RECENT REVIEW OF FIVE QUICKIES

            A very nice review of my newest book by a popular blogger just appeared.   Kathryn Svendsen, in her blog “Shelf Full of Books”, reviewed “Five Quickies for Roger and Suzanne”. 
She gave this anthology a rating of 4 stars.

            “This is an anthology of 5 stories of shorter length from novelette length to short story. Each one is about Roger Bowman, a private detective, who once was a patent lawyer and a police detective. The first of the five stories The Empanada Affair takes places in Argentina. Three of the stories take place in Los Angeles and the fifth story “The Haunted Gymnasium” takes place in Fortaleza, Brazil. Most of the stories have some kind of connection to South America

PROGRESS IN THE GALAPAGOS AND OTHER STUFF

            The current Work In Progress reached a milestone.   The first draft of “The Origin of Murder” is complete, I’ve also completed the first round of edits, and a copy is currently being read by my wife with her trusty blue pen.   I like this new book, which started with rediscovering Elaine’s journal describing her impressions of what we saw when we took the cruise through the Galapagos Islands that Roger, Suzanne, and their entourage take in this current novel.   The plot evolved from the original idea (which is still the central theme of “Whydunit”), to a much more complex story as the peripheral characters began clamoring for enhanced identities and backstories.   “Whodunit” evolved with the novel.   Along the way I ended up doing a lot of research (I’d tell you about what, but that would be a spoiler) and learned a lot about [CENSORED] and [CENSORED].

AN EXPERIMENT WITH AMAZON KDP’S NEW BOOK PROMOTION, THE KINDLE COUNTDOWN DEAL

            Amazon KDP recently announced a new book promotion opportunity.  For up to seven days you can reduce the price on your KDP entry to any amount you want on any kind of staggered schedule you might care to try.   The incentives are (1) there’s a special promotional page on Amazon where your book is announced as a participant, and (2) you get the full 70% royalty on sales, even if the price is below the normal threshold for the 70% royalty.   It seemed a fun thing to try---the worst-case scenario was nobody would be interested in a book I put on this promotion.   That would have been OK, as I chose a book with low sales at this time but one that is an excellent entry point into my series because it features pretty much all of the recurring characters in five shorter stories.

            The new promotion started on a curious date, 11/12/13.   I announced the promotional price, $0.99, a substantial reduction from the normal price of $2.99 for this novel-length anthology, on a couple of dozen Facebook sites and on my own Facebook page.   The promotion was set to run for seven days, through the 18^th. 

THE NEWEST ROGER AND SUZANNE NOVEL

The current Work In Progress is almost completed through the first draft stage.   I don’t have a title yet.   Here’s the set-up.   Roger and Suzanne, along with Robert and Bruce, are taking a long overdue vacation tour though the Galapagos Islands.   This is another fascinating piece of South America Elaine and I have visited that I wanted to share with my readers.   On the second day of the tour, as their Zodiac raft motors towards one of the islands Suzanne finds a dead body floating in the ocean just off the beach.   And we’re into another South American mystery novel starring my favorite couple of detectives.   And there to help are Eduardo Gomez, his wife Sophia who we'll meet for the first time, and the mysterious General Vincente Aleman. 

THE SURREAL KILLER WINS AN AWARD

I just received an e-mail telling me that "The Surreal Killer" won the Indie Book of the Day award today.  This novel, the third (and soon to become the second) in the Roger and Suzanne South American mystery series, is the best seller in the series thus far.  I recommend it highly for those of you who haven't read it yet.

The image of the award is embedded below.

FIVE COMPELLING REASONS WHY EVERY MYSTERY WRITER NEEDS A DOG

Today, we have the pleasure of a guest post submitted by friend and fellow mystery writer Carmen Amato.  Carmen writes a series of mysteries starring police detective Emilia Cruz, which I particularly enjoy reading, set in Acuapulco, Mexico, where she has lived.  She also owns a dog.  This post celebrates Rudi, The Wonder Dog, and his many contributions to the creative process.  Welcome to this blog, Carmen.

Jerry and I are both mystery authors and dog lovers. We both like big breeds, too. He has German Shorthaired Pointers, the same as Robert B. Parker’s Spenser character, whose Pearl the Wonder Dog is featured in many of the series’ novels. And I have a German Shepherd named Rudi who owns our family much the same way that Lassie owned Timmy.

