Sweet read on limited time Sale Murder in Sun City by Sid Frost

 Murder in Sun City

ISBN-13: 978-0-9903181-2-5

Kindle US

$2.99 Regular price

$1.99 1/3/2016--1/10/2016

Kindle UK

£1.99 Regular price

£0.99 1/3/2016--1/10/2016

CHRISTIAN BOOKMOBILE NOVEL No. 5

Sun City is typically calm…until Liz shows up in her red double-decker bookmobile and starts cruising. When she finds one of her patrons dead, the police call it an accident and a day…but Liz has her suspicions and isn't about to give up. Lieutenant Bratton has met his match.

James Jones is a Vietnam War veteran who continued to fight the battles long after the war ended and everyone went home. His encounters are mostly in his head today, but if the military took senior citizens, he'd sign up without batting an eye. Combat was what he did best and he is lost without it. Now, as a soldier of fortune, James ends up in Sun City also.

This is the story of what happens when Liz and James cross paths.

My review:

Sid Frost is not only one of my favorite people, he's become one of my favorite authors. In this mystery, the fifth in his bookmobile series, Sid draws his readers into the life of librarian Liz Seido Helmsley who has found her true love in a British ex-pat farmer named Samuel, married and moved to Sun City. She takes the beloved red double-decker mobile library introduced in The Vengeance Squad Goes to England, and it’s not long before Liz and the library give her the opportunity for a mobile library route in this squeaky clean retirement community.

But wherever Liz goes, trouble seems to proceed her. This time it’s with a library patron found dead. Neighbor’s stories about the deceased don’t add up, and when Lt. Joe Bratton of the local police wants to wrap up the case as a simple accident, Liz decides to dig a bit deeper. Sharon Coleman turns out to be a lady of many oddities and mysteries, and Mr. Coleman even more so. With the help of her newly graduated grandson Michael and the blessing, mostly, of Samuel, Liz embarks on her own investigation to help Lt. Bratton whether he needs it or not, and make sure the Coleman’s daughter receives her proper inheritance.

One of Sharon’s secrets, an apparently homeless veteran with PTSD, James Jones, complicates everything. As the story progresses and the twists and turns lead the reader deeper into the corkscrewed life of the Colemans, about the only sympathetic figure left, so it seems, is Princess, Sharon’s pet pooch.

Murder in Sun City is a fun mystery, highly recommended for those who enjoy cozy mysteries featuring characters with a lifetime of experience, and plenty of exciting turns. I especially appreciated the treatment of those who suffer from PTSD and may not be in full control of their faculties.

About the Author:

Sidney W. Frost was born and raised in Austin, Texas, served in the U.S. Marines in California, worked in the space industry in Los Angeles and Houston, and is now living in Georgetown, Texas. 

He is active in his church and is a former Stephen Minister and Stephen Leader.

He has loved choral music from an early age, and was in 42 Austin Lyric Opera productions. He and his wife, Celeste, sing in their church choir as well as the San Gabriel Chorale. They have also participated in several Berkshire Festivals in and out of the United States. He loves to travel and has visited 33 countries.

He has a Master of Science degree from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Long Beach. He has worked in the Information Technology business for many years, and in May, 2011, retired after thirty years as an Adjunct Professor of Computer Science at Austin Community College. He received the adjunct teaching excellence award in 2005. He now teaches writing courses, most recently a class on memoir writing for the Senior University of Georgetown.

He is the author of four Christian novels, set in and around Austin, Texas, and three non-fiction books. Awards for his first novel, Where Love Once Lived, include First Place in the 2007 SouthWest Writers Contest and First Place in the 2007 Writers' League of Texas Novel Manuscript Contest. Visit Sid’s website http://sidneywfrost.com, and Amazon author pages. http://amazon.com/author/sidneyfrost

Sid Frost and The Vengeance Squad

Welcome to Sid Frost who shares about love, writing, grief, and his latest news.

buy on Amazon
ISBN 978-0983070887

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$12.95 pbook


About the Book:
The Vengeance Squad helps one of its own when the bookmobile fund is stolen. Two years after the death of his fiancée, Chris McCowan begins to feel normal again. As normal as the situation allows. Sarah had told him to find a new love and be happy, but he never dreamed he would. That was before he fell in love with Angela. Did she feel the same about him? Perhaps he would soon find out. She had invited him to visit her at her home in Bath, England during his time off between semesters. He had his plane ticket before his fall teaching obligations were finished. 

Tex Thompson had worked part time at the library while attending college full time ever since he'd married Jane. Adding the Vengeance Squad's criminal investigative work on top of that left little time for her or the children. This time, Tex's wife had put her foot down. No more Vengeance Squad activities until he'd stayed home long enough for his children to get to know him again. And, she added, she expected some quality husband and wife time as well. This semester break would be different, Jane said, and Tex was looking forward to it. Chris and Tex were ready to spend more time with the ones they loved. But that was before they learned Liz Siedo, the third member of the group was the victim of a crime that could break her heart. 

Will Liz, the hugger, the cheer leader, the one who was always optimistic and always supportive, need their help? Will Chris and Tex abandon their plans to assist her? Will Liz allow the guys to break the law to rectify her mistakes? 

