10 Days

by Jule Selbo

Eleven months after a devastating on-the-job injury, policewoman Dee Rommel is managing the Private Investigator’s office of her godfather, Gordy Greer. Her medical leave is nearly up - the Portland Police Department, and her ex-training officer (and newly single), Detective Donato - expect her to reinstate. Dee’s conflicted - and the chip on her shoulder has gotten more pronounced. Her career decision is further complicated when she’s challenged to step in for Gordy to investigate the disappearance of a brilliant heiress, Lucy Claren, who announced hasty wedding plans that could thwart her father’s cutting-edge work in AI. It’s up to Dee to find out who is applying pressure on Lucy – and why. When Dee’s friend trusts the wrong guy and is physically assaulted, Dee makes it her personal mission to get justice in both cases – and comes face-to-face with determined factions who want to ensure her failure – and demise.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Suspense, Mystery Thriller

285 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 11, 2021

About the author

SO EXCITED! 8 DAYS, A Dee Rommel Mystery will be available on December 6, 2023. It's the third in the series. Pre-orders are available now. 9 DAYS, A Dee Rommel Mystery followed 10 DAYS in garnering awards and award nominations and also a STARRED Kirkus Review! Your local bookstores can pre-order it for you too!

Check out this review on GoodReads. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

10 DAYS, A Dee Rommel Mystery was the first in a new crime/mystery series. It got a starred Kirkus Review "nifty, engrossing procedural..." "...punchy, vivid prose..." and went on to win a Silver Falchion Award for Best Investigator Novel, it was nominated for a Maine Literary Award, Clue Award and Foreword Review Award. It's also up for the Best Crime Mystery Book Award on FeedMyReads!

Jule is a novelist, playwright and screenwriter. She has written for television and film for a few decades (check IMDB). She is also a professor at CSU in California, teaching screenwriting and film history - and lectures internationally on story structure and film genre.
She basically loves story - and telling stories and helping others tell their stories.
Her award-winning plays have been done in NYC, Los Angeles and regional theaters across America.
Novels include FIND ME IN FLORENCE (2019), DREAMS OF DISCOVERY, Based on the Life of John Cabot (2018) and the upcoming BREAKING BARRIERS: Laura Bassi and the Enlightenment.
https://www.juleselbo.com

Jule would love to hear from her readers!

Reviews

[Lisa Lieberman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Noir written by women has a different feel than noir written by men. I was in high school when I discovered the work of Margaret Millar, tucked away in the recesses of our town's public library. Millar was long-forgotten by then (the early 1970s), her reputation eclipsed by that of her husband Ken, better known by his pseudonym, Ross Macdonald. Later I would be drawn to Dorothy Hughes and Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. I couldn't have told you why I liked these authors, why their stories spoke to me in ways that the novels of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler did not.

Reading Jule Selbo's wonderful, gritty debut, Ten Days, brings me back to those earlier books I admired, and finally I can articulate what drew me in. It's got to do with the relationships between the characters. Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe have that Galahad thing going on. They're susceptible to feminine charms--and feminine wiles--but that cynical distance of theirs keeps them (and the reader) from plunging too deeply into the mess of life.

“Ah, not to be cut off," wrote Rilke in Ahead of All Parting,

not through the slightest partition
shut out from the law of the stars.
The inner -- what is it?
if not the intensified sky,
hurled through with birds and deep
with the winds of homecoming.

Dee Rommel is not cut off, not detached or cynical or self-protective. She's wounded and angry and afraid of love. She's also honest enough with herself to admit all of this, and to allow herself to be vulnerable, particularly when it comes to her old friends.

Dee demonstrates the same integrity and determination as the protagonists of those dick stories (as I like to call them). Neither Spade nor Marlowe--nor Lew Archer, nor Spenser, for that matter--had to chase criminals and rescue a damsel in distress while coping with the pain and inconvenience of a prosthetic leg.

Jule Selbo is a screenwriter and knows how to tell a good story. Her writing is taut, the pacing is perfect, and the Portland setting felt real. But it's Dee, her friends, ex-partner, current and (possible) future lovers that have me yearning for a sequel.

[Stephanie Storey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping page-turner with heart set in Portland, Maine. I loved Dee Rommel -- a fully rounded protagonist with real flaws, but real heart -- and her quest to solve a mystery about a secretive wedding... My only gripe: I had to stay up way too late the last two days of reading because I couldn't put the darned thing down!

[Elgon Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a father of three, two of them daughters, I struggled to find heroic stories to read to my daughters. It was easy to find such fare for my son, but there was a gross absence of children's books that offered a brave female with whom my girls could identify. And so I fabricated a few stories to tell them at bedtime. But the experience made me acutely aware of gender bias. And it has not been limited to children's books. Gratefully, that is changing in all age groups, largely due to the explosion of great female authors who are unafraid to buck the system and create strong female protagonists in genres that in the past have been dominated by male main characters.

