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A Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery #collection 1-3
Ocean Alley Adventures
ASIN B00DLLCR60 moved to the most recent edition
This set has the first three books in the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series, set in the fictional Ocean Alley, NJ. Fiction you can share with your mom.
The Jolie Gentil mystery series debuted in October 2011 with Appraisal for Murder, followed by Rekindling Motives and When the Carny Comes to Town. Jolie is a real estate appraiser in a New Jersey Beach town and her flexible schedule seems to allow plenty of time for trouble. With a name that translates to "pretty nice" (thanks to her French Canadian dad), she's used to teasing, and her embezzler ex-husband taught her more about trouble than she ever expected. But stumbling across dead bodies in the middle of the work day? That's a new one. As she reconnects with old friend and walks Aunt Madge's prune-eating dogs, Jolie tries to stay one step ahead of murder.
Appraisal for Murder
Jolie moves to Great Aunt Madge’s B&B at the Jersey shore, taking her cat Jazz, and joining Madge's pair of prune-eating dogs. Jolie does not view this as a retreat from her embezzling ex-husband, just a smart change. She had no idea her life was about to get even more complicated.
Jolie finds work as a real estate appraiser, but a low-life named Joe Pedone demands that Jolie repay her husband’s gambling debts and she runs into Michael Riordan, her high school crush. She's not sure which one is more trouble. Jolie appraises his mother's house and finds his mother dead in bed. Soon the mundane work of appraising real estate and dodging suggestions to attend the ten-year high school reunion is mixed with calls from reporters, scary suggestions from Pedone, and requests that she help the local busybody with First Presbyterian's social services work. Jolie balances her fear of Pedone, belief that Michael is innocent, and sometimes uneasy friendship with long-ago friend Scoobie. Her list of murder suspects includes Michael's soon-to-be-ex wife and a couple other beneficiaries of Mrs. Riordan's will. Those suspicions don't include Scoobie, but he makes it to the police department's list. Jolie wants to prove both friends innocent. But will Pedone's plans leave her alive to find the truth?
Rekindling Motives
When Jolie gets tapped for some appraisal work at her 10th high school reunion she does not expect to find the skeleton of Richard Tillotson in an antique attic wardrobe in the vacant house. He vanished just after his sister married his business partner in 1929. Jolie sees a link to the Tillotson-Fisher family's Prohibition era business and works with friends Scoobie and Ramona to gather clues from old photo albums and ledgers. The albums lead to Mary Doris Milner, Richard's girlfriend, who has fond memories of him and is certain of who murdered him. But, she couldn't prove it then and her suspect is long dead, too.
The present day murder of Mary Doris tells Jolie and Scoobie they are on the right track. Did the secret she kept all these years finally kill her? Mary Doris' death means Jolie won't stop until she finds her killer, whether that leads to a culprit in Richard's decades-old murder or not. Between running the food pantry at Christmas and escaping a burning building, Jolie and Scoobie hope to figure out who the modern killer is before someone else gets hurt. The trail may be cold, but the humor is hot throughout.
When the Carny Comes to Town
Though she never liked the idea of sitting on the plank above the dunk tank for the food pantry's carnival fundraiser, Jolie never dreamed what Scoobie saw that day would leave him battling for his life. Scoobie's ex-con mother shows up and there's a murder to add to the mix. Soon Jolie is doing more than appraising real estate. Even that is complicated by home burglars. She grudgingly seeks help from her nemesis, reporter George Winters, and tries to stay ahead of a kidnapper and murderer so she can take charge of her world again. Can she keep her friends safe? Can Scoobie recover to plan another silly fundraiser?
This set has the first three books in the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series, set in the fictional Ocean Alley, NJ. Fiction you can share with your mom.
The Jolie Gentil mystery series debuted in October 2011 with Appraisal for Murder, followed by Rekindling Motives and When the Carny Comes to Town. Jolie is a real estate appraiser in a New Jersey Beach town and her flexible schedule seems to allow plenty of time for trouble. With a name that translates to "pretty nice" (thanks to her French Canadian dad), she's used to teasing, and her embezzler ex-husband taught her more about trouble than she ever expected. But stumbling across dead bodies in the middle of the work day? That's a new one. As she reconnects with old friend and walks Aunt Madge's prune-eating dogs, Jolie tries to stay one step ahead of murder.
Appraisal for Murder
Jolie moves to Great Aunt Madge’s B&B at the Jersey shore, taking her cat Jazz, and joining Madge's pair of prune-eating dogs. Jolie does not view this as a retreat from her embezzling ex-husband, just a smart change. She had no idea her life was about to get even more complicated.
