Tag: #murderinvestigation

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Death in Dutch Harbor by D. MacNeill Parker

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for DEATH IN DUTCH HARBOR by D. MacNeill Parker on this Authors Marketing Experts Blog Tour.

Below you will find an author Q&A, a book synopsis, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Rafflecopter giveaway. Good luck on the giveaway and enjoy!

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Author Q&A

How did you research your book?

Research was not required. Write what you know, right? As a longtime participant in the Alaska fishing industry, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to use my experience as the backdrop to this book. What could be more intriguing than creating a world where commercial fishing and murder meet? However, I knew nothing about police dogs and so made an inquiry with the Seattle Police K9 Unit. They invited me to their training site. I was so appreciative, I named the dog in the book after the K9 Unit shepherd, CoCo.

Which was the hardest character to write?

The arch villain. It was difficult for me to navigate how to leave clues without giving away the identity of the culprit. The protagonist was a bit of a struggle, a learning experience really. Because the book is written in third person, I wrote many revisions trying out ways to best express what was inside her head.

Which was the easiest?

The police chief was the easiest character to write. I have no idea why.

Where do you get inspiration for your stories?

Aside from my own experience at sea as a fisherman that included surviving a boat that sank off the coast of Kodiak, I’ve heard many sea stories, most far more interesting than my own. There’s something about living on the edge of civilization where your life is at the mercy of Mother Nature and your survival may depend on the skill of your crew mates that is made for drama.

There are many crime mystery books out there. What makes yours different?

As a former fisherman married to a fishing boat captain, and with a career as a journalist, fisheries specialist for the State of Alaska and a seafood company executive, I’ve got the credentials to pull off authenticity. And along the way, the reader will learn a lot about Alaska and commercial fishing.

In one sentence, what was the road to publishing like?

Because I am a debut author, it was like stumbling around in a hailstorm, knocking on the doors of strangers in hopes of finding shelter.

What authors inspired you to write?

There were many authors that inspired me to write like Kurt Vonnegut, John Irving, Craig Johnson, Michael Connelly, John Grisham, Martin Cruz Smith, Raymond Chandler, Agatha Christie and Dashell Hammett but the book that lit a writing fire under me as a teenager was John Barth’s book, The Sot-Weed Factor. It’s a wild ride of historical fiction that showed me there was no limit to using your imagination when crafting a yarn.

What is something you had to cut from your book that you wish you could have kept?

There was a scene between Dr. Mo and her pal, Patsy, in a restaurant that was painful to cut. Patsy, one of my favorite characters, used salt and pepper shakers, hot sauce and catsup bottles and a fork to make a point about the doc’s messed-up personal life. It was near the end of the book where the pace had escalated. The scene slowed things down and, gulp, had to go. I hope to find a place for it in the second book!

What’s your next project?

I’m currently writing the second book of the series. So if you like the characters that inhabit DEATH IN DUTCH HARBOR, you can revisit them.

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Book Synopsis

When two murders strain the police force of a remote Alaskan fishing port, veterinarian Maureen McMurtry is tapped by Dutch Harbor’s police chief for forensic assistance. The doctor’s got a past she’d rather not discuss, a gun in her closet, and a retired police dog that hasn’t lost her chops. All come in handy as she deciphers the cause and time of death of a local drug addict washed ashore with dead sea lions and an environmentalist found in a crab pot hauled from the sea in the net of a fishing vessel.

When her romantic relationship with a boat captain is swamped by mounting evidence that he’s the prime suspect in one of the murders, McMurtry struggles with her own doubts to prove his innocence. But can she? McMurtry’s pals, a manager of the Bering Sea crab fishery and another who tends Alaska’s most dangerous bar assist in unraveling the sinister truth.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198615907-death-in-dutch-harbor

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DEATH IN DUTCH HARBOR by D. MacNeill Parker is a captivating murder mystery featuring a female veterinarian in a remote Alaskan fishing port who gets pulled into a dangerous murder investigation by the local chief of police. I was surprised when I learned this is written by a debut author because it has everything I look for in a complex crime mystery and what I would expect from much more seasoned favorite authors.

