It’s my turn today on the Cunning Cruise Ship Caper Great Escapes Book Tour!
This is the last day too!
I would have loved to go on a cruise with some of my teen idols. Right now The New Kids On The Block have a show on Pop TV called Rock This Boat that shows just some of what happens on these cruises. Donnie Wahlberg is one of my faves so I found myself watching this show just as I reading Sally’s book!
The Cunning Cruise Ship Caper
(Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol mysteries Book 3)
Cozy Mystery
Paperback: 226 pages
Publisher: Cozy Cat Press (September 28, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-1939816528
E- book File Size: 890 KB
ASIN: B00PCPAQ5C
It’s been years since Sandy Fairfax was a teen idol and starred in his hit ‘70s television series Buddy Brave, Boy Sleuth, but he still has his fans. Now it’s 1993 and many of his grown-up fans see a leisurely cruise as the ideal vacation. So, when Sandy’s agent finds him a pleasant gig aboard the SS Zodiac, he jumps at the chance. And, when the offer includes a spot for his musician sister, Celeste, who is blind, Sandy sees an opportunity to re-engage with his estranged sibling. However, the brother-sister duo are barely aboard the ship, when Sandy finds a singer from another shipboard show murdered in his dressing room. When the ship’s security officer does little to investigate, Sandy feels obligated to jump in, even though he isn’t a detective––he just used to play one on TV. Soon he’s grilling potential suspects, including a burnt-out piano bar player, a Southern-fried magician, a blackmail victim, a ventriloquist with a sassy dummy and even a former flame. Will Sandy unmask the killer before the cruise ends? Will he connect with the girl of his dreams? Will he have time to enjoy the sights of Nassau? Or will he end up sleeping with the fishes in the Atlantic Ocean, another victim in this killer’s CUNNING CRUISE SHIP CAPER?
Dollycas’s Thoughts
This third installment finds Sandy sailing away with some fans, some strangers, some strange performers, his estranged sister and a killer!! Sandy has changed a lot over the years and is trying to be a better man, the last thing he needed was to find another dead body. So he puts on his super sleuth shoes and tries to catch the murderer all while trying to repair his relationship with his sister.
Sally Carpenter has introduced us some interesting new characters. My favorite was Sandy’s sister, Celeste. She was a folk singer herself back in the day but when Sandy’s career took off her career stalled out and she became a bit of a recluse. Sandy had not seen her in years and she blames him for the demise of her career so it is important to him that she comes on the cruise with him. Celeste is also blind but I seemed to almost forget that some of the time. She makes some huge changes during this cruise.
The story is also well written and flowed very well. I really liked the way she writes Sandy. He is not an investigator at all, but he is not afraid to just go for it and ask questions of anyone and everyone. Things do not always go well with Sandy’s approach but in the end they work. You will feel sorry for him and giggle at the same time at some of the predicaments he gets himself into.
All the books in the series have been fun to read. I hope Sandy is out and about with another caper for us soon!
About This Author
Sally Carpenter is native Hoosier now living in Moorpark, California.
She has a master’s degree in theater from Indiana State University. While in school her plays “Star Collector” and “Common Ground” were finalists in the American College Theater Festival One-Act Playwrighting Competition. “Common Ground” also earned a college creative writing award and “Star Collector” was produced in New York City.
Carpenter also has a master’s degree in theology and a black belt in tae kwon do.
She’s worked as an actress, freelance writer, college writing instructor, theater critic, jail chaplain, and tour guide/page for a major movie studio. She’s now employed at a community newspaper.
Her initial book in the Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol series, “The Baffled Beatlemaniac Caper,” was a 2012 Eureka! Award finalist for best first mystery novel.
Her short story, “Dark Nights at the Deluxe Drive-in,” appears in the anthology “Last Exit to Murder.”
“Faster Than a Speeding Bullet” was published in the “Plan B: Vol. 2” e-book anthology.
Her short story “The Pie-eyed Spy” appeared in the Nov. 23, 2013, issue of Kings River Life ezine.
Author Links
She blogs at http://sandyfairfaxauthor.com.
She’s a member of Sisters in Crime/Los Angeles chapter. Contact her at Facebook or scwriter@earthlink.net.
Links: (blog) http://sandyfairfaxauthor.com
(Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/sally.carpenter.54
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Sounds good.
Your story sounds very interesting. Your plot intriguing and characters fun. Lots of luck with this and others in your series.
Thanks for hosting me and for joining me on the cruise!