The Jewel Box

by Mysty W. Moonfree

In "The Jewel Box," Karin Blake, a suspect in her fiance's murder, travels to Capitola at the behest of her boss, in order to cater an event for Adrian Ferrante, village jeweler.

At the event, one of Adrian's groupies-of-a-certain-age-with-loads-of-money is killed.

While Capitola's female police chief begins her investigation, Karin returns to her home along the Venice canals in SoCal, only to be attacked while her apartment is turned upside down.

A dapper Japanese-American policeman becomes Karin's protector and follows her back to Capitola for interrogation regarding the murder.

A yappy dog, some undeveloped film, a yacht, lots of gorgeous jewelry, a congressman and a couple of cameos by actual [but disguised] Capitola residents fill out the story of this 245-page novel.

245 pages

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Elizabeth Good · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I drove home today through beautiful Capitola, California, on a gorgeous cloudy day, I thought of this book which I had finished last night. The Jewel Box refers both to an area of Capitola, and to a key aspect of this little mystery book. Locals, or others who have visited the sweet setting of touristy Capitola in already touristy Santa Cruz county, will especially appreciate the book and all the references to local landmarks. (There are also parts that take place in the Los Angeles area, where clearly the authors also knew their stuff).

This was penned by a book club here locally, Women of Mystery, which had been meeting for quite many years. Reading a particularly unsatisfying mystery book, they decided to see if they could do better. The 13 members got down to 5 in the actual writing. I am impressed--can't imagine writing a collaborative book such as this! Probably our most "famous" locally of the crew is Gayle Ortiz, owner of the beloved Gayle's Bakery with husband Joe (who stepped up unexpectedly to graciously take on the huge task of preparing the book for publishing).

The book isn't exactly your five-star writing but it is not bad. Still, more of something for local appeal than to seek out for the mystery. The mystery/crime itself is sort of interesting and clever, but the writing is medium.

Fun fact: the "author" name of Mysty W. Moonfree (which I thought just sounded very "Santa Cruz-y") is actually an anagram of the name of their book group, Women of Mystery.

Decent job on collaborative project; just the details of how and that they did this is fun enough.

[Julia Sheehan · Rating 2 out of 5]

A local book club collaborated on this book - five authors, including Gayle Ortiz, owner of Gayle's Bakery in Capitola. Five years ago, after reading a particularly unsatisfying book, the group decided to write something and publish it themselves! Although not the most polished piece of literature, I enjoyed the book for its local flavor and I really admire the women who wrote it!

[Lori]

My best girlfriend just sent me this book (5 Nov 2008). She lives in Aptos, CA which is just south of Capitola where this novel takes place. It was a collaborative effort written by the members of a local book club. Review to come when I get to it!

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good airplane read