MORE REVIEWS OF THE DEADLY DOG SHOW---AT TEN DAYS OLD

The rest of the reviews for "The Deadly Dog Show", thus far. (N = 11, Mean score = 4.9 Stars out of a possible 5.0)

1. Doggonit.  What a good read...! Well done and captivating. I loved the character development and was truly drawn into the story with all of its' twists and turns.

2. Mystery, dogs and a quick read---3 simple reasons to buy: I rarely read anything other than cookbooks or lately informational books on raising farm animals. However, in the midst of a trying few months in my life, I was given the opportunity to read this mystery by Mr. Last. It was a great way to divert my attention from reality, yet seemed so familiar, as a Northern California resident, a dog owner and a foodie. We currently own a champion German Shorthaired Pointer named 'Bruce' and plan on owning this breed for the rest of my life. It is always nice when you can read something so entertaining and feel like you are almost part of the story. I am always particularly pleased when details about food are included because it allows one to not only visualize the story and the character, but also smell the scene. Like his many other pieces, this too is a pleaser!

Bonus: There's enough time in your busy schedule to read this book and it costs less than an espresso beverage.

THE FIRST BATCH OF REVIEWS FOR THE DEADLY DOG SHOW

As of today, July 26, 2013, “The Deadly Dog Show” has been published for six days and has garnered 9 reviews, with an average ranking of 4.9 out of a possible 5 stars.  Here are a few examples from the eight 5-star reviews (quoted accurately and in their entirety from the book’s Amazon page).

1.  “A must for dog show enthusiasts” by Sharon. 

“I've read several books in this series and found them entertaining, with good characterization and accurate feel for the settings.

This is much my favorite, however, because of my own dog show background. Have to say this is the first mystery with a setting/background in the show dog world that has no errors that I noted. The plot, involving dog show officials, might have been just a bit over the top in some ways but it did hold together.

Entertaining addition to the series and wonderfully accurate background and setting. Will appeal to mystery readers and if you're a dog show person, whether you usually read mysteries or not, this is a must read.”

THE DEADLY DOG SHOW

Did you ever think that you’d like to kill the judge who didn’t give you (your dog, your horse, your child) the victory?  Did you ever get a gift from a secret admirer who might not really admire you?  Have you ever been in a competition that was rigged so you couldn’t win?  The seventh book in the popular Roger and Suzanne mystery series finds Roger and Bruce hired to go undercover impersonating the owner and handler of a Champion German Shorthaired Pointer named Juliet to investigate certain irregularities that might be occurring at dog shows in California.  To complicate this case the bodies of dead judges start popping up and Suzanne picks up a mysterious stalker sending her most unwelcome gifts.  Throw in drug cartels and corrupt cops and it sounds like a typical job for our detective couple.  “The Deadly Dog Show” may be read as a stand-alone novel, but fans of the series should enjoy reconnecting with characters they have met in the previous books.  This whodunit novel should appeal to mystery fans, dog lovers, and anyone who wants to learn more about the world of dog show competition. 

THE STORY BEHIND THE BOOK

Today we have a guest post by fellow mystery writer Gabrielle Black,

--> author of Treating Murder: Book One of the Veronica Lane, M.D. series.  Gabrielle is a physician.  By an odd coincidence, so is her detective character, Veronica Lane.  Gabrielle follows in a rich tradition of M.D. mystery writers, starting with the most famous, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, inventor of Sherlock Holmes.  And now, to our guest blogger, Dr. Black...........

-->

Novel writing usually involves writing back stories on characters. You seldom get to see these. There is also usually a back story to how the idea came to be. You seldom get to see these either, but sometimes the 'making of' is almost as cool a the story itself. I realized this recently while watching the making of Star Wars. George Lucas before he was a gazillionaire. So, with that on my mind, I'll share with you: The making of...Treating Murder by Gabrielle Black. 

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND SPECIAL-HALF-PRICE SALE

For the Holidays, my two short novels in the Roger and Suzanne mystery series are available from Amazon KDP for $0.99 (normal price $1.99), and for £0.65 in the UK.  This is less than half their normal price, so is a very good deal.  Click on the links indicated or on the book covers to the right to go directly to the Amazon home page for either Kindle book.

