Missing You in Atlantic City: Contemporary Mystery Has Roots in 1964 When the Democratic Convention Put Atlantic City in the National Spotlight
Medford, New Jersey (PRWEB) August 13, 2014 -- Plexus Publishing, Inc., the independent publisher whose Boardwalk Empire gave rise to an Emmy-winning HBO series and became a New York Times bestseller, announced the publication of Jane Kelly’s latest novel, Missing You in Atlantic City.
As the story opens, the summer of 2014 is in full swing along the Atlantic City boards and Kelly’s impetuous sleuth Meg Daniels and her significant other, ex-PI Andy Beck, are back at the Jersey Shore. While Andy slaves away at a hotel-casino security job, Meg is doing her best to sleep late, limit her exercise, and get plenty of sand between her toes. Too much free time on this gal’s hands always spells trouble, and on this trip it comes courtesy of Johnny Angelini, an Atlantic City lounge singer who channels Frank Sinatra nightly at the hotel bar.
Johnny was just an infant in 1964 when the Democratic Convention came to town and his mother, Betty Boyle, vanished without a trace. Intrigued, Meg hits the Boardwalk running to solve the 50-year-old case and bring some closure for Johnny. As she doggedly tracks down and interviews the surviving witnesses, including a former senator with powerful ties, she stumbles onto a twisted cover-up. Someone is intent on keeping the Boyle case cold, and won’t stop at icing the troublesome Ms. Daniels along with it.
According to Jane Kelly, “Missing You in Atlantic City is about people and the uncontrollable forces that change their lives. It’s about love and regret and ambition and heartbreak, all reported from the viewpoint of a somewhat cynical heroine.” She adds, “I want readers to laugh at Meg’s observations, but it is important to me that the character never loses sight of the human tragedies—the disappearance of a young mother, for one—that move the action forward.”
“Jane Kelly’s three previous mysteries have been categorized as ‘cozies,’ and I think correctly so,” said John B. Bryans, Kelly’s editor at Medford, N.J.-based Plexus. “With Missing You in Atlantic City, she tackles controversial themes, creates a vivid cast of flawed and sympathetic characters, and delivers a suspenseful, tightly plotted mystery. The way she presents 1964 Atlantic City and integrates that scene with its 2014 counterpart is remarkable.” Bryans notes, “She was maturing as a writer in Wrong Beach Island, but with this novel Jane Kelly has not only grown, she’s arrived.”
ADVANCE PRAISE
“The Democratic Convention of 1964 is the perfect flashback setting for this suspenseful, deftly built tale of the disappearance of a young mother. ... As the sleuth, Meg Daniels is as irresistible as she is impetuous.”
—Joseph T. Wilkins, author, The Skin Game and Other Atlantic City Capers
“Jane Kelly sets her newest whodunit in the casino-hardened heart of Atlantic City, and it’s as irresistible as walking the boardwalk the first warm weekend of the season. For fans like me, this is as good as getting dealt four aces. ... A winner!”
—Savannah Russe, USA Today bestselling author, The Darkwing Chronicles
“Jane Kelly’s lighthearted mysteries have delighted beach readers for over a decade. [Here] she is at the top of her game, taking us into much darker places without sacrificing any of her trademark warmth and wit.”
—J. Louis Yampolsky, 2009 NJSAA Award-winner for best new fiction, A Boardwalk Story
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jane Kelly is a Philadelphia native who started vacationing at the Jersey Shore at the age of 5 months and has returned every year since. A graduate of Chestnut Hill College, she has an M.S. in Information Studies from Drexel University and an M.Phil in Popular Literature from Trinity College, University of Dublin. She is the author of three previous Meg Daniels mysteries: Killing Time in Ocean City, Cape Mayhem, and Wrong Beach Island. After working for many years in New York; Washington D.C., Chicago; and Boston, Kelly has recently returned to live and write in the Philadelphia area.
Missing You in Atlantic City (288pp/softcover/$14.95/ISBN 978-1-940091-00-6) is available in bookstores through Baker & Taylor, from all major online booksellers, and by ordering direct from the publisher. For more information or to order, call or email Plexus Publishing, Inc. at 609/654-6500 or info(at)plexuspublishing(dot)com or visit plexuspublishing.com.
Rob Colding, Plexus Publishing, Inc. [USA], http://www.plexuspublishing.com, +1 (609) 654-6500 Ext: 330, [email protected]
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