Serf and Turf: A Silicon Valley Mystery
by Marc Jedel
About Serf and Turf
Serf and Turf: A Silicon Valley Mystery
BGM Press (October 9, 2019)
Paperback: 213 pages
ISBN-10: 1732716420
ISBN-13: 978-1732716421
Digital ASIN: B07YF2CN1B
He’s afraid of losing his girlfriend. But maybe he should be more concerned about the dead body she’s crying over?
Marty Golden can barely string a voicemail message together, let alone keep up with his new love. This quirky uncle’s hectic Silicon Valley lifestyle needs a reboot when a youth league soccer game becomes a murder scene. And nothing can stop him from donning his amateur sleuth uniform when he discovers his sweetheart used to have quite a thing for the dead guy …
With a not-so-helpful paw from Buddy the Labrador, he does his best to sniff out a long list of possible suspects. But between gossipy soccer moms and the costume-clad members of a Renaissance Faire, Marty’s theories fall harder than a jousted knight.
Can Marty solve the case before the trail and his new flame grow cold?
Serf and Turf is the third book in the zany, Silicon Valley cozy mystery series. If you like laugh-out-loud comedy, dorky sleuths, and a festival of old-world fun, then you’ll love Marc Jedel’s humorous murder mystery.
Buy Serf and Turf to sign in to a great mystery today!
Character Interview
Character Interview with Giovanni Quince, dead guy discovered at the beginning of Serf and Turf.
Interviewer: If you’re dead, then you’re a ghost, right?
Giovanni: No, the author doesn’t believe in ghosts.
Interviewer: So, what are you?
Giovanni: I’m not really sure what I am right now, but since the characters in Serf and Turf spend so much time trying to figure out how I died, I suppose someone thought it would be interesting for me to do this interview.
Interviewer: Are you in Surf and Turf?
Giovanni: Only in spirit. Heh, heh. Get it? “In spirit”—that’s a ghost joke. Seriously, I don’t make any appearances in the book—astral or otherwise. You’d think the author would have been more clever with this book coming out in October and ghosts and witches so popular these days. But no, he’s not very smart.
Interviewer: I see what you think of the author, what about Marty, the guy who spends most of the book figuring out how you died?
Giovanni: Eh, he’s ok.
Interviewer: Only ok? Why would you say that?
Giovanni: I just think Meghan can do better. After she dated me, I don’t understand how she can find him attractive after leaving me?
Interviewer: Did you hear Marty has his own secret codeword with the police?
Giovanni: Sure, but did you hear what it was?
Interviewer: Let’s not get into that and just focus on the book. Do you know who killed you?
Giovanni: Are you nuts? I can’t answer that. It might ruin the whole book for people. You know that’s really a ridiculous question to ask someone in a mystery book. I mean, do you go around telling people how a movie ends?
Interviewer: Ok, ok. No need to get so worked up. I’m starting to understand the rumor I heard about people disliking you. Was that true?
Giovanni: Well, not the ladies …
Interviewer: Yeah, so I guess the answer is Yes.
Interviewer: It seems like you had lots of different adventures in your life. Were you ever a criminal?
Giovanni: I shouldn’t go into too much detail, but there was a time I was hitchhiking through Columbia on my way to the Amazon basin when …
Interviewer [interrupting]: On second thought, that’s enough of that. Why don’t I ask, “What’s your favorite part of the book?”
Giovanni: It was hard to enjoy it too much since it was all about my death. But, I did laugh at the scenes with Buddy the Labrador and also Marty’s niece, Megan. But, talk about characters who can be hard to like, what’s up with that school secretary, Mrs. Quarles?
Interviewer: I find her funny. Well, thanks Giovanni for the time today. Of course, I suppose you have nothing but time now …
Giovanni: Sure, make fun of the dead guy.
My books, Serf and Turf, Chutes and Ladder and Uncle and Ants, are humorous murder mysteries. Silicon Valley is not your typical cozy mystery locale and Marty Golden doesn’t fit the normal profile of a mystery protagonist. Despite finding himself thrust into challenging situations, Marty isn’t exactly hero material. He combines wit, irreverent humor and sarcasm mixed in with nerdy insecurities, absent-mindedness, and fumbling but effective amateur sleuthing skills. With an active inner voice and not a lot of advanced planning, he throws himself into solving problems. Sometimes, he even succeeds.
About Marc Jedel
For most of my life, I’ve been inventing stories. Some, especially when I was young, involved my sister as the villain. As my sister’s brother for her entire life, I’m highly qualified to tell the tale of this evolving, quirky sibling relationship.
My writing skills were honed in years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley. While my high tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, we called these marketing collateral, emails and ads.
The publication of my first novel, Uncle and Ants, gave me permission to claim “author” as my job. And achieving Amazon Best Seller status gave me even better adjectives to use in front of “author.” This has led to way more interesting discussions than answering “marketing.”
My family would tell you that Marty’s character isn’t much of a stretch of the imagination for me, but I’m comfortable with that situation.
Like Marty, I live in Silicon Valley and can’t believe that otherwise normal people would willingly jump out of an airplane and call it fun. Unlike Marty, I have a wonderful wife and a neurotic but sweet, small dog, who is often the first to weigh in on the humor in my writing.
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Thanks so much for hosting me today. I hope your readers will enjoy reading SERF AND TURF as much as I did writing it. At http://www.marcjedel.com, people can get the first chapter FREE for all three of my books (UNCLE AND ANTS, CHUTES AND LADDER, SERF AND TURF) simply by signing up for my newsletter. SERF AND TURF can be read standalone or as part of the series. With Book 4 underway, now’s a great time to enjoy Uncle Marty’s adventures as he bumbles through his investigations.