Friday Night on the Frio River
A Booksellers Mystery
by
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When Caroline was old and gray, she could look back and remember exactly when it started. The old attic was too alluring, too fascinating not to explore. When this seldom-used part of the house was first discovered, her little sister had been afraid to mount the creaking staircase into the uppermost level of the 150-year-old building - but not Caroline. She pushed her long, dark blonde hair back over her shoulder, turned on her treasured pocket flashlight, and disappeared up into the heaven of boxes and bins of decades’ worth of treasures. She would make herself wait until a certain time each day to go back up the stairs. She never wanted the exploring to end, and didn’t want to go through everything too fast. Like the mystery books she loved to read every night under her covers, going through the attic was her own adventure – each box held clothes, jewelry, books, dishes and curios from days gone by. Who had owned them? What had their lives been like? Every box she opened generated dozens of adventures in her mind. It was almost like the people who had owned this stuff were talking to her, telling her their stories. So it didn’t actually surprise her the first time it happened, but it did make her wonder. It was really cool - amazing, actually. But what was it for? What was it all about? She didn’t have to wonder long.
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About the Book
It is another scorching hot summer in Huntsville, Texas, and Caroline Mason is one year away from high school graduation. While living in an old building that houses her family’s bookstore business and working as a lifeguard, Caroline reads mysteries, explores old treasures inside the building’s attic, and contemplates where life is going to lead her next. But she has no idea that something is about to unfold deep in the heart of Texas that will lead her down a path she never expected. What no one knows is that the characters in Caroline’s favorite books have been coming to life and holding secret conversations with her in the attic since she was young. Because they know she has an insatiable appetite to know about people and things, they have been assigned to train and assist Caroline in solving mysteries and righting wrongs. She finally gets her chance when she becomes entangled in a whodunit investigation surrounding a series of local robberies. As she relies on her fictional and real-life friends to help her untangle complex clues, will she ever find the answers? In this exciting young adult tale, the doorway to an attic in a family bookstore opens a new world of mystery and adventure for a teenage sleuth and her family.
About the Author
Mary C. Gautreaux is an author and blogger with a story to tell. Her lifetime of experiences as a Cold War submarine captain’s daughter, minister’s wife, teacher, homeschooling mom, campus pastor, and now grandmother affords a unique vantage point for a thrilling story for the ages. Mary and her husband make their home in Texas.