Bill Noel is the author of eleven novels in the highly-popular Folly Beach Mystery series. He is a fine arts photographer and retired university administrator. Bill lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with his wife, Susan, and his off-kilter imagination.
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.
SILENT NIGHT: A FOLLY BEACH CHRISTMAS MYSTERY
Chris Landrum is dragged out of 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. If that’s not bad enough, pieces of valuable jewelry and surfboards are stolen off homeowners’ porches on the small, South Carolina island located in the shadows of historic Charleston. Are the crimes related? All that’s known for sure is that nothing is known for sure. Rumors abound and in the spirit of it takes a village, Chris is joined by a cadre of quirky characters in his quest to find answers. Adding more pressure, Chris is told that the figurine must be found by Christmas—mere days away.
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.
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.
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.
Chris Landrum and his friend Barbara Deanelli’s search for shark teeth abruptly changes directions when they discover a woman at the 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 almost 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A FOLLY BEACH MYSTER COLLECTION
For the first time, three novels in the award-winning Folly Beach Mystery series by best-selling author Bill Noel are presented in one box set. Enjoy:
BONEYARD BEACH
Chris Landrum’s peaceful retirement on Folly Beach, South Carolina, is thrown into disarray when he learns that one of his friends is arrested for murdering a college student, and in the same week another close friend is the prime suspect in the murder of a man who had been blackmailing him. Chris and his cadre of quirky friends have to do what the police have been unable to do to bring the killers to justice.
SILENT NIGHT
A restful holiday season is all but forgotten as Chris gets involved as the theft of a priceless figurine from a church’s nativity scene threatens to suck the spirit of Christmas out of Folly Beach. Chris is joined by his posse of pals to return the figurine to its rightful place in the heart of his Folly Beach community.
DEAD CENTER
Little can ruin a peaceful morning walk more than stumbling on the body of a killer for hire. Chris’s friends are convinced they know who the hit man was sent to kill and ask him to stick his nose in business that should be left to the police. Once again, Chris is in the crosshairs of a murderer.
A FOLLY BEACH MYSTERY COLLECTION II
Once again, three novels in the award-winning Folly Beach Mystery series by best-selling author Bill Noel are presented in one collection. Enjoy:
DISCORD
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. The visit sinks from bad to horrible when instead of finding stardom, Heather, is charged with the agent’s murder. Chris must rely on his quick wits to solve the murder before the killer adds him to the growing list of victims.
DARK HORSE
An accidental drug overdose is ruled the cause of the death of the daughter of Chris’s neighbor, a retired police detective who had accused Chris of murder days after he’d arrived on Folly Beach a decade ago. So, why get involved and question the cause of death? Could it be because the daughter was dating a man on the path to unseating Chris’s good friend 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.
JOY: A Folly Beach Christmas Mystery
Chris and his friend Barbara Deanelli’s search for shark teeth abruptly changes directions when they discover a woman at the 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 South Carolina.
A FOLLY BEACH CHRISTMAS MYSTERY COLLECTION
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?