Obsessions Can Be Murder [Hardcover]

Connie Shelton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2006

Charlie is on vacation. A cozy cabin, a diner that serves delicious guilty-pleasures, and Drake--all Charlie needs to relax and enjoy herself.

But the town of Watson's Lake has a little unsolved mystery. Four years ago, a showplace home--beautiful and serene and tucked away on the mountain--blew sky high, due to an apparent gas leak. A young woman died. The owner disappeared. His gold-digging wife wants the insurance money, and his daughter wants to know what happened to her father. Charlie can't resist this kind of investigation...

As she sifts through the clues, Charlie finds that the residents of this small lakeside town in northern New Mexico seem to know more than they're willing to say--including the sheriff. The more Charlie learns, the more mysterious the missing David Simmons becomes. Could David have intentionally double-crossed his family, or is there a more sinister reason for his disappearance?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Albuquerque sleuth Charlie Parker (Competition Can Be Murder, 2004) is enjoying a fishing trip with her husband in the small town of Watson's Lake, New Mexico, when she is interrupted by Amanda Zellinger, who wants help finding her father, David Simmons, who has been missing for four years. Did he die in the explosion that destroyed his house? No one knows, but Amanda's husband, Jeffrey, and her stepmother, Earleen, would love to get their hands on his money. Charlie's investigation turns up several false identities and a trail of deceit. Charlie 's own family is also going through some changes as her brother (and business partner) begins a relationship with a new girlfriend. In this long-running but still too-little-known series, Shelton continues to combine suspenseful storytelling with sensitive portrayals of complex family relationships. Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author

Connie Shelton has been a lifelong mystery reader and a writer for 20 years. She has served as president of her local writer's group and been active in Sisters In Crime and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in northern New Mexico with her husband--author, musician and helicopter pilot--Dan Shelton and their cocker spaniel, Cassie.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 231 pages
• Publisher: Intrigue Pr (November 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890768758
• ISBN-13: 978-1890768751
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,535,930 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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Likeable heroine searches for missing man, February 9, 2007

By 

Karen Potts (Lake Jackson, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Obsessions Can Be Murder (Hardcover)

Charlie Parker is enjoying a vacation with her helicopter-pilot husband, Drake, when she is asked to find a missing person. Her client is Amanda, the missing man's daughter, and she wants to know why he disappeared from his house 4 years ago and failed to contact her or her step-mother. Amanda is married to a scientific researcher and they are having financial difficulties, but she still wants to pursue her father's disappearance. Charlie begins her investigation and discovers that Amanda's father and step-mother were not on good terms. Was this a motive for murder? She checks on other people who knew Amanda's father in either a professional or personal way and discovers that there were others who had motives as well. This book signals the welcome return of Charlie Parker, Shelton's likeable heroine, and the wonderful background of the New Mexico countryside. Shelton can always be depended on to furnish a good read.