Nancy Drew Parody

I was so pleased to see that my cozy mystery The Buried Treasure on Route 66 received Another Great Review.

Readers like her make all the difference in the world for writers.

Here's the review:

Do you remember the famous teenaged girl detective from the 1950s named Nancy Drew? If you do, then this book is definitely for you. Written in the same, smart , sassy style as the original Nancy Drew books, author Louise Hathaway pays homage to the super-sleuth Nancy Drew and her friends.

Our Nancy, whose last name is Keene, is a knockoff of the original. But with the same skills and inquisitiveness of her predecessor. Miss Keene is a high-school graduate who is on her way to college but finds herself caught up in the troubles of the elderly Mrs. Woods. Seems as though Mrs. Woods stands to lose everything she owns because of her ex-husbands stepsons who feel they are entitled to everything she owns. And when Nancy learns that there may have been a second will written just before the ex-husband’s death, she sets out to help the little old lady.

In true Nancy Drew (Nancy Keene) style the mystery of the buried treasure comes to a satisfactory conclusion while giving the reader a glimpse at the iconic Route 66. And as a nod to the Nancy Drew series, Nancy Keene’s father’s first name is Drew.

A fast paced story that will keep the reader interested. Not meant as a who-dun-it but rather a light-hearted look back in history at the forerunners of the mystery genre. Easily read in one or two sittings. Suitable for the entire family to enjoy.

Available for 99 cents at the following online bookstores.

Also available in paperback at Amazon.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2ZtvnZr

Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/35sa9Pt

Apple: https://apple.co/3hjxOUB

Google Play: https://bit.ly/35va4KW

Smashwords: https://bit.ly/2ZtvOD3

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3hkvigz

Scribd: https://bit.ly/2DSBMpx

T. Jefferson Parker

The Tustin Chronicles:

A Detective Santy Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

My husband and I graduated in the same class as T. Jefferson Parker, a famous writer from Orange County, California who wrote mysteries that took place in our home town; so it's always been in the back of our minds to try to write our own mysteries, filled with lots of local color and tidbits of real crimes that actually occurred here.  My brother and his adopted daughter had a very close relationship and when he died, I thought I'd write a story about what would happen if he were murdered, and when his daughter looked into the case, she found out that the wrong person was convicted of the crime. In the process of her investigation, she finds out who her real parents are and discovers that there are some questions that are best left unanswered.  This is the first book in the successful Detective Santy Mysteries Series.  It has received five-star and several four-star reviews.  Only 99 cents.

Available at Amazon, Apple, Barnes and Noble, 

Google Play, Smashwords, Kobo and Scribd

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Father's Day

Happy Father's Day everyone! I was very close to my father and different versions of him appear in many of my Nancy Keene Mysteries. Here's a chapter from The Buried Treasure on Route 66 in which Nancy tries to persuade her father into letting her go on a trip on Route 66 in order to help an elderly woman find a missing will.

Chapter Nine: Buttering Up Dad

Nancy is waiting for her father’s flight to land at the airport in Phoenix.  She has bought a lei at her favorite flower shop and is planning to say “Aloha” when she greets him.  Finally, the 5:00 flight comes in from La Guardia.  She waves at her father as he comes to her. 

“Did the plane make a wrong turn and land in Honolulu?” he asks.

“Welcome home, Dad!” she says as she places the lei over his head. “It’s so good to see you, Dad!  I missed you!!”

“Me, too, honey.  Thanks for picking me up. It’s good to be home.”

“Why didn’t you let me drive you to the airport instead of having to call a taxi?  You should’ve woken me up.”

“I figured that you needed your beauty rest after your previous night of 2:00 a.m. cooking.”

“Speaking of cooking, I’ve made your favorite meal for dinner.”

“Coq au Vin?”

“Bien sur, Monsieur.”

“I can’t wait to get home.”

When Mr. Keene arrives home, he is escorted into the dining room by his daughter, who pours him a glass of Moet & Chandon.  “Care for some lobster bisque to start, Dad?”

“Oh, boy!” he says, as Nancy ladles out the soup from their best Villeroy and Boch tureen.

“What a welcome home!  You’ve really outdone yourself this time!”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Okay.  So, what’s up?  Why are you buttering me up like this?  What’s on your mind?”

“Well, Dad.  Since you’re asking, there is something, but let’s finish our meal together first.  Tell me all about your trip.”

“Oh no, you don’t.  Tell me right now what your latest scheme is.”

“Well, Dad.  You know how I’ve been trying to help Mrs. Wood find that will I was telling you about?”

“Nancy!  I told you to let it go.  Stop being involved in that mess.  Those stepsons mean business.”

“Well, it’s funny you should bring that up because I was thinking of getting her away from them for a while.”

“She’s not staying here.”

“Dad.  That thought didn’t even cross my mind.”

“What thought did?”

“Well, I’ve been looking at all of the clues and everything points to the newer will being buried at the Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico.”

“So you want me to hire some people to go there and start digging?”

“Dad!  I can’t believe these thoughts coming out of your head.  Being in New York has made you very cynical, all of a sudden.”

“Okay, Nancy, what’s your plan.”

“Let me pour you another glass of champagne and I’ll tell you all about it.”

****

After two hours of telling her Dad everything that’s been happening with Mrs. Wood, his heart starts to melt.

“Nancy, you’ve always had a way of wrapping me around your little finger.  Okay. You may do it, but here are my rules,” her Dad says, putting his foot down.  “You may go on your road trip with Mrs. Wood and Ned, but I’m going to be coming with the three of you. I’ve been worried about this whole situation with those two stepsons, and I want to stay as close to you as possible right now.”

“Oh, Dad.  You can’t protect me forever.  I’m an adult now,” she says, wrapping her arms around his neck.

“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you, honey.”

