New Release: Escapes Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton

Charlie and Drake are working a helicopter job in rural Maine when a man approaches and asks for their help. At first glance, it seems he’s just an old man who needs to get to his son’s remote cabin in the woods. But the cabin holds more secrets than Fergus McNab will admit, and it isn’t until Charlie returns to Albuquerque that she discovers they may have just aided and abetted a criminal who has escaped the law back home.

The secrets get twistier, the more she looks into the ten-year-old case where Rory McNab, facing a life in prison, seemed to vanish from the reach of the law. Just as Charlie is thinking she should report McNab’s whereabouts, there’s a murder that seems to rock the foundation of the old case. And Charlie is in handcuffs, caught in the middle.

File Size: 1435 KB
Print Length: 234 pages
Publisher: Secret Staircase Books, an imprint of Columbine Publishing Group LLC (June 23, 2019)
Publication Date: June 23, 2019
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Language: English
ASIN: B07TD6DNLG


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First Chapter Review: Honeymoons Can Be Murder by Connie Shelton

I downloaded a free copy of this book to my Kindle.

TITLE:  Honeymoons Can Be Murder: The Sixth Charlie Parker Mystery

AUTHOR:  Connie Shelton

BLURB:  Charlie Parker's romantic honeymoon in Taos, New Mexico, is interrupted when a ski instructor who works for her husband is fingered for the murder of his priestly brother, and a cache of priceless artifacts turns up in her ski chalet.

COVER:  While I have to admit, this is not my favorite cover, I like that the author has been consistent since the first book's release. Each book is designed the same way: one color background, the title bordered off with a contrasting color, the author's name in bold at the top, and an eye hole with a picture in the middle--though this cover's appears to be less oval than the others. The hearts make you think love and honeymoons, so it works.

FIRST CHAPTER:  We open with Charlie and her new husband Drake in what appears to be a spot of trouble. Drake is a pilot and Charlie is preparing for her license. In addition, Charlie is part owner of RJP Investigations with her brother, Ron. With their house being renovated, Charlie and Drake are living in the RJP offices. Because of their rush wedding, they never went on a honeymoon, so they are eager to accept a friend's offer to visit Taos and provide heli-skiing tours around the holidays.

KEEP READING: You betcha! In case I've never mentioned it before, I like action to start off my books. It's part of why I am drawn so much to mysteries--usually a dead body turns up or someone's life is in danger within the first few paragraphs.

This is the sixth book in the Charlie Parker Mystery Series, but it's the first one I've read, so that added a sense of mystery to the opening. I honestly wasn't sure what was going on. Shelton smartly didn't pull me around on a string for too long, knowing I might get ticked off. Once aware of what was happening, I was able to digest a bit of back story and then be thrilled with the cliffhanger end of this short chapter. I'm eager to find out what happens next.

Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 362 KB
Publisher: Secret Staircase Books (October 11, 2009)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B002SG7OSU
SRP: $4.99

I received no monetary compensation for this review.

This post first appeared at The Book Connection.