Title: A Death In The Family
Series: Erica Coleman
Author: Marlene Bateman
BLURB supplied by Marlene Sullivan
Meet Erica Coleman—a gifted and quirky private
investigator with an OCD-like passion for neatness and symmetry, a penchant for
cooking, (ten terrific recipes are included), and a weakness for chocolate.
In A Death in the Family, the second in the Erica Coleman series,
private eye Erica Coleman and her family happily anticipate Grandma Blanche’s
eighty-first birthday celebration in the picturesque town of Florence, Oregon.
But when the feisty matriarch, a savvy businesswoman, suspects wrongdoing and
asks Erica to investigate her company, things get sticky.
Before the investigation
can even begin, Blanche’s unexpected death leaves Erica with more questions
than answers—and it is soon clear Grandma’s passing was anything but natural:
she was murdered. When another relative becomes the next victim of someone with
a taste for homicide, Erica uses her flair for cooking to butter up local law
enforcement and gather clues.
Erica’s OCD either helps
or hinders her—depending on who you talk to—but it’s those same obsessive and
compulsive traits than enable Erica to see clues that others miss. When she
narrowly escapes becoming the third victim, Erica is more determined than ever
to solve the case.
EXCERPT
“It’s hard to believe she’s gone,” Kristen said dolefully. “When I moved here, I thought I’d have years with Grandma. She was always so active—I thought she’d keep going for years.”“And all the time, her heart was getting weaker,” Trent said glumly.
Walter commented, “The last time I saw her, Blanche said the doctor told her she had the constitution of a mule.”
There were a few smiles at this, but Martha’s brow furrowed in confusion. “But Mom’s death didn’t have anything to do with how healthy she was.”
“What are you talking about?” Trent’s impatient voice billowed out and filled the small room.
Martha squirmed but fluttered on, “Well, after what Mom said when she came to visit me, you know—about how something wrong was going on in the company—I worried that something might happen.”
Her response reverberated around the room. Everyone went very still—as if they were holding their breath.
Martha’s eyes went from one to another. “I didn’t mean—oh, I shouldn’t have said anything,” she stammered. Her voice was pure distress. “It’s just that . . . well, we’re all family here, so it’s okay, isn’t it? I mean, no one else knows.”
“No one else knows what?” Trent said brusquely.
Visibly flustered, Martha’s hands twisted in her lap. “And . . . and Mother was very old and—and the police haven’t even come, have they?”
Erica wondered what Martha could be getting at. Everyone darted quizzical looks at each other, trying to make sense out of Martha’s confused chirruping.
After meeting blank looks all around, Martha blurted, “I mean, that’s good . . . isn’t it? For the family?”
The room remained deadly silent as Martha’s cheeks flamed red.
There was a rumble as Walter cleared his throat. “Why would the police come?”
“Why, to arrest someone.” Martha sounded surprised—as if he had asked something that was completely and absolutely self-evident. She stared at Walter, as if he and he alone could straighten everything out. “Isn’t that why they’re doing an autopsy? I mean, don’t they always do an autopsy when someone has been murdered?”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR & INTERVIEW
Her
hobbies are gardening, camping, and reading.
Marlene has been published extensively in magazines and newspapers and
has written a number of non-fiction books, including: Latter-day
Saint Heroes and Heroines, And There Were Angels Among Them, Visit’s From
Beyond the Veil, By the Ministering of Angels, Brigham’s Boys, and Heroes of
Faith. Her latest book is Gaze Into Heaven, a fascinating
collection of over 50 documented near-death experiences in early church
history.
Marlene’s
first novel was the best-selling Light on
Fire Island. Her next novel was Motive
for Murder, which is the first in a mystery series that features the quirky
private eye with OCD, Erica Coleman.
Did
you always want to be a writer?
Always--ever
since I was in elementary school. I
think a large part of my wanting to be a writer came from me reading so
much. As a child, I was a voracious
reader. For three years in a row in
elementary school, I won the contest for reading the most books. And the prize was: A book! I was delighted, of course. Sometimes I wonder if writers are born,
because I’ve certainly always wanted to write.
What
is the name of your latest book, and if you had to summarise it in less than 30
words what would you say?
The name of my latest book is A Death in the Family. Boy, its hard to summarize with so few words,
but here goes:
Erica Coleman—a quirky private eye with OCD
begins investigating the family company but when two people are murdered, has
to find out whodunit before she becomes the next victim.
Who
is your publisher? or do you self publish?
I’m actually with two publishers. All of my
non-fiction is with Cedar Fort. My latest book with them came out last year and
is called Gaze Into Heaven—Near Death Experiences
in Early Church History. There have
been a lot of books written about modern day near-death experiences, but this
one focuses solely on those that occurred in the early days of the Church. My novels have been published by Covenant
Communications. Last year, the first
book in the Erica Coleman series came out; Motive
for Murder. Then, A Death in the
Family was recently released.