“That won’t happen.  We will have a long and happy life together, Dad.  The best is yet to come.”

“Well, my dear.  Once again, you certainly have lifted my spirits.  I’m even starting to get excited about the thought of taking a road trip, too.”

“That’s the spirit, Dad!”

###

Would you like to read more?  Here are some links where you can purchase this cozy mystery as an eBook or a paperback.

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Autumn is Here

This is my favorite season of the year.  It's a time when I long for fall leaves in Lake Placid, white, steepled churches in Vermont, and covered bridges in New England. So many images come to mind: pumpkin people on the porches of old-fashioned general stores, maple syrup, caramel apples on a stick, cinnamon scented candles from Bath and Body Works, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and cozying up to the fire with a good book.

When it comes to autumn, this California girl lives on the wrong coast.  The temperatures here are still in the 80s and some days, even the 90s.  It's our season of fires and Santa Ana winds.  I'll never forget the time my husband and I planned a Halloween party that was supposed to take place in our back yard, but had to be moved indoors because ashes from a nearby fire were raining down on us and our decorations.  Forget about small paper lanterns lining the patio; we didn't want to burn our house down.

Autumn also reminds me of the radio show "A Prairie Home Companion" which my husband and I have religiously listened to for over thirty years. The Fall is the time when the sun is getting low enough for us to light our candles and turn on our space heater that looks like an old-fashioned coal fireplace.  We lose ourselves in the stories that Garrison Keillor's low, mesmerizing voice weaves.  I love his world of bachelor farmers, Pastor Liz, Dorothy's caramel rolls, The Sidetrack Tap, and the Chatterbox Cafe.  Maybe there really are some places like the Chatterbox Café? Wouldn’t it be fun to go find out?

So after all the years of talking about this town where "the women and strong, the men are good looking, and the children are always above-average," my husband and I finally went to Minnesota on a pilgrimage to find the real Lake Wobegon.  This book is the result. I hope you will enjoy this story about a precocious teenager who talks her father into taking her to Minnesota on just such a quest. Her father  wants to go on a Bob Dylan pilgrimage while there, but she has other plans when a "bachelor farmer" (who was last seen at the "Chatterbox Cafe") goes missing and they join the search party. Part travelogue, this book also contains pictures.  It's only $1.99 and available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Google Play, Kobo, Smashwords, and Scribd.  Also available in paperback at Amazon.

The Missing Bachelor Farmer:

A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

Who Stole the Vermeer Masterpiece?

The Stolen Masterpiece: A Nancy Keene Mystery 

by Louise Hathaway

My new Nancy Keene Mystery, portrays five loves of mine: Nancy Drew Mysteries, Holland, Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, genealogy, and a loving, indulgent father.

Join my precocious teenage sleuth, Nancy Keene, on another of her international adventures. This book finds her in Amsterdam visiting her newly-found Dutch relatives who have recently discovered a secret room in their house that contains valuable artwork, including a Vermeer masterpiece worth millions. Someone has stolen it, and it’s up to Nancy and her team to find out who. If you enjoy travelogues, this book includes descriptions of some of my favorite sights I've visited in Holland.

Available at the following stores for 99 cents.

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A Prairie Home Companion

The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

My husband and I have been listening to "A Prairie Home Companion" since the mid-1980s. What did you think of last night's show?  I am going to miss Garrison Keillor when he resigns from the radio show in the summer.  I'll miss Pastor Liz, the bachelor farmers, Ruth Harrison: Reference Librarian, and the skits for the Professional Organization of English Majors.  A few years ago, my husband and I made a pilgrimage to "Lake Wobegon" in search of the fictional world that Garrison Keillor created.  It was a great trip, as we traced his steps.  We had read that he owns "Common Good Books" in St. Paul, so we thought, let's just stop in the store and "soak up the vibe."  As we were pulling into the parking lot, I saw a tall, elderly man walking towards his car with a couple of books tucked under his arm.  I said to my husband, "Oh, my God!  That's Garrison Keillor!"  My husband called out, "Mr. Keillor."  Garrison kindly approached our car and shook my husband's hand.  We had a little conversation, too.  What a dream come true to meet our generation's Mark Twain.

I wrote about the whole experience in my book, "The Missing Bachelor Farmer: A Nancy Keene Mystery."  It's about a precocious teenager who talks her father into taking them on a pilgrimage to Lake Wobegon and they join the search party when a bachelor farmer goes missing.  It is available for $1.99 at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.  To purchase, please click on one of the links below:

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Writing Fiction About True Events

I live in Orange County, California and there is always a ready supply of current events to draw upon when writing my mysteries.  As a couple of examples: I knew a young woman who lived across the street from me who was later murdered by "The Bedroom Basher".  I also knew a teenage hood who liked to hang around with me who later turned into the notorious "Hammer-Murderer." Both of these characters show up in my writing (with their names changed, of course).

Murder at the Abbey: A Detective Santy Mystery takes place in Orange County and draws upon current events.  St. Michael's Abbey--where the priest in the book is murdered--is embroiled in a running battle with environmentalists and anti-development groups because the abbey has just purchased land to expand their facilities and environmentalists believe that if the abbey's plans go through, it will threaten the habitat of a endangered toad.  The Catholic Church got into further hot water when it purchased the famous "Crystal Cathedral" and removed some commemorative stones that donors had earlier purchased for their loved ones, with the reassurance from the former pastor that they'd always be there.  With so many people mad at the abbey and the church, it's easy to imagine that some unhinged person might resort to murder--perfect fodder for a mystery writer.

Murder at the Abbey: A Detective Santy Mystery

by Louise Hathaway

Only $2.99 at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, Kobo, and Smashwords.

Available in paperback at Amazon.

Here are the direct links for the book at each of the retailers:

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