Friday, February 13, 2015

A SNITCH IN TIME by Sunny Frazier



Long time member of San Joaquin chapter of Sisters in Crime is proud to announce the latest in the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries--A Snitch in Time.


The Inspiration for A Snitch In Time

I patterned my fictitious town of Burlap after a community in the Sierra Foothills of California. When I worked as secretary with the Fresno County narcotics team, my men patrolled the area. Manning the phones, I would receive allegations that seemed so crazy that I had to go explore the town for myself. I conned Kate Anderson to go with me and we brought along a bulky video camera.

While the people and plot are pure fiction, much of the setting is not. There really is a Buzzard Tree in the middle of the school playground, starving marijuana growers would come out of the National Forest to steal the children's lunches. The Turkey Testicle Festival does exist as an annual charity event. There is a fenceless prison where the inmates fight forest fires. The locals call us “Flatlanders” and we had some choice names for them as well. Many of the law enforcement characters are based on people I worked with. The opening scene may or may not be an urban legend.

I made Kate pose as a corpse in the strange cement sculptures we found by the side of the road. As I was video taping it, the local postal delivery person clomped up on horseback, watched us in silence, then road away. 


I don't have the imagination to think up such things. Life is strange enough!       

When sheriff's department office assistant Christy Bristol takes a long weekend to visit her friend, Lennie, in the Sierra Nevada foothills, it's not the vacation she anticipated. A murder has just occurred and Christy is conscripted by the homicide team to handle the reports. To add to her frustration, she gets in a fight with Lennie over her friend's arrogant boyfriend and has no place to stay. The detectives put her up in a forest ranger's cabin while he is away fighting fires.

As the body count grows it becomes apparent the killer is targeting undesirables in the town of Burlap. One of the victim's girlfriends calls Christy and accuses a deputy of the murders. Christy doesn't know whether to believe the snitch or not. Could a killer be hiding behind his badge?

The ranger returns to his cabin only to find he has a roommate. Things get a little too cozy, especially when Christy's boyfriend shows up unexpectedly. The solution? Solve the case before her life gets any more complicated. Using astrology, Christy casts a reverse horoscope to profile the killer but puts her own future at risk. 

And time is running out.     



BIO:


Sunny Frazier trained as a journalist and wrote for a city newspaper, military and law enforcement publications. After working 17 years with the Fresno Sheriff's Department, 11 spent as Girl Friday with an undercover narcotics team, it dawned on her that mystery writing was her real calling. Both “Fools Rush In” and “Where Angels Fear” are based on actual cases with a bit of astrology, a habit Frazier has developed over the past 42 years.

Books are available on Amazon, Kindle and Nook as well as the Black Opal Bookstore.
http://www.blackopalbooks.com/shop-our-store/blackopalstore

22 comments:

  1. First of all, I wouldn't want to be a male turkey in the Sierra Foothills. It sounds like it would be as dangerous for a tom as it is for your victims!

    Second, and more to the point, A Snitch in Time sounds great. Christy Bristol appears to be a woman who's spunky, adventurous, and isn't afraid to speak her own mind. It's fun to read books and wonder where the fiction and the non-fiction dovetail!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sunny,
    I loved the book! And, as much as I enjoyed your first two books, "A Snitch in Time" is my favorite!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sounds like a fascinating read, Sunny! Such an interesting life you've led!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never meant to have an interesting life--but, whatch ya gonna do?

      Delete
  4. I’m reading the book now. I wish I didn’t have to put it down. I’m so busy at work lately. I also see Lennie’s new boyfriend as the same jerk Christy sees. I’m not sure I remember Bobby Razulo demonstrating his anger so voraciously in the past books - seems to be getting more explosive. Love the character. Of course, Wolfe is back in the picture. I’m into Chapter Fourteen; they’ve found the squatter in the back woods now. I’ll get back to it this weekend.

    P.S. Love the cover! Can't get enough of it everytime I see it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bobby R. is a new character. The real detective told me he wouldn't read my books unless he was the star. I might have written it out of spite. . . .

      Delete
  5. It's always interesting to find out how writers take real life and put their own twisted take on it to make for a great read. Yep, Sunny, this book just demonstrates how contorted your mind really is, so congratulations on what sounds like another exciting story..

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sunny,
    Just finished the book today. It was a lot of fun. I have to admit, I learned two things - do not take a bubble bath in a mountain cabin (fortunately, we don't have a tub) and don't let those detectives and deputies go grocery shopping for you!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Loved all your comments and thank you for posting them! I've started asking people to pose with the book and some sort of timepiece (wristwatch, sundial, antique clock) and post it on my Face Book page. I think that would be fun!

    ReplyDelete
  8. After reading this blog, with its details as to setting and to some of the plot -- plus the remarks you're receiving, I'd better start reading A Snitch in Time. It's waiting for me on the Kindle. I know I'm in for a real (scary?) treat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, a bit suspenseful. But, there's a very good underlying story about the female friendships. I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

      Delete
  9. Love stories with a California setting. I used to live in Grass Valley. Great blog post.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thoroughly enjoyed the stories you shared, Sunny! You brightened my day in an odd way. Your book is next up on my reading list.
    Marja McGraw

    ReplyDelete
  11. I've loved your other books (and that flash piece you sent last week) so I'm looking forward to Snitch in Time.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The truth of the setting is so fun to discover! And with the friendships part of the story, I must add Snitch to my to-read list.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm counting on the people of the town to 1) not recognize themselves; and 2) not be into reading. I'm certainly not doing a book launch there!

      Delete
  13. Sunny, a town with a buzzard tree in the school playground and a turkey testicle festival certainly calls to me. Can't wait to read it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't make this stuff up! Life just seems to search me out to supply the most ludicrous details possible.

      Delete