BOOTY IN THE BACKSEAT
A Tow Truck Murder Mystery
by
Karen C. Whalen
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Cozy Mystery
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Publication Date: November 18, 2024
Page count: 227 pages
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SYNOPSIS:
High-heeled
tow truck driver, Delaney Morran, is shocked to discover bags of money in the
backseat of a Volvo she was hired to tow. She’s even more amazed to find a
severed hand in one of the bags. She learns the car belongs to the aunt of her
friend, Rory. The booty in the backseat, amounting to half a million dollars,
raises questions, but more mysterious is the disappearance of Rory’s uncle.
Spruce Ridge, Colorado is home to the rich and famous, and the uncle is a
well-known movie producer. With that much money…and a severed body part…and the
uncle gone AWOL…Rory fears a kidnapping. When his aunt finally admits to
receiving a ransom demand but was warned against calling the police, Delaney
agrees to help. Is the kidnapper a drug kingpin seen with the victim? His
neighbor who has reckless parties? Someone connected to his new film? Or,
perhaps the victim’s spouse trying to cover up the murder of her husband? When
a dead body turns up next, and it’s not the kidnapped victim, Delaney has two
crimes to solve.
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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:“I thought you
said Iceman hangs out here.” I gave Lance a pointed look. No one remotely
resembling the man in the photo with the bad teeth was in this bar.
Lance glanced
around and shrugged, and we sat in silence for a while more. I was nursing my
second beer when he excused himself to go to the restroom.
My phone dinged
with a text from Axle. —where you at?—
I replied that
I would be home soon, but I wondered when we’d get out of here because Lance
was taking a long time. Was he still in the men’s room? Did he slip out to the
back alley to conduct some business there? Where was he?
The
construction worker remained at the table with the shaggy-haired dude, so Lance
wasn’t meeting up with either of them in the john or the alley. I studied
everyone else, but it didn’t seem like any other customers were missing. The
cowboy and cowgirl pool players were all at their game. The man at the end of
the bar hadn’t moved.
I was about to
head down the narrow hallway to knock on the door to the little boys’ room when
three sheriff’s deputies burst through the front door and another came running
in from the back emergency exit, tripping the alarm.
I whipped
around, ready to break into a run, when Ephraim banged through the entryway
next.
Busted!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Karen C. Whalen is the author of two mystery series for The Wild
Rose Press: the Dinner Club Mysteries featuring Jane Marsh, an empty nester who
hosts a gourmet dinner club, and the Tow Truck Mysteries starring Delaney
Morran, a super feminine shoe-a-holic who drives a tow truck. Both are cozy
mysteries about strong friendships and family ties set in Colorado.
The first
book in the Dinner Club series tied for First Place in the Suspense Novel
category of the 2017 IDA Contest sponsored by Oklahoma Romance Writers of
America. In the Tow Truck series, Eyes on the Road was a Second Place winner of
the 2023 Firebird Book Awards in the Cozy Mystery category.
Whalen worked for
many years as a paralegal at a law firm in Denver, Colorado and was a columnist
and regular contributor to The National Paralegal Reporter magazine. Whalen
loves to host dinner parties, entertain friends, ride bicycles, hike in the
mountains, walk on the beach, and read cozy murder mysteries.
Murder at Sea
Oats Beach is her first book published as an indie author.
REVIEW:
5 stars!
Clever and complex cozy mystery!
Booty in the Backseat is the sixth book in author
Karen C. Whalen’s fun and always intriguing Tow Truck Mystery series, but
new readers will easily be able to enjoy it as a standalone and first
introduction. Delaney “Del” Morran becomes embroiled in another interesting
case when she’s called to pull a car from a business loading zone and discovers
two duffel bags full of cash in its backseat – along with a man’s severed hand!
Del is the sassy, confident, high-heels-wearing tow truck
operator and main character of the series. While the father she never knew left
her his towing business, she’s finally gained the knowledge and experience to
keep it a going concern. In her later 20s and single, she’s in between romantic
relationships as she mends her hurt over breaking things off with Sheriff
Ephraim Lopez. The man has a reputation as a ladies’ man, and Del believes the
worst after surreptitiously catching him being too friendly with some blonde at
the local shopping mall. It was sad to see this couple’s estrangement, and their
interactions were almost painful to read, especially with the realization that
much of her self-initiated heartache may have stemmed from being abandoned by
her father when she was a child. Del also has an internal conflict with her growing
passion for Ephraim while still feeling attracted to her former date, Tanner
Utley. At some point, she’s going to have to resolve these mixed feelings and
choose. However, both are yummy characters, and it’s going to be a tough
decision.
Early in the story, the owner of the towed vehicle and all
the money are revealed as Del’s close friend Rory’s Aunt Courtney, who is
uncooperative with both the sheriff and Del regarding the large sums of money
and the hand. Del and Rory diligently wear her down, though, and finally, they
get to the truth. Del calls on a new acquaintance who owes her a favor, a local
gang leader known as Demented, to check out the word on the origin of the hand
among his street connections, which draws all sorts of attention and concerns
from Ephraim. Then, to complicate life in general, Del’s mother, Eve, shows up
in town after she separates from her husband, Will, after a quarrel and buys a
condo in the nearby resort area. She quickly becomes a very present fixture in
Del’s life, befriending all her daughter’s friends and becoming a thorn in Del’s
side.
The plot moves quickly, with Del following up leads in
between towing vehicles, changing tires, and explaining and demonstrating how
to fix a vapor lock at 2 a.m. Her roommate, Kristen’s young cousin Axle, has
become a vital partner and friend while finally settling into his adulthood
quite nicely. I enjoyed the mystery a lot, and there are hints throughout the narrative
that pointed the way to a still surprising resolution of the case.
I recommend BOOTY IN THE BACKSEAT to cozy mystery readers,
especially those who enjoy protagonists with uncommon day jobs.
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Thank you for featuring BOOTY IN THE BACKSEAT today.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this great review and feature!
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your review! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI liked the review, thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love the cover and think this looks like a good read.
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