A Folly Beach Mystery Series

On an early-morning walk through the nature preserve on the east end of Folly Beach on their way to photograph the iconic Morris Island Lighthouse, Chris Landrum and his friend Charles Fowler's peaceful morning takes an abrupt turn. They encounter a woman who tells them she got separated from her husband during a storm, then claims they'd been relic hunting. Her husband can't verify what he and his wife were doing. He's dead—murdered. With the horrific death on everyone's mind, Theo Stoll, another of Chris's friends learns his recently widowed daughter-in-law is moving to Folly saying she wants to be near her only living relative. But, what does the woman Theo has never met really want? A family connection or to con the wealthy retiree. Lies, contradictions, stories of ghosts, pirates, Civil War relics, and buried treasure, combine with no shortage of murder suspects to challenge Chris and his friends to solve the crime that's stumped the police. Not only solve it but solve it before more are killed.

Chris Landrum and his friend Barbara Deanelli's search for shark teeth abruptly changes directions when they discover a woman at water's edge clinging to a surfboard. How she got there was a mystery—a mystery compounded when she doesn't remember her name, her past, or who abducted her and nearly sent her to her death in the mid-December waters off the coast of Folly Beach, South Carolina. Chris and a cadre of his quirky pals are determined to learn the woman's identity and what happened. Their search is interrupted when they, along with most everyone else on the small barrier island, halt their pre-Christmas plans to search for Pluto, Dude Sloan's beloved Australian terrier, that was nowhere to be found. Will Chris and his pals catch whoever initiated the attempt on the mystery woman's life before another try is made, and will Dude's beloved pet reappear in time for Christmas? Whoever said that retirement was to be a time of peace and relaxation never spent time with Chris and his friends.

Chris Landrum s world is turned upside down when he stumbles on a body of a killer for hire. Chris s friends on the laid-back, peaceful South Carolina island are convinced they know who the hit man was sent to kill, and ask the retired bureaucrat to stick his nose in business that should be left to the police. If that s not enough, Chris comes home to an intruder intent on taking his life; his best friend announces he s moving out of state; and, his long-term girlfriend may be leaving him. Add to the mix, a participant in the witness protection program and a bookstore owner with a mysterious past, and once again, Chris is in the crosshairs of a murderer.

Christmas on South Carolina's Folly Beach is a time for festivities, families, friendship, fellowship, and reflection. When a fire ruled intentionally set leaves residents of five apartments homeless days before the holiday, retired bureaucrat Chris Landrum and his friend Charles Fowler take it upon themselves to not only make sure the displaced residents have somewhere to live but are determined to learn who was responsible for the massive conflagration. The burned-out residents include an aspiring novelist, two people who'd recently been accused of killing a bookie, and Police Chief Cindy LaMond's sister and nephew, family members Cindy's closest friends didn't know existed. Finding who set the fire is compounded when Chris discovers each resident knows one or more people who may've had reason to torch the building. And, who's to say one of the residents didn't set it. With more suspects than days until Christmas, can Chris and his cadre of quirky friends restore the Christmas spirit to the small barrier island?

A peaceful kayak trip through the marsh suddenly turns terrifying for Chris Landrum and his friend, Charles Fowler, when a single-engine airplane plummets toward their watercraft. After coming inches from certain death, the kayakers' heroic efforts save two of the plane's occupants but failed to save the other two passengers. Learning the pilot had been poisoned and three of the plane's passengers live on Folly Beach, site of Chris and Charles's retirement homes, Charles, the self-proclaimed private detective, decides it's up to the two retirees to catch the killer. While no simple task, it's made more difficult when they realize they don't know the identity of the intended victim or victims. Further complicating their undertaking, Chris is detracted when he learns another of his friends comes face-to-face with a life-altering secret going back a half-century.   Once again, Chris and his cast of quirky characters are challenged to solve a crime the police are unable to unravel before lives are lost, possibly their own. 