 

 "The Body in the Parking Structure" is a hard-boiled mystery that features characters from the author's popular South American mystery novel series working on a murder case at home in Los Angeles. The clues are all there: Can you figure out whodunit before Roger does? 4 Stars based upon 9 reviews.
     US LINK: http://www.amazon.com/Body-Parking-Structure-ebook/dp/B008PDV9WC/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343432381&sr=1-1&keywords=the+body+in+the+parking+structure
    UK LINK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Body-Parking-Structure-ebook/dp/B008PDV9WC/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1343488846&sr=1-1

"The Body in the Bed", a suspenseful 4.4-star whodunit novella (7 reviews), brings Roger and Suzanne back to Montevideo, Uruguay where another bloody murder needs to be solved. 

     US: http://www.amazon.com/South-American-Mystery-Series-ebook/dp/B00A1PZZ86/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352084384&sr=1-6&keywords=the+body+in+the+bed

     UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/South-American-Mystery-Series-ebook/dp/B00A1PZZ86/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1352084384&sr=1-6&keywords=the+body+in+the+bed

MURDER AT A DOG SHOW

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My current WIP novel “The Deadly Dog Show” is just about ready for publication.  The penultimate version is being proofread, edited, and tweaked before being sent next week to a short list of would-be reviewers to critique on Amazon and/or Goodreads.   Please add a comment here after this post or e-mail me directly if you’d like to request a review copy (PDF format) before publication of the book on Amazon KDP.   Reviews improve the author's writing and sell his or her books, so are an essential component of the overall publishing process.   I’ll do one more round of edits and tweaks while that’s occurring and the book should be on Amazon and available for readers to enjoy.  

The new novel features Roger doing an undercover investigation of alleged improprieties at several California dog shows, ably assisted by Robert’s nanny Bruce and by Suzanne.  Bruce is a nanny of many talents, including his abilities as a dog trainer and handler in the show ring.  Vincent Romero, the former CIA agent from Chile who we first met in “The Surreal Killer”, rounds out Roger’s investigative team in this entry in the popular series.  In between finding bodies at dog shows and discovering the identity of Suzanne’s mysterious stalker, Roger and Bruce have time to pick up a purebred Champion hunting dog named Juliet to lend credibility to their undercover identities as an owner/sponsor and a professional handler at several shows and for Bruce to train in tracking and scent work just in time to find a key clue as to who killed the murder victims.

THE BODY IN THE PARKING STRUCTURE

The 11,600-word novelette, "The Body in the Parking Structure", was my first book written in a shorter format than the traditional novel.  This very fast-paced mystery story features characters from the author's popular South American mystery series working on a murder case at home in Los Angeles.  The book can be purchased from Amazon for $1.99, and is free to borrow by Prime members.  Just click on the appropriate link below or the book cover image on the right.  Can you figure out whodunit before Roger does?  

  

 Amazon Book page

Amazon UK Book Page

Here’s an excerpt (950 words—8% of the story) from the beginning of the book to get you hooked:        

                                                Chapter 1. Suzanne finds the body

            For the first time since we had met, Suzanne discovered a dead body without me being there.  She was collecting her car at twilight from the UCLA parking structure after a quick trip to the laboratory to change the samples on a DNA sequencer.  The structure seemed to be deserted except for her and a large lump lying lifeless between her car and the garage wall.  She called 911 to report the body then called me. 

RECENT BOOK REVIEWS---NOVELLA AND NOVELETTE

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I’ve published two shorter books, a novella and a novelette.  They are faster paced and shorter (duh!) than the novels, but as intricately plotted and with the same featured characters.  Try one or both of the books; I think you’ll enjoy them.  Both are well rated by the readers who have submitted reviews to Amazon.

This review was very nice!  From the most recent (5-stars) review of “The Body in the bed” on Amazon. “Although "The Body in the Bed" is the first of Mr. Last's "Roger and Suzanne Bowman" mysteries I've read, now I'll have to go pick up all the earlier stories in the series. Roger and Suzanne, now a married couple living in Beverly Hills, remind me in a gentle way of Nick & Nora Charles, the fictional (and film) married detectives of the 1930's, who in their socially upscale and light-hearted way, solved crimes. Roger is a former homicide detective in L.A., turned private investigator; Suzanne is a remarkably intelligent, highly educated, woman, now mother of a one-year-old son. Much of their focus revolves around the city of Montevideo in Uruguay; that is how they met, and it seems that on every trip to that city of which they are so fond, they encounter yet another corpse. This trip, it's in bed in their hotel room. By the time the story is finished, Roger & Suzanne have of course solved the crime, rooted out corruption in high places, and made their friends involved with the case happy, or at least satisfied with results, and the reader has enjoyed a delightful story line.” 

http://archiestandwoodsreviewsandwritings.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-body-in-bed-roger-suzanne-mysteries.html

THE NEWEST REVIEW OF THE BODY IN THE BED.

