Book Highlights

Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series Book I 

Under Their Nose

“Under Their Nose” is the first of a multi book mystery series, titled the Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series. Each book is self-contained, but readers of the full series will be rewarded with foreshadowing and reference to activities from previous books. Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly, and his younger partner Homicide Detective Bob Conway, with the Seattle Police Department’s Violent Crime Division, are the protagonist. Both police veterans, they’re called to solve the brutal murder of a family of four, including two teens, who were residents in an expensive area overlooking Puget Sound. The house has been trashed, expensive paintings slashed, furniture destroyed, and all electronic equipment removed. The only clues being the missing electronics and a vague mark on the foreheads of the adult victims.

What appears to be a simple home invasion and murder, with the help of their department computer guru, they’re soon led to money-laundering, drug-smuggling, and a startling discovery “under their nose.” The reader is drawn in, becoming involved in the case as a silent third partner, through the first-person narrative of the lead detective, Kelly. Intertwined with sections of Kelly’s description of the procedural aspects of unraveling the case, flashbacks to the unidentified antagonist’s history adds a depth of understanding of the matter not afforded to the detectives. In the middle of warrants, arrests, murder charges, bail hearings, attempted kidnappings, and obnoxious attorney, and an agitated Court Judge, romance, emerges between Kelly and his former high school sweetheart, now a Special FBI Agent, and ignites what they lost many years earlier; the drug cartel’s convoluted web of deceit is unraveled along with the surprise arrest of its two leaders. The case is solved, or so they thought.

The Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly detective mystery series was awarded a Silver Medal as a finalist in the “Series” category, Next Generation Indie Book Awards for 2022 international competition.

Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series Book II

Reliving the Dark

“Reliving the Dark” is the second book in the Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly series. Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly and his partner Bob Conway are seeking answers behind the ruthless and explainable murders of homeless males. The numbers keep rising.  Lack of evidence, no one seeing or hearing anything, obnoxious individuals, do-gooders, and the Chief wanting answers, frustrations rise.  Walk the streets with Kelly and Conway as they discover the ravaging effects of a deadly disease (PTSD) and its impact on those who serve our country.

The Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly detective mystery series was awarded a Silver Medal as a finalist in the “Series” category, Next Generation Indie Book Awards for 2022 international competition.

Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series Book III

The Snake has two Heads

“The Snake has two Heads” is the third book in the Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly series.  Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly and his partner Homicide Detective Bob Conway find themselves in harm’s way. A phone call from his Chief disrupts the romantic dinner with his wife as they watch their houseboat blow up across the harbor. Met by his Sergeant, Kelly and his wife Patti are taken to the Seattle Coast Guard Station where they are told of the attempts made on Conway and his family, the brutal assaults on Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Hunter and others.  They are also informed of an airborne attack made on the Leavenworth Federal Prison. Kelly and his wife Patti, along with Conway, work with a specially assigned team to unravel who’s behind these inexplicable criminal acts. Their investigations startles everyone when they find why they are targeted, by whom and that the police department has a mole, not one but two.

The Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly detective mystery series was awarded a Silver Medal as a finalist in the “Series” category, Next Generation Indie Book Awards for 2022 international competition.

Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series Book IV

Enduring the Pain

“Enduring the Pain” is the fourth book in the Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly series. Kelly is confronted with two bags containing body parts found on Alki Beach.  These lead to the uncovering of a series of brutal murders rooted in systemic racism, overlooked initially simply as “missing persons.” Kelly and his partner begin their search for the common denominator among these victims. Meanwhile the department is turned upside down as Chief Flanigan leaves for a new posting in her native Ireland and City council must select a new chief amid the City’s financial struggles. To rectify perceived injustices and to sharpen how the department is viewed by those it serves, the new Chief establishes policies and guidelines for officers’ behavior; during these organizational changes, Kelly loses a close friendship and partner, is given a talented new partner, and works to stop the perpetrator of these gruesome hate crimes before he strikes again.

The Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly detective mystery series was awarded a Silver Medal as a finalist in the “Series” category, Next Generation Indie Book Awards for 2022 international competition.

Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series Book V

Traumatized

“Traumatized” is the fifth book in the Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly series. Kelly has recuperated from being shot and returns to a full schedule. His testimony at a murder trial outlines the chronology of inhumane acts committed by the White Supremacists only to have a mistrial declared. Fragile at best, Kelly and his partner Frankie Glover are asked to pursue a murder case another detective team calls a suicide. Persistent Kelly and Frankie sort out the ugly issues surrounding the unwarranted death of a young women found in Greenlake. Facing evil unlike anything he has ever experienced before in homicide, brings Kelly to an unexpected decision.

The Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly detective mystery series was awarded a Silver Medal as a finalist in the “Series” category, Next Generation Indie Book Awards for 2022 international competition.

Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series Book VI

Free Speech or Sedition

"Free Speech or Sedition" is the sixth book in the Homicide Detective John Francis Kelly Series. Kelly’s lured out of retirement to solve what no one else wishes to handle. Who else is better to take on this new assignment? Three murders, three families changed forever. Kelly wants answers. Kelly seeks justice. Then he’s volunteered. This time to help identify and locate the head of a radical right group and their militia, threatening Washington, DC. There are other factors at play in this threatening game … time, a mole in the government, dirty city councilmen, and a little green notebook. The very fabric of our country is on the line. Free speech or sedition - these radicals are crossing a thin line between the two. Can Kelly live up to the enormous expectations placed on his shoulders as a local cop?