Jolie finds work as a real estate appraiser, but a low-life named Joe Pedone demands that Jolie repay her husband’s gambling debts and she runs into Michael Riordan, her high school crush. She's not sure which one is more trouble. Jolie appraises his mother's house and finds his mother dead in bed. Soon the mundane work of appraising real estate and dodging suggestions to attend the ten-year high school reunion is mixed with calls from reporters, scary suggestions from Pedone, and requests that she help the local busybody with First Presbyterian's social services work. Jolie balances her fear of Pedone, belief that Michael is innocent, and sometimes uneasy friendship with long-ago friend Scoobie. Her list of murder suspects includes Michael's soon-to-be-ex wife and a couple other beneficiaries of Mrs. Riordan's will. Those suspicions don't include Scoobie, but he makes it to the police department's list. Jolie wants to prove both friends innocent. But will Pedone's plans leave her alive to find the truth?
Rekindling Motives
When Jolie gets tapped for some appraisal work at her 10th high school reunion she does not expect to find the skeleton of Richard Tillotson in an antique attic wardrobe in the vacant house. He vanished just after his sister married his business partner in 1929. Jolie sees a link to the Tillotson-Fisher family's Prohibition era business and works with friends Scoobie and Ramona to gather clues from old photo albums and ledgers. The albums lead to Mary Doris Milner, Richard's girlfriend, who has fond memories of him and is certain of who murdered him. But, she couldn't prove it then and her suspect is long dead, too.
The present day murder of Mary Doris tells Jolie and Scoobie they are on the right track. Did the secret she kept all these years finally kill her? Mary Doris' death means Jolie won't stop until she finds her killer, whether that leads to a culprit in Richard's decades-old murder or not. Between running the food pantry at Christmas and escaping a burning building, Jolie and Scoobie hope to figure out who the modern killer is before someone else gets hurt. The trail may be cold, but the humor is hot throughout.
When the Carny Comes to Town
Though she never liked the idea of sitting on the plank above the dunk tank for the food pantry's carnival fundraiser, Jolie never dreamed what Scoobie saw that day would leave him battling for his life. Scoobie's ex-con mother shows up and there's a murder to add to the mix. Soon Jolie is doing more than appraising real estate. Even that is complicated by home burglars. She grudgingly seeks help from her nemesis, reporter George Winters, and tries to stay ahead of a kidnapper and murderer so she can take charge of her world again. Can she keep her friends safe? Can Scoobie recover to plan another silly fundraiser?
636 pages, ebook
First published June 23, 2013
64 people are currently reading
152 people want to read
About the author
Elaine Orr
41 books263 followersAlso published as Elaine L. Orr
Elaine L. Orr has authored 35 works of fiction, including four mystery series. They include the fourteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, which is set at the Jersey shore. "Behind the Walls" was short-listed for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards. "Demise of a Devious Neighbor," second of the River's Edge series, set in Iowa, was a Chanticleer shortlister in 2017.
The Western Maryland mountains host the five-book Family History Mystery Series, which began with "Least Trodden Ground." The "Unscheduled Murder Trip" received a B.R.A.G. Medallion in 2021. Small-town Illinois is the setting for the Logland Series, which features Police Chief Elizabeth Friedman -- a police procedural with a cozy feel.
Elaine also writes plays and novellas, including the one-act, "Common Ground," published in 2015. Her novella, "Biding Time," was one of five finalists in the National Press Club's first fiction contest, in 1993. "Falling into Place" is a novella about family strength as a World War II veteran rises to the toughest occasion. "In the Shadow of Light" is the fictional story of Corozón and her family, who are separated at the U.S./Mexico border.
A member of Sisters in Crime, Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994.
Elaine L. Orr has authored 35 works of fiction, including four mystery series. They include the fourteen-book Jolie Gentil cozy mystery series, which is set at the Jersey shore. "Behind the Walls" was short-listed for the 2014 Chanticleer Mystery and Mayhem Awards. "Demise of a Devious Neighbor," second of the River's Edge series, set in Iowa, was a Chanticleer shortlister in 2017.
The Western Maryland mountains host the five-book Family History Mystery Series, which began with "Least Trodden Ground." The "Unscheduled Murder Trip" received a B.R.A.G. Medallion in 2021. Small-town Illinois is the setting for the Logland Series, which features Police Chief Elizabeth Friedman -- a police procedural with a cozy feel.
