Gossip Can Be Murder

A Charlie Parker Mystery, Book 11

By: Connie Shelton

Narrated by: Rebecca Cook

Charlie is invited to a plush Santa Fe spa, a week-long spiritual/nutrition retreat with her friend Dr. Linda Casper. The massages and spa treatments sound great, until she realizes that there is something darker going on at the mountain resort. Meanwhile, Drake has his own set of concerns. He's been asked to testify as an expert witness in a helicopter crash case and it's causing him more anxiety than any feat of flying ever did. It seems that they are each on their own but their two cases overlap and dangers abound, from all sides.

©2010 Connie Shelton (P)2012 Books In Motion

Lots of fun!

Another great Charlie Parker adventure. l love all the recognizable sites in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.

Interesting for Santa Fe, but must get names right

Connie Shelton's stories are average at best but her use of New Mexico, in this case Santa Fe (and Albuquerque) are intriguing. Her description of Santa Fe, and "spiritual centers" are right on. However, the narrator doesn't know how to pronounce Hispanic names in Santa Fe, which is a big flaw because much of the population, including the police force are heavily Hispanic. This occurred throughout the book but was especially annoying for a main character, Det. Gallegos. The is not pronounced as it looks it is pronounce "Guy-eg-os" and most everyone in New Mexico knows this. Also, there were some references to Gallup, NM that were also inaccurate.So a mediocre plot, but with good local description, was brought down by this lack of authenticity.