Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome


Publisher:  Boutique of Quality Books (May 3, 2022)
Category: Amateur Sleuths, Crime Thriller, Love Story
Tour dates: June 9-July 15, 2022
ISBN:  978-1952782572
Available in Print and ebook, 330 pages

Description Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome

A nemesis out of the past suddenly returns, forcing Josh Bartlett to come to terms with his true identity.

Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Only a few weeks more and he’d begin anew, return to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Molly (if she’d have him) and, at long last, live a normal life. After all, it was a matter of record that Zharko had been deported well over a year ago.

The shadowy form Josh had glimpsed yesterday at the lake was only that—a hazy shadow under the eaves of the activities building. It stood to reason his old nemesis was still ensconced overseas in Bucharest or thereabouts well out of the way. And no matter where he was, he wouldn’t travel thousands of miles to track Josh down. Surely that couldn’t be, not now, not after all this.

Praise Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome

Sharp writing, and a keen pace keep this story rolling.”– Lee A. Jacobus, author of Crown Island and Hawaiian Tales

“Shadow of the Gypsy is intriguing, complicated, and mysterious. . . ”– Tina M. Zion, award winning author and international teach of intuition

“By turns charming and chilling, Shadow of the Gypsy is that rarest of gems, a crime novel that curdles the blood, even as it tugs on the heartstrings. . . “– Jaden Terrell, author of A Taste of Blood and Ashes, River of Glass, A Cup Full of Midnight, and Racing the Devil

“Once you start, you won’t want to stop reading . ..”– Jana Zinser, author of The Children’s Train: Escape on the Kindertransport and Fly Like a Bird

Winner of Readers Favorite 2021 for Miranda and the D-Day Caper: Mystery

Interview With Shelly Frome

Hi Shelly, Welcome to Teddy Rose Book Reviews Plus.

TR: Please tell us something about ‘Shadow of the Gypsy’ that is not in the summary. (About the book, character you particularly enjoyed writing etc.)

SF: J.J. is streetwise, a former “juvie” from the wild side of Waterbury, Connecticut who doesn’t stand on ceremony and tells it like it is. Which forces Josh, my main character, to get off his mild-mannered conventional behavior patterns and begin to face the realities of life, especially when in the company of nefarious criminals who are either using him or about to, in one way or another, do him in. More importantly, because of her checkered past, J.J.  can put Josh in touch with an FBI agent who, if Josh plays his cards right, can help get him out of his dilemma.    

TR: How completely do you develop your characters before beginning to write?

SF: Zharko is a paranoid, rogue gypsy who thinks everyone from America and from the old country of Hungary and Odessa is out to get him.  Therefore he is always on edge, thinking and conniving all the time in broken English. Before I let Zharko loose, I read books on the vast difference between the Romany people and the stereotypical gypsy plus the ploys of the Red Mafia. Soon after, I began to realize that Zharko was a combination of a disenchanted rogue who had abandoned his Romany heritage in favor of the wiles of crooked Russians and had been betrayed a number of times.

TR: This is a question for your protagonist, Josh Bartlett. What got you into this mess and what do you think of Shelly Frome writing about you?

SF (JB): Josh tried his level best to repress his haunted memories, even to the point of changing his name from Sonny Korda, moving far from the Litchfield Hills south to the Blue Ridge and becoming a features reporter for a small-town newspaper. In this way, he thought he could look at life from a safe remove from anything ethnic and threatening and simply just fit in. In a sense, he hoped to erase his past, soon reunite with Molly, his childhood sweetheart, and return to the idyllic Connecticut countryside of his youth. After all, America is said to be the land of the second chance.

However, it turns out that the past is like an I.O.U. always out there ready to “collect.” Sure enough, because Josh was a witness to one of his nemeses Zharko’s acts of violence when he was a kid, Zharko finally caught up and had use for him.

As far as the author is concerned, Josh is indebted to the fact that he wasn’t used as some kind of foil and allowed the conflict to unfold and take its course.

TR: Where did you get the inspiration for your cover?

SF: I was inspired by the juxtaposition of the blood red background of a mystery writers handbook I contributed to and the foreboding black image of a raven.

TR: What draws you to the mystery genre?

SF: It’s not just another day. Some great disturbance always sets things going and it easily answers the questions Why now? Why here? and so what? In short, it keeps me in suspense and promises what I’m doing will be worthwhile.

TR: What are you currently working on?

SF: I find myself reminiscing about the good ole days in New York when the city seemed so accessible when I first arrived from Miami. A heady time when you could afford to be a starving actor, writer, painter or dancer. A period when you could find yourself and meet up with all kinds of kindred spirits in Greenwich Village. I’m deep into a first draft with the working title “Fast Times/ Big City.” 

About Shelly Frome

Award winning author, Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at the University of Connecticut, a former professional actor, a writer of crime novels, cozy mystery novels, and books on theater and film. He is also a features writer for Gannett Media’s Black Mountain News. His fiction includes Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Lilac Moon, Twilight of the Drifter, Tinseltown Riff,  Murder Run, Moon Games and The Secluded Village Murders.

Among his works of non-fiction are The Actors Studio and texts on the art and craft of screenwriting and writing for the stage. Miranda and the D-Day Caper was his last foray into the world of crime and the amateur sleuth, until now. He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

Website: http://www.shellyfrome.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shellyfrome
Twitter: https://twitter.com/shellyFrome

Giveaway Shadow Of the Gypsy by Shelly Frome

This giveaway is for 3 copies with the winners choice of print or ebook. Print is open to Canada and the U.S. only and ebook is open worldwide.

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