Three Mapleton Mystery Novellas, a blend of police procedurals and cozy mysteries, now available in print.Deadly PlacesLife is a balancing act. When you’re a cop, the choices can be deadly.Ed Solomon, long-time police officer in the small town of Mapleton, Colorado, has been ribbed for thinking there’s a ring of assassins out killing deadbeat dads. However, he’s convinced these killers exist and … he’s convinced these killers exist and they’re doing their dirty work from behind an innocuous-looking travel blog. Proving the ring exists has been a sideline investigation for him, but it’s shoved further onto the back burner when Ed is forced to assume the duties of Chief.
Ed loves being a cop, but the Chief Stuff is getting him down. He’s juggling his own police duties, mounds of paperwork, and keeping the mayor happy. With all the extra hours, family tensions are on the rise as well. But when someone leaves an anonymous message for him at the station, handing him a new clue, he’s determined to prove these assassins exist. Setting up a sting operation by posing as a deadbeat dad makes Ed a target. Will he catch the assassins before he becomes their next victim?
Deadly Engagement
If you’re with a cop, there’s no escaping mystery and crime, even on a Caribbean cruise.
Angie Mead thinks time away from Gordon’s “Cop Stuff” is what he needs to distract him from being suspended as Mapleton’s Chief of Police and get over killing a man. A Caribbean cruise, where Gordon has no jurisdiction, seems the perfect solution—and Angie is looking forward to some fun in the sun.
Communication mishaps and Gordon’s apparent lack of interest in their getaway create second thoughts for Angie. That is, until a series of petty thefts give Gordon a new bone to chew on. When he includes Angie in his investigative way of thinking, the two of them switch to sleuthing mode, and their real adventure begins.
Deadly Assumptions
Will a string of mysterious trespassing incidents give Rookie Officer Ed Solomon his chance at being a big-time detective?
Gordon Hepler and Ed Solomon are reminiscing at Finnegan’s bar one snowy night, about a case that turned Gordon’s career path around and had Solomon rethinking his desires to be a big-city detective. Back then, Gordon had no intentions of being a cop, and Ed was a greener-than-green rookie police officer being trained by Arch Hepler, Gordon’s father.
In most places, people breaking into garden and storage sheds might not be a big deal, but in the small town of Mapleton, Colorado, it’s a veritable crime wave, at least according to Chief Dixon. Kids playing pranks? Or something more serious? Could these trespassers have something to do with a much bigger, big-city crime? What starts out as a perfunctory investigation soon escalates. Will Dixon, Arch Hepler, and new rookie Solomon discover the truth before Mapleton sees its first homicide in decades?
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The Mapleton Mystery Novella Set earns 5/5 Police Badges…Excellent!
I am new to Terry Odell’s police procedural-style dramas, but it took only a few chapters in the Mapleton Mystery trio to make me a “Deadly” fan! In this trio each individual story (100+ pages) is easily enjoyed in one sitting. The writing style is smooth, easy to follow with a very entertaining sense of humor that at times is delightfully snarky. Although I prefer the “I” perspective, Odell aptly uses a third-person narrative in Deadly Places and Deadly Engagement with realistic characters, effectively retelling valuable facts and background information (no spoilers), and some nail-biting peril. In the third book, Deadly Assumptions, she changes to a first-person narrative to better represent the story as a retelling from a main character’s perspective. Clever. The core set of characters have well-defined strengths and flaws and reacting in a realistic manner, but ultimately admirable with values that highlight the rule of law. I don’t usually read books with a male protagonist, but the two main characters, Ed Solomon and Gordon Hepler, along with two secondary characters, Arch and Dix, were all engaging reminiscent of a Walt Longmire, John Barnaby, and Inspector Morse personas: understated and introspective. Along with clever mysteries, often murder, to solve, small town mores and politics, other crimes and misdemeanors, family issues and conflicts, and a camaraderie found in a small town police group are incorporated well. I highly recommend this trio.
Deadly Places earns 5/5 Red Folders! Acting Chief of Police Ed Solomon, hopes Chief Hepler will return soon from his “vacation.” He had run afoul the mayor’s directive and although his 60-day suspension was rescinded, he still didn’t return to work. First thing in his morning review, Ed receives a “red folder,” indicating immediate attention. How did someone get past the front desk to deliver it to the deputy’s desk? Inside was an envelope and a partial URL that lead him to an obituary of a man death seems to fit with the Deadbeat Dad Killer investigation he’d been trying to get others to take seriously. So, what better way to prove his theory than going undercover. A great introduction for me! This police procedural-style drama is written well with intriguing contemporary questions to answer about men who refuse to support their families and vigilantism. With Solomon putting himself literally in the line of fire, the suspense is ramped up, and the final confrontation was a big “Wow!” Solomon is better suited to leadership than he thinks.
Deadly Engagement earns 5/5 Sea Passes! Chief Hepler is using his “suspension” as an opportunity to getaway with his girlfriend on a Caribbean cruise. Although his “Cop Vibe” was suppose to be offline, they decide to pit his vibes against her feelings when watching the other passengers. Angie has instincts, too, which come in handy when odd conversations are overheard, thefts are reported, people are not what they seem, and a dead body is propped in a vintage yellow Morgan. Clever! It’s fun to note this story overlaps with book one, Deadly Places. While Solomon is back in Mapleton appointed acting Police Chief and working to uncover an assassination ring, Gordon is off on vacation. This is my introduction to the main character in the novels. I thoroughly enjoyed his reactions, fun sense of humor, and his loving relationship with Angie also as a delightful investigative partnership.
Deadly Assumptions earns 5/5 Hindsight Memories! It’s been two years since Chief Dixon passed away and Gordon took over the Chief role, and with Gordon’s father, Archie Hepler, also a great cop, gone, too, “wallowing” in a drink seems apropos. Ed joins in with a retelling of a story from fifteen years back, when he was a “green” recruit under the tutelage of Hepler’s dad, Chief Dixon was in charge, and Gordon was away at college with no intention of following in his father’s footsteps. It was a dark and stormy night… A call came in about a possible break-in, and Dix reports an uptick of minor issues: trespassing, property damage, vandalism. Then strangers appear. A husband disappears. Assumptions are made, however, logical, but the old adage about “assuming” may put them in jeopardy…or dead. Engaging! It was delightful to be whisked back in time before the original novel when Solomon was a rookie, Hepler’s dad was his training officer, and Chief Dixon “Dix” was in charge. The narrative changes to first-person from Solomon’s perspective, but the drama was more explorative, real police work, and lamenting the tech shortcomings of the Mapleton PD. But, the “don’t assume anything rule” escalated well at the end for quite a page-turner experience.