Film lover Barbara Marr is a typical suburban mom living the typical suburban life in her sleepy little town of Rustic Woods, Virginia. Typical, that is until she sets out to find the missing link between a bizarre monkey sighting in her yard and the bone chilling middle-of-the-night fright fest at the strangely vacant house next door. When Barb talks her two friends into some seemingly innocent Charlie’s Angels-like sleuthing, they stumble upon way more than they bargained for and uncover a piece of neighborhood history that certain people would kill to keep on the cutting room floor.
Enter sexy PI Colt Baron, Barb’s ex-boyfriend who would love to be cast as new leading man, filling the role just vacated by her recently estranged husband, Howard. When Colt flies in from out of town to help Barb, events careen out of control and suddenly this mini-van driving mother of three becomes a major player in a treacherous and potentially deadly FBI undercover operation. It’s up to her now. With little time to spare, she and she alone, must summon the inner strength necessary to become a true action heroine and save the lives of those she loves. The question is can she get them out alive before the credits roll?
From Publishers Weekly
"This fun if light novel’s quippy, hilarious narrator, Barbara Marr, has so much warmth and genuine gumption, you’d certainly want her on your criminal investigative team. The spunky Virginia housewife and mother of three is almost at the end of her rope — her hunky husband, Howard, has left her; it’s her 45th birthday; and she’s just discovered three monkeys living in the trees in front of her house. “Life was pretty sucky” as she puts it. But while investigating the curious case of these monkeys, a bit of unexpected adventure shakes things up just the right amount. In a warm-hearted, deftly observed comic-farce-meets-mobster mystery, Barbara and her friends from her quiet suburban neighborhood, Peggy and Roz, stick their noses into the business of a deserted house down the street and find themselves caught up in some off-the-wall FBI business that hits way closer to home than they could have imagined. Perhaps a bit goofy at times, this is nevertheless an outright treat: diverting, funny and fast-moving." -- This text refers to the manuscript reviewed as a part of the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest.
Reviews
“A semi-finalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest, Take the Monkeys and Run obviously pleased a few readers. While this is no literary masterpiece, it is essentially well-written with engaging, often larger that life characters, and most importantly is laugh out loud funny.” Reviewed by Jenny Mounfield at The Compulsive Reader
“Karen Cantwell's writing doesn't disappoint. The pace clips along and delivers at all the right points carrying us on an internal journey to answer the questions surrounding the crime. If you like a good mystery but want a refreshing new take with a bit of light fare, enough to make you laugh out loud, then Karen Cantwell's Take the Monkeys and Run will take you there.” Reviewed by Lee Libro at Literary Magic
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JUST RELEASED!!!
If you think PTA meetings are boring, then you haven’t attended one in Barbara Marr’s neighborhood, where MURDER is on the agenda. Always one to stumble into trouble, Barb learns the hard way that a seemingly innocent yearbook scandal is actually part of a more sinister and deadly plot. Join soccer mom and movie lover Barbara Marr in this second laugh-out-loud, chaotic mystery, where high-profile crime and suburban living collide in an unexpected fashion.
What readers are saying:
"Cantwell handles her characters with flair and pizazz. There's no doubt about it; this book is utterly implausible. But it's a dang enjoyable read, blending page-turning action with those little tender moments that get you right in the gut. I particularly enjoyed the fact that the main romantic interest was Barbara's own husband." - Nancy Fulda, Amazon Customer Review
"In this second great Barbara Marr mystery she once again finds herself in the middle of improbable crazy situations. As you ride the roller coaster the improbable becomes possible and all makes sense. A great fun romp full of fun characters and quick wit." - Cynthia Reilley "Momster", Amazon Customer Review
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Four funny and touching short stories featuring soccer mom and movie lover, Barbara Marr, who made her debut appearance in the hilarious murder mystery, Take the Monkeys and Run.
Includes the laugh-out-loud mystery short story, “Missing Impossible.” When Barb decides to tag along on a PI job with Colt, things don’t go quite as planned, and she finds herself in yet another sticky situation. (A between-the-novels short)
Other short stories: “Taming the Hulk,” “Top Lawn,” and “The Road to Shangri-La.” Also, just for fun, the author has added two BONUS shorts with different themes. All-in-all - a collection sure to entertain.
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Foxy Anders has a list of problems as long as a shopping spree receipt from Neiman Marcus. She's a retail spender with no money to spare and a former beauty queen with no man in her life. After a nightmare divorce she's left with one asset, a building off Washington, D.C.'s classy DuPont Circle. By turning the ground floor into an antique shop, Foxy figures she has an excuse to spend money ... that she doesn't have.
Foxy also has a teenaged daughter, Amanda, who likes to blog secretly about her biggest problem - Foxy. At least, she thinks Foxy is her biggest problem. But that's all about to change when she hooks up with Nick, a cute guy at school who evidently has a gift for attracting older women. Amanda just doesn't know HOW much older they really are.
When Foxy rents the garden apartment to stylish, shoe-fettishista Knot, who turns out to have a knack for talking wealthy Washington A-listers into Foxy's antiques, it looks as if Foxy will make it on her own after all. Except that Knot is also a genius at creating problems ... in his love life.
They're a quirky threesome to be sure, but when mysterious, bumbling, Myron Standlish arrives on the scene with a suitcase full of Yiddish-isms, he brings along his own set of problems, larger and stranger than all of theirs put together. Oy vey. How will Myron's personal journey affect their lives? Well ... that's Foxy's Tale.
A comic, chick lit, coming-of-age, vampire tale (sort of) where family triumphs over adversity and mother and daughter learn how to face the world as grownups - together.
What readers are saying ...
"Full of snappy characters, laughs, and mystery, peppered with lively details of Washington, DC., and brimming with enough shoe shopping to satisfy any fashionista. This new joint effort from Karen Cantwell and L B Gschwandtner is guaranteed to please! Can't wait for the next installment in this lively new series!"
- Misha Crews, Author of Her Secret Bodyguard
"Foxy's Tale is irresistible fun - full of lively characters with a knack for trouble, laugh-out-loud dialogue, and story twists that will keep you reading deep into the night."
- Kim Wright Wiley, Author of Love in Mid Air
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Twenty amazing authors have contributed twenty amazing, tantalizing and gripping mystery stories to this mystery anthology that author Katherine Neville has called a “Tour de Force.”
Karen Cantwell’s short story, “The Recollections of Rosabelle Raines,” tackles the subjects of slavery, espionage and visionary presience against the backdrop of post-Civil War Alexandria, Virginia.
