Title: Fog City Strangler
Author: Greg Messel
Pages: 453
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Description:
As 1958 nears an end San Francisco is being terrorized by a man who calls himself the “Fog City Strangler,” who preys on pretty young blonde women. The strangler announces each murder by sending a note and piece of cloth from the victim’s dresses to the local newspapers.
Private eye Sam Slater is worried that the Fog City Strangler may be eyeing his beautiful blonde wife, stewardess Amelia Ryan. Sam’s angst mounts as the strangler continues to claim more victims. His anxiety is further fueled when TWA launches an advertising campaign with Amelia’s picture on a series of billboards plastered all over the city. Sam fears the billboards may attract too much attention–the wrong kind of attention.
Meanwhile, Sam and Amelia are hired to try to find the missing daughter of a wealthy dowager who fears she has lost her only child. The missing woman went for a walk with her dog on StinsonBeach, near San Francisco, and seemingly vanished into thin air. The woman’s husband arrived at their beach house and found the dog running loose but there was no trace of his wife. The police are stumped in their investigation.
As Sam and Amelia look into the disappearance of the woman on the beach they discover that nothing is as it seems at first glance. On a stormy night a shadowy figure sets fire to the beach house where the couple is staying–hoping to stop their investigation.
Fog City Strangler is a stand-alone thriller but is part of the Sam Slater Mystery Series–Last of the Seals, Deadly Plunge and San Francisco Secrets.
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Review:
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
This is the first Sam Slater mystery I have read but it won’t be the last. Fog City Strangler is actually several mysteries all in one but each one involves Sam and Amelia Slater in some way. Even though it’s pretty predictable, it’s nonstop action and an enjoyable read.
In between some of the chapters are black and white photos from 1958 which are interesting. Greg Messel is good at incorporating historical information into the story such as attendants at gas stations and green stamps. It had been a long since I’d thought about green stamps!
I like the author’s writing style. It’s easy to read and flows well although it does get a little repetitive at times. Events would occur that were written about and then the characters would discuss those events in detail so that I was reading about them twice. There were also enough typos to be a little distracting.
I definitely recommend Fog City Strangler, especially if you enjoy a good mystery. I plan on reading the previous, and the next, Sam Slater mysteries.
Purchase on Amazon
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About the Author:
Greg Messel grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in Edmonds, Washington on the Puget Sound with his wife, Carol. Fog City Strangler is his seventh novel and is the fourth in a new series of Sam Slater mystery novels. Greg has lived in Oregon, Washington, California, Wyoming and Utah and has always loved writing, including stints as a reporter, columnist and news editor for a daily newspaper.
Follow news about Messel’s writings and books at gregmessel.com.
Connect & Socialize with Greg!
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Greg Messel is giving away a 3 book set of his Sam Slater Mystery Series (Last of the Seals, Deadly Plunge and San Francisco Secrets AND a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
- By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
- One winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive the 3 book set and $25 Amazon Gift Card.
- This giveaway begins February 3 and ends on March 28.
- Winner will be contacted via email on Monday, March 31, 2014.
- Winner has 48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!
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