Sometimes the best way to know a person is by asking questions, where you can learn more about what makes them tick. Let’s see who we have today.

What is your name?
– –  Eddie Shoes

How old are you?
– –  I’m thirty-three.

What is your profession?
– –  Private Investigator.

Do you have a significant other?
– –  I have an ex. I’m hoping we become a little more significant again soon.

What is his name?
– –  Chance Parker.

What is his profession?
– –  Police Detective, Major Crimes.

Any children?
– –  No.

Any sibling(s)?
– –  Only child.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
– –  One dog. Franklin. He’s a Tibetan Mastiff-Irish Wolfhound cross that weighs one-hundred-eighty pounds. He’s my first pet ever and I can’t believe how much I love him.

What town do you live in?
– –  Bellingham, Washington.

Do you rent or own?
– –  Own.

House or building complex?
– –  House.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
– –  I love my kitchen. It’s warm and sunny and now that my mom, Chava, is living with me, it’s often full of the amazing smells of something baking.

Who is your best friend?
– –  My mom, but don’t tell her that, I’ll never hear the end of it.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
– –  Professional.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
– –  In the past, I’ve always worked solo, but Chava keeps butting in and getting us into trouble.

Favorite meal?
– –  That’s a tough one . . . probably Mexican food at Ramon’s, it’s our favorite go-to restaurant.

Favorite dessert?
– –  Something from the seasonal menu at Pure Bliss, the sweet shop in downtown Bellingham. For April, it’s the coconut flake cake with lemon curd.

Favorite hobby?
– –  I have always wanted to learn the guitar. I’ve gotten as far as buying one. It’s under my bed. Hopefully the next time we chat, I will have gotten up the nerve to tune it.

Favorite vacation spot?
– –  I’ve never really gone on vacations. I recently went to a little resort near Leavenworth, Washington. I did get mixed up in a homicide investigation, but everything turned out okay in the end. I really liked it there, minus the dead person. Leavenworth is a beautiful, “Swiss” town, modeled after Solvang, California. It manages to be charming, not cheesy.

Favorite color?
– –  The brown of Chance Parker’s eyes. Like melted chocolate.

Favorite author?
– –  You ask the hardest questions! I guess I would have to go with Michael Connelly for the long run, though I recently read a debut author I loved, Jordan Harper’s “She Rides Shotgun” and I just discovered Ann Cleeves.

Favorite sports team?
– –  The Seattle Mariners. Even if they lose a lot of the time.

Movies or Broadway?
– –  Movies. Preferably at home on my sofa with my dog. (Yes, Chava, and my mother)

Are you a morning or a night person?
– –  Night Owl.

In two to three sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
– –  I work in my office, a lot of PI work these days is over the internet. I run out for a coffee, play with my dog, and have dinner with Chava. Except for those rare days I stumble over a corpse.

You can read about Eddie in Three Strikes, You’re Dead, the third book in the “Eddie Shoes” mystery series. The first book in the series is One Dead, Two to Go.

Private investigator Eddie Shoes heads to a resort outside Leavenworth, Washington, for a mother-daughter getaway weekend. Eddie’s mother Chava wants to celebrate her new job at a casino by footing the bill for the two of them, and who is Eddie to say no?

On the first morning, Eddie goes on an easy solo hike, and a few hours later, stumbles upon a makeshift campsite and a gravely injured man. A forest fire breaks out and she struggles to save him before the flames overcome them both. Before succumbing to his injuries, the man hands her a valuable rosary. He tells her his daughter is missing and begs for her help. Is Eddie now working for a dead man?

Barely escaping the fire, Eddie wakes in the hospital to find both her parents have arrived on the scene. Will Eddie’s card-counting mother and mob-connected father help or hinder the investigation? The police search in vain for a body. How will Eddie find the missing girl with only Eddie’s memory of the man’s face and a photo of his daughter to go on?

Book 3 in the Eddie Shoes Mystery Series, which began with One Dead, Two to Go.

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About the author
Elena Hartwell’s writing career began in the theater, where she also worked as a director, designer, producer, and educator. Productions of her scripts have been performed around the U.S. and abroad. She lives in North Bend, Washington, with her husband. For more information go to elenahartwell.com.

All comments are welcomed.