A rabid Anglophile since being stationed at an RAF base with the USAF in her twenties, Walker lives in Northern California with her Renaissance-man husband and two rescue terriers, where she drinks tea and dreams of England.
She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel, The Alphabet Sleuths, with the following results:
From page 69:Visit Laura Jensen Walker's website.He held up a six-pack. “I got the beer, and Tony’s bringin’ the subs.”The Page 69 Test gives a good idea overall of The Alphabet Sleuths since it furthers the critical plot we see in the first chapter where Claire accidentally kills a bad guy who’s in the process of strangling her friend, Daphne. She and her senior gal pals then have to dispose of the body, which becomes quite a comedy of errors.
“Don’t let us keep you.” Claire climbed into the SUV.
“Sorry, ladies,” Vince said. “Didn’t mean to interrupt.” He noticed the suitcases. “Goin’ on a trip, huh?”
“That’s right.” Barbara opened the door behind the driver’s seat and hopped in. “Girls trip to Vegas.”
Putting on her seatbelt, Atsuko started the SUV. “Let’s get this show on the road, ladies. My slots are calling.” She backed out of the parking space, leaving Lenny and Vince in the dust as Barbara waved goodbye.
* * *
“Uh-oh,” Barbara said an hour later from the back seat. “We’ve got trouble.”
“What is it?” Claire asked.
Barbara held up her phone, and Claire saw the face of the man she’d killed. A face she’d never forget. Beneath the dead man’s photo in the online edition of the Santa Bonita Herald, the headline read “Have You Seen This Man?”
“Want to share with the class?” Atsuko turned down the Golden Oldies station.
Barbara read aloud. “Benny Popov, longtime resident of Santa Bonita, recently released from prison, is missing. Mr. Popov’s parole officer said he failed to check in, and his employer, local businessman Dmitri Glazatovsky, said Benny never reported to work, to the job waiting for him upon his release. A rental car registered in Mr. Popov’s name was found in the parking lot of the Muddy Pig Saloon.”
Barbara continued reading. “Jake Hetland, longtime owner of the Muddy Pig, said he has not seen Mr. Popov since before he went to prison, years ago. I’m surprised Benny didn’t come straight here once he was released,’ Hetland said in an interview. ‘He always said the first thing he’d do when he got back here was come to the Pig for a Jack and Coke. I told him the drink would be on the house, but he hasn’t collected it yet. Benny, if you’re reading this, your Jack and Coke is waiting for you,’ Hetland said.”
On page 69, three of the self-proclaimed Alphabet Girls; Atsuko, Barbara, and Claire, are on their way to Nevada, to fill in retired cop Daphne (who’s left town to protect her friends) on the latest, and bring her back. What this page doesn’t reveal is the critical plot point of Claire finding another dead body—a friend and fellow resident who’s been brutally murdered—within their California retirement community. The friends then put on their sleuthing hats to solve the mystery of who killed the resident curmudgeon, despite the police warning them off, questioning suspects, discovering shocking secrets, and putting themselves at risk.
My Book, The Movie: The Alphabet Sleuths.
Q&A with Laura Jensen Walker.
--Marshal Zeringue
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