Murder by Elf: A Private Detective Darby Weston Mystery (Private eye Darby Weston mystery)

By Greg Kerr

THEME PARKS ARE MURDER. ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE RUNNING MAJOR CRIMES OUT OF THE BASEMENT. Private eye Darby Weston wonders if his new love interest Carissa is working for the criminal operation. Or is she really on his side? The theme park is like one of the characters in this Upstate New York winter's tale. It's the origin story of how Darby and Carissa met and began working on murder cases together. Meet Carissa and Lizbeth. The two sisters are different as night and day. Not just their outer appearances--a blonde and brunette--but Carissa is posh and philosophical. And Lizbeth is an irrepressible nut ; at least according to her more serious older sister. Lizbeth is all about action, pranks, impulse, and fun. You never know what she's up to. Oh, and the two sisters might be living with a crazed killer. Although they don't know it yet. (Is the author poking fun at those thrillers... "Get out! He's in the house!" ) ___________ A security guard, during the midnight hour, was checking the cavernous subbasements under the theme park. He had just stepped out of the elevator when he spotted a short gruff man with a 2-day growth of whiskers. One of those darn park mascots, the guard assumed. "What are you doing down here, little buddy? This is a restricted area," the guard said. "Restricted? No kidding?" sneered the man dressed like an elf. When the sun came up and the park opened hours later, the park's customers stumbled over the guard's dead body. The "elf" had moved it upstairs. What happened down in that basement? And what are they hiding? The park called a news conference, and said it was an accident. The guard had simply "tripped and fallen". A bald-faced lie. A cover-up. Private eye Darby Weston, posing as a reporter, broke into a fit of laughter. And he couldn't stop laughing until he started choking and coughing. "Sorry. I just need a glass of water," he said as he excused himself and left the room. The press corps stared at him as he went out the door. They wondered if he was drunk? Or high? Actually, he was way ahead of them, and already had some clues about the murder. And yes, at least he knew it was murder, even if they didn't. ___________ Darby does not believe in supernatural beasts. And he certainly doesn't believe in elf assassins. But that guy down in the basement who looked like an elf? What was he covering up? Murder? A portal into another world? Top secret military weapons? Or what? ___________ A SAMPLE FROM THE BOOK: The Tunnel of Love ride, after the amusement park had closed for the night: [© 2025; Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.] All Carissa could hear was a spooky silence. It was so quiet, she could practically hear her heart beating. Thump, thump, thump... "Let's get out of here," she whispered to Darby, not sure if she was just getting paranoid. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow move and she looked up just in time to see a white creature leap out from behind a bush. A ghostly apparition, as pale as an albino mountain gorilla. Like some kind of abominable snowman, human shaped with a thick coat of polar bear colored hair covering it from foot to head, hellish, angry, and running towards them... Read the book and find out what happens next. We promise, you'll be surprised. © 2025 Greg Kerr

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0F5WW5MVN
• ISBN13: 9798280891005
• Release Date: April 2025
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 241 Pages
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.6" x 6.0"