"Life is Cheap - make sure you buy enough."
Carson Reno
My private detective skills tell me that if you are reading these words, you have probably read one or more of my adventures. Or maybe you heard about my stories from a friend.
Or, perhaps, my author friend – Gerald Darnell, tricked you into reading this. He does stuff like that.
But I’m glad you’re here, regardless of the reason. Please allow me to use this opportunity to introduce myself, my characters and my mystery adventure series.
My adventures and stories occur in the early 1960’s. The geography is mostly Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida and Mississippi – but I do occasionally venture further out into other parts of the world. At the center of all my mysteries is Memphis and a small West Tennessee town called Humboldt.
The early 60’s represent some different and difficult times in our history and culture. Manned space flight was already happening. John Glenn circled the earth three times in Friendship seven and trips to the moon were already on the drawing board. However, nuclear testing was underway and rockets were being built and aimed at other countries. The Cuban Missile Crisis was front-page news. If that wasn’t enough, segregation was coming to an end and the new world was trying to learn how to deal with integration – on a large scale. Our National Guard escorted James Meredith to classes at the University of Mississippi and President Kennedy forced George Wallace to admit two students at the University of Alabama. A small ‘police action’ by our military, (in a place call Vietnam), was taking many young men by surprise - receiving a letter from the draft board.
Gasoline was $0.31 cents a gallon, eggs were $0.54 cents a dozen, a gallon of milk was $0.49 cents and a first class postage stamp was $0.04 cents. The average cost of a new home was $18,200, the US population was 186 million and the Dow-Jones high was 767.
90% of Americans own a television set, Polaroid introduces color film that develops in 60 seconds and the 1962 World’s Fair is in Seattle.
The New York Yankees win a seven-game World Series over San Francisco, Green Bay beats the New York Giants in the NFL Title Game and Sonny Liston knocks out Floyd Patterson to win the world heavyweight championship.
Interesting stuff, but my adventures, mysteries and stories have very little to do with the world happenings of 1962 and the early 60’s.
My adventures include:
Murder in Humboldt
– The story of a small west Tennessee town being turned upside down by a labor strike. As a result of the strike, some serious underworld crime problems have surfaced. And just when it couldn’t get worse – it does. One of the town’s prominent citizens is murdered. By trying to help, I become their prime suspect.
The Price of Beauty in Strawberry Land
- In this adventure, I deal with multiple crimes. A Memphis client hires me to prove infidelity, but instead I find corruption and murder going all the way to the top of Memphis politics. Then, a Jack Logan client investigation takes me back to Humboldt looking into automobile fraud and I land smack in the middle of another murder. Not just any murder, but the murder of a beauty queen that seemed to have so much to live for. But a young girl with too many enemies for someone her age.
Killer Among Us
- While my friends are cruising the Caribbean, one of the cruise passengers turns up missing. Missing is one of Humboldt’s well known and prominent attorneys, and foul play is expected. One of my close friends might have unknowingly witnessed the crime and needs my protection. But something is seriously wrong. The Memphis Mafia has become the target of an unknown adversary, bad guys are turning up dead and the missing attorney could be a part of it. The bad guys are killing each other, and by protecting a friend, I put myself in the middle of an underworld war.
Horse Tales
- One of Humboldt’s well-known horse breeders is brutally murdered, then left to burn in his barn along with his prized stallions. A Jack Logan client has been accused of the crime and I go to investigate. However, getting the truth is proving to be a real challenge. It seems no one, not even the accused, is capable of telling the truth. Greed, lust, infidelity, half-truths and the Memphis Mafia all seem to be involved. Sorting out the pieces and finding the real murderer is a monumental task. I become involved in the web of lies and face one of my biggest challenges.
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