Halloween is traditionally filled with ghosts, goblins, and ghouls but this year the holiday brings something more sinister to the small South Carolina barrier island of Folly Beach. The popular fall holiday has never been a favorite of retired bureaucrat Chris Landrum but that didn't stop his friend Charles Fowler from convincing him to tour a haunted house sponsored by a local charity. In addition to being faced with the scary scenes that appear in most haunted houses, they stumble across a dead body—a real dead body. Stir into the cauldron a Wiccan family, a Christian minister, an egotistical dentist, a ghost-hunting couple, and a dog the size of a Fiat and you have the makings of a mystery that Chris and Charles must solve before their bodies are added into the haunted house.

A knock on Chris Landrum's retirement cottage door proves that he doesn't have to leave home to find trouble. His friend, Mel Evans, a marsh tour-boat captain, arrives to tell Chris that there might be a little problem. Chris is shocked to hear that the little problem is that his friend is accused of murdering a college student. Before he has enough time for that to sink in, Chris learns that another friend Larry's shady past is threatened to be exposed by a con artist and former partner-in-crime who has moved to their South Carolina beach community. Chris and his best friend Charles, a self-appointed private detective, join a senior citizen's walking group to learn more about Larry's nemesis, but instead of the health benefits of walking and the comradery of a group of friends, he and Charles come face-to face with deception, intrigue, and murder. Mel's in jail, Larry is moments away from being arrested, and Chris escapes death by inches and must find not one, but two murderers, before they can kill again.In a new Folly Beach mystery, Chris and his cadre of quirky pals, once again risk their lives for their friends, and to prevent more deaths, including their own.

An early-morning phone call from a friend asking Chris Landrum if he'd heard anything about a skeleton discovered on Mosquito Beach, an African American enclave fewer than a handful of miles from Chris's home on Folly Beach, South Carolina, soon embroils Chris and a few of his friends into trying to solve a mystery dating back sixty plus years. Chris and Charles, his friend and self-proclaimed private detective, quest for answers takes on life or death proportions when two more of Chris's acquaintances are killed and his friend Al Washington is next in the killer's sights. The task for the amateur sleuths is made much more difficult since they know few of the locals in the close-knit Mosquito Beach community and one of the people they know might be a killer.

Four aging comedians deliver anything but laughs when they descend upon Folly Beach, a small, laid-back barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina. Chris Landrum's introduction to the newcomers is when he averts disaster by escorting one of them out of the center of Folly's busiest street, a task made even more difficult since the jokester, wearing a long, wool coat over red swim trunks, and black patent leather shoes, is flailing a fishing rod at anything that moves, be it vehicle or human. In addition to the stranger not knowing why he's in the center of the street, he claims to have discovered a dead body at the beach. The problem is he can't remember if he saw it that day, the previous month, or perhaps four years earlier. Jokes, lies, secrets, dead bodies, several murder suspects, and danger follow the comics. It's up to retired bureaucrat Chris along with his cadre of quirky pals to sort out what's going on before some of them are added to the list of victims.

An accidental drug overdose is ruled the cause of the death of the daughter of Chris Landrum's neighbor. The young woman's father, a retired police detective, had accused Chris of murder days after he'd arrived on Folly Beach a decade ago, and they've butted heads frequently since then. So, why get involved and question the cause of death? Could it be because the daughter was dating Joel Hurt, a man on the path to unseating Chris's good friend, Brian Newman, as mayor of the small barrier-island?  The political race heats up, and so does the retired executive's search for proof of a crime—a crime the police are certain never took place. While the tight-knit community is being torn apart by politics, life-altering events impact two of Chris's best friends, Charles Fowler, and Bob Howard, and once again prove that life in the town in the shadows of Charleston, South Carolina, is anything but dull. 

SILENT NIGHT  —  JOY  —  FAITH   A FOLLY BEACH CHRISTMAS MYSTERY COLLECTION Welcome to Christmas on Folly Beach. Along with seasonal festivities, don't be surprised if you stumble on a mystery, or two, or who knows how many more. Enjoy!   SILENT NIGHT Chris Landrum gets dragged out of his peaceful retirement when the theft of a priceless, hand-carved figurine from a church's nativity scene threatens to suck the spirit of Christmas out of Folly Beach, the small South Carolina island. Theories about the culprit range from him being a surfer, a homeless person, and even a member of a devil worshiping cult. In the spirit of it takes a village, Chris is joined in his quest to find answers by his friend Charles Fowler, two teenagers, concerned surfers, and several members of Folly's traditional churches   JOY    Chris and his friend Barbara Deanelli's search for shark teeth abruptly changes directions when they discover a woman clinging to a surfboard. How she got there was a mystery—a mystery compounded when she doesn't remember her name, her past, or who abducted her. Chris and his pals are determined to learn her identity and what happened. Their search is interrupted when they halt their pre-Christmas plans to search for a friend's missing Australian terrier. Will Chris and his friends catch whoever initiated the attempt on the mystery woman's life before another try is made, and will the pet reappear in time for the holiday?   FAITH Christmas on Folly is a time for festivities, family, friendship, fellowship, and reflection. When a fire leaves residents of five apartments homeless days before the holiday, Chris and his friends take it upon themselves to not only make sure the displaced residents have somewhere to live but are determined to learn who was responsible for the conflagration. Their task is compounded when Chris discovers each resident knows someone who may've had reason to torch the building. With more suspects than days until Christmas, can Chris and his friends restore the Christmas spirit to the small barrier island?

Chris Landrum's trip to Nashville to visit his best friend Charles hits a sour note when they learn of the death of the agent who had persuaded Heather, Charles's girlfriend, to move to Music City to seek fame and fortune as a singer. Tagging along on the trip is Cal Ballew, an aging country music performer and owner of Cal's Bar and Grill on Folly Beach, South Carolina. The visit sinks from bad to horrible when instead of finding stardom, Heather, who is already depressed and discouraged about her diminishing chances of succeeding in the music industry, is charged with the agent's murder. Making matters worse, Charles, a man who finds the good in most anyone, is convinced that Heather is guilty.  Suspects stretch from the capitol of Tennessee to Chris's retirement city of Folly Beach; in fact, so many suspects that it takes Chris and members of his cadre of quirky pals plus a couple of new acquaintances in Tennessee to cobble together enough clues to close in on the killer, something the police have been unable to accomplish. In this installment in the Folly Beach Mystery series, Chris must rely on his quick wits to solve the murder before the killer adds him to the growing list of victims.

Three more novels in the award-winning Folly Beach Mystery series by best-selling author Bill Noel are presented in one collection.    NO JOKE Four aging comedians deliver anything but laughs when they descend upon Folly Beach, a small, laid-back barrier island near Charleston, South Carolina. Chris Landrum's introduction to the newcomers is when he averts disaster by escorting one of them out of the center of Folly's busiest street, a task made even more difficult since the jokester, wearing a long, wool coat over red swim trunks, and black patent leather shoes, is flailing a fishing rod at anything that moves, be it vehicle or human.   RELIC On an early-morning walk through the nature preserve on the east end of Folly Beach on their way to photograph the iconic Morris Island Lighthouse, Chris Landrum and his friend Charles Fowler's peaceful morning takes an abrupt turn. They encounter a woman who tells them she got separated from her husband during a storm, then claims they'd been relic hunting. Her husband can't verify what he and his wife were doing. He's dead—murdered. With the horrific death on everyone's mind, Theo Stoll, another of Chris's friends learns his recently widowed daughter-in-law is moving to Folly saying she wants to be near her only living relative. But, what does the woman Theo has never met really want? A family connection or to con the wealthy retiree. Lies, contradictions, stories of ghosts, pirates, Civil War relics, and buried treasure, combine with no shortage of murder suspects to challenge Chris and his friends to solve the crime that's stumped the police. Not only solve it but solve it before more are killed.   FAITH Christmas on South Carolina's Folly Beach is a time for festivities, families, friendship, fellowship, and reflection. When a fire ruled intentionally set leaves residents of five apartments homeless days before the holiday, retired bureaucrat Chris Landrum and his friend Charles Fowler take it upon themselves to not only make sure the displaced residents have somewhere to live but are determined to learn who was responsible for the massive conflagration. The burned-out residents include an aspiring novelist, two people who'd recently been accused of killing a bookie, and Police Chief Cindy LaMond's sister and nephew, family members Cindy's closest friends didn't know existed. Finding who set the fire is compounded when Chris discovers each resident knows one or more people who may've had reason to torch the building. And, who's to say one of the residents didn't set it. With more suspects than days until Christmas, can Chris and his cadre of quirky friends restore the Christmas spirit to the small barrier island?

