Bogey Nights

Bogey Nights by Marja McGraw is the story of Chris and Pamela Cross. These restaurateurs are struck by tragedy when their 1940’s themed restaurant, Good Joe’s Honky Tonk burns to the ground, leaving their workers unemployed and themselves on the hunt for a new location. When Chris comes across an old rambler that suits their needs, the pair pick it up and begin renovations. Unfortunately, it wasn’t only the construction crew doing the digging and the pair’s labs, Sherlock and Watson attempt to dig up a concrete slab found in a detached cellar. With some help of their friend and contractor Big D, the concrete is broken up and a body is discovered.

Chris, a dead ringer for Humphrey Bogart and, indulges his natural curiosity and talks Pamela into trying to solve the murder. Pamela plays along with her new husband and the antics begin. From a spry 90 yr old who looks decades younger than her years, to the enthusiasm of her 7 yr old son Mikey, Pamela is kept on her toes while she and Chris continue the renovations on the new restaurant, Mikey’s stories at school wreaking havoc with his teacher and trying to balance her distaste for a nosey reporter who is dating Big D, she keeps the home fires burning while digging up the dirt on their entombed corpse. Throw in another body, busy-body relatives of corpse number one and a budding friendship with the detective assigned to the case and you’ve got a rousing old fashioned murder mystery with a modern feel.

What I like about this book.

I like the 40’s feel to the story. I like most of the characters involved and I like the interaction between them.

What I don’t like about this book.

There were a few spots where it seemed to drag. Personally I would have preferred to see more action in the story. Told from Pamela’s perspective, it would have been nice to have a bit more depth to her character and to feel her emotions come through with more strength.

I was born and raised in Southern California. My family traces back to the 1850s, so my roots are definitely planted in California. Consequently, so are most of my stories.

I worked in both criminal and civil law enforcement for several years. With a few other jobs under my belt, and several years as a divorced, single parent, I have a fairly well-rounded life education. That's a polite way of saying life can be tough, but I was tougher.

I owned my own business for a short while -- an antique store/tea room in Oregon. The store was fun, but my timing was lousy. Draw your own conclusions on that one.

I've lived in California, Nevada, Oregon, Alaska and now Arizona, but most of my life was spent in California and Nevada. After thirty years of being divorced, I met and married my husband. All things seem to happen for a reason, and in their own time, even if we don't always understand what's going on while life leads us on our journey.

My writing career began with Secrets of Holt House - A Mystery. I followed up with A Well-Kept Family Secret - A Sandi Webster Mystery and the beginning of a series. Bubba's Ghost  andPrudy's Back! followed shortly. These Sandi Webster mysteries were followed by The Bogey Man and Old Murders Never Die.
Bogey Nights is the first in the Bogey Man series, and will soon be followed by Bogey's Ace in the Hole (February, 2012).

Each of these mysteries contains a little humor, a little romance and A Little Murder! The Sandi Webster Mysteries and The Bogey Man Mysteries concentrate on the characters and solving the crimes rather than the crime itself.

I enjoy thinking up quirky characters and once in a while I find someone who touches my heart or my funny bone. Sandi has a very menopausal mother and Chris has a rather eccentric mother, and I can relate to both of them in one way or another. In an upcoming book (no release date yet)  you'll read about a set of older twins who thrive on driving each other nuts. I had a great time writing about a "lawsuit queen" in one of the books. And I've added a few quirky dogs to liven things up even more.

My husband and I now live in a small community in Arizona, where we enjoy sunshine and very warm weather (translates toextremely hot), and we alternate between laughter and frustration over our two yellow Labrador retrievers. If you readMarley & Me by John Grogan, believe me, it's all true.

The Bogey Man Mysteries are available at:
Amazon.com
Oak Tree Press
Barnes & Noble
Or you can ask for them at your favorite bookstore