Dr. Maureen “Mo” McMurtry loves the remote Alaskan town of Dutch Harbor where she and her retired police dog, Coco live, but she is looking for more in both her personal and professional lives now that her contract has ended. When a local frug addict and two endangered sea lions are found washed ashore dead on the beach, the chief of police asks for Mo’s help with basic forensics before the bodies are sent to the State Police in Anchorage. Then a second body is found in a crab pot caught in a fishing net and brought back to port.

The investigation involves Mo in the world of Alaskan fisherman and oil companies vs. environmentalists, illegal drugs, money, and lies. Mo may be the next corpse to wash up on shore if she and her friends cannot figure out who is willing to kill to hide their secrets.

I could not put this book down! Dr. Mo is the type of realistic protagonist I love to meet in a new book. She loves a harsh environment, I would hate, but she loves it and through her eyes you see the beauty of the environment and the strength of her friends and other inhabitants. They are all independent and hard-working on land and on the sea. You can feel through the author’s vivid descriptions of landscapes and the perils of commercial fishing her love of Alaska. The mystery plot is perfectly paced with twists that kept Mo on her toes and kept me guessing.

I highly recommend this murder mystery from this debut author! I am very happy that this will be a series and I will be able to visit Dr. Mo and her friends in Dutch Harbor again.

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Excerpt

Eric took the blanket he’d laid on the ice bench and draped it over the guy’s shoulders; just a kid, really. He folded the kid’s hands so they lay on his lap and packed ice at his sides so he would remain secure for the rough ride back to port. Reaching into the chest pocket of his own jacket, he removed a pack of cigarettes. His hand shook as he lit two.

“We smoke the same brand,” he said, bending to wedge one in Guy’s gray lips. He smoked the other cigarette, all the while talking to the kid as if his spirit lingered nearby. “What a bummer,” he said, “dying so young.” He told the kid he would be missed by someone and promised to get him home. Hearing his voice crack, Eric turned away as if he didn’t want Guy to see him that way. Then he closed the freezer door.

Guy sat in the bait locker, the cigarette still hanging from his lips. The freezing temperature caused the saltwater on his eyelashes and beard to crystallize. He looked as if he were climbing Mt. Everest instead of sitting propped-up, dead in a fishing boat bait locker headed to Dutch Harbor, Alaska.

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Author Bio

D. MacNeill Parkerand her family are long time participants in the Alaska fishing industry. In addition to fishing for halibut, salmon, crab, and cod, she’s been a journalist, a fisheries specialist for the State of Alaska, and a seafood company executive. She’s travelled to most ports in Alaska, trekked mountains in the Chugach range, rafted the Chulitna River, worked in hunting camps, and survived a boat that went down off the coast of Kodiak. Parker’s been to Dutch Harbor many times experiencing her share of white knuckler airplane landings and beer at the Elbow Room, famed as Alaska’s most dangerous bar. While the characters in this book leapt from her imagination, they thrive in this authentic setting. She loves Alaska, the sea, a good yarn and her amazing family.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.dmparkerauthor.com/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/46fPtGv

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198615907-death-in-dutch-harbor

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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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Author Marketing Experts:

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Feature Post and Book Review: A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Murder by Gregg Olsen and Rebecca Morris

Book Description

At just 30 years old, with dark-blonde hair and freckles, Barbara Weaver was as pretty as the women depicted on the covers of her favorite “bonnet” stories – romance novels set in Amish America. Barbara had everything she’d ever wanted: five beautiful children, a home, her faith, and a husband named Eli. But while Barbara was happy to live as the Amish have for centuries – without modern conveniences, Eli was tempted by technology: cell phones, the Internet, and sexting. Online he called himself “Amish Stud” and found no shortage of “English” women looking for love and sex. Twice he left Barbara and their children, was shunned, begged for forgiveness, and had been welcomed back to the church.

Barb Raber was raised Amish, but is now a Conservative Mennonite. She drove Eli to appointments in her car, and she gave him what he wanted when he wanted: a cell phone, a laptop, rides to his favorite fishing and hunting places, and, most importantly, sex. When Eli starts asking people to kill his wife for him, Barb offers to help. One night, just after Eli had hitched a ride with a group of men to go fishing in the hours before dawn, Barb Raber entered the Weaver house and shot Barbara Weaver in the chest at close range.