I had the great fortune to read an early version of 10 DAYS by Jule Selbo. Honestly, it read like a finished work with nothing major that I saw that needed to be addressed, which didn't surprise me. Selbo is a highly competent writer with oodles of experience as a playwright and wrote numerous screenplays while working in Hollywood. Recently she has become an award-winning novelist as well. 10 DAYS: A Dee Rommel Mystery #1 is her debut foray into Crime Mystery fiction, a genre she loves reading.

10 DAYS' plot was solid, engaging, and compelling. The pacing feels perfect, building suspense toward a thrilling climax. Selbo's cast of characters, even the minor ones, are authentic, well-developed to the point that some will become your friends while others will feel like enemies. The protagonist, Dee Rommel, is in a word, remarkable on so many levels that she is destined to become a fan favorite. She is a quick-witted badass in every sense of the word with a burning desire to find justice for the wronged. It often compels her into risky, ill-advised, confrontations with bad guys as she champions her friends and family. And she does it all without toting a gun.

What Selbo accomplishes more than adequately establishes bedrock for the series yet to come. She creates an endearing female noir private investigator with whom most of us can identify. Selbo pays homage to genre archetypes while venturing into some largely uncharted territory, allowing the reader to share Dee's dilemmas as well as overcoming the pain of her daily routine. We cheer for her because she's just the kind of heroine who could easily be a sister or cousin. Her strong, overriding sense of justice and loyalty to her friends and family drives her always, even against mounting odds as her principal foil is fully revealed and fleshed out.

The book releases to the public worldwide on August 11, 2021 in eBook and print, so you don't have long to wait. I don't know if there is such a thing as a perfect crime fiction novel, but this one will rank on everyone's list. It checks all the right boxes and appends a few more in the process. I can't wait to read the sequel. And yes, this thriller deserves to be made into a movie. So, take note, Netflix.

[Matthew Cost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dee Rommel is a gritty PI who never wavers in her personal moral philosophy. This mettle will be tested as an ex-con is back on the streets threatening her and her friends who put him away and a new case lands on her desk. A cutting-edge tech guru wants to find his daughter before she marries the wrong man for the wrong reasons. Rommel must weave her way through past connections on the police force, a colorful group of friends, and a boss who just gave away a kidney and is recovering. A charismatic former colleague and a zen spouting biker philosopher contend for her attention while the streets of Portland, Maine, come alive under the deft touch of Jule Selbo. You will be glad you read this one when it is all done and told.

[Ilona Saari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay for the female detective genre!!! Selbo is the latest author to join that mystery writing club and she enters thru the door with a bang, giving the reader a complex, energetic, nuanced protagonist in Dee Rommel. A former policewoman and resident of Portland, Maine, Dee has to come to terms with who she is after a tragic accident, discovering ways to deal with a life she never expected to have after she is indirectly hired to find a missing woman. A raw and exciting fun read with engaging and sinister characters, "10 Days, A Dee Rommel Mystery," is the perfect way to spend a few hours.

[Ricki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new detective series that I hope continues - PS prefer "Reader" over Donato!

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this mystery was fairly well-plotted and featured an interesting protagonist, the details of its Portland, Maine setting were a huge distraction from the story for me. I'm sure it's because of the author's brief time here, and I hope future installments of the series get more of the specifics right, but I wasn't convinced that Dee was a native Portlander. Obviously this is only going to distract readers who are, or who have lived here long enough to notice.

For example, references to "Deering Park," rather than Deering Oaks. Portlanders talking about "the Westin," which they would absolutely call "the Eastland." References to "the East Bay," getting on "the 95" (betraying the author's time in California), and Dee talking about going home "to Eastern Promenade," which is not a thing anyone would say (it's THE Eastern Promenade, and no one calls it that — she would say the Eastern Prom or the Prom). Plus even more nitpicky details that just made me laugh, like the Holy Donuts made with "potato flour" instead of actual potatoes, the fried haddock sandwich at J's Oyster (J's famously doesn't have a deep fryer. Their haddock sandwich is pan grilled), and old Maine salts saying "ah-yup" for some reason, instead of "ayuh."

Still, will I read future installments? I will! I am interested in Dee Rommel and curious to see how the Portland setting improves as Selbo settles in here and really gets to know it.

[Marcy Halsted · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this new mystery series. The setting was Portland, Maine and it felt very real to me. The characters were all well developed and there is plenty of room for continued growth of all the relationships contained in the story. I found it fast paced and hard to put down and I’ll look forward to the next book in the series.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's strange for me to have such a different reaction from almost all other readers. I live in Portland and read all the crime fiction published which is set in the city and this is the first really disappointing one I have encountered. Selbo is simply not at the level of, say, Kate Flora and Bruce Coffin.

