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Monday, November 3, 2014

New Release: The Case of the Bygone Brother



What fun it was to write The Case of the Bygone Brother, my first PI mystery. I’ve always loved heroines who get themselves into trouble. Not by being too stupid to live but by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.



Alex O’Hara is such a heroine. She tries so hard to continue her dad’s investigation business that she eagerly takes on a case that’s almost too good to be true. After giving Alex a huge advance, the client promises a bonus if Alex finds a missing relative within two weeks. Holy Sam Spade. This case will solve all of Alex’s financial problems.



Here are some fun facts about The Case of the Bygone Brother:

The fictitious locale, Fair Haven, is modeled after Lake Michigan resort towns like Grand Haven, Holland, Saugatuck, and South Haven.

Some places in the story are real: Captain Sundae (the best place for ice cream, famous for the Tommy Turtle sundae) and Arnie’s (known for its delicious cinnamon rolls—I just wish they’d open a restaurant close by).



The Dutch settled in West Michigan in the mid-1800s and left their cultural imprint on the area, especially in the cities of Holland and Zeeland. Although my characters are fictitious and do not resemble any real person (living or dead), I use common Dutch surnames including some from my Dutch relatives.



The title character, Harry Anslyn, is named after my great-great-grandfather Nicolas Anslyn (originally Anslijn) who fought in the Civil War.



When I first began writing The Case of the Bygone Brother I never dreamed we’d move to West Michigan.

If you hop on over to MelissaSnark’s blog, you can read an excerpt.



The Case of the Bygone Brother is available at:






Do you like reading about real places in fiction?



10 comments:

  1. Wrong place/wrong time setups are the BEST! And I like seeing recognizable places thrown in to fiction - I put a few into my first book, and even though my second book takes place in another state, I still modeled it on a small town nearby. :)

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  2. Love these fun facts. You've made me hungry for cinnamon rolls now! :) So happy that The Case of the Bygone Brother is out. Excellent read!

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    1. Thanks, Alicia. I really appreciate your help on this book.

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  3. We've vacationed in the area before and probably will go back some day. Thank you for sharing your book with us today!

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  4. I love to read about real places. It inspires me to visit them. Now I must find the cinnamon roll place!

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    1. Next time you're in the Grand Rapids area, check out Arnies.

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  5. Would you believe, I once was a merchandiser for Arnies, putting out their baked goods in a local D&W store. It was one of my many such jobs. I had to quit because it was too tempting to take home some of the day old product we could get for free. The Case of the Bygone Brother sounds like a fun read. Wishing you much success and many sales!

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    1. I would have quit, too, Lucy, for the same reason. Thanks for the good wishes.

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