Phoning in a Murder (Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
14th in Series
Setting -The fictional town of Ocean Alley at the Jersey Shore.
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lifelong Dreams Publishing (June 30, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 181 pages

Synopsis

Lots of teachers are irritated by students paying more attention to their cell phones than what’s going on in the classroom. Some would like to see their school ban cell phones during the school day. They don’t hold out a lot of hope for a cell phone ban, so they work around them.

More than most faculty, the band director at Ocean Alley High School doesn’t want students to have phones in class, and he especially doesn’t want the band distracted by them when they march on the football field. Imagine his reaction when one goes off during the National Anthem. When no student will apologize, Mr. O’Halloran cancels band practice the week before a big competition. Talk about a good way to tick off students, parents, and band boosters. With Scoobie’s brother Terry as one of the bass drummers, Jolie and family have strong opinions. But someone is a lot more upset. At least the knitting needle in the band director’s neck seems to say so.

If Jolie hadn’t been the first to find the man, she would be less insistent to know what happened to him. What really gets the Ocean Alley crew invested is the last two people the school security system shows talking to Mr. O’Halloran – Scoobie’s brother and his best friend. Rumors abound.

With appraising houses, running the food pantry, and keeping four-year old twins in line, Jolie has her hands full. Scoobie’s best friend George is always willing to butt into a mystery. Sometimes that’s helpful. Other times, not so much.

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Guest Post

Jolie Gentil has calmed aspects of her life at the Jersey shore since she and Scoobie became parents. But murder continues to creep in.

Appraising houses, running the food pantry, occasionally helping at Aunt Madge’s Cozy Corner B&B, and – oh yes – being part of a family with a teenage brother-in-law and four-year old twins should be enough to keep any woman busy. Add to that the discord over cell phone use within the high school marching band, which teenage Terry plays in.

No one wants to hear a phone ring during the national anthem, but it irritates the band teacher, Henry O’Halloran, so much he cancels practice the week before a big competition. Students, families, and community boosters are furious. But the person who places a knitting needle in the band teacher’s neck after a hectic meeting seems to be most aggravated.

If Jolie and Scoobie hadn’t been the first to find the body, she might not be so interested in who took knitting from a hobby to a murder weapon. Interest rachets up when school security video shows the last two people to talk to the band leader before he’s killed are Scobbie’s brother and his best friend. Rumors abound.

Jolie, sometimes with the ‘help’ of a former nosy reporter, tries to delves into O’Halloran’s life without actually accusing his ex-wife, the guy who rents instruments to band members, or anyone else of the murder. As Sergeant Morehouse reminds her, she’s not in charge of any investigation. But she thinks it will help to know whether the band leader’s grouchiness developed from a nasty divorce or, more disturbing, bouts of PTSD caused by military service in Iraq.

So, she doesn’t mind pulling together an impromptu group of students to sort out the dozens of flower arrangements for the victim’s funeral or appraising O’Halloran’s widow’s home. It helps her dig into his life – and death.

Jolie doesn’t realize that poking around will encourage the murderer to invite her to the empty boardwalk at dusk. And she killer doesn’t want a quiet chat.

Find out why readers think, “This 14th installment of the series is as fresh and engaging as the first.”

About the Author

Elaine L. Orr has authored more than 30 works of fiction, including four mystery series. What makes her fiction different from other traditional mysteries? Some might say the dry humor (only a few say lame), but she thinks it is the empathy her characters show to others. Fiction doesn’t always have to be profound. But it can contain people whose paths we cross every day — whether we know it or not.

Her books include the fourteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, which is set at the Jersey shore. Behind the Walls was short-listed for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards. “Reading any Jolie Gentil book is like spending time with cherished friends. That feeling grows as the series continues.” Phoning in a Murder came out in late June 2024.

The River’s Edge series takes place among the cornfields of Southeastern Iowa, along the Des Moines River. A fired news reporter switches to landscaping, but still digs up trouble. Demise of a Devious Neighbor was a Chanticleer shortlister in 2017

The Western Maryland mountains, near Deep Creek Lake, host the five-book Family History Mystery Series. The Unscheduled Murder Trip received a B.R.A.G. Medallion in 2021..

Small-town Illinois is the setting for the Logland Series, which features Police Chief Elizabeth Friedman — a police procedural with a cozy feel. Amid the mystery and laughs, Final Cycle, set during a Christmas season, shows why it’s important to assist those who are difficult to help.

Elaine also writes plays and novellas, including the one-act, Common Ground. Her novella, Biding Time, was one of five finalists in the National Press Club’s first fiction contest, in 1993. Falling into Place is a novella about family strength as a World War II veteran rises to the toughest occasion. (It’s also Elaine’s favorite book.) In the Shadow of Light is the fictional story of Corozón and her family, who are separated at the U.S./Mexico border.

A member of Sisters in Crime and the Independent Book Publishers Association, Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994. She now lives in Springfield, Illinois.

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