What you love about this latest book?

What I love about The Vengeance Squad Goes to England is the way Liz has evolved. Everyone seems to like her and she is in all my books. However, she has been a supporting character at most. In this latest book we get to know her a little better. Even though she always puts on a happy face, we now know she has feelings the way we all do. She lets her guard down a little in this book. I didn’t plan it that way, but it seemed natural. To tell the truth, Liz was supposed to be the main character in my first book, originally called Mrs. Pickle’s Bookmobile. But as I wrote, it turned into a book about Brian and Karen getting back together after thirty years, with Liz’s help. I’m working on the next book now, and am pleased to say it is all about Liz. It is told in first person and in a cozy mystery format just perfect for her. She’s also retired, married, and living on a farm near Georgetown. There’s a bookmobile, of course.

Sid, share something new you learned during the process of writing/publishing this one.

I learned to build the Kindle edition before publishing the paperback. I use a process of converting a scene at a time into html for the Kindle. For some reason, several errors popped out when I did. Unfortunately, I had already approved the paperback edition and ordered three dozen copies. I fixed the paperback and used the copies already printed as review and giveaway copies.

What are some of the challenges writing a series?

In general, I think writing a series is easier than not. You already have a good handle on your characters as well as settings. I thought I had two separate series. The first being Where Love Once Lived and Love Lives On and the second The Vengeance Squad and The Vengeance Squad Goes to England. However, I complicated things by having some characters in all four books. There is a chronology from the first to the last, but the vengeance squad books are different from the Brian and Karen books. The biggest challenge has been to make each book enjoyable on its own without repeating too much.

What do you like to read?

As a reviewer for several major Christian publishers, I read authors such as Davis Bunn, William Sirls, and Dee Henderson. I always learn something about writing from these authors. I also read many others that are different from what I might ever write. In addition, I am a member of a neighborhood book club where I find many excellent books I might never have read otherwise. I also enjoy Grisham and Sparks, but never read their books while I’m writing. They don’t tend to worry much about POV. Finally, there are a bunch of books I read for fun. I like Kathy Reichs, Elizabeth Berg, and Susan Wittig Albert, all quite different. I intend to follow Albert’s China Bayles series as a guide for my next book.

You’ve been a Stephen Minister and talk about it in your books. What does the ministry mean to you, Sid?

When my wife got sick in 2008, we were both Stephen Ministers and Stephen Leaders. She was a hospital chaplain as well. We had attended classes on dying and had taught classes on grieving. I had ministered to eight men over a period of a couple of years. But, when we learned my wife had pancreatic cancer, it became the only thing my life for the next eight months. I was with her around the clock even when she was in the hospital. I needed a Stephen Minister myself, but there was no time. When one of the kids or a friend gave me a break all I wanted to do was shower and sleep. My wife and I had time to talk, though, and I’m thankful for that. In the end, she taught me how to die.

She died the day before Thanksgiving in 2008. I spent Christmas and New Year’s alone in Halifax, a place we’d never been. I thought it would give me time to write and finish Where Love Once Lived, but it didn’t work. However, I grieved and returned ready to go back to work. I still didn’t get a Stephen Minister, because I didn’t want to talk about it. And I never went back to ministering to others. In a way I feel more qualified because of my experience, and I may volunteer again. I didn’t return to church for about six months and when I did, I met Celeste, a new member, and the woman I eventually married.

What’s new at Christian Bookmobile?

The Christian Bookmobile is my blog. I post book reviews, and talk about things of interest to both readers and writers of Christian books, fiction and nonfiction. Recently, I’ve started a new blog. It’s called Around the World of Inspired Fiction and is coauthored by writers from Australia, Canada, Scotland, and the United States. We plan to slant it for readers of Christian fiction. You can check it out here: http://christianfictionreaders.blogspot.com/.

Thank you, Sid, and best wishes with your newest endeavors.

About the author:

Sidney W. Frost is a former Stephen Leader and Stephen Minister, and is a member of his church choir at First United Methodist Church in Georgetown, Texas. He has served on the session at a Presbyterian church, and has been on the vestry at Episcopal churches. 

While singing with the Austin Lyric Opera Chorus, he was in 42 productions. He and his wife, Celeste, sing with the San Gabriel Chorale and have been in several Berkshire Festivals.

He was an Adjunct Professor at Austin Community College where he taught computer courses for more than thirty years. He received the adjunct teaching excellence award in 2005. 

While attending the University of Texas in the 1960's he worked part-time at the Austin Public Library driving a bookmobile after completing service in the U.S. Marines.

He is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers, the Writers League of Texas, and the San Gabriel Writers' League.

He has a Master of Science degree from the University of Houston and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California at Long Beach. 

Awards for Where Love Once Lived include First Place -- 2007 SouthWest Writers Contest in the Inspirational/Spiritual Category, First Place -- 2007 Writers' League of Texas Novel Manuscript Contest, Romance Category, Third Place -- Fourteenth Annual Lone Star Writing Competition, Northwest Houston Chapter of the Romance Writers of America, Inspirational Romance Category and Finalist -- 2006 Yosemite Writers Contest Novel Category.