The Shorefront Mysteries
Alex, Zahni and the twins discover their detecting skills when the crystallized fossil of an archaeopteryx is stolen from the
town’s beloved museum.
The characters are a sampling of cultures, religions and genders that define the United States. There are risky moments but no conspicuous murders,, and no violence is used to solve a case. A fan of Sherlock Holmes, Zahni follows the great master’s pragmatic methodology to uncover evidence. The trilogy spans eight years. In the first book Zahni is nine, Alex is fourteen and the twins fifteen. The setting takes place just before mobile phones, digital photography and social media.
Book One – Half Moon
Alex, Zahni and the twins help the police in their town.
The town of Half Moon in Palms County prides itself on its multicultural neighborhoods that draw visitors to shop and dine. However, residents are divided on the direction the town should take for the future. Magnified, it is a fair reflection of most world conflicts. The friends learn the intrigues of political rivalry when the incumbent mayor is compromised, the art of the con from the son of a preacher, and the lengths people will go to for money.
Their co-conspirators are the philanthropist Dedra Donahue, her grandson Arthur, and her chauffeur Charles. 60047 words
Book Two – Palmetto Springs
A potato field near the Palmetto Springs Wildlife Reserve is unseasonably infected with blight. Could it be other than natural causes?
The treasurer for the Preservation Society asks Alex if the group could discretely investigate a potato field near The Palmetto Springs Wildlife Reserve. The crop was mysteriously infected by late blight, and her friend at City Hall suspects foul play. Their investigation leads to a clandestine society in Washington, and to the unscrupulous sister of a family-owned pharmaceutical company who uses patients from a mental home to conduct her tests. 40671 words
Book Three – The Mangrove
A Greek shipping tycoon disappears from his private island.
Demetrius Calisto, who put his fortune into alternate energy solutions after witnessing an oil spill, vanishes the morning after his fortieth birthday. His sister Thalia invites her old friend Countess Katrina Katro to the island. Alex and Maria accompany her, and Thalia hopes they may uncover clues. Mario and Zahni stay in Half Moon, where Zahni is on a case to find missing art stolen during World War II.
The characters include two scientists in search of an elusive lizard, three treasure-hunter Vietnam vets, Calisto’s ex-wife, his nemesis Estevo Caçador, and an estranged son of which he has no knowledge.
44434 words
