A Wicked Welcome to Jessie Chandler! *giveaway*

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When I heard that Jessie Chandler had a new book in her Shay O’Hanlon Caper Series coming out, I couldn’t wait to invite her to the blog. This is such a fun series–I’m grateful Jessie agreed to come on and talk about Shanghai Murder.

After an entirely too long absence, coffee-shop owner Shay O’Hanlon and her crazy crew of loveable misfits are finally back! May 21st brings the release of Shanghai Murder, the sixth book in the Shay series. I’m incredibly excited this book will see the light of day, thanks to my publisher, Bella Books.

The Shay O’Hanlon Caper Series, set mainly in Minnesota, has been described as a triple cross between Scooby Doo and the gang, Carol Burnett for her physical comedy, and Clive Cussler, because what fun is a book without a ticking timeclock? I’ve always loved creepy, old, rundown places, so in each of my books, Shay and company wind up in, and sometimes must escape from, some awesomely spooky and goosebump-inducing locations. A sampling: an abandoned hockey rink used in the Mighty Ducks movie, a casket factory, a defunct, crumbling in-patient state hospital for the mentally ill, a country store turned museum, and in Shanghai Murder, the legendary Shanghai Tunnels underneath Portland, Oregon, my new hometown.

During all of these sometimes-deadly adventures, Shay surrounds herself with blood family, and her family of choice. The cast includes Eddy, Shay’s mom-figure—a feisty Black woman-of-a-certain-age—who must wear her neon high tops to break into places; Coop, Shay’s six-foot-four, ex-chain-smoking, tree-hugging, vegetarian bestie; JT, a Minneapolis homicide detective recently engaged to Shay, which is still kind of a shock to them both; Lisa, the newly-found half-sister Shay is trying hard to accept, Rocky, a short, round sprite who’s very similar to Dustin Hoffman’s Rainman, with a photographic memory and kindness oozing from his pores, and his beloved wife, Tulip, an ex-New Orleans balloon animal street hawker.

In Shanghi, Shay, visiting Portland to attend the Big On Beans Coffee Conference, witnesses something super nefarious and winds up kidnapped, then trapped in the tunnels beneath Portland’s Old Town, along with a very, very dead body. Up above, Coop and JT grow increasingly frustrated attempting to follow Shay’s very spotty Trip-A-Go-Go signal, not realizing she’s right beneath their feet.

Meanwhile, Tulip heads off on an adventure to Portland’s Witch’s Castle with New Orleans “friends” Scary Mary, and her freaky sidekick, Pretty Boy Robbie. As these things tend to go, Tulip vanishes. Rocky, in a panic, along with Eddy, who’s trying her best to stay awake, launch a rescue mission that culminates at the top of a Ferris wheel at Oaks Amusement Park. Never a dull moment for Shay and her erstwhile posse.

**GIVEAWAY!!!***

If you want to join in the fun, drop a comment below to be entered into a giveaway, with two Shanghai Murder e-books up for grabs! I’ll draw for the lucky winner in two business days. 

Also, check out my website at www.jessiechandler.com

 FB: @jchandlerauthor

Instagram: @jchandlerauthor and @theauthorpaints.

About the book:

Shay O’Hanlon and her team of friendly misfits travel from Minnesota to Portland to attend the annual Big on Beans Convention—in search of a new joe for Shay’s café. The crew is poised to spend the weekend flying high on Voodoo Doughnuts and a surplus of caffeine. But bad java, stolen ammunition, and an overheard conversation throw all the fun right out of the Oregon Convention Center’s window.

Shay finds herself thrust into the middle of a deadly deal-gone-wrong, and soon she’s on the run through Portland’s underground Shanghai Tunnels.

Meanwhile, when Rocky’s wife, Tulip, disappears while checking out Witch’s Castle, Mom-to-all Eddy must shake off her lethargy and do something before Tulip is toast.

Shay knows that the differences between life and death are a very fine line. For Tulip, Shay, and a little girl named Lira, that fine line couldn’t be any thinner.

About the author:

Jessie Chandler is the author of seven novels, including the humorously suspenseful Shay O’Hanlon Caper Series. Her crime fiction has garnered a Lambda Literary finalist nod, three Golden Crown Literary Awards, three USA Book Awards, and an Independent Publisher Book Award.

As a kid, Jessie honed an interest in crime and punishment by avidly reading Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Encyclopedia Brown, and Alfred Hitchcock’s The Three Investigators series under the covers with a flashlight.

