Books

Juckets and Swamp Yankees (Both Books Published Together)

The Pittsley County Chronicles begin when a young girl goes missing in rural New England during a blizzard. The Pittsley Police conduct only a brief search before declaring her a runaway. There is no further investigation. Why not? Because Jeannine Bradburn is a Jucket. 

In Juckets, we see a close-knit confederacy of backwoods people who live outside conventional society. Their ways are unpredictable and enigmatic. Disparaged by others, they're clandestine, rebellious, and have their own code of honor. They don't rely on outsiders, with good reason.

In Swamp Yankees, the second book of The Pittsley County Chronicles, psychologist Julia Arnault tries to solve a 20-year-old murder while Adam investigates the theft of some local farm animals. Their relationship deepens as their paths take them into investigating the same suspects.

Both books feature suspense, earthy humor, and an anti-authoritarian subplot—because there is a little outlaw in everyone.

Juckets is adapted as a film script and is under option by Command Performance Productions. 

Bog Men

Bog Men (and Women), the third book of The Pittsley County Chronicles, is the story of the disappearance of a young Cambodian boy from a Massachusetts cranberry bog at the hands of a mysterious cult. It is the most recent abduction investigated by psychologist Julia Arnault and her partner, Adam Sabeski. The story is also about the outrageous attempt by the town of Pittsley to seize land by eminent domain for the development of a revenue-pumping casino and resort.

Bog Men (and Women) may be read as a stand-alone as well as part of the continuing saga of The Pittsley County Chronicles.

The Feather Tree

The Feather Tree is the fourth and final book of The Pittsley County Chronicles and may also be read as a stand-alone.

In The Feather Tree, the ghosts of two murdered girls swirl around Elmer "Goody" Goodson's remote cabin in the woods. He's an elderly arthritic recluse, so what do they want of him? They seem to implore Goody to some action. But are they real? Or is he crazy?

Either way, their murders need to be solved… and they persist in haunting him to do it.

Winterkill

Winterkill is set in New Hampshire and Vermont in the stone-cold heart of a 1932 New England winter. Aristocratic, vinegary Madeline Abbott visits her oldest and closest friend, who resides directly across the lake, just over the New Hampshire border from Vermont. She finds wheelchair-bound Celia walled away from reality by several strangers who have won her confidence. 

At Celia's untimely death, Madeline's instinct cries out foul play. She vows never to rest until the truth is revealed. But in her relentless pursuit of justice, she cannot imagine the series of events she will set into motion or how drastically they will alter the lives of every person in Celia's house that fateful day of Madeline's visit.

Winterkill is also adapted as a film script. 

Plumed Serpents

When detective Sebastian Calderón moves (with his daughter) from Arizona to Cape Cod to become Chief of Police, he is bored and unchallenged. But his routine is soon shaken when an opera star's pet anaconda attacks her, and he encounters multiple murders in a realm of transgenic-species research and mysticism, with links to his ancient Toltec past.

Calderón's search for the rogue scientist trying to bioengineer a mythical Quetzalcoatl leads him to the pyramid at Tula in Mexico, where his perceptions of illusion and reality are challenged.

This story is available as a film script under the title Feathered Serpents. The original titles may still be available as used books. 

(Plumed Serpents is a revised edition of Feathered Serpents I plus II)

Strummin' The Banjo Moon

In this mainstream novel, Juanna Mae DelRio Lottery is abandoned by her husband and foreclosed out of her house in South Jersey. Left only with an old Buick, Juanna takes her five-year-old daughter, Dell, and whatever belongings they have and drives deep into the pine woods. She finds a secluded spot where they will stay until Juanna earns enough money to get them back to Louisiana. They need to leave soon because the Social Service is ready to swoop down and take Dell into foster care. And if Juanna hadn't lied about her age, they might just take her, too.

Strummin' The Banjo Moon relates Juanna's literal and mythic journey from age 19 to 47, in her own voice, as it changes over the course of her life. Ever feisty, Juanna survives the torment of her losses and is ultimately triumphant. 

SLEUTH-blog

• What would you do if a friend told you he could identify the killer in an old murder case?

• Would you advise him to go to the police?

• What if the police were involved?

• And what if the victim was a well-known antiques dealer and firearms seller?

• And what if the Mafia were implicated?

• Would you walk away from the story?

• But what if you were a mystery writer?

This is the true story of the author's two-year investigation of a 1969 murder in Fall River, Massachusetts. Written in blog form, the reader follows along step by step as the author uncovers information about the case. The reader and author arrive at a surprising conclusion together.

My Husband's Book: Time is Short and the Water Rises

By John Walsh (with Robert Gannon)

Time is Short and the Water Rises is the true story of the largest rescue and relocation of jungle animals (9,737) during the creation of a hydroelectric dam in Suriname, South America in 1964-65. The full story of "Operation Gwamba" is described in the 1967 book by John Walsh (in foreground of picture, right). Sadly, the book out of print now, but at the time, it was translated into seven languages, became a best-seller, and was ultimately condensed in Reader's Digest. (I think it would make a great movie!)

👉See my podcast (#3) on Operation Gwamba.