Bookshelf

 
 

Guardian of
the Ages

Guardian of the Ages]

A blend of mystery, suspense and romance played out amid the atmosphere of a bustling public library.

The year is 1970. The Vietnam War is raging, the crew members of Apollo 13 are attempting to make it safely back home, and Paul McCartney has left the Beatles. Amidst all of the headline events, Sean Doyle, the sole son of a military father killed in the war, is attempting to put his life back together, following his father’s death and his breakup with a longtime girlfriend. To make matters worse, he becomes afflicted with a temporary heart condition that causes him to delay his criminal justice career path. To regain his footing, he takes an interim job as a security guard at a large metropolitan public library where he finds himself dealing not only with the relatively minor offenses of library protocol but the sudden revelation that a serial killer has chosen the institution as a hunting ground for his prey. In the end, it takes the capture of a killer and the support of a beautiful librarian to mend respectively a career and a heart in the unlikeliest of ways.

Amazon.com

 
 
 

Solitaire

Solitaire: An Adam Fraley Mystery

an Adam Fraley Mystery 

During the course of his search for a missing man living off the grid in a remote stretch of the Sierra Nevada foothills, private investigator Adam Fraley suddenly finds himself the target of a deranged sniper who is determined to take him out. Behind the attempted execution is a mysterious mastermind who fears Fraley’s probing will uncover a link between the man he is in search of and a lucrative underground drug-trafficking scheme. Coming to the aid of Fraley in his hour of need is an unexpected friend who appears out of nowhere to help guide the private detective through the harrowing encounter. Meanwhile, all of this is played out against the backdrop of a great American tragedy that occurred over a century ago, one that holds a direct tie to the case at hand.

Amazon.com
Melange Books

 
 
 

Two for the Road

Two for the Road: An Adam Fraley Mystery

an Adam Fraley Mystery 

Two private eyes, engaged to one another, take on two unrelated missing person cases that unexpectedly place them on a collision course.

Private investigator Adam Fraley and his associate, Tamra Fugit, the woman to whom he is engaged, travel vastly different paths, as they take on two seemingly unrelated missing person cases. The trails take them through idyllic lands darkened by underworld intrigue, twisted relationships, carnal temptation, physical danger, and personal tragedy. Little do the investigators realize that the two roads they are traveling eventually will come crashing together in a manner entirely unexpected, testing not only their professional skills, but their personal faith in each other.

Amazon.com
Melange Books

 
 
 

The Perpetual Penitent

The Perpetual Penitent (An Adam Fraley Mystery Book) by [Hoffman, Henry]

an Adam Fraley Mystery

Fraley’s search for a missing man grieving the loss of his daughter takes the detective to remote regions of Haiti where he discovers he is not the only one in search of the father.

Amazon.com
Melange Books

   
 
   

The Ephemeral File

The Ephemeral File (An Adam Fraley Mystery Book 1) by [Hoffman, Henry]

an Adam Fraley Mystery

In the catalog of major crimes, private investigator Adam Fraley stumbles upon one of the rarest.

"...master of the genre"
---Midwest Book Review

Available: Amazon

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On a Midnight Clear

On a Midnight Clear (An Adam Fraley Mystery Book 1) by [Hoffman, Henry]

an Adam Fraley Mystery

from Melange Books

Private investigator Adam Fraley happens upon a horrific Christmas Eve crime while traveling the Colorado foothills. At the heart of the story is the relationship between Fraley and Noelle Feldman, an enchanting young girl whose family life is shattered by the tragic event.

"...creates a powerful hold on readers' curiosity"
 ---Florida Weekly

Available: Amazon

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The Veiled Lagoon

veiled lagoon

An Adam Fraley Mystery

from Martin Sisters Publishing

Following a tip from a prospective client, young private investigator Adam Fraley is soon on the trail of a killer cop, a top sheriff's detective who is about to get away with his wife's murder.

"...a carefully crafted mystery of the first order."
---Midwest Book Review

 
   

Bridge to Oblivion

Bridge to Oblivion cover

Awarded Gold Medal (1st Place)
for Florida Fiction by Florida Publishers Association

An aspiring private investigator searches into the past of a beautiful young woman to unravel the mystery surrounding her death.

"...has an emotional charge that jolts like the lightning over Tampa Bay."
---Florida Weekly

"Exciting and dramatic"
    ---Midwest Book Review

 
   

Flaherty's Run

Drums Along the Jacks Fork

1st place winner of the
Southwest Writers Annual Award in Historical Fiction.

He's a wounded World War II vet turned bookmobile driver and he's about to embark on the ride of his life, all in an effort to prevent history from being turned on its head.
From Lachesis Publishing

Amazon.com

Reviews:

Midwest Book Review
"...an intriguing thriller of espionage and war"

 
   

Drums Along the Jacks Fork

Drums Along the Jacks Fork

Soon after taking her first job as a public library director in a small town in the Missouri Ozarks, Billie Staley finds herself thrust in the middle of two upheavals----a computer rebellion and a militia movement. The first involves her struggle to deal with the dictum of the local government, acting at the behest of a large benefactor, that no computers be placed in the library in order to preserve the traditional card catalog. The second concerns the activities of the militia group and its attempts to use the library’s meeting room as a gathering place. To further complicate matters, Billie discovers the man with whom she is having a budding relationship represents an unexpected entanglement. Ultimately, the conflicts lead to a catastrophic event of mysterious origin, leaving the town in ruins and Billie playing detective, digging for an answer to how it all came to be.

Amazon.com

Reviews:

Midwest Book Review
Five Stars

"...Very highly recommended reading, Drums Along The Jacks Fork is a polished work of considerable originality and clearly documents author Henry Hoffman as an able novelist whose readers will look eagerly forward to his next effort."

Harriet Klausner, barnesandnoble.com
Five Stars
"... an engaging slice of Americana as the locals skirmish over two diverse issues, that of automating the library services and welcoming the militia. The two subplots easily could have stood alone as each contains plenty to merit its own tale be told so both end up competing for top dog. Still Billie is a delightful protagonist who keeps the two themes focused so that the audience tastes small town life at a time when outsiders threaten everyone's lifestyle."

Pamela Johnson, multi-award winning Author of "Tides of Autumn"
"Intriguing & rare storytelling -  Hoffman draws you in, revealing layer after layer - quirky characters, a thick mystery, and an unexpected ending make this a great read."

Henry Berry, Book Reviewer, The Small Press Book Review
"Henry Hoffman makes use of his work as a former library director, in addition to being a newspaper editor, for this fiction about a reactionary militia group intent on using the library to advance its cause in a small Ozarks Mountain town in Missouri. Hoffman is from the area of the setting of his "Drums Along the Jacks Fork". Though fiction, this work convincingly portrays types of individuals and issues often covered in the media.

Billie Staley takes the job of director of the Woodland Hills Public Library in the hope that the remoteness and apparent peacefulness of the town will help her get over the unexpected loss of both her parents. But unfamiliar with the ways of Woodland Hills, she unknowingly arouses the animosity of the Southern Missouri Free Militia. Woven seamlessly into the fabric of the town, its members are able to sabotage and when they want to, destroy what they are opposed to without being detected. Billie herself becomes the target for the Militia's evildoers without being able to clearly comprehend the threat and guard against it. The growing tension between Billie and the militia draws the reader into this well-paced, well-constructed popular novel. Hoffman perfectly balances the surface normality with the underlying atmosphere of impending danger."