Read Something Shady at Sunshine Haven, the new humorous #mystery by Kris Bock @Kris_Bock #RLFblog

Something Shady at Sunshine Haven opens Kris Bock’s Accidental Detective series and introduces former war correspondent Kate Tessler, a witty journalist who solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. When patients are dying at the Alzheimer’s unit where her mother resides, Kate must use her journalism skills to uncover the killer and save her mother.

Kris, welcome to Romance Lives Forever. I’m Kayelle Allen, author and owner of this blog. Happy to have you here! Please tell us about Something Shady at Sunshine Haven.

Something Shady at Sunshine Haven by Kris Bock

Genre: humorous mystery

Book heat level (based on movie ratings): G

Injured in a bombing, Kate returns to her hometown in Arizona with new scars, a limp, and pain meds that give her brain fog. For the first time in her life, she’s starting to feel her age (49), even though she’s living like a teenager again: staying with her father, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into old friends who still think of her as Kitty.

Seeing her mother in an Alzheimer’s unit is the hardest part – until an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at that nursing home. Is a self-appointed “Angel of Mercy” killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and killing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won’t fit. If Kate can’t uncover the truth, her mother could be next on the killer’s list.

Kate has followed the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?

Why did you write this book?

As I faced fifty, I wanted to create a mystery lead dealing with some of the same issues: aging parents, concerns about financing retirement someday, and a body that doesn’t recover like it once did. I also wanted to give Kate a reason to be adventurous and fearless, thus the background as a war correspondent.

I in New Mexico, which I love, but I wanted to set the mystery series in a big city. In Arizona, I could create a fictional city within the greater Phoenix metropolitan area. That allows me to use this fictional city government for political issues, and make the mayor an old friend of Kate’s, without stepping on any real toes.

Arizona also provides tons of mystery opportunities. The large senior population attracts scams and abuse. You have the potential for arguments over inheritance (or even murders to get that inheritance sooner). The border with Mexico creates anxiety over immigration and various kinds of trafficking. Plus you have all the usual potential crimes in any large population. I’ll be able to keep Kate busy for years.

Where do you find ideas?

Many of my novels include real places in the Southwestern United States, although I might fictionalize the names. For example, in my treasure hunting adventure, Desert Gold, the heroine and her best friend live in a fictionalized version of Socorro, New Mexico. They hunt for the lost Victorio Peak treasure, a real Southwest legend about a heretic Spanish priest’s gold mine, made richer by the spoils of bandits and an Apache raider. I drew on personal experiences hiking in the desert for Erin and Camie’s adventures – though fortunately I’ve never stumbled on a rattlesnake nest or gotten caught in a flash flood!

Another book, What We Found, was inspired by finding the body of a murder victim while hiking in the woods. (Read about the whole experience of finding a dead body here.) Some of the Accidental Detective stories were inspired by news stories, such as a series of Taser attacks or city government employees arrested for illegal activities.

What’s a fun fact about writing your books?

I like to write while walking or jogging. I’ll get moving and then start thinking about a story problem. The motion seems to distract my body so my mind works better. If I’m walking, I can dictate entire scenes. I can’t dictate while jogging, but I’ll think out action scenes to dictate during breaks or the cool down walk. Maybe the adrenaline is inspiring – or maybe the feeling of running is reminiscent of being chased, which encourages exciting plot ideas! As a bonus, it makes the jogging time go more quickly.

What are you working on at the moment?

The first four Accidental Detective books are complete. I hope to return to the series, but at the moment I’m writing about cowboy billionaires – specifically, a ranch family that finds out winning the lottery causes as many problems as it solves. The first book in that series will be out in the fall.

I’m also writing a series with my brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. These are prequel novels set when the movie characters are teenagers. We follow the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for our romantic comedy newsletter to get a free short story or find book 1 at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

What books will we see from you in coming months?

In the Accidental Detective series, Something Shady at Sunshine Haven is out today! It’s followed by Something Deadly on Desert Drive on June 21, Someone Cruel in Coyote Creek on September 29, and Someone Missing from Malapais Mountain in February of 2023.