Tucked into the mountains and valleys of northern New Mexico are the hidden towns, little enclaves of history and tradition--and secrets. Charlie and her office assistant Sally Bertrand decide to visit Sally's hometown of Valle Escondido over the July 4th weekend, and when they drop in on a friend they learn that Cynthia Martinez suddenly suffered a miscarriage and died. Privately, friends wonder if spousal abuse caused her death. Charlie agrees to ask a few questions and see what she can find out. Meanwhile, Charlie and her brother Ron have an ongoing dispute over gun control. Since the two of them were trapped by a killer only a month earlier, he's insisting that she learn to defend herself. And Drake Langston, the helicopter pilot she met in Hawaii, is coming to visit and the romance is heating up. The three plots intertwine and Charlie discovers awful secrets buried deep in the small town. "... superbly crafted story..." - Gothic Journal "Another delicious read for the beach." -The Pilot, Southern Pines, N.C "Three plot strands are capably and grippingly entwined, and Shelton doesn't shirk from confronting big issues while keeping us deftly entertained with an enjoyable and resourceful character. Soft, but with a hard center. Or vice versa." - Crime Time, Birmingham, England
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...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.
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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.
