This set has the first four books in the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series, set in the fictional Ocean Alley, NJ. Fiction you can share with your mom. Even better than that, you can introduce yourself to the series for free. The Jolie Gentil mystery series debuted in October 2011 with Appraisal for Murder. It was followed by Rekindling Motives, When the Carny Comes to Town, and Any Port in a Storm. Jolie is a real estate appraiser in a New Jersey Beach town and her flexible schedule seems to allow plenty of time for trouble. With a name that translates to "pretty nice" (thanks to her French Canadian dad), she's used to teasing, and her embezzler ex-husband taught her more about trouble than she ever expected. But stumbling across dead bodies in the middle of the work day? That's a new one. As she reconnects with old friend and walks Aunt Madge's prune-eating dogs, Jolie tries to stay one step ahead of murder.
Jolie Gentil cozy mystery box set. After rekindling friendships, Jolie has gotten readjusted to life in Ocean Alley and manages to balance appraising real estate with chairing the Harvest for All Food Pantry. What she can't quite do is mind her own business. This boxed set puts together books five through seven of the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series. They are Trouble on the Doorstep, Behind the Walls (short-listed for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards), and Vague Images. Join Jolie and friends as they figure out if the two deaths relate to contracts for Hurricane Sandy repairs, determine who is willing to kill for a stash of jewels behind the walls of the house Jolie just bought, and find out who killed the hospital budget cutter. And the food pantry? The fundraisers have a worthy purpose, but it's the laughs you'll remember. Can you say liquid string contest? What are readers saying? Trouble on the Doorstep: There's something for everyone in these stories- plenty of mystery and intrigue, loyal friendships and a spark of romance--and it's fun to reacquaint with the old friends from volumes 1-4. I'd love to see more stories from this series! Vb Behind the Walls: “I like the way the stories are tied together from the first book to the most recent. This author is spending a lot of time carrying the continuity forward.” Vague Images: This is the most exciting in this wonderful series…I look forward to every addition. Not sure how Jolie always end up in the middle of all these murders, but it's fun to see how she muddles her way through.
Two Plus Two: Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series Enjoy four books in the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series. Two are "numbered" books, and two are special books to the series. The Unexpected Resolution (Book 10) The Twain Does Meet (Novella) Underground in Ocean Alley (Book 11) Aunt Madge and the Civil Election (an Aunt Madge Long Short Story) Many of the story lines from earlier books come together in these four books. “The Unexpected Resolution” is part of another box set of Jolie Gentil cozy mysteries. However, the four books in this grouping are part of an integral story line. If you’ve already read “The Unexpected Resolution,” I hope you enjoyed it. If you haven’t, you’ll appreciate having these books together.
Jolie Gentil Cozy Mysteries Box Set Books 8 - 10 Jolie Gentil continues to solve mysteries and become more involved in the Ocean Alley community. And she's starting to realize her feelings for an old friend are growing beyond friendship. Ground to a Halt. When Jolie Gentil goes to buy a cup of coffee the morning after a storm knocks out power at her house in Ocean Alley, she finds Java Jolt unlocked and minus its owner. A bigger surprise is seeing proprietor Joe Regan a few minutes later, badly injured. It seems a potential killer thinks Jolie has something Joe was hiding. The normal routine of appraising houses and volunteering at the Harvest for All food pantry is interrupted by an SUV that nearly smashes Jolie, a break-in at the home Jolie and Scoobie share, and a terrifying kidnapping. Jolie needs to figure out who's telling the truth and how far the thugs will go to to find what they want. Only solving the puzzle will keep Jolie safe, protect a vulnerable Iraqi vet, and make sure everyone stays alive. But if Jolie keeps searching, her budding romance with Scoobie may grind to a halt. Holidays in Ocean Alley. Aunt Madge is spending a few weeks in the Silver Times Senior Living after standing on a stool to hang garland. Her niece Jolie's good friend Scoobie teams up with her to figure out whose body fell into Madge's apartment in the wee hours one morning. Does the killer think Aunt Madge knows something she shouldn't? Can Madge find a way to solve the crime and provide some cheer to injured children? She's determined to do just that. But she needs to be really careful. The Unexpected Resolution. Wedding days are special, but they don't usually pack as big a surprise as Jolie and Scoobie's New Year's Eve nuptials. Scoobie never knew much about his family -- and after the way he grew up, who could blame him for liking it that way? A 9-1-1 call during the wedding changes everything. Suddenly Jolie has to help Scoobie figure out what he wants to know, and determine who may want someone in his family dead. Publisher's Weekly called The Unexpected Resolution, "A…story about unexpected life events and the honest love that binds no matter what."
