Contract For Chaos
Judy Alter
Series: Kelly O’Connell Mysteries
Paperback: 334 pages
Publisher: Alter Ego Press; 1 edition (June 20, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0996993509
ISBN-13: 978-0996993500
BOOK BLURB: When four young men sign the rental contract on a Fairmount House, realtor Kelly O’Connell has no idea she has just signed a contract for chaos. But the racial tensions sweeping the country erupt in Fort Worth, and her tenants fan the flames. A young black policeman shoots an unarmed white teenage thief who charged him, the chief of police is shot by a sniper, and Kelly’s husband, Mike, is appointed interim chief of police. Life changes dramatically for Kelly and her family. Protests, threats, beatings, and graffiti mark daily life in Kelly’s beloved city. She must protect her infant, reassure her older daughters, and support Mike as he deals with the racism and dissension creeping through the police force and the city. How can she keep her family safe and stop the hate? Will the mayor’s city-wide Celebration of Neighbors calm a city on the edge?
REVIEW/PREVIEW: Well as he old cliche goes, “the best laid plans” and all that. There was a bit of a problem with getting the book in time to read it and be ready for the review today. I won’t bore you with the details, but since dates were set for Judy’s blog tour, and I have her guest post for Wednesday, the decision was made to introduce the book today.
While I do plan to come back after I’ve read the book and leave a real review, I will say that I am familiar with Judy’s work, and she is a very good writer. Her credentials are impressive, and the awards she has received for her books are not given out lightly. I’m sure you would not be disappointed with this title, or any of her others.
WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT ALTER’S WORK – This review from an Amazon reader is for the 4th book in the Kelly O’Connell series and introduces Kelly quite well:
“Kelly O’Connell just can’t help herself.
“She is driven to restore historic houses in her beloved Fairmount neighborhood in Fort Worth, and she is compelled to stick her nose into some shady goings on behind the scenes that could cost her much more than her real estate license. Fixing up old homes is one thing, O’Connell has that down, but snooping around where drug dealers tread opens up a can of nails that she hadn’t bargained for.
“Within the backdrop of neighborhood eateries and old houses, accomplished author Judy Alter brings a colorful cast of characters alive scene after scene. Alter’s love of cooking and infatuation with old Craftsman homes permeates the story like a dash of just the right spice in your favorite dish.
“But when local drug dealers start messing with the neighborhood recipe, Kelly O’Connell, mother of two, finds herself stewing in something that she hadn’t expected. And despite orders from her policeman husband to butt out, she continues to stir the pot.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Judy Alter is the award-winning author of three mysteries series: Kelly O’Connell Mysteries: Skeleton in a Dead Space, No Neighborhood for Old Women, Trouble in a Big Box, Danger Comes Home, Deception in Strange Places, Desperate for Death, and The Color of Fear; three in the Blue Plate Café Series: Murder at the Blue Plate Café, Murder at the Tremont House, and Murder at Peacock Mansion; and two Oak Grove Mysteries: The Perfect Coed and Pigface and The Perfect Dog. She is also the author of historical fiction based on lives of women in the nineteenth-century American West. She has also published several young-adult novels, now available on Amazon..
Her work has been recognized with awards from the Western Writers of America, the Texas Institute of Letters, and the National Cowboy Museum and Hall of Fame. She has been honored with the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement by WWA and inducted into the Texas Literary Hall of Fame and the WWA Hall of Fame.
Judy is retired as director of TCU Press, the mother of four grown children, and the grandmother of seven. She and her dog, Sophie, live in Fort Worth, Texas.
Follow her on her Amazon Author Page * Read her Blog * And visit her on Facebook
BUY LINK for Contract for Chaos:
**Please come back on Wednesday to read Judy’s guest post about dealing with aging characters.
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