Now the fall and winter seasons find Jessie feverishly writing, and she spends springtime knee deep in edits and revisions!

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Published by J.A. Hennrikus

One woman, three names, many books. As Julia Henry I wrote the Garden Squad series for Kensington. As J.A. Hennrikus I wrote the Theater Cop series, and as Julianne Holmes I wrote the Clock Shop series. I've been an arts administrator for my entire career, mostly in the performing arts. Currently I'm the ED of Sisters in Crime, a wonderful organization that promotes and supports crime writers. www.sistersincrime.org Connect with me on Facebook and Instagram! @JHAuthors

31 Thoughts

  1. Sounds like a fun read. It would be the first in the series for me to read if I am the lucky one but I can always catch up. Thank you so much for this chance at your giveaway.

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    1. Hey Paula, I totally understand about starting at the beginning! Each of my books can stand alone for the casual reader. For the discriminating mystery bibliophile, lots of threads weave their way between multiple books, so you can follow character development and whatever continuing threads I impose on my poor crew.

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    1. Hey Edith! Thanks for the kind welcome! I so appreciate the invite to tangle toes with a great bunch of women. Yes! The creepy tunnels are awesome! Seattle, too has an entire underground town. I don’t know how much is accessible, but initially, I believe, Seattle was built below the flood plain. So they raised the town up and built on top of the old one. Tours were happening before Covid, but I’m not sure if they are now. Gotta find out and see that!

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  3. Wowza, I can already feel the adventure and fun coming from this story! That ferris wheel looks crazy tall, but i like the enclosed seats better than the kind our local fairs have that make you feel like you’re going to tip out of them. Congrats on your new book!

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    1. The story was a lot of fun to write, especially figure out how to give Shay more and more big troubles. Well, I have to admit the most fun was visiting the Witch’s Castle, and the tunnels tour. I sure rode a lot of those open ferris wheels as a kid, but these days I have to agree with you!

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  4. I am very excited about checking out this series! I love the Hardy Boys… Nancy Drew…Scooby Doo, and creepy creepy places! Sounds like I’m gonna have some fun with this one!

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    1. Jason, you’re totally speaking my language! Oh man, the Hardy Boys, and Nancy Drew were awesome. And the Alfred Hitchcock’s Three Investigators were a total favorite. It was set in California, and I still remembering them bundling up in heavy jackets to go outside, which struck me as pretty hilarious as a kid who grew up in Minnesota.

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    1. Hey Liz! Thanks for the congrats. No matter how many times you have a new book out, it’s always exciting 🙂

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    1. Hey Kait! The tunnels are totally something else! It was a hoot to do the research and then to work them into my story. I did take a little author’s prerogative, and my tunnels aren’t exactly the same as the real thing, but my fictional passageways are pretty close to the real deal.

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  7. Oh my, this sounds like such a fun series. Thanks for telling us about it and those tunnels in Portland!

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    1. Thank you so much, makennedyinaz! I like to think Shay is a fun series, especially because I love to work absurd situations with plenty of humor into my work. Isn’t that the wonder of books? You can travel anywhere in this world or another right from your living room 🙂

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    1. Hey Sherry! Thanks for the welcome and the congrats. You all have a great thing going on here 🙂

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    1. Hey Barbara, thank you! There’s just something intriguing by what’s left behind and forgotten. I don’t know if you’ve read Wendy Webb, but she does some really great creepy stuff. Check her out if you get a chance!

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  12. Welcome Jessie! What an intriguing blog! I really enjoyed reading about the sinister locations mentioned in your books, which unfortunately I was not familiar with until today 😦 I was also not aware of the Portland tunnels…I will check them out when I am in Portland.
    Your series sound like they will be over the top FUN-tastic! I love that they are hilarious…I’m up for laughing any time I can! Thank you for sharing your writing talents with us readers. Luis at ole dot travel

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    1. Hey, olletravel! I’m glad the blog was a fun read! Do check the tunnels out if you’re in Portland. And underground Seattle, too! The series is indeed over the top. I do a lot of stuff where the reader has to set aside their sense of disbelief, and if they can do it, I think there is plenty of fun to be had. And as the good ‘ol Readers Digest says, laughter is the best medicine 🙂

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  16. Thanks for the character descriptions. I can’t wait to flip the pages and see what kind of troubles they get in and out of.

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