Elaine also writes plays and novellas, including the one-act, "Common Ground," published in 2015. Her novella, "Biding Time," was one of five finalists in the National Press Club's first fiction contest, in 1993. "Falling into Place" is a novella about family strength as a World War II veteran rises to the toughest occasion. "In the Shadow of Light" is the fictional story of Corozón and her family, who are separated at the U.S./Mexico border.
A member of Sisters in Crime, Elaine grew up in Maryland and moved to the Midwest in 1994.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 4, 2013
As a librarian, I'll recommend this series to readers who want a good story without too much gore or sex, but don't necessarily want Christian fiction either. The Ocean Alley Adventures have the right mix of humor, mystery and just a light touch of romance. Orr has a deft hand with description and brings the town and it's many characters to life. You can't help rooting for Jolie. She's in the middle of a divorce, has lost her job, and her husband's creditors are threatening her. She's living rent free in her Aunt Madge's Bed & Breakfast while she looks for work. Luckily, she does have skills, she's been a real estate agent and an appraiser. She lands a job on a probationary basis, and finds a murdered woman in the very first house she's sent to appraise.
September 28, 2013
The more I read about Jolie, the more I enjoy her adventures. This "book" was actually a collection of the first three novels in the series. I'd purchased the third one at a writers' workshop and enjoyed it, so when I had the opportunity to obtain this collection, I didn't hesitate. I'm glad I didn't. I recommend each book in this collection to anyone who enjoys cozy mysteries and well-drawn characters.
April 16, 2014
This was a free Kindle book set of the first three in the series. I'm very impressed with how well drawn the characters are, with traditional cozy features within interesting plots and settings. The small town featured showcases different neighborhoods, characters of varying ages and backgrounds, the younger people thankfully lack the unappealing brittleness of other books and the senior citizens thankfully lack that fake cuteness and pep that are common in other stories. I'm glad that while a number of the characters are members of the same church, the focus isn't on going to church, but rather it's a given that in smaller towns churches are one of the mainstays of community, which is true.
Jolie Gentil, the main character, is believably flawed, adjusting to a new, old life where she spent time ten years ago - the small city of Ocean Alley. She may have lost a lot recently, but she hasn't lost her pride, her curiosity or her bulldog tenacity. These qualities lead her to interesting adventures, albeit sometimes dangerous ones. Her move to Ocean Alley and change in circumstances have given her the time to develop a different perspective, and she seems to know herself fairly well while learning the value of assessing life around her as well as the properties she's supposed to value.
All in all, I'm really glad to be reading a cozy series that isn't overly cutesy, doesn't have an exasperatingly naive or too-brittle protagonist, or an idealized setting. In fact, there are some good examinations of class differences, issues with aging, loneliness, the herd mentality vs. the individual, what our duty to our fellow citizens might be, and examples of people who, despite their struggles, manage to treat others with grace and dignity. I look forward to reading more of this series.
Jolie Gentil, the main character, is believably flawed, adjusting to a new, old life where she spent time ten years ago - the small city of Ocean Alley. She may have lost a lot recently, but she hasn't lost her pride, her curiosity or her bulldog tenacity. These qualities lead her to interesting adventures, albeit sometimes dangerous ones. Her move to Ocean Alley and change in circumstances have given her the time to develop a different perspective, and she seems to know herself fairly well while learning the value of assessing life around her as well as the properties she's supposed to value.
All in all, I'm really glad to be reading a cozy series that isn't overly cutesy, doesn't have an exasperatingly naive or too-brittle protagonist, or an idealized setting. In fact, there are some good examinations of class differences, issues with aging, loneliness, the herd mentality vs. the individual, what our duty to our fellow citizens might be, and examples of people who, despite their struggles, manage to treat others with grace and dignity. I look forward to reading more of this series.
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June 29, 2013This is the author, and I'm not trying to review my own book, it's the only way I've found to add it! So, I'll tell you about it, but I won't rate it. (And if you know how to add it without ending up at this review page, let me know. I wish I had a seven year old in the house. They figure out everything so easily.)
By placing the first three books in the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series in the ebook version of a boxed set, I hope to give readers a chance to really get to know the characters--and at a discounted price! These would be great as a summer read, especially at the beach. Keep that Kindle dry, though.
When I was creating the characters for the Jolie Gentil series (first introduced in Appraisal for Murder), I thought a lot about how they would spend their lives beyond solving a mystery. An amateur sleuth does not ordinarily have crime-solving as part of her daily life, though there have to be characteristics that lead her to think she can ferret out the "who" in whodunit.