It was only the third murder in hundreds of years of Amish life in America, and it fell to Edna Boyle, a young assistant prosecutor to seek justice for Barbara Weaver.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114295-a-killing-in-amish-country?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=UljD9K801m&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

A KILLING IN AMISH COUNTRY: Sex Betrayal, and a Cold-Blooded Murder by Gregg Olsen and Rebecca Morris is a surprising true crime saga from a community we associate with innocence and peacefulness, but just as in all societies, there are individuals who break the rules, both moral and criminal. This story is told through the eyes of the investigators and the prosecutor with snippets at the start of each chapter taken from the murdered woman’s personal writings.

Barbara Weaver has always been content with her Amish way of life. Growing up she was a fan of Amish romance books and dreamed of finding her own “Happily Ever After”. Now at 30 years old, she has five beautiful children and a husband named Eli.

Eli Weaver has never been satisfied with his Amish way of life. He has abandoned his wife and children to live among the “English” several times over the marriage, but always repents and returns. With the cell phone he is not supposed to own and the computer at his business, he goes on-line to dating sites and finds women as “Amish Stud”. Eli wants freedom from his family but is not willing to give up his business or home.

Barb Raber is a Mennonite driver who is used by Eli, not just for transportation, but also for sex. Eli asks several of his girlfriends to kill his wife which they take as a joke, but Barb takes him seriously and agrees to do it. Just before dawn as Eli is on his way to Lake Erie to fish, Barb enters the Weaver home and shoots Barbara Weaver in the chest while in her bed sleeping.

I was shocked when I heard about this criminal case. I live in Ohio and have visited Amish country many times. While I knew “Who did it”, the forensics of this case are not the only focus of this case, the psychological analysis is what pulled me in. Eli Weaver was a manipulative sociopath who was immature and only interested in his own pleasure. He was abusive to his wife, dismissive of his children, and a liar. He was able to pick just the right type of women to manipulate and Barb Raber was his ultimate conquest. Eli was not sophisticated enough to know how to cover up his crime, but he was smart enough to push as much of the blame as possible on to Barb Raber. My only problem with this book was it is repetitive in places which at times slows the pace, but the story is still overall so interesting. It is a sad story that happens in our society often, but you just do not expect it in the Amish community.

I recommend this true crime murder investigation for an intriguing read.

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About the Author – Gregg Olsen

I live in rural Washington State (about a mile as the crow flies from Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard’s infamous Starvation Heights sanatarium). My thriller, THE LAST THING SHE EVER DID was an Amazon Charts bestseller. LYING NEXT TO ME was a reader favorite, charting at No. 1 in the Kindle store and the bestseller’s list at the Washington Post. My true crime book, IF YOU TELL, found a home on Amazon Charts for more than 140 weeks. In fact, it was the bestselling Kindle ebook of 2020 (and the second-bestselling of 2021). I’ve been a guest on Dateline NBC, NPR, Good Morning America, The Early Show, FOX News, CNN, Anderson Cooper, Entertainment Tonight, Inside Edition, Extra, Access Hollywood, 20/20, Snapped, Deadly Women, William Shatner’s Aftermath, and A&E’s Biography. You can find out more about me at www.NotoriousUSA.com.

About the Author – Rebecca Morris

REBECCA MORRIS IS THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR of Boy Missing: The Search for Kyron Horman; If I Can’t Have You: Susan Powell, Her Mysterious Disappearance, and the Murder of Her Children; A Killing in Amish Country: Sex, Betrayal and a Cold Blooded Murder; Ted and Ann: The Mystery of a Missing Child and Her Neighbor Ted Bundy; a true-crime memoir, A Murder in My Hometown; and other books. A native Oregonian, she worked as a journalist in New York City, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon. She appears frequently on network and cable TV as a crime expert, and works with other authors as a book coach and consulting editor. She lives in Seattle where she teaches Journalism, Researching and Writing True Crime, and Playwriting.

Please read about her books and contact her at RebeccaTMorris.com.