In Charlie's words, "Vacations mean different things to different people. There's the planning, the packing, the anticipation. Then there's the late arrival, the sunburn, the fuzzy pictures. In my case, add a romance with a good-looking pilot and fourteen stitches in the back of my skull." Gilbert Page was a slick businessman from California, with an alcoholic wife, a spoiled-rotten son, and a blonde on his arm. Charlie is riding front seat on a helicopter tour when she and the pilot spot Page's lifeless body lying on the rugged rocks of Kauai's NaPali coast. Drake is the pilot flying the tour helicopter that gives Charlie her aerial vantage point. When the flight is over, Charlie assumes her acquaintance with Drake is, too. Within twenty-four hours, though, Drake's friend and employer, Mack Garvey, is arrested for Page's murder. Although Charlie would rather avoid the whole mess, Drake persuades her to help clear Mack. The investigating officer has an old grudge against Mack, and it doesn't help that Mack knew the victim and owed him a half million dollars. Charlie roots out the suspects one by one, never guessing that her own life will be in danger before her vacation is over. "A good selection for all collections." -- Library Journal "Tension is fast-paced in this involving account." -- Bookwatch "Shelton has created a female sleuth with an original slant to her methods." -- Small Press Magazine
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
...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.
