Phoning in a Murder by Elaine Orr ~ Spotlight

Posted August 15, 2024 by karenbaron in Blog Tour, Contest - Giveaway, Spotlight / 0 Comments

Phoning in a Murder

Series: Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery #14

Author: Elaine Orr

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Setting: Ocean Alley, New Jersey

Release Date: June 30, 2024, by Lifelong Dreams Publishing

Pages: 181

Summary:

Lots of teachers are irritated by students paying more attention to their cell phones than what’s going on in the classroom. Some would like to see their school ban cell phones during the school day. They don’t hold out a lot of hope for a cell phone ban, so they work around them.

More than most faculty, the band director at Ocean Alley High School doesn’t want students to have phones in class, and he especially doesn’t want the band distracted by them when they march on the football field. Imagine his reaction when one goes off during the National Anthem. When no student will apologize, Mr. O’Halloran cancels band practice the week before a big competition. Talk about a good way to tick off students, parents, and band boosters. With Scoobie’s brother Terry as one of the bass drummers, Jolie and family have strong opinions. But someone is a lot more upset. At least the knitting needle in the band director’s neck seems to say so.

If Jolie hadn’t been the first to find the man, she would be less insistent to know what happened to him. What really gets the Ocean Alley crew invested is the last two people the school security system shows talking to Mr. O’Halloran – Scoobie’s brother and his best friend. Rumors abound.

With appraising houses, running the food pantry, and keeping four-year old twins in line, Jolie has her hands full. Scoobie’s best friend George is always willing to butt into a mystery. Sometimes that’s helpful. Other times, not so much.

Excerpt

From Chapter 2 of Phoning in a Murder

With married parents Jolie and Scoobie (parents of Lance and Leia) and Sgt. Morehouse of the Ocean Alley Police. Waiting in the high school parking lot after a contentious meeting between band teacher, O’Halloran, and parents.

The three of us looked toward the corner of the high school, where lights still burned in the band room. Someone, I assumed O’Halloran passed in front of a window.

“I’d like to thank him, when he comes out,” I said.

The light went out in the band room. “Won’t be much longer,” Scoobie said.

“I gotta get…” Morehouse frowned and I followed his gaze. The band room light came on, went off, and came on again. It went off a few seconds later and stayed dark. “What the hell’s he doin’?”

“Give him a minute,” Scoobie said.

We did. O’Halloran didn’t appear.

“There’s a door directly from the band room to the back side of the school. Just around that corner,” I said.

“He’s a big boy,” Morehouse said, but he didn’t sound very definite.

“Let’s walk over,” Scoobie said. “We can look in and say thanks, then head out.”

I zipped up my jacket. Crisp is good when the sun is shining, but the night air was cool.

We walked toward the band room, Scoobie recounting Lance and Leia’s efforts to get our black cat, Jazz, to wear a paper crown they made. “She put up with it for about ten seconds, shook it off, and shredded it.”

“Cat after my own heart,” Morehouse said.

“She was there first,” I said. We had reached the door and Scoobie pulled it open, nodding for me to precede them.

I walked into the large room, patting the wall for the multiple light switches. I found them and flipped up a couple of them.

I took a few more steps into the large room before I saw him. Henry O’Halloran lay on his back on the floor next to the upright piano. Whatever protruded from his neck was the source of all the blood that pooled around his head.

Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series

About the Author

Elaine L. Orr has authored more than 30 works of fiction, including four mystery series. What makes her fiction different from other traditional mysteries? Some might say the dry humor (only a few say lame), but she thinks it is the empathy her characters show to others. Fiction doesn’t always have to be profound. But it can contain people whose paths we cross every day — whether we know it or not.

Her books include the fourteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, which is set at the Jersey shore. Behind the Walls was short-listed for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards. “Reading any Jolie Gentil book is like spending time with cherished friends. That feeling grows as the series continues.” Phoning in a Murder came out in late June 2024.

The River’s Edge series takes place among the cornfields of Southeastern Iowa, along the Des Moines River. A fired news reporter switches to landscaping, but still digs up trouble. Demise of a Devious Neighbor was a Chanticleer shortlister in 2017

The Western Maryland mountains, near Deep Creek Lake, host the five-book Family History Mystery Series. The Unscheduled Murder Trip received a B.R.A.G. Medallion in 2021..

Small-town Illinois is the setting for the Logland Series, which features Police Chief Elizabeth Friedman — a police procedural with a cozy feel. Amid the mystery and laughs, Final Cycle, set during a Christmas season, shows why it’s important to assist those who are difficult to help.

Elaine also writes plays and novellas, including the one-act, Common Ground. Her novella, Biding Time, was one of five finalists in the National Press Club’s first fiction contest, in 1993. Falling into Place is a novella about family strength as a World War II veteran rises to the toughest occasion. (It’s also Elaine’s favorite book.) In the Shadow of Light is the fictional story of Corozón and her family, who are separated at the U.S./Mexico border.

A member of Sisters in Crime and the Independent Book Publishers Association, Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994. She now lives in Springfield, Illinois.

Giveaway

Prize: Hard Copy of Phoning in a Murder (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series) by Elaine L. Orr – Regular or Large Print. US ONLY

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