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I received this book for free from a book tour. This review is voluntary. My opinion is not influenced in any way.
A Hole in One by Judy Penz Sheluk Series: A Glass Dolphin Mystery #2
Published by Barking Rain Press on March 6, 2018
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 178
Format: Kindle Book
Source: a book tour
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Hoping to promote the Glass Dolphin antiques shop, co-owners Arabella Carpenter and Emily Garland agree to sponsor a hole in one contest at a charity golf tournament. The publicity turns out to be anything but positive, however, when Arabella’s errant tee shot lands in the woods next to a corpse.
They soon learn that the victim is closely related to Arabella’s ex-husband, who had been acting as the Course Marshal. With means, opportunity, and more than enough motive, he soon becomes the police department’s prime suspect, leaving Arabella and Emily determined to clear his name—even if they’re not entirely convinced of his innocence.
Dogged by incriminating online posts from an anonymous blogger, they track down leads from Emily’s ex-fiancé (and the woman he left Emily for), an Elvis impersonator, and a retired antiques mall vendor with a secret of her own.
All trails lead to a mysterious cult that may have something to do with the murder. Can Arabella and Emily identify the killer before the murderer comes after them?
Fast Five with Judy Penz Sheluk
Hi, Judy! Thank you so much for stopping by Brooke Blogs today. I am thrilled to have you here today to answer some interview questions. Congratulations on your newest release, A Hole in One!
1) What does a typical day look like for you? Do you write every day?
It varies, but when I’m working on a book, I aim for a chapter a day, five days a week. But those can be any five days, not just Monday to Friday. If I can write seven days a week, I’ll do that, too. It really depends on what else is going on in my life, but word counts, like 1,000 a day, or 50,000 in a month, like NaNoWriMo, don’t work for me.
One thing that doesn’t change is that I write listening to talk radio. I even listen to those infomercial kind of programs on weekends, you know the kind about employment law or real estate. I can’t write to music—maybe it goes back to my years of working in a noisy office.
2) If you could spend time with one of your characters, who would you choose and what would you do together?
I love Arabella Carpenter. She’s smart and feisty and flawed and her motto is authenticity matters (isn’t that a great motto?) In fact, I like her so much that she even has a minor role in my other series (Marketville Mysteries). I’d love to spend a day at an antiques mall with her, or maybe we’d go to an auction or estate sale and try to find an “Antiques Roadshow” treasure.
3) What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
In summer, golf or hang out by the lake at our cottage (camp) on Lake Superior. I love walking my 2 ½ year old Golden Retriever, Gibbs (named after Mark Harmon’s character on NCIS), and I run 3-5k three times a week. I’m also an avid reader, mostly crime fiction, but I do read other things as well. I set my Goodreads Reading Challenge to 30 books this year, and I’m already 3 books ahead of schedule. Reading is the best teacher.
4) Where did the idea come from for A Hole in One?
I’ve been golfing for 15 or 20 years, and during that time I’ve played in my fair share of charity golf tournaments. There’s always a sponsored par 3 with a prize like a car or a boat, and it’s typically set up on the most challenging par 3 on the course. But it was actually one day, when golfing in a Ladies League at Silver Lakes Golf & Country Club in Holland Landing, Ontario, http://www.silverlakesgolf.com, that the idea came to me. I was at the third hole and, in trying to hit over the pond, my ball ended up beyond the green and into a heavily treed area. As I was hunting for my ball, I thought, “What if there was a dead body in here?” And then I thought, “That’s the premise for my next book.” It took the sting out of landing in the woods.
5) What is your favorite part of being an author?
I get to make up stories for a living…and sometimes I can get even with someone, if only on paper! It can be quite cathartic. My favorite story is LIVE FREE OR DIE (In my collection of short stories, LIVE FREE OR TRI). It’s based on a true-life experience with an older man when I was just 21 years old. Let’s just say that “Jack” is probably still alive somewhere…but not in my story!
Thank you again for visiting Brooke Blogs! I know my readers will enjoy reading your answers as much as I will.
Thank you for hosting me.
My Thoughts
A Hole in One by Judy Penz Sheluk is the second book in the Glass Dolphin Mystery series. While I haven’t read book one, that didn’t stop me from enjoying this book. Arabella finds herself wrapped up in a complicated murder mystery that turns out to involve her ex-husband, Levon. She works to clear his name, figure out who is guilty, and solve a few other mysteries along the way. This felt like a quick read to me. I liked that Arabella and her ex-husband are antique pickers. It was fun to hear about those details and the items in Arabella’s shop while reading the mystery.
About Judy Penz Sheluk
Judy Penz Sheluk is the author of two mystery series: The Glass Dolphin Mysteries (THE HANGED MAN’S NOOSE and A HOLE IN ONE) and The Marketville Mysteries (SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC). Judy’s short crime fiction appears is several collections. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and Crime Writers of Canada, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors as the Regional Representative for Toronto/Southern Ontario. Find Judy on her website/blog at www.judypenzsheluk.com, where she interviews and showcases the works of other authors and blogs about the writing life.