Great review.   5.0 out of 5 stars

Fast paced novella,

By 

Loves All Things Books (Oklahoma)

This review is from the Amazon book page:

The Body in the Bed (South American Mystery Series) (Kindle Edition)

I received The Body in the Bed by the author for an honest review. This is a short read, a print length of about 68 pages. The reader doesn't have to read the past Mystery novels written about Roger and Suzanne to read this one. Though I fully recommend you read those too if this one sparks your interest.

Roger and Suzanne head back to Montevideo to celebrate their friend's promotion in the police force. When they arrive they find a body in the bed. Seems like every time they visit this country there's a new mystery to solve.

I cannot wait to start reading the other novels by Jerold Last. Two thumbs up for The Body in the Bed!

THE REAL JULIET

In the current WIP, tentatively entitled "The Deadly Dog Show", Roger and Suzanne, with a lot of help from their Nanny Bruce and Roger's new partner in his detective agency, Vincent Romero, go undercover to investigate irregularities allegedly occurring at a series of major dog shows in California. As part of their cover identities they borrow a dog for Bruce to train and show, called Juliet in the novel. The fictitious Juliet is modeled very closely after our Jolie, AKC Grand Champion Von Der Nacht's Classic Beaujolais, JH, SH, especially when her behavior and personality are being described. To avoid concerns about quarantine regulations and the potential adverse effects of hot, humid weather on the dogs during the shows, this novel is set mainly in California rather than in our more usual locales in the Southern Cone of South America.

Jolie has spent most of her life as a member of a family dog pack, the first three years with just Mom, Vinia, and the second three years with Vinia and Jolie's daughter, Schone. Jolie deferred to Vinia until she had her first litter of puppies, but is probably the dominant bitch in a very mellow pack these days, at least in some ways. For example, she gets to go out of the door first when the pack heads for the back yard. She loves to give big slurpy kisses to humans, including strangers if they have a positive attitude. Like all three of our dogs, and like Juliet, she is a superb athlete in the field and in the back yard.

This book has its origins in Elaine's wanting to see one of these novels having a dog-based theme, especially if it could capture some of her interests in German Shorthaired Pointers and dog shows.  Throw in a badly concealed version of one of our dogs and she seems to be happy, pending some heavy editing still to be done.  Stay tuned to this blog, and hopefully we'll be announcing this book's publication some time this Spring season.

A Historical Discovery

Where does the next new book idea come from?  In this case I can give us a very simple and precise answer.  After a lot of years it was time to paint the inside of our house again. That in turn was an excuse (necessity?) to reorganize messy desks and closets and peek into various cracks and crevices. Even (shudder!) to throw away a lot of old junk. But we unearthed a few lost treasures, too. One of them was Elaine's journal from our trip to Quito, Guayaquil, and The Galápagos Islands several years ago. This little bit of hidden treasure ensures that somewhere on the to-do list is a visit to the Galápagos Islands and a body or two for Roger and Suzanne to discover among the Booby Birds and the tortoises. I've also been meaning to re-read Darwin's classic treatise, "Origin of Species", so it might be an excuse to sprinkle a bit of biology into a novel. We'll see.

We met a few very interesting people on that trip. I assume that Roger and Suzanne will meet their fictional doppelgangers in this book to be (book in utero?). These characters should include the two sisters from San Francisco and the mysterious handsome Ecuadorian dude, Raul, who was trying so hard to pick them up (in the face of little or no resistance to the idea).  Raul had his big secret in real life.  Should that secret also transfer to his fictional doppelganger?  I strongly suspect that it will.  One of the low spots of that trip was the taxi drivers' strike in Quito where they closed down travel in the city by setting huge bonfires consisting of burning old tires on the main boulevards.   I don't know if I'll try to work that experience into the story.  One of the high spots of our trip was sitting next to an Ecuadorian Air Force General on the flight from Guayaquil to Baltra and learning about what the Air Force of a modern South American country just to the south of Colombia does.  I'm sure the general will make a guest appearance in the book.  He'll probably get a good sized chunk of the Baltra chapter to himself.