To begin with, there is no convincing reason for this story to be set in Portland. It reads like a Jack Reacher which could happen anywhere. There is a very large amount of references to places in the city, most of which are real (or based on something a Portland reader can identify) but they have no essential relationship to the plot. I can't put my finger on why, but Selbo does not seem to "get" Maine except in superficial ways like accent and the availability of lobster.

There are a lot of female police personnel and private eyes in fiction these days, and I like most of them, but Dee Rommel leaves me cold. She speaks in style and word count like a sullen adolescent. She seems a person without charm, and it is hard to understand why two men seem amorously interested in her. Her prosthetic leg seems an attempt to differentiate her from other characters in this genre, and I suppose it does since it does relate to plot elements, but it still seems forced to me, and character trait originality would have worked better for me.

There are also almost thirty characters with a real part to play in the story, many of whom interrelate, and I found this a lot to keep track of, even though I took notes. Aside from Hector Manfred, a bit role, none of these are well-crafted; they are all more stereotypes or caricatures.

I found the plot over done, and sometimes distasteful. I have difficulty with stories where women are victimized sexually, and seriously dislike reading about psychopaths, and this story contains both of these. [The following two sentences may border on being a spoiler] Two women pretty much voluntarily submit to astonishingly depraved situations, which did not make sense to me, especially for Lucy who is smart, a tough businesswoman and privileged. And, of course, you also have predatory rats and intrafamily murder. Pile it on, right? As a result of excessive plot and complexity, this book is also significantly longer than it should be.

Finally, one small thing I found jarring... A fair number of very common businesses have thinly disguised names in this story: Flitter and Friendline, for instance, and I think there are others. Worst is a truck rental operation called U-Tow. I must be missing some satire here; who would ever rent a vehicle from a place with that name?

For those of you who enjoy Maine crime fiction, I suggest avoiding this. I don't see here the Maine we know. If you love thrillers with a best-seller sense of plot overkill, this should work okay for you.

[Dana Clinton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: 10 Days (Dee Rommel #1) by Jule Selbo. Here is the first in a new series, created by an excellent author, who relocated from California to Portland, Maine in 2019. Jule Selbo has already published as a novelist, playwright and screenwriter but, according to the blurb, has always wanted to create a mystery series. I think I am hooked! Sure, it's nice to recognize place names familiar to me (York, Kennebunk, Ogunquit, etc, all south of Portland and in my stomping territory), but even if I weren't a resident, I would enjoy the book. Pacing is brisk, characters well-developed, and the two overlapping plot lines smooth. Dee Rommell is a policewoman on medical leave after a devastating work accident that has left her learning to live in new ways as she adjusts to life with a prothesis. She is working with a private investigator's office as she weighs whether or not to return to her former police job. Her immediate boss, Gordy, runs the business; he is also her godfather. He is away in Florida when an important job lands in her lap: Gordy's childhood friend, now the divorced wealthy Philip Claren, asks for their help in locating his beloved and brilliant daughter Lucy, who has disappeared, abandoning her lab in the Claren business, the world of AI, and who has announced her upcoming marriage, seemingly out of the blue. This plot line is complicated but wo well presented, and it allows the reader an easy introduction to the series. The second plot line involves Dee and several of her friends, all of whom testified against a brute named Billy Payer, who has recently been released from jail. When one of her besties ends up brutally assaulted, Dee is certain Billy is at the core of this crime and sets wheels in motion to solve it. Although this is more a thriller style than a cozy mystery, it is not full of gore, nor do you cringe at what might be around the next page, so all in all, a very satisfying read!

[FeedMyReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

After an injury causes her to have her leg amputated, Dee Rommel is still deciding on her future and if she will return to the police, in the meantime she is able to pursue work with a private detective in seeking out answers to secrets but freed of the confines of rules and regulations in her usual role with the police but those rules are there to keep you safe so can she remain safe without them?

When Dee is assigned a case to find the daughter of a very rich company owner after the daughter announces her wedding plans and becomes impossible to contact, Dee finds more than she bargained for and that what sounds like a simple case is maybe much darker than she could ever imagine.

This is my first read of anything by Jule and I found this to be a truly amazing read which drew me in and kept me turning the page well into the night. The writing is intelligent and fast paced which helps the story to come to life and for me the only slight mark down is purely the editing needed to be better as there were a few too many little niggles in spelling and grammar.

Overall I highly recommend this book and have already purchased a copy for a family member to read too.

[Donna Van Braswell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like a good detective novel, this book is immediate. Incorporating many things I adore. Terrific characters, and psychology that runs deep. What motivates crooks and chairmen. What do they hide inside their nooks and crannies, beneath their hooded eyes. What do they hide from themselves?

