Ellie DeFarr thrusts readers into a quaint and seemingly innocent-looking town where all definitely isn’t as it first appears. There’s a manor house, screams from the dead, an unidentified body and a tireless heroine detective who can’t find a sane resident to provide the truth. DeFarr’s gripping narrative adds a dark new twist to the murder mystery genre.
Scottsdale, AZ -- (SBWIRE) -- 11/03/2014 -- While the murder mystery genre has long been a staple of the literary world, both readers and critics alike are currently crying out for wholly unique new narratives that don’t succumb to recycling of the ‘same-old’ stories. Thankfully, author Ellie DeFarr is answering the call with gusto.
‘Melancholy Manor’ is volume two in the popular ‘A Hera Hunter Mystery’ series. Hunter was once a sniper and thought becoming a detective would be easy; until she realizes that just because someone is dead doesn’t mean they can’t come back to haunt her investigations.
Synopsis:
Private Investigator Hera Hunter thinks it’s odd when no one steps forward to identify the woman found dead behind City Hall. Then another friendless woman is gunned down on the street. “My stepbrother murdered them,” Zoey Barnes cries. But everyone knows she’s a little crazy. Besides, she’s hated her stepbrother ever since he ran over her fiancé twenty four years ago. Her cries go unheeded until their mother, Caroline Dunham, hires Hera to prove her stepson’s innocence. But Caroline’s a bit strange, too. She hears weeping from those who long ago were murdered in her stately home. Hera doesn’t believe in mournful ghosts. But she does believe that there’s a connection between these past and recent killings and that she must find it before another lonesome woman dies.
“I wanted to take a fast-paced, hardboiled murder story and twist some extra dark elements into the fray,” explains DeFarr. “The genre has become somewhat stagnant of late and could…if I dare use the phrase…benefit from some new blood.”
Continuing, “Reader reactions have been overwhelmingly positive and I’m pleased to announce that I am back at the writing table with book three. Hera’s work is far from done!”
The author isn’t exaggerating; her work is garnering rave reviews. Jack Magnus from Readers’ Favorite comments, “Ellie DeFarr's private investigator novel, Melancholy Manor: A Hera Hunter Mystery, is well-written and fast-paced hard-boiled detective fiction. DeFarr's sniper-turned-sleuth is complex, tortured and very human. ... The story line is original and well-plotted, and the characters are finely drawn.”
Julia Hopkinson adds, “Ellie DeFarr's second book is a serious and enjoyable mystery albeit with some dark themes. I very much enjoyed reading Melancholy Manor and look forward to seeing where her adventures take Hera next.”
Like other reviewers, D. Greer is looking forward to the series’ progression, writing, “Very entertaining mystery! I enjoyed this book immensely. The characters were well developed and rather quirky. Several sinister plots going on brought together beautifully by the author. I felt like I knew the characters by the end and sure hope to read more of their escapades!”’
‘Melancholy Manor: A Hera Hunter Mystery’ is available now: http://amzn.to/1yHHmx3
About Ellie DeFarr
Ellie DeFarr grew up in the surrounds of Pittsburgh, PA, playing in the forested foothills and wading through the streams that flow between them. She attended the University of Michigan, where she earned a Masters Degree in a scientific field so far removed from creative writing that it's mind boggling. After graduation she entered the demanding and fast-paced world of leading-edge technology. But this inauspicious start did not deter her from her love of the written word. She is delighted to be the author of the Hera Hunter Mysteries and is currently hard at work on the next book in the series.