I hope you enjoy getting to know the characters well enough to join them in Any Port in a Storm and Trouble on the Doorstep. The latter was written after Hurricane Sandy, which will be a generation-long game changer on the Jersey shore. I love those beaches. Join Jolie, Scoobie, Aunt Madge and all the crew in keeping New Jersey strong--and funny. We can all use a good laugh when the going gets tough.
By placing the first three books in the Jolie Gentil Cozy Mystery Series in the ebook version of a boxed set, I hope to give readers a chance to really get to know the characters--and at a discounted price! These would be great as a summer read, especially at the beach. Keep that Kindle dry, though.
When I was creating the characters for the Jolie Gentil series (first introduced in Appraisal for Murder), I thought a lot about how they would spend their lives beyond solving a mystery. An amateur sleuth does not ordinarily have crime-solving as part of her daily life, though there have to be characteristics that lead her to think she can ferret out the "who" in whodunit.
I hope you enjoy getting to know the characters well enough to join them in Any Port in a Storm and Trouble on the Doorstep. The latter was written after Hurricane Sandy, which will be a generation-long game changer on the Jersey shore. I love those beaches. Join Jolie, Scoobie, Aunt Madge and all the crew in keeping New Jersey strong--and funny. We can all use a good laugh when the going gets tough.
May 10, 2014
So many things to like about this three-books-in-one book. The setting is well-drawn--the beach, old houses, the shops, etc. The characters are quirky (my favorite kind) and multidimensional. The plots twist and turn, and all three endings are satisfying. Jolie is great, but I especially like Scoobie and Aunt Madge. Looking forward to reading more in this series, just hoping Jolie can find a nice boyfriend.
August 16, 2019
Julie Gentil is more than just fine!
Well, I am now addicted to Julie Gentil , and her addiction to finding out the missing pieces of crimes, of murders and of people's lives. The first three novels of Ocean Alley Adventures came as a boxed set, and they are all great reads. Julie is smart, quirky, and with a curiosity that would probably kill a cat. All I can say is, "Give me more! Please give me more!"
Well, I am now addicted to Julie Gentil , and her addiction to finding out the missing pieces of crimes, of murders and of people's lives. The first three novels of Ocean Alley Adventures came as a boxed set, and they are all great reads. Julie is smart, quirky, and with a curiosity that would probably kill a cat. All I can say is, "Give me more! Please give me more!"
June 30, 2021
The Three....
Had a tough time trying to decide if this was a comedy or a drama. I probably shouldn't review any books I've read. I'm too critical of the grammar, punctuation (or lack of) and basic spelling.
Had a tough time trying to decide if this was a comedy or a drama. I probably shouldn't review any books I've read. I'm too critical of the grammar, punctuation (or lack of) and basic spelling.
March 13, 2022
Loved the characters
I really liked this trilogy due to the characters, the setting & the mysteries! Jolie is an interesting woman, we get glimpses of her teen years, her marriage & almost divorce, as well as her new beginning. Book 4 please!
I really liked this trilogy due to the characters, the setting & the mysteries! Jolie is an interesting woman, we get glimpses of her teen years, her marriage & almost divorce, as well as her new beginning. Book 4 please!
August 18, 2017
A bit slow in places.
Good read but very gripping that I read the book trying not to put it down. Ideal for older readers.
Good read but very gripping that I read the book trying not to put it down. Ideal for older readers.
July 11, 2018
The first 3 books of this mystery series make for entertaining reading!
Good story lines and excellent characterization with a some what deeper and more serious message
Good story lines and excellent characterization with a some what deeper and more serious message
March 21, 2020
Packed seaside mydtery
Interesting group of characters, some flawed, some humorous, pitiful and endearing. Mystery plots has lots of twists. A good read.
Interesting group of characters, some flawed, some humorous, pitiful and endearing. Mystery plots has lots of twists. A good read.
November 18, 2021
Awesome
What a delightful series of crime stories. Jolie is a nosy busybody who can’t see a problem and not get involved. Her antics are what made these stories so interesting.
What a delightful series of crime stories. Jolie is a nosy busybody who can’t see a problem and not get involved. Her antics are what made these stories so interesting.
April 20, 2022
Fun series!
I love this box set. Jolie and her friends are the kind of people who I would like in my circle of friends. Read my reviews on the individual books for more info on them. I have the rest of the series and will read them after a break.
I love this box set. Jolie and her friends are the kind of people who I would like in my circle of friends. Read my reviews on the individual books for more info on them. I have the rest of the series and will read them after a break.
October 11, 2025
Didn’t finish this.
June 25, 2015
A well written cozy mystery. The story drug me in and I couldn't put it down. The characters were a hoot.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews