A Nose for Hanky Panky by Sharon Love Cook

A Nose for Hanky Panky is Sharon Love Cook's first mystery novel. In it, she infuses a clever sense of humor through absorbing, likable characters and an engrossing storyline, all tied up in an inviting seaside setting. In fact, the seaside village of Granite Cove is based on Gloucester, Massachusetts, where Sharon Love Cook grew up. Cook's exceptional writing style drives the story along to its climactic ending which makes this a must read!

A Nose for Hanky Panky is published by Mainly Murder Press and scheduled to be released September 15, 2010.

Granite Cove, summer playground of the wealthy and home to working class townies like Rose McNichols, have slowly watched their town become a fashionable haven for the upper class. As the story unfolds, Cook shows us glimpses into the class warfare between the working class residents of the Massachusetts seaside fishing town of Granite Cove and its most prominent residents.

When beautiful and successful Granite Cove psychologist Dr. Vivian Klinger is discovered dead in her office, local reporter Rose McNichols begins an investigation of her own. Rose reflects, "As I mentioned, the victim wasn't your average townie. No, she was a paragon who drove the perfect car, a glossy, midnight blue BMW convertible. Its doors sported nautical flag decals meaningful to those who sail. Many times she'd roar past me on Route 128 as I chugged along in my pre-owned Jetta. I'd yell out the window, 'Up your exhaust pipe!' Although my words were blown away by the wind, I felt righteous."

There is any number of suspicious characters from which to choose. The prime suspect is Granite Cove's very own Rusty Favazza, former football hero turned vagabond that is until Rusty turns up dead in the fish pond. As Rose winds her way through the many suspects, she finds herself being stocked herself and can't help but wonder if she'll be the next target. Cal Devine, Rose's former high school boyfriend, is doing everything he can to see that that doesn't happen!

Cook adds a touch of humor to the end of each chapter with a letter from Auntie Pearl's Helpful Housekeeping Hints column. In them, readers look to Auntie Pearl for advice. The comical responses given by Rose are witty and entertaining as she avoids doling out any advice not related to tips on housekeeping.

A Nose for Hanky Panky is available for purchase at MainlyMurderPress.com, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble. It can also be ordered through any local bookstore. It will be available to libraries and resellers through Ingram Book Company, Baker and Taylor, and Mainly Murder Press.

Sharon Love Cook is a local author who lives in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts with her husband and many cats. She has an MFA in writing from Bennington College and has written for a variety of publications including: Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine; Yankee magazine; Vermont Review; Guideposts; the Chicken Soup for the Soul series; and the Cup of Comfort series, among others. Like her protagonist, she's written for newspapers including: The Boston Globe, The Christian Science Monitor, The Salem News, and Tribune Media Service. For many years she's written a humor column for The Salem News, complete with accompanying illustrations.