I wanted to share a different genre of book this morning which is a Mystery. The book is called The Last Hurrah A Phoebe Korneal Mystery- Book 1. These books are written by GaGa Gabardi (Author), Judilee Butler (Author). I received a copy of the book in exchange for this review. Inside this post is my affiliate links. If you click on the links and make a purchase I will make a small percentage from the products you purchase.
The Last Hurrah is a mystery about “Old Al” who is found dead at the abandoned Sunshine Mine. We find out it is detective Phoebe Korneal’s job to figure out what happened to old Al. I liked how there is a mystery but not a lot of gore which would keep me up at night.
I enjoyed the gold/silver mining history which was something I was able to use as a #teachingmoment with Charlie. In a Mystery you might not expect to find things to laugh about but with Phoebe you find lots to laugh about which will keep you reading until the very end.
A couple of character you meet in the story is the “Beautiful Man” named Batty Masterson? Isn’t that a funny name for a man? A kid who decides to take an “early gap year” in the middle of high school to learn to prospect for gold? Sounds better than going to School doesn’t it? A Mule, names Rose, who makes sure that nobody gets lost in the Mountains that I would like to have as a Pet.
The Last Hurrah A Phoebe Korneal Mystery- Book 1 is the first book in the series. This is a 4 part series: The Last Slide: A Phoebe Korneal Mystery (Phoebe Korneal Mystery Series Book 2), The Last Line A Phoebe Korneal Mystery (Phoebe Korneal Mystery Series Book 3). Love in the Rearview Mirror: The Phoebe Korneal Prequel (Phoebe Korneal Mystery Series Book 4). I hope to be able to purchase all the books in the series to share with my friends and family. I hope the Author continues to write these stories for a long time to come because I enjoyed her style of writing.
About the book:
One fateful summer morning, Old Al, an itinerant gold prospector, is discovered dead at the abandoned Sunshine Mine. As word spreads through the community of Oresville, Colorado, a collective gasp of shock echoes. Beloved by the community, who would want to harm him? Was his demise an accident or is something darker lurking?
Deputy Phoebe Korneal is summoned to lead the investigation, thrusting her into a mystery with more twists than a pretzel factory. As Phoebe works to find the cause of Old Al’s death, she unearths secrets that threaten to shake Oresville’s tranquility—from the whereabouts of Old Al’s stash of gold to his hidden relationship with Augusta.
Eager to solve Old Al’s death, Phoebe races to crack the case, wrestling with her vow to steer clear of romantic entanglements. Alongside the mixed web of clues and suspects, she learns about Colorado’s rich mining heritage and the resilient spirit of the town’s founding women.
Prepare to be swept away to the streets of Oresville, where the residents are eccentric, justice hangs in the balance, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. So, grab your magnifying glass and detective hat and get ready for a wild ride!
Award-winning authors, Butler and Gabardi, bring you the first book of the Phoebe Korneal Mystery Series. Read on!
The Last Hurrah is a Colorado Authors League Finalist and has received a third-place award by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association.
Meet the Authors:
GaGa Gabardi
About the author
We co-authors, GaGa Gabardi & Judilee Butler, stumbled into our collaboration beginning with a short story project Mysteries From the Museum for the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum in Leadville, Colorado. From there, we decided why not take the next step and develop characters, storyline, and a setting all within the context of our joint sense of humor?
Using technology to jump the hurdles of our distant locations—2,000 miles between our homes—we were able to develop our character, Phoebe Korneal (pronounced Cor-nell) and grow a framework around a small mountain town, using Colorado history for background.
As we were putting the finishing touches on our story, the Pandemic hit! Lucky for us, it was time for editing and the safety measure of confinement became a triple opportunity to focus, rewrite, and laugh together.
We hope that you can sit back and enjoy the ride that The Last Hurrah is intended to be and, at the finish, be wanting to read our next adventure!
Meantime, we invite you to share questions, comments, and extraneous outbursts at our website BnGbooks.com and by email at PhoebeKorneal@gmail.com.
GAGA GABARDI –
Graduating from college, my one thought was to leave Minnesota and live where the weather is phenomenal, but I never made it to southern California!
I retired from a career in telecom with a Master’s in Project Management, another in Business, and an Advanced Project Degree from Stanford (thank you, corporate world). Completing my private pilot license, I needed money for ‘av’ fuel . . . back to work—this time consulting, teaching, course development, a welcome change alongside the birth of my first grandson who named me GaGa. Thank you, B.
Writing with Judilee was a way I could add levity within the confines of the pandemic, reach out to others to share our mutual experiences, and fine-tune the art of storytelling.
Hubby and I live in the Colorado mountains. It’s an easy pace for us with enough space to enjoy camping, fishing, and riding the rough mountain trails. I can’t make up these experiences!
I hope you enjoy The Last Hurrah, get a chuckle here and there, learn a bit regarding Colorado history, and at the end, wonder what happens next.
JUDILEE BUTLER –
Born and raised in New York, I attended the State University of New York at Brockport and taught Kindergarten for several years. Settling in North Carolina, I completed a Master’s Degree in Special Education. At that point, the corporate world was calling and I began my career with IBM.
Twenty years later, with the family safely launched into life, my husband and I retired to the central mountains of Colorado. We enjoy a yearly trek to Florida and other parts of the East coast.
Writing with the CC Writers Exchange opened a whole new world for me. GaGa and I collaborated to write a mystery short story as a fundraiser for the Leadville Mining Museum. We enjoyed creating that so much, we decided to try a light mystery series.
Oresville is a small mining town in the high mountains of Colorado. Lots of history, characters, and puzzles for our gal, Phoebe, to solve. The rest is history, as the saying goes.
I hope you enjoy our stories as much as we enjoy writing them.
FROM THE AUTHORS –
Gaga and Judilee are available for lectures and select readings. To inquire about a possible appearance, please contact them at phoebekorneal@gmail.com.
They favor locations such as Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, North Carolina, Arizona and Hong Kong. Inquire soon, scheduling time is of the essence.
phoebekorneal@gmail.com
http://www.BnGBooks.com
