How It All Began

By Nancy Jill Thames

"Ann Fieldman" Serving Afternoon Tea

In 2001 Murder in Half Moon Bay was my very first attempt at writing a book. I love murder mysteries but was burned out with the authors I had been reading, so I decided to write a mystery of my own. The timing was not conducive to complete my story, due to raising a second family born to us in later years, until October 2009. The Half Moon Bay Review showed an interest in my blog featuring chapters from the manuscript I'd begun as a way to finish the book, and wanted to do an interview. I agreed, wrote the final chapters and published the book as an indie author in June of 2010. Since that time, I have written six additional books in the series, with more on the way.

Club Lounge Fare at the Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay

My inspiration for Jillian Bradley and her Yorkie companion came from staying at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay where my husband and I were attending an off-site board meeting for his company. I began taking notes of the surroundings and used my imagination to create a protagonist that might be a guest at a gardening conference.

I used my husband's name Ted (he wanted to be a character) for her little dog, Teddy, since she would be a widow. Walter, the young valet and later detective character, was a combination of a valet at the Ritz-Carlton and a nursery delivery man unloading his plants at a WalMart where I shopped. 

Jillian's Garden Club Having Lunch

The Original Garden Club

Jillian's friends from her Garden Club help solve the mysteries in several of the books. The Garden Club actually still exists to this day. We meet occasionally for - you guessed it - afternoon tea!  The photo on the left shows me at a heavier weight, thus the attention to portions in my books! Inspiration for the characters are "Nicole King" sitting on my right, "Dominique Summers" on Nicole's right,  and  "Ann Fieldman" sitting on the end of the bench. (Not their real names of course!)

As I continued to travel with my husband, I found more settings to write about and continue to dream up scenarios for Jillian and Teddy to solve mysteries. Writing is a new journey for me, but it's turning out to be a rewarding one.

Have a great weekend!

See you in my books!

 ~Nancy Jill 

Mystery novelist Nancy Jill Thames began publishing Christian fiction in 2010. The author of six books in the Jillian Bradley series, she is an award winning blogger and is listed numerous times on the Author Watch Bestseller’s List, this in addition to winning first place for her chocolate cream pie.

When she isn’t plotting her next book, she spends time with her six grandchildren, tags along with her husband on business trips, and plays classical piano for her own personal enjoyment. She is an active member of the Leander Writers' Guild, American Christian Fiction Writers, ACFW CenTex Chapter, and supports the Central Texas SPCA with a portion of her book sales. CONTACT INFORMATION jillthames@gmail.com

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A COZY REVIEW OF "MURDER IN HALF MOON BAY"

By Scarlett Rains

Something’s fishy at the Ritz…and it doesn’t sit well on a cracker!  

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Murder in Half Moon Bay

Book Description (per Amaon)

Publication Date: April 10, 2012

When a shocking murder disrupts the West Coast Garden Club Society's second annual conference, gardening columnist Jillian Bradley joins with Chief Frank Viscuglia to help in the investigation. Could it be the mean spirited conference director? Perhaps it's the wealthy widow on the make for her next husband; or maybe the killer is the haughty business woman who shows no regard for her brow beaten husband.

Set in beautiful Half Moon Bay at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Jillian moves through the exclusive hotel property, local nurseries, colorful restaurants, and private mansions searching for the truth, pausing with her friends for cups of afternoon tea along the way. She uncovers a series of mysterious events that lead to solving several murders, both past and present. With the help of her garden club friends and her Yorkshire terrier 'Teddy', Jillian discovers not only a killer, but a far greater menace that could threaten us all.

Product Details

·         Paperback: 178 pages

·         Publisher: CreateSpace (April 10, 2012)

·         Language: English

·         ISBN-10: 1452882088

·         ISBN-13: 978-1452882086

My Review

Murder in Half Moon Bay, (Jillian Bradley Mysteries, No. 1) is an entertaining, fast-paced, read. Nancy Jill Thames’s clever protagonist, Jillian Bradley, doesn’t miss a beat.  She, and her garden club friends, arrives at the West Coast Garden Club Society’s Annual Conference in Half Moon Bay expecting to relax, spend the weekend gleaning gardening tips, whiling away pleasant hours surveying plant specimens, and sampling great food.  Jillian quickly realizes there is something fishy going on at the Ritz…and she’s not talking about fertilizer! The soil at the Ritz-Carton doesn’t need enrichment.  Bodies are popping up over there faster than bean sprouts on steroids!  Good thing Jillian is not only a gardening expert, but a VERY good listener, a keen observer of detail…and a list-maker.  Put all that together, stir in the ‘contributions’ of Teddy (Jillian’s little Yorkie –who may just be telepathic!) and you’ve got yourself a great potting mix for a budding detective. 

As Nancy Jill Thames’s delightful story unfolds, a botanist might prove more useful than the FBI or the local police department.  All sorts of cross-pollination seems to be going on, what with social butterflies flitting around, landing in who knows whose room, and things taking root where they never should have been planted!   I’m not one for spoilers, but there are weeds that need pulling at the Ritz-Carlton and Jillian’s just the gal for the job. She and her friends waste no time. They get to work, digging in the dirt, to solve the mystery.

I enjoyed Thames’s family-friendly mystery very much.  This charming book earned 4/5 hearts. I would have given it 5/5, but one of the plot points troubled me.  As brilliant as Jillian clearly is, I couldn’t see a police chief allowing her to question suspects, until later in the series —after she establishes her stellar reputation as a sleuth. That trifle aside, Murder in Half Moon Bay is the sort of book to enjoy on a rainy day, snuggled in a recliner with a nice cup of Jillian’s favorite, Lady Earl Grey, tea.  I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a clever mystery that’s not soaked in blood and gore.  I look forward to reading all of the Jillian Bradley Mysteries.