Jolie Gentil Mysteries: Books 12-14 and the Prequel -- Jolie and Scoobie High School Misadventures The Jersey Shore can be fun, but then there's the occasional murder. Ocean Alley's most curious sleuth, Jolie Gentil, stays on top of crime, but has to use careful judgment so she doesn't mess up life with her great husband and four-year old twins. Somehow, trouble still finds her, and from time to time she enlists friends to help her solve a murder before a killer comes after her. Sticky Fingered Books. Generally, parents don't find bodies in their kids' daycare center. Leave it to Jolie to be the exception. Murder isn't funny, but the adults and 4-year-old twins bring chuckles as Jolie gets help from Scoobie and friends George and Ramona as she tries to figure out who wanted the daycare director dead. And what does it have to do with plans for downtown changes. Can development be deadly? New Lease on Death. People don't usually keel over in the Java Jolt Coffee Shop, and Jolie does not (often) find bodies in vacant houses. Jolie didn't think anyone in Ocean Alley's real estate business could be ornerier than cigar-chewing Lester Argrow, but Buck Brock wins the prize. Problem is, the prize is death in a vacant house, with an old friend of Jolie's as a key suspect. Phoning in a Murder. The band director hates cell phones in class or on the football field. But is that a good reason to kill him? Or maybe he's chosen his friends poorly. Either way, Scoobie's much younger brother is the last person seen on security footage before the band teacher dies. Jolie needs to prove he isn't the one who stuck a needle in the man's neck. Jolie and Scoobie High School Misadventures. Sixteen-year-old Jolie is furious to be duped. She gets dropped off at Aunt Madge's Cozy Corner B&B not for a fun weekend, but for her junior year of high school while her parents "work things out" in their marriage.She feels like an outsider, but does make friends with Scoobie, a kid who seems to be always on his own. To make money, she babysits. Who knew taking care of kids could be dangerous? Review: "My favorite part of this series is following the arc of characters whose lives feel authentic: Babies and seniors, recovering alcoholics and vets with PTSD, and everything else we all see in our communities. These topics are treated as the part of life, which they are, and rather than detract from the story, they enrich it." Amazon Review
Final Cycle A Police Procedural with a Cozy Feel Marti and Nick have inherited The Bully Pulpit Diner in Logland, Illinois, and their first Christmas season is not off to a good start. When Marti heads to the laundromat to retrieve clean linens, she finds the body of town grouch Louella Belle Simpson cycling through the dryer. Louella Belle has racked up a lot of ill will by constantly voicing her opinions on Logland inhabitants' weight and food consumption. Chief Elizabeth Friedman has few clues and little help from the alarmed Logland residents. When a second body turns up in the senior citizen apartment parking lot, it seems the killer wants to silence anyone who's a threat. And then someone goes after Skelly, the medical examiner who likes to needle the chief. As Elizabeth and the small Logland police force wade through suspects and clues, they learn some poignant facts that serve as a reminder of why we need to reach out to people who aren't easy to help. Join the eclectic mix of Logland characters as they try to solve a murder and celebrate Christmas.
This set has the first four books in the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series, set in the fictional Ocean Alley, NJ. Fiction you can share with your mom.The Jolie Gentil mystery series debuted in October 2011 with Appraisal for Murder. It was followed by Rekindling Motives, When the Carny Comes to Town, and Any Port in a Storm. Jolie is a real estate appraiser in a New Jersey Beach town and her flexible schedule seems to allow plenty of time for trouble. With a name that translates to "pretty nice" (thanks to her French Canadian dad), she's used to teasing, and her embezzler ex-husband taught her more about trouble than she ever expected. But stumbling across dead bodies in the middle of the work day? That's a new one. As she reconnects with old friend and walks Aunt Madge's prune-eating dogs, Jolie tries to stay one step ahead of murder.
Jolie Gentil and friends are putting the finishing touches on the Talk Like a Pirate Day fundraiser for the food pantry and trying to figure out who's breaking into some of the houses Jolie appraises. When she realizes a new face in town is leading high school kids into trouble in those houses, she's mad and lets him know it. But Hayden offers to help her mind her own business, and a lot of people at the fundraiser hear her give him what for. A hurricane's on the way to disrupt the fundraiser, and when a corpse turns up under the pirate ship the next day, someone wants to be sure Jolie looks like a suspect. When her car gets run into a ditch, Jolie knows someone is seriously mad at her. Soon she's getting less work. Who wants a murder suspect appraising their house? Scoobie's pirate limericks can't solve a crime, so Jolie and her sometimes buddy local reporter George Winters look for the murderer and try to figure out who's trying to frame Jolie. They need to stay ahead of whoever's mad at her and off the radar of the local police who tell Jolie -- for the hundredth time -- to butt out. For a cozy mystery with a dose of humor and a touch of romance, join Jolie and friends in Ocean Alley.
A dinner invitation for Digger, who is accompanied by the very pale Uncle Benjamin, gets her involved with a recently discovered relative of their elderly friend Thelma, whose brother died during World War II. DNA testing has led his until-now-unknown great-grandson, Peter, to Maple Grove in the Western Maryland Mountains. Thelma enlists Digger's help as she gets to know Peter. But his presence is not the only surprise. Letters Thelma recently received from another brother’s estate raise questions about what happened to some of her parents’ prized possessions. Were they submerged with the family's old farm house, which became part of Deep Creek Lake when it was filled in the mid-1920s? Digger and Uncle Benjamin see no way to learn more, but night visits to the lake by an unscrupulous duo may mean someone else is looking for valuables to plunder. But how would they know it exists, and what would convince them to dive for it? And what will happen to Digger or her friend Marty if they get in the way of the treasure seekers?
14th Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery 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. ISBN via Ingram paperback distribution (bookstores/libraries) 978-1-948070-99-7
