Spa Deadly
Louise Gaylord
ISBN: 9780972022712
Little Moose Press
Reviewed By Renee Washburn
Official Apex Reviews Rating: 
Allie
Armington just wants to relax and take her mind off her current
troubles, and that's exactly what she and her sister, Angela, aim to do
during their impromptu getaway at a plush New Mexico spa.
Unfortunately, any hopes they have of getting a little R&R are
quickly dashed when a series of bizarre murders begin to plague the
local area, culminating in the cold, calculated death of the popular
town sheriff. To make matters worse, Allie is ostensibly connected to
each of the murders by her mere presence alone, making her the prime
suspect and the targtet of the vengeful wrath of the newly-appointed
acting sheriff – who just happens to be the nephew of the beloved
murdered official.
After Allie is eventually cleared of any
wrongdoing, Angela decides that she's had all the "relaxation" she can
take and quickly heads back home to be with her family. Allie stays
behind, though, her natural inquisitiveness getting the best of her as
she resolves to discover the truth behind all the suspicious activity
in the area. She soon learns deadly secrets about the grimy world of
drug trafficking hidden just beneath the surface of the spa's genteel
façade. The deeper Allie probes, the more the mystery grows, until she
finally realizes that those who pose themselves as allies are really
enemies – and vice versa – and she finds herself square in the middle
of more grave danger than she could ever have imagined.
Spa Deadly
is a well-crafted, suspenseful tale of compounded intrigue that will
keep the reader riveted with each fresh turn of the page. In masterful
fashion, Louise Gaylord peels back layer after layer of misleading
clues and duplicitous information, leaving you with only a faint hope
of discovering where the real truth behind her unfolding mystery may
lie – right up until the startling, eye-opening conclusion. Her writing
style is unique and engaging, and her skillful storytelling and
colorful characters captivate the reader's interest from beginning to
end. A highly entertaining read.
Official Apex Reviews Interview: Louise Gaylord (Spa Deadly)
Apex Reviews: Louise, thanks for joining us for this interview. We're looking forward to learning more about your book.
What inspired you to craft this engaging, entertaining tale?
Louise Gaylord: Well, I love reading mysteries, and I enjoy writing mysteries, and I'm always glad to spend time with my main character, Allie Armington. Based on all that, I decided to put her to work again. Since I'm a spa junkie, a spa was a natural setting for an Allie book. So, I started thinking about a story like this when I was staying at a spa. While the specific spa is fictitious, you might find one or two that are an awful lot like it.
AR: As our reviewer mentioned, the cast of characters in the book is quite colorful, including everyone from undercover double agents to dimwitted law enforcement personnel to a powerful drug cartel family. How were you able to concoct such a creative mix of humanity?
LG: You know, I just keep my eyes open. Between the people I observe – and, as a writer, I'm simply fascinated by people - and my own vivid imagination, these people just pop up in my mind, then I pop them into my book. The secondary characters tend to be composites of people I know or have seen. My big challenge is to put a character together from several sources and make them work as a real human being.
AR: The story is rife with intriguing, dramatic twists and turns. How were you able to interweave the various elements of the overall plot so seamlessly?
LG: I'm going to take that as a huge compliment. The short answer is that I'm continually thinking about a story when I'm in the process of writing it. I go over it in my imagination many, many times, and I keep asking if things would actually happen that way. So, while I may not always be writing, I am pretty much always thinking and refining. I'm glad it shows.
AR: Even though she's cleared of any wrongdoing in the death of Sheriff Hernandez, Allie still feels the need to stick around and conduct her own private "investigation" into the suspicious activity at the spa. Has her innate curiosity gotten her into trouble before?
LG: Well, of course, it has! Allie has to know what really happened, who really did the deed, what's really going on. If there's one thing that causes her to make questionable decisions, it's her curiosity. She's almost obsessive about these things - which is what always gets her into trouble and makes such interesting stories.
AR: You're a national award-winning author (congratulations!). Please share more with our readers about your other writings.
LG: My first book, Anacacho, takes place in Texas and Mexico. It's a murder mystery that introduces a character who recurs in all of the first three Allie Armington books. We keep everyone guessing as to whether he's a good guy or a bad guy in all three stories, and you don't know until the end just which one he is. Anacacho, which is the name of a real ranch in Uvalde, Texas, involves drugs and corruption, and it's pretty intense.
Xs was my second mystery with Allie. It takes place in Manhattan and has more of a sense of the cosmopolitan: sex, drugs, (but no rock & roll). It has a shady sex club for very high rolling gentlemen and some very tense moments for Allie. While Anacacho was pretty intense, Xs is very intense.
AR: Who have been some of your chief writing influences?
LG: I like Ian McEwan, Sue Grafton, Carl Hiaasen, but there's not enough time to include all the great writers who have really influenced me.
AR: Also, please share more with us about your publisher, Little Moose Press.
LG: Ellen Reid's Little Moose Press champions new authors. There are lots of indie publishers out there, but Little Moose Press always impresses me with the high quality of every book they publish. She's done an amazing job for me, and I couldn't be happier with Ellen and Little Moose Press. You can't tell whether my book was published by an indie press or by Doubleday. She makes me look really good.
AR: Do you have a website or other place where our readers can learn more about you?
LG: www.louisegaylord.com.
AR: How can people contact you directly?
LG: I can be reached at bookshep@mac.com.
AR: Any final thoughts you'd like to share with our readers?
LG: For your readers who want to write, I'd say sit down and get started. For your readers who enjoy good mysteries, I'd say… go out and buy my books! And let me know what you think. (chuckle)
AR: Thanks again, Louise, and best of continued success to you in all your endeavors!