Talkshow Thursday: Welcome back, Mary Dodge Allen!

“Hunt for a Hometown” Series: 

Love, Loss and Faith Journeys,

Romantic Mystery/Suspense Meets Historical Romance

By Mary Dodge Allen

I am happy to be here today on the History, Hope, and Happily Ever After blog. Many thanks to Linda for inviting me to share about Book 2 of my “Hunt” series, Hunt for a Hometown Kidnapper, to be available in late 2024.

I began my writing career later in life, beginning with short inspirational stories published in traditional Christian anthologies. I am now writing novels - “Fast-paced Adventure with Humor and Heart.” My experience as a social worker, teacher and counselor helps me as I write compelling stories about quirky, flawed characters who are facing real-life struggles and looking for answers.

In Book 1: Hunt for a Hometown Killer – my award-winning Romantic Mystery/Suspense - main character Roxy has endured a series of tragic losses during her life; losing both parents as a child... multiple miscarriages... her husband’s murder. Based in Florida, the first scene describes Roxy’s shock when she witnesses a sinkhole forming. As it deepens, it exposes the long-buried hiding place of the car used in her husband’s unsolved hit-and-run murder, years earlier. Through the twists and turns of the murder investigation, Roxy develops a close relationship with Kyle, the small town’s detective. Working together, they identify her husband’s killer.

Book 2: Hunt for a Hometown Kidnapper continues Roxy’s story in the small fictional town of Riverside Bay, Florida. It is a Romantic Mystery/Suspense with a WWII Historical Romance woven into the story, through diaries and flashbacks of Roxy’s Grandpa Leo.

My Uncle Gordon, who lived to be 97 years old, flew 35 missions as co-pilot of a B-17 bomber, as part

of the U.S. Mighty Eighth Air Force, during WWII. He is my inspiration for Roxy’s beloved Grandpa Leo.

Of the more than 200 airfields used by the U.S. Air Force in England, only one airfield remains intact – the airfield in Rattlesden, England where my Uncle Gordon was based! My husband and I visited that airfield, which is now used by private glider pilots. It’s hard to express the depth of emotion I felt as I stood on the control tower walkway, looking out at the runways. I thought about all the B-17 crewmen based there during WWII. Many of them never returned.

In the photo, clockwise from top left: Rattlesden’s Control Tower; Vintage photo of a Control Tower during WWII; Uncle Gordon’s WWII B-17 bombing crew (He is tallest one standing, on the left); Me, standing on Rattlesden’s Control Tower walkway.

In Book 2: Hunt for a Hometown Kidnapper, Roxy and Kyle plan to be married. Days before their wedding, Roxy is reunited with the teenage daughter she gave up for adoption at birth. Roxy is looking forward to spending more time getting to know her daughter, Dani, after she and Kyle return from their honeymoon. But on the day they return, Dani goes missing. They realize she’s been kidnapped, and she doesn’t have the asthma inhaler she depends on. The clock is ticking as Roxy and Kyle begin a frantic search for Dani. Who has taken her... and why? Roxy’s faith is shaken. After so many years of praying to be reunited with her daughter, will she lose her now?

As Roxy struggles with facing another potential loss in her life, Grandpa Leo shares his own faith journey of love and loss, recorded in his private war diaries. They describe how his B-17 was shot down over France... his love for Anna, the French Resistance worker who saved and sheltered him... and her capture by the Gestapo.

Hunt for a Hometown Kidnapper should be available in late 2024.

If you are interested in reading Book 1: Hunt for a Hometown Killer, I invite you to click on the link below:

Link to Purchase Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-Hometown-Killer-Dodge-Allen/dp/1952369703

Goodreads Author Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58492338-hunt-for-a-hometown-killer

Website: http://www.marydodgeallen.com