Book Review: Fog City Strangler by Greg Messel

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from the author,via Pump Up Your Book Book Tours, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it

Welcome to our stop on the Fog City Strangler book tour!

Argh you say- this not be an Irish post!
Well it takes place in San Francisco, and I happen to have very fond memories of
the Irish Cultural Center and a very large extended Irish family, 
that became my surrogate family when my folks moved to Hawaii
(yeah I know, it was ROUGH going home to Hawaii on breaks in college-LOL).
So anyhoo- it fits the theme!

Synopsis:

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.

Review:

Dad grabbed this book as soon as it came in, so this review is his!

Greg Messel is truly one of the finest story tellers writing books today. He again sets you in a thrilling story with “Fog City Strangler”. This is the fourth in a series using the main characters Sam Slater and now his wife, the former Amelia Ryan, now Amelia Slater. Go along with Sam and Amelia as they work for Regina Mitchell a very wealthy and very old and frail resident of the Marina district of San Francisco. Regina’s daughter aged in her forties went missing on Labor Day. 

This happened in the Stinson Beach area of Marin County, north of San Francisco (where we have many fond memories) at Regina’s very lavish Beach Home. Regina’s daughter Jennifer is married to Harvey Collins, a very well to do jewelry dealer. They have no idea what happened to Jennifer as there has been no sighting of her by anyone. The husband says he went to the beach house on Labor Day but found nothing of his wife.Meanwhile the Fog City Strangler has made his presence know by killing young blonde women in San Francisco all in the same manner. He writes letters to the local newspaper bragging about how he is keeping San Francisco in fear.

Enter Amelia’s new neighbor Juliette, a very young and beautiful woman. She has confided to Amelia that things are not good with her and her husband. She will wind up dead, after her husband insisted that she dye her hair blonde. Is her husband the Fog City strangler? You will have to read this exiting new book from Greg Messel to find out! There are so many twists and turns you will not want to put this book down, and I urge everyone to read it, and the rest of the series!

About the Author:

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.Follow news about Messel’s writings and books at www.gregmessel.com, and connect with hom on his TWITTER and FACEBOOK pages!

Check out the rest of the tour for more reviews, spotlights and excerpts!

Giveaway:

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!

Please Note: 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.

a Rafflecopter giveaway