Leslie Elliott Mystery

When Leslie Elliott quits her public relations job up north and moves with her contrarian mother to a small Florida island to write mysteries, it doesn't take her long to realize the truth of the comment by her new friend, Deb Rankin: "No one around here minds their own business unless they're up to no good. And there's plenty of no good in this place." Hungry buzzards lead Leslie to an abandoned house where she discovers the carcass of a headless dog whose owner seems to be missing. Sightings of a human body on the beach fuel Leslie's obsessive curiosity. Her search for answers puts her at odds with the local sheriff and places her new island friends in jeopardy. As she explores the dark side of paradise, Leslie is confronted with the struggles by locals to survive in a millionaire's part-time playground, her bewildering yes-and-no feelings for a quiet fisherman with too many secrets and dangerous men who will stop at nothing to protect their lucrative criminal activities.

When Leslie Elliott quits her public relations job to move to a small island in southwest Florida, her dream of becoming a mystery writer threatens to become a nightmare as buzzards lead her to a headless dog carcass and a human body rolls in with the summer storms and then disappears, only to re-appear and vanish again. Leslie's search for answers and her run-ins with the sheriff take her on a journey that involves a fisherman with too many secrets, a local couple struggling to survive in a millionaire's playground and dangerous men who will stop at nothing to protect their lucrative criminal activities.

The End of His Journey The idyllic island where would-be-novelist Leslie Elliott lives in southwest Florida is shaken by the return of drug dealer, Jamie Thompson, who escaped the law and has vowed revenge on Leslie for exposing his cohorts and their thriving cocaine business. When his presence leads to two deaths, Leslie sets out to uncover the truth, recruiting her newspaper buddy, Wes Avery, and an unlikely ally to help. While assisting Leslie, Wes hears about the story of a young island resident who was said to have committed suicide at a party 20 years ago. His tortured father and old-timers in the community are still seeking answers to what happened that night. As Wes and Leslie help the father on his journey, they discover surprising and dangerous connections between the current tragedies and the two-decades-old shooting. The End of His Journey is the sequel to Scavenger Tides, which takes place shortly after Leslie Elliott quits her public relations job in the Midwest to move to Florida. Her dream of leaving the corporate world to become a mystery writer threatens to become a nightmare as buzzards lead her to a headless dog carcass and a human body rolls in with the summer storms and then disappears, only to re-appear and vanish again. Both mysteries, along with Leslie's Voice, the first in the series, are available where books are sold online.

In The End of His Journey, the second book in the Leslie Elliott mystery series, the idyllic island where Leslie lives in southwest Florida is shaken by the return of drug dealer, Jamie Thompson, who escaped the law and has vowed revenge on Leslie for exposing his cohorts and their thriving cocaine business. When his presence leads to two deaths, Leslie sets out to uncover the truth, recruiting her newspaper buddy, Wes Avery, and an unlikely ally to help. While assisting Leslie, Wes hears about the story of a young island resident who was said to have committed suicide at a party 20 years ago. His tortured father and old-timers in the community are still seeking answers to what happened that night. When Wes and Leslie join forces on both cases, they discover surprising and dangerous connections between the current tragedies and the two-decades-old shooting.

Amateur sleuth Leslie Elliott and her reporter friend, Wes Avery, return to their Florida island after vacationing in Key West to discover that a wealthy widow named Alice Gerkin has been killed by a falling church bell. Although the sheriff claims it was an accident, Leslie believes the woman's demise is linked to her outspoken criticism of the church's planned renovation. Leslie reaches out to a local handyman who worked for Alice. After investigating the belfry, he confirms Leslie's suspicions that it was more than deadly winds that caused the 300-pound bell to drop. He suggests that a dishonest construction worker named Troy Graham could be involved. When Graham's body turns up in a dumpster and the church's architect is found dead with a two by four nailed to her head, Leslie is convinced that one or more of the major figures in the church renovation are involved in their deaths. Her suspicions also include the pastor, who has told Leslie that Alice's death was "God's will." As the mysteries unfold and she confronts the church bell killer, Leslie finds herself locked in a room from which there is no escape and in the path of another deadly storm racing toward the island. Mystery and intrigue combine with a healthy dose of humor to keep the plot lively and entertaining in this latest novel featuring Leslie Elliott and her colorful island friends.

During a freak winter storm in Florida, a 300-pound bell plummets to the ground killing a member of the congregation who has vocally opposed an expensive church renovation project. Was it an accident or murder? Amateur sleuth and would-be novelist Leslie Elliott and her reporter friend, Wes Avery, return to their Florida island after vacationing in Key West to discover that a wealthy widow named Alice Gerkin has been obliterated in the church belfry. The sheriff is adamant that Alice's death was accidental. Leslie believes the woman's demise is linked to her outspoken criticism of the church's proposed remodeling. Leslie reaches out to a local handyman named Jake Fargo, who worked for Alice. After investigating the belfry, he confirms Leslie's suspicions that it was more than deadly winds that caused the bell to drop. He suggests that a dishonest construction worker he knows could be involved. When the construction worker's body turns up in a dumpster and the church's architect is found dead with a two-by-four nailed to her head, Leslie is convinced that one or more of the major figures involved in the renovation have something to do with the three deaths. Her suspicions also include the pastor who has told her that Alice's death was "God's will." Meanwhile, Leslie learns that Val Gammon, the adult son of her mother's fiancé, will be moving in with Leslie's mother temporarily. Leslie quickly recognizes that Val's affinity for mind-altering drugs and his connection to a dangerous Panamanian shaman could be a threat to her family's safety. Leslie plans a road trip to Tampa to unearth details about the church pastor's shadowy past and convinces Wes to fly to Panama to learn more about Val's connection to fatal activities that have taken place in the shaman's Temple of the Spirit. As the mysteries unfold and she confronts the church bell killer, Leslie finds herself locked in a room from which there is no escape and in the path of another deadly storm racing toward the island. Mystery and intrigue, combined with a healthy dose of humor, keep the plot lively and entertaining in this latest novel featuring Leslie Elliott and her colorful Florida friends.

In this latest installment of the Leslie Elliott mystery series, the tranquility of Anibonie Island (just off of Florida's Gulf Coast) is shattered by a carefully orchestrated and violent kidnapping plot. Well-heeled brothers Victor and Hugo Clerk are the targets of the criminals; a note demanding $200 million in ransom informs the police that the men will be buried alive until the money is paid. The kidnappers, who include an ex-soldier once convicted of murdering his commanding officer in Afghanistan, destroy the island's communication network and disable the bridge linking Anibonie to the mainland. Unable to bring in reinforcements, a small and unlikely team of intrepid investigators find themselves in a race against time to rescue the kidnapped brothers from a horrible fate. Among them are public relations expert Leslie Elliott, who recently moved to the island to start a new career as a mystery writer, and her friend, Wes Avery, a newspaper reporter from the Midwest who gave up his big-city job and now writes for the island's paper. They are assisted by Alex Pendry a young, inexperienced sheriff's deputy; Ray Santiago, a fireman' and the fearless Gene Miller, whose day job is to reduce the island's increasingly destructive iguana population. In this page-turning thriller, readers will be carried along, fully engaged as the twists and turns of the plot produce unexpected revelations.