Just such good writing. “If I’ve been blindfolded, driven around in circles for a day, and dropped off at this location, I could’ve identified it instantly. The smell… aggressive floor cleaner, abused coffee machines… grunts, farts, sweat, and adrenaline.” So far out of the usual verbiage. A delight.

Do you like to explore complexity? A figurative dipping of a toe into the waters of AI? Yes? How timely! Mind over matter. Brut strength vs brut strength. Which should win? Who would die?

Given all that, this is a fun, human mystery and a good read.

[Mark Cofta · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a big mystery fan but since I'm taking a playwriting class with author Jule Selbo, I thought I'd check out some of her work -- and I was quickly hooked by the adventures of Dee Rommel, a Portland ME investigator and former cop struggling to deal with rehab after losing part of a leg, a challenging assignment while her boss is away, and a recently released bad guy holding a grudge. Selbo's first-person narrator, Dee Rommel, is a fascinating character with a distinctive voice and her Portland world is richly detailed not only with a large cast of supporting personalities but many specifics about the region (I want to go there just to eat and drink). 10 Days is the first in what will hopefully be a long series.

[Karyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

While watching 207 a nightly show about Maine, this author was interviewed last fall and we thought the book sounded like something our neighbor would like. So we purchased it for her for Christmas. She really enjoyed it and shared it with us. A few who stayed with us this summer read while visiting. It is a quick read, with a lot of twists and turns. I really enjoyed it, and I think the author left the door open for more adventures with Dee Rommel. I also enjoyed that there were so many references to towns, restaurants, bars, and locations that I have been to and or recognized.

[Alison Fulmer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crime/mystery novel most interesting because it is situated in Portland Maine with the heroine a resident of my neighborhood. There are two simultaneous plots, both of which are more than a bit far fetched, and a somewhat annoying heroine who has no common sense. A quick read but not worth seeking out imho

[Cindy Dees · Rating 5 out of 5]

terrific book!

From page 1, I knew I was in the hands of a pro and could sit back and enjoy a rip snorting good mystery. Jule totally delivered. Great characters, great pacing, made me feel like I was there. Loved it.

[Suzanne Dix · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this mystery set in Portland, ME. Fun to have eaten at several of the restaurants mentioned. Witty and interesting main character. A new series to follow.

[Kay Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun read! I loved getting to know this cast of characters, especially Dee Rommel. I am looking forward to her next adventure, "9 Days". Highly recommended!

[Patty Skerritt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lived Dee Rommel and her circle..loved that this book is based in Portland and captures the essence of our city…I could have done with less rats!!

[Robin Meadows · Rating 4 out of 5]

An absorbing read that uses the mystery format to explore what we are - and should be - to each other.

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published by Pandamoon Publishing in August of 2021.

Synopsis:

Dee Rommel is at a crossroads of her life. She is on leave from the police department of Portland, Maine because she lost half of one of her legs on duty. After months of diligent physical therapy (and less then diligent psychiatric therapy) she is being pushed to decide if she is coming back to work or not.

She has been helping her godfather Gordy, her deceased father's best friend. He is a private detective and she feels very comfortable with the paperwork and the billing. When Gordy takes some time off to donate a kidney in Florida, a situation arises. One of Gordy's lifelong friends urgently needs help now and Dee is asked to step in and do some investigating while Gordy is down and out from the surgery.

The friend is a famous billionaire named Claren - Maine's version of Bill Gates. A local boy who made it big in the tech business. Claren's twenty-something daughter is also a tech whiz and a genius who graduated early from college and runs her own independent division of Claren's company. She has gone missing.

Dee takes the job but there are other things demanding her attention as well. A local bully has been released from prison and is menacing all of the people who testified against him. Also, Dee continues to look into the case that cost her her leg. Plus, the new guy in the town is surprisingly sophisticated and intriguing considering that he cultivates a biker persona...

My thoughts:

The first book of any series is...

Read more at: https://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2021...

[Ilona Saari]

Yay for the female detective genre!!! Selbo is the latest author to join that mystery writing club and she enters thru the door with a bang, giving the reader a complex, energetic, nuanced protagonist in Dee Rommel. A former policewoman and resident of Portland, Maine, Dee has to come to terms with who she is after a tragic accident, discovering ways to deal with a life she never expected to have after she is indirectly hired to find a missing woman. A raw and exciting fun read with engaging and sinister characters, "10 Days, A Dee Rommel Mystery," is the perfect way to spend a few hours.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good murder-mystery and this one had me sucked in within the first few pages. I wanted to know more about Dee: what made her tick, what led up to her accident, what demons she was fighting...I wanted to know it all. She's definitely got grit and gumption. Thoroughly enjoyed the story and I'm looking forward to the next installment.

**I received an ARC copy from the publisher. Opinions are my own.**

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a complimentary ARC

Get ready to buckle in and get lost in a really good story with characters written so that you feel in the moments. The style and build up is on point and the ending….is a surprise.