Island Times Three is now a #1 Bestseller
What’s a Sanibel?
From the time he accepted the job from a woman vacationing on the remote island of Sanibel off the coast of southwest Florida, Manhattan private investigator Raymond Gray should have known this would be no ordinary case. For starters, someone with knowledge of the woman’s secret must have followed her, and when the suspects begin to multiply, Raymond must turn to his trusted secretary to provide essential information to keep the woman and her teenage daughter safe. As the suspects and clues evolve, the goon at the center of his investigation remains a constant, but the puzzling addition of a mysterious woman throws the case in a new direction. As Raymond struggles with the possibility that simple blackmail could turn into something even more sinister, he realizes that the isolation that Sanibel Island brings is the one thing the goons depend on—and it’s the kind of setting that could ultimately sabotage his clients’ rescue.
Island Times Three is at once a mystery novel and a historical narrative. The sparsely populated and isolated island of Sanibel in the middle of the 20th century is the heart of the story, and Island Times Three introduces readers to Raymond Gray, a Manhattan private investigator.
What an eventful year! In 1952:
1. A local Puerto Rican constitution is approved. 2. The first video game using a graphic display, OXO, is written. 3. Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway is published. 4. John F. Kennedy is elected to the U.S. Senate. 5. A dense fog in London trapped coal pollutants, factory emissions, and bus and car exhaust under extremely cold air, the combination dubbed “smog,” which eventually caused over 12,000 deaths. 6. The Cuban Constitutional Army, led by Fulgencio Batista, staged a coup and created a military dictatorship in the country.
Interesting Historical Facts About Florida!
1. The oldest settlement in the United States is in St. Augustine, established in 1565. 2. It’s the 22nd biggest state with over 65,000 square miles. 3. The Spanish brought the first horse to Florida in 1538. 4. The first lighthouse in Florida was built in St. Augustine in 1824. 5. Florida was admitted to the union in 1845. 6. The South Florida Railroad was the first Florida railroad, arriving in Tampa in 1883. 7. The overseas highway opens in 1928 connecting Key West to mainland Florida. 8. The 1926 Great Miami Hurricane flooded the entire island of Sanibel with salt water, which killed the crops and forced half of its residents to relocate.
What Makes Up a Mystery Novel?
1. The five elements of a mystery novel are the characters, the setting, the plot, the problem, and the solution. 2. Mystery and crime fiction can be broken down into 4 sub-genres: Detective, Cozy, Police Procedural, and Caper Stories. 3. Most mysteries follow this structure: a) the crime; b) the investigation; c) the twist; d) the breakthrough; d) the conclusion. 4. Elements of a mystery include crafting a strong hook (grasping the reader’s attention), throwing in red herrings (clues intended to be misleading or distracting to readers), letting the reader be the detective, throwing in unexpected behavior, and creating a satisfying climax and resolution. 5. Writing historical fiction has its own set of caveats: a) expect to conduct plenty of research (but don’t include everything you learn!); b) beware of assumptions; c) understand that no matter how much you research, a reader may find a historical flaw; d) If possible, walk the same streets your characters walked; e) Avoid anachronisms; and f) research and use proper speech patterns and dialects, but make sure it’s readable.
Feature Image by MustangJoe from Pixabay.
Kathleen Jae 