." -- Booklist

"Shelton has created a female sleuth with an original slant to her methods." -- Small Press Magazine

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 341 KB
• Print Length: 281 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1453671943
• Publisher: Secret Staircase Books (October 11, 2009)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B002SG7OTY
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,891 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Charlie Parker mystery October 12, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

When Charlie Parker was a teenager her parents died in a plane crash. Being spoiled and preoccupied with her prom, Charlie thought they were going on a vacation. However, years later Charlie learns that her parents were actually going on a business trip sponsored by her father's employer the Scandia Corporation. Instead of pilot error or mechanical failure, Charlie finds out that a bomb blew up her parent's plane. Scandia Corporation squashed the investigation.

Charlie feels the need to learn why her parents were murdered. Obsessed by the incident, Charlie reacts the way she always acts when she needs to know something. She starts her own investigation. She begins with her father's ex-secretary, who sends her to a possible informant. However, before they meet, an assassin murders Charlie's pigeon. Someone ransacks Charlie's office and Hannah's home seeking information they believe Charlie possesses. In spite of the increasing danger, the tenacious Charlie continues her inquiries wondering what the unknown assailants think she owns.

The fifth Charlie Parker mystery is the best of the series as the story line combines an emotional look inside Charlie with a well-designed who-done-it. Charlie's romance with her live-in lover helps relieve some of the growing tension surfaced by her investigation. MEMORIES CAN BE MURDER demonstrates Connie Shelton's talent as the audience will find a night with Charlie is an exciting evening.

3.0 out of 5 stars Is this the dark ages? May 18, 2013

By Cheryl K Craig

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I liked this story, but I can't believe none of the character's have cell phones. I realize that depending on land lines and answering machines thickens the suspense, but come on. During the intense times I am thinking how dumb the characters are to not have cell phones to help get out of their situations.

4.0 out of 5 stars Memories Can Be Murder September 24, 2012

By wilpip11

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the 4th or 5th book by this author and she has not dissappointed me yet. I really enjoy these stores about amatuer detectives since I love to solve a good mysterty myself.

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.