LOCAL author Dorothy Johnston will launch her third book in her sea-change mystery series, Gerard Hardy\u2019s Misfortune, at The Bookshop at Queenscliff next month.
\nThe book will be launched by Janey Runci, Vice President of the Henry Handel Richardson Society.
\nGerard Hardy\u2019s Misfortune is the third in Ms Johnston\u2019s \u2018sea-change mystery\u2019 series set in the coastal town of Queenscliff.
\nAccording to local legend, the historic Royal hotel in Queenscliff is haunted.
\nHaving served as both a mental asylum and a morgue in the early days it could hardly fail to be, but a bizarre murder in the hotel’s basement puts a decidedly eerie spin on things.
\nThe victim is an academic, obsessed with spiritualism, the tarot and the town’s most famous literary resident, Henry Handel Richardson.
\nFrom the outset, the local knowledge and unorthodox methods of Queenscliff’s police officers, Chris Blackie and Anthea Merritt, are ridiculed by the bull-necked Detective Inspector Masterson from Geelong’s CIU.
\nAnd yet, hard-nosed police investigation practices seem ill-equipped to counter the otherworldly influences at play.
\nWhat Di Masterson believes is an open and shut case turns out to be anything but.
\nGerard Hardy’s Misfortune joins Through a Camel’s Eye and The Swan Island Connection as the latest, most intriguing instalment in Ms Johnston’s sea-change mystery series.
\nMs Johnston was born in Geelong and lived in Canberra for 30 years before returning to the Bellarine where this series is set.
\nShe is the author of twelve novels, including a quartet of mysteries set in Canberra.
\nThe launch will be in the Bay Room, Uniting Church, 85 Hesse Street Queenscliff on Saturday October 26 from 4pm.
\nThis is a free event but bookings are essential by October 21.
\nRSVP to info@thebookshopatqueenscliff.com or call (03) 5258 4496.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LOCAL author Dorothy Johnston will launch her third book in her sea-change mystery series, Gerard Hardy\u2019s Misfortune, at The Bookshop at Queenscliff next month. The book will be launched by Janey Runci, Vice President of the Henry Handel Richardson Society. Gerard Hardy\u2019s Misfortune is the third in Ms Johnston\u2019s \u2018sea-change mystery\u2019 series set in the […]<\/p>\n