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Friday, March 28, 2014

Blog Tour: Fog City Strangler by Greg Messel



Author: Greg Messel
Publisher: Sunbreaks
Date of publication: December 2013


As 1958 nears an end San Francisco is being terrorized by a man who calls himself the “Fog City Strangler,” who preys on pretty young blonde women.  The strangler announces each murder by sending a note and piece of cloth from the victim’s dresses to the local newspapers.

Private eye Sam Slater is worried that the Fog City Strangler may be eyeing his beautiful blonde wife, stewardess Amelia Ryan. Sam’s angst mounts as the strangler continues to claim more victims. His anxiety is further fueled when TWA launches an advertising campaign with Amelia’s picture on a series of billboards plastered all over the city. Sam fears the billboards may attract too much attention--the wrong kind of attention.

Meanwhile, Sam and Amelia are hired to try to find the missing daughter of a wealthy dowager who fears she has lost her only child. The missing woman went for a walk with her dog on Stinson Beach, near San Francisco, and seemingly vanished into thin air. The woman’s husband arrived at their beach house and found the dog running loose but there was no trace of his wife. The police are stumped in their investigation.

As Sam and Amelia look into the disappearance of the woman on the beach they discover that nothing is as it seems at first glance. On a stormy night a shadowy figure sets fire to the beach house where the couple is staying--hoping to stop their investigation.

Fog City Strangler is the 4th book in the Sam Slater mystery series.  The series takes place on the late 1950s in San Fransisco.  I have really been enjoying this series.  The latest installment is a welcome addition.  I always feel like I'm visiting good friends when I read an adventure with Sam and Amelia.  It has been fun to watch their relationship progress as the series has gone on.  Now married, they make an even better detective team.  I just want to know when Amelia will quit her TWA job so that can spend more time solving crimes with Sam!

This time around, there are three separate mysteries going on at the same time.  There is a serial killer targeting young blonde women in the city.  There is a missing woman and an ailing mother who is desperate to find her.  Finally, there is a neighbor who seems to be in an abusive marriage and whose husband gives Amelia the creeps.  I liked how the mysteries progressed.  While I was able to figure out one of them pretty easily, the other two kept me guessing.  The story was well plotted out.  Even though the book was long, I was sucked in and couldn't put it down.  As always, the author has sprinkled photos of life in the 50s.  I love that about these books because it really gives the reader something to picture in their mind as they read about the locations.  The next book comes out later this year.  I can't wait to read it!




About the author:


Greg Messel grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound with his wife, Carol.  Fog City Strangler is his seventh novel and is the fourth in a new series of Sam Slater mystery novels. Greg has lived in Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming and Utah and has always loved writing, including stints as a reporter, columnist and news editor for a daily newspaper.
Follow news about Messel’s writings and books at www.gregmessel.com.
Connect & Socialize with Greg!

Purchase your copy:

AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE

Greg Messel is giving away a 3 book set of his Sam Slater Mystery Series (Last of the Seals, Deadly Plunge and San Francisco Secrets AND a $25 Amazon Gift Card!

  • By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
  • One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive the 3 book set and $25 Amazon Gift Card.
  • This giveaway begins February 3 and ends on March 28.
  • Winner will be contacted via email on Monday, March 31, 2014.
  • Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!

ENTER TO WIN!



a Rafflecopter giveaway

2 comments:

Greg Messel said...

Thanks for hosting me today and for your review. And the answer is--Amelia resigns as a stewardess early on in the next book and becomes a full time private eye. I've finished the first draft of "Shadows In The Fog" and will spend the rest of the summer getting it ready.

Kari Boardman said...

Awesome! Thanks for the update. Can't wait for Shadows in the Fog!