We talked about new technology and writing blog entries more or less spontaneously in an earlier post.  Here's a great example of it.  I have a 1.5 hour train ride and my iPad.  As I sit here now on the Amtrak train traveling from Davis to Oakland, CA for a meeting, I've been thinking about this book, for which I just started writing some scenes. To my right, through the train window, is a beautiful view of the north end of San Francisco Bay.  Next stop is Martinez if you know the route.  Or even if you don't.  My thoughts are on this book in utero. Will this be a romantic getaway just for Roger and Suzanne or should Robert and Bruce be invited along for the trip? Should Eduardo Gomez fly over from Paraguay to meet them or will he be superfluous this time? How about Vincent Romero, Roger's new partner in his detective agency? Decisions, decisions, decisions!

Tich's New Review of The Matador Murders

"I enjoy reading Mystery novels, I love the excitement and solving problems. The Matador Murders is a pretty fast paced and well written Mystery.  Roger and Suzanne are called Montevideo to help solve a murder. In order to find the killer and free their friend from murder charges they must investigate the members of the two gangs that are at war. Someone is killing for leadership and they must figure out who this is.  Jerold Last did a great job creating The Matador Murders. The characters were fantastic and the storyline was great."


From: 

http://lovesallthingsbooks.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-matador-murders-by-jerold-last.html?zx=de3ef21597754e19, Monday, January 7, 2013

Thank you, Tich.

A New Review of The Body in the Parking Structure

This review is from Amazon: The Body in the Parking Structure (Kindle Edition) 4 Stars

"This is a short, fast paced read that has all the elements of a detective series with a notable shortage of detail.
This may sound like a negative but it is not.
This turned out to be a fun read. All the necessary information is contained herein but all those details that are used to drag out a story and flesh it out was absent.
Making it a really easy and nice read.
None of the essential information is missing.
The characters are fluffed out enough for the reader to connect to them though not so fluffed that they become THAT family member, you know the one!
The family member where you know every single breath taken.
This is a nice read and worth it's 4 * review rating."

I believe this is the first review of this book originating in the Southern Hemisphere (South Africa).  The 4-star rating overall is based upon a total of 9 reviews thus far.

It was fun experimenting with this short form mystery that takes place in Los Angeles rather than the much more descriptive style I used in my novels set in various South American locales.  It's quite amazing to me as an author how different the task becomes when you need to have a plot and a conclusion within some arbitrary constraint of total book length.

The Second Review of "The Body in the Bed"

A second review, also 4-stars, has been posted on the Amazon page for this fast paced and suspenseful whodunit novella.  This story is my personal favorite among the novellas and novelettes I've written thus far and I recommend it highly to all of you who enjoyed the preceding novels, The Surreal Killer and The Ambivalent Corpse.   I currently have parts of the next three books in this series under construction, so I can tell you that The Body in the Bed will be Roger and Suzanne's last visit to Montevideo for a while.

"The fifth book concerning married sleuth's Roger and Suzanne Bowman has them returning to Montevideo, Uruguay to celebrate the promotion of their good friend, Martin Gonzales to Chief of Detectives. When they check into their motel room the tension amps up when they discover an old acquaintance, Dr. Bernardo Colletti waiting for them - dead, with his throat viciously cut. After the duo becomes suspicious of three police captains being complicit in the murder, they team up with Gonzales to investigate the three different, but all dirty cops. Things go from bad to worse when they find out Colletti's assassin has an Iranian connection, enlisting the help of old friend Eduardo Gomez, who works with Mossad, to help put the pieces together.

As usual, Mr. Last has combined international intrigue, a far reaching criminal element, and the culinary wonders of Uruguay to create another volume of the intrepid husband and wife detective team. It's a novella that moves at a breakneck speed, serves up tasty dialogue, and a generous portion of the Latin American culture."

If you're looking for the perfect gift for that friend who likes to read mysteries you can't beat this novella, which you can purchase for less than $2.00 per gift copy with a single click from Amazon.  Treat yourself to a copy, too.