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Three Strikes, You're Dead by Elena Hartwell Series: An Eddie Shoes Mystery #3
Also in this series: Two Heads Are Deader Than One
Published by Camel Press on April 1, 2018
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Source: a book tour
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Also by this author: Two Heads Are Deader Than OnePrivate investigator Eddie Shoes heads to a resort outside Leavenworth, Washington, for a mother-daughter getaway weekend. Eddie’s mother Chava wants to celebrate her new job at a casino by footing the bill for the two of them, and who is Eddie to say no?
On the first morning, Eddie goes on an easy solo hike, and a few hours later, stumbles upon a makeshift campsite and a gravely injured man. A forest fire breaks out and she struggles to save him before the flames overcome them both. Before succumbing to his injuries, the man hands her a valuable rosary. He tells her his daughter is missing and begs for her help. Is Eddie now working for a dead man?
Barely escaping the fire, Eddie wakes in the hospital to find both her parents have arrived on the scene. Will Eddie’s card-counting mother and mob-connected father help or hinder the investigation? The police search in vain for a body. How will Eddie find the missing girl with only Eddie’s memory of the man’s face and a photo of his daughter to go on?
A Private Eye, a Card-Counter, and a Giant Canine walk into a Resort…by Eddie Shoes, Private Eye (and Elena Hartwell, author).
Vacation with my mother. I can’t believe how excited I am about the prospect. Chava and I rarely went anywhere when I was a kid. Chava was a single mom and travel wasn’t something we could afford. When I left my hometown of Spokane, Washington, at eighteen, I traveled the entire west coast. It was the first time I’d left the state. I went all the way south to San Diego. I wanted to see Mexico. I even went over the border for an afternoon in Tijuana.
My father, Eduardo, is from Mexico. At least, I think that’s where he’s from. Eduardo and I are just getting to know each other now that I’m an adult, so I don’t have much information about my family history. But it was great to stand on Mexican soil, even though at that time, I didn’t know my father.
I just wish I’d spoken the language. Eduardo and I are working on that, so maybe I’ll take another trip there soon. We could go together, Eduardo and I. I think we’re ready for that. He hasn’t talked about his family yet, but I’ve been getting up my nerve to ask. Even before we met, I knew I looked like his side of the family. Chava is short, blonde, and Jewish. I’m tall, dark, and look more like a Zapata than a Schultz. Part of why I changed my name to Eddie Shoes. I wanted to create my own story.
Now I’m not so sure, my history is pretty cool. I’m learning a bit about both sides. Chava and I are learning about our Jewish heritage and Eduardo is teaching me about ours.
But I digress … after visiting San Diego, I traveled up the coast and landed in Seattle, where I lived for a couple of years. Then life got complicated and I moved north to Bellingham. Chava says I fled to Bellingham. Maybe she’s right. No matter, that’s where I live now. Still in Washington, but not far from the Canadian border. It’s on the water and very pretty, but sometimes you just want a break from the rain.
Chava has been working at a casino in town. Security if you can believe it. My mother, the card-counting, Poker-playing shark was hired to look for … you guessed it …card counters! I suppose the casino figured she had an inside track on spotting them. She’s so good at it they recently offered her a little bonus. In celebration, she’s taking me on a mother/daughter getaway for a long weekend at the Wenatchee Valley Hot Springs Resort and Spa. We’re even bringing my dog, Franklin. The resort has doggie daycare and pooch primping on site, so we all get to relax.
I’ve been trying to figure out why this trip means so much to me. I think it’s because it feels like Chava and I are getting a chance for a “do-over.” We’re making up for some of the things we didn’t get to do when I was a kid. Chava had me when she was sixteen, just a kid herself. Things like trips over summer vacation or holiday travels weren’t something she thought about. Even if we’d had the money, I don’t think we would have gone.
So now we’re going on an actual family vacation. Not work related travel for either of us. There aren’t any poker tables there and I won’t be on a case, so there will be no working for either of us.
I hope we have enough to do!
Neither of us is very good at lying around and reading paperbacks, although that sounds pretty good. Maybe I should learn how to do nothing. Learn how to relax. Plus, there are some fun things to do there. Chava wants to take a golf lesson. I’m not letting her talk me into that. But, there are all the great spa treatment options. I’ve never had a mud bath. My best friend, Iz, says they are divine.
Franklin is going to get a shampoo and a blowout. I doubt they’ve ever had a one hundred and seventy-five-pound dog with dreadlocks before. I hope he doesn’t clog up their drains.
It’s weird to feel like a family. I was on my own for so many years. Now I have my four-legged child and I live with my mother. We’re like a unit. Who would have thought I’d end up like that?
Well, no matter what, it should be an adventure, but a peaceful one. After all, how much trouble could we get into at a nice quiet resort? It’s not like we’re going to stumble over another dead person, no matter how often that happens when my mother is around.
My Thoughts
How I feel when there’s a new Eddie Shoes mystery to read:
YAY!!! I was so excited to have the chance to read book three in the Eddie Shoes mystery series. This series has quickly become one of my favorites. I love that Eddie is an unconventional character. This installment was even more interesting because it took place in a somewhat different setting: Eddie and her mother are spending a relaxing weekend at a resort out of town when Eddie finds herself smack dab in the middle of a couple of mysteries.
Ms. Hartwell keeps the action and mystery flowing in this one. I know that whenever I pick up an Eddie Shoes mystery, I need to clear my calendar…I’m quickly caught up in the story and don’t want to put it down until I have finished it. This is another top-notch mystery in this fun series. I’m already looking forward to visiting with Eddie soon.
About Elena Hartwell
After twenty years in the theater, Elena Hartwell turned her dramatic skills to fiction. Her first novel, One Dead, Two to Go introduces Eddie Shoes, private eye. Called “the most fun detective since Richard Castle stumbled into the 12th precinct,” by author Peter Clines, I’DTale Magazine stated, “this quirky combination of a mother-daughter reunion turned crime-fighting duo will captivate readers.”
In addition to her work as a novelist, Elena teaches playwriting at Bellevue College and tours the country to lead writing workshops.
When she’s not writing or teaching, her favorite place to be is at the farm with her horses, Jasper and Radar, or at her home, on the middle fork of the Snoqualmie River in North Bend, Washington, with her husband, their dog, Polar, and their trio of cats, Jackson, Coal Train, and Luna, aka, “the other cat upstairs.” Elena holds a B.A. from the University of San Diego, a M.Ed. from the University of Washington, Tacoma, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.