There were numerous better ways for retiree Chris Landrum to begin his day than to listen to a traumatized friend Virgil DeBonnet telling him how he found a body with a knife sticking out his back and floating in a small boat less than a half mile from Chris's cottage. Landrum's day on Folly Beach, the small barrier island in the shadows of Charleston, South Carolina, turns even darker when Virgil convinces him and his best friend and self-anointed private detective Charles Fowler that it was up to them to find the person who ended the man's life. The three friends twist, turn, and stumble their way among an increasing number of suspects including a former professional baseball player, the dead man's alleged partner in a con game, a wealthy businessman who'd fallen for the con, and more. The amateur detectives think they have the murder solved until their prime suspect becomes the second victim of the knife wielding killer. Unless they uncover the truth, and do it quickly, one of them will be the next murder victim.

With Halloween rapidly approaching, retired bureaucrat Chris Landrum would like nothing more than for his least favorite holiday to skip his adopted hometown of Folly Beach, South Carolina. The hopes of a quiet October drifts away on the tide when Chris's friend, Charles Fowler, stumbles upon the dead body of a curiously dressed woman with a hatchet firmly placed in her back. Along with a former successful stock market analyst, the keyword being former and an obnoxious ex-Marine, Chris is dragged into helping Charles search for the killer. A masquerade party unlike anything the beach town has seen brings out a hodgepodge of suspects and potential victims, all hiding behind masks. The amateur detectives must find the killer or killers before the dreaded spooky holiday becomes their last.

The theft of a Rolex worth more than most new vehicles begins a series of burglaries casting a dark shadow on the Christmas season for Folly Beach, the small South Carolina barrier island. The number of suspects drastically increases when Mackey's Miracle Troupe, a group of singers and actors, arrives on Folly. The Troupe's leader Peter Mackey claims the visit is to bring an upbeat message to the community while performing good deeds throughout the island, but its arrival at the same time the burglaries begin is too coincidental to be overlooked. With the police spinning their wheels, it's up to retired bureaucrat Chris Landrum and Charles Fowler, a self-proclaimed private detective, to wade through potential suspects and catch the thief or thieves. With Christmas only hours away, will the unlikely detectives succeed in bringing joy, peace, and good tidings back to their beloved island?

A pleasant walk along the coast on Folly Beach, South Carolina, thrusts retiree Chris Landrum and his friend Charles Fowler into investigating a death that police are convinced was an unfortunate accident. Their resolve to continue sticking their noses where according to the police they have no business being was strengthened when a second person dies—the second death of a member of the small crew building a beachfront home. With no connection between the victims other than the house under construction, Chris and his circle of amateur detectives struggle to identify a motive, much less the identity of the perpetrator or perpetrators of the alleged crimes. It takes a third mysterious death before the police become suspicious, but by then, Chris and Charles are already in over their heads, a perilous position that could add them to the list of victims unless they can catch the killer or killers.