What
can we expect from you in the future? ie More books of the same genre?
Books of a different genre?
I have two books that have been
accepted and are awaiting publication. The first is Crooked House but my publisher always changes the titles so I don’t
know what they will call it! Here is a short summary:
Someone is trying to kill Liz
Johnson, and it is up to quirky private investigator, Erica Coleman, to find
out who it is. With an authentic setting in Dover, Delaware and against a
background of NASCAR racing, Erica works to stop the killer who has already
survived two murder attempts. Then, the murderer kills an innocent bystander.
It’s up to Erica to pinpoint the killer before he can succeed on his fourth
try. Crooked House is a thrilling mystery that will keep you on the edge until
the last page. As always, ten delicious recipes are included.
My second book that is awaiting
publication is my first effort in a new genre—romance. It’s called, A Home for Christmas. Here’s a short
summary:
Kenzie has big plans—the only
problem is she hasn’t told anyone about them. One of them is to buy the house
she grew up in—the home her brother, Tom, recently put up for sale. When she
arrives in Lake Forest for Christmas vacation, Kenzie is shocked to find that
her brother has accepted an offer on the house she desperately wants to buy.
Unwilling to give up her plans, Kenzie tries over and over to wrest the house
from the man who made the offer, a handsome widower named Jared Phillips.
Although they find themselves attracted to each other, it’s impossible for
Kenzie to even think about a relationship with the man who is taking away the
house she desperately wants. Jared is also drawn to Kenzie, but is cool and
suspicious because of what he considers her underhanded tricks. Then, a
surprising revelation works a Christmas miracle. As a special bonus, seven
delicious cookie recipes are included.
I’m also working on another Erica
Coleman mystery, called, Murder in the
Black Hills. I’d also like to do a sequel for my latest non-fiction book,
which came out last year— Gaze Into Heaven—Near
Death Experiences in Early Church History.
Where
do you get your book plot ideas from?
Mostly my ideas come from other
books. I pay attention to novels I read
and often when I’m done with a book I like, I write up a short summary and file
it away. Then, when it’s time to come up with a new idea for a book, I read
through all of my summaries, do a lot of thinking and pondering, and eventually
come up with an idea for a new plot.
How
long does it usually take you to write a book, from the original idea to
finishing writing it?
My
first book, Light on Fire Island, which
is a mystery romance, took me three years to write, but I had seven children at
the time. The kids have gotten older and I’ve gotten a little faster. Now if I
work hard, I can write a non-fiction book in about 6 months and a mystery in 9
months.
What
genre would you place your books into?
I write in two main genres. For many years, I wrote non-fiction. All of
those books were compilations of wonderful stories in early Church History. The
first was LDS Heroes and Heroines, which
has true stories about saints who risked their life in defense of the gospel.
My next three books were of true stories about early saints who either heard or
saw an angel. These books are; And There
Were Angels Among Them, Visits From Beyond the Veil, and By the Ministering of Angels. Next came Brigham’s Boys, which tells the life stories of sixteen men who
worked closely with Brigham Young.
I then branched out into writing novels and the genre I liked best was
mysteries, so I concentrated on that. However, last year I wrote a romance,
which is set at Christmas. It’s called, A
Home for Christmas, and will be released next year.
What
made you decide to write that genre of book?
I settled on mysteries because I have a passion for them. I adore Agatha Christie and gobble them down
like chocolates. I also grew up reading Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt.
I love the pull that comes when you really want to find out whodunit.
It makes the reader so involved in the story and as I read, I am right there
with the detective, finding clues, deciphering if they mean anything or if they
are red herrings, trying to find the psychological motive for the murder. I
find these things intensely interesting.
How
do you come up with characters names and place names in your books?
I get my names from two sources. First, I can look online. I found a
great website that lists names according to year. This way, if I have an older
character, I can type in their birth year and have a long list of names from
that era to pick from. Second, I save
names from the sports pages of my local newspaper when they list all-star
football and basketball teams. I clip
out the entire page and file it away for when I need some current popular
names. Each page has dozens of cool names.
As for the place names in my books, they are all 100% accurate. For A
Death in the Family, my husband and I drove to Oregon, rented a car and drove
all over Florence and Lake Oswego. When I describe the
Sea Lion Caves and how the gift shop and caves are laid out, it’s all accurate,
as is the descriptions of the beach, Heceta Head lighthouse, the historic Siuslaw Bridge, Charl’s Restaurant,
etc. Everything, including the church house and stores in historic Florence are
as described. I take great pride in going to each and every setting I write
about, taking tons of pictures and notes, so that everything is accurate.
Where can readers follow you?
They can check out my website at: www.marlenebateman.info
They can check out my website at: www.marlenebateman.info
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