About the book, Fog City Strangler
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 Stinson Beach, 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.
Buy a copy.
About the author, Greg Messel
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.
Connect with Greg:
My Thoughts:
San Francisco is my favorite American city. It was where I spent the day for my 13th birthday, where my husband and I shared our first weekend together, and where I went to college (Go USF Dons!), so when I was offered the opportunity to read/review a noir mystery set in the City by the Bay, I had to say yes.
Fog City Strangler did not disappoint. From the first scene, where Amelia is trapped between fire and an unknown assailant in her Stinson Beach beachhouse to the very last page, the story was gripping and action-packed. Sam Slater is a fantastic character, and while his exploits are new to me, I’m hooked enough to want to read the other books he inhabits.
Author Messel does a great job of making a period piece seem neither campy nor outdated, and making his stories relevant for a contemporary audience.
In short, Fog City Strangler is the perfect book to curl up with on a rainy day. Just make sure that you keep the windows closed and the doors locked while you read.
Goes Well with Cioppino and Anchor Steam beer.
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!
ENTER TO WIN!
Rafflecopter Code: