W. Soliman
was brought up on the Isle of Wight in Southern England but now divides her time
between Andorra and West Florida. She lives with her husband Andre and a
rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree.
THE HUNTER FILES
When my husband got tired of trying to kill himself in racing cars, light aircraft, helicopters and all the other stuff men turn to in a futile attempt to offset the inevitable mid-life crisis, he suggested that we try boating. We were at home in Andorra, up to our ears in snow and the heating was on the blink, so pretty pictures of sleek motor cruisers cutting through the calm, crystal clear waters of the Mediterranean seemed rather appealing.
And safe.
We fell for the hype and before we knew it, we were the owners of an ancient boat in need of a considerable amount of tlc. For Andre, that was the start of an on-going love affair with the sea and all things nautical. For me it was more a hate-love-hate thing. When the sea is actually as calm as they make it out to be in those glossy ads then boating is a dream. But those days are few and far between. Most of the time you’re tossed about like a loose coin in a washing machine, feeling sick and wondering what the hell you think you’re doing.
Still, never
waste an experience, that’s my motto, and one good thing to come out of hours
of staring at endless expanses of sea was The
Hunter Files, my series of marine crime mysteries, published as ebooks by
Carina Press and also by Audible. The first two, Unfinished Business and Risky
Business, written under my other persona, W. Soliman, are already avilable.
Lethal Business joins them next
March.
Charlie
Hunter is, like me, a Brit. He shares my husband’s passion for boating and, at
forty, having taken early retirement from the police, plans to live aboard his
trawler yacht in Brighton marina and spend his days restoring it to its former
glory.
Charlie’s
dream life doesn’t get off to a good start when a woman involved in one of his
first cases as a detective accosts him, trying to persuade him to look for her
missing sister. Charlie, a soft touch when a pretty woman turns on the tears,
reluctantly agrees. Mind you, if he’d known his investigation would lead to a
gang of ruthless Russians, leaving him and Kara fighting for their lives, he
probably would have stuck to boating!
But I’m getting
ahead of myself here. Writing this book was a departure for me, since it’s in
the first person, obviously from a male perspective. Andre came in useful here,
both with technical boating issues and likely male reactions in given
situations. Can’t say more than that!
Here’s how
Carina describe the books.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Charlie
Hunter has retired early from the police, looking for an alternative lifestyle
aboard his trawler yacht. But his past won’t leave him alone and he finds
himself being dragged back into an unsolved case when Kara Webb persuades him
to look for her sister who’d gone missing fifteen years previously. The search
leads them to Weymouth, where Jasmine Webb is living, married to a Russian
Mafia boss.
Charlie and
Kara discover that Jasmine’s husband is involved in cyber crime on a massive
scale and try to extricate her and her children, only to discover that
Jasmine’s involved as well. A deadly fight ensues, and Charlie and Kara are now
in fear of their lives because they know they can’t be allowed to walk away…
RISKY BUSINESS
Charlie
always doubted that Mike Kendall killed bookie Jeff Spelling. Persuaded by
Mike’s daughter to reinvestigate, Charlie is drawn into the murky world of race
fixing. When the solicitor acting for powerful gaming club magnet Peter Garnet
is also murdered, Charlie is forced to confront dormant family issues when his
estranged step-brother appeals to him for help.
His old
nemesis, Inspector Gillian Slater, is out for Charlie’s blood. Charlie was one
of the last people to see the solicitor alive so she’s convinced he knows more
about his death then he’s prepared to admit and is determined to pin the crime
on him.
Charlie and
Kara, suspecting a drug connection, are caught in a life and death situation,
fighting against the odds to uncover the truth…
Stop by my
website if you get a moment. It’s at http://www.wsoliman.com.
You can read the entire first chapters of both books there. They are available
from Carina Press or Amazon.com http://amzn.to/PAjHKE
Thanks for
having me here.
Wendy
9 comments:
Welcome to Make Mine Mystery, Wendy. That photo is so carefree! I love it! Love the dog, too!
Have fun here today!
Morgan Mandel
http://www.morganmandel.com
Fabulous photo, Wendy. I assume that's seafaring Jake?
As you know, I'm a huge Charlie Hunter fan. Love the nautical stuff too. Great books.
Yes, Shirley, that's my Jake. We spent the summer cruising Croatia. He went 27 hours without lifting his leg, but made up for it when we hit land!
Thanks for having me here, Morgan.
Welcome Wendy! It's always interesting to read about other writers and their lives. I love Jake! So cute. My hubby and I are both great dog lovers and currently have two dogs, one a rescue.
Sounds like an exciting series. Congratulations. Love the pic of you and the dog. Very glamorous. Having been born and raised in southern Florida, there isn't a type of boat I haven't been on, with or without a dog. These days I prefer dry land and now I have cats.
I'm for dryland nowadays as well, Heather, but I still have the dog from the picture, who's just trying to bark at the garbage men!
I haven't been on the open sea, but I'm sure my dog wouldn't be as calm as yours seems in the picture. He barks at everything.
Mine's a sweetheart, Lynn. As long as he's with me, he'll put up with anything. And he knows there will always be a nice long walk at the end of it!
Interesting to know the background! I have to admit I flashed on Jewel of the Nile and Joan Wilder and Jack on *their* boat for a minute there LOL. Really enjoyed the post!
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