About the Book

Chutes and Ladder: A Silicon Valley Mystery

Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
BGM Press (March 12, 2019)
Print Length: 195 pages
ASIN: B07NFDYZX8

Dead friend. Free fall. Girl Scouts. Can Uncle Marty untangle the mystery before things really get out of control?
Juggling a budding relationship, demanding job, and mischievous nieces, Marty Golden struggled to keep his head above water — even before his friend’s death. Trying his best to be a good boyfriend and fun uncle, Marty had his own ideas for the weekend until his cunning sister tricked him again.
Convinced his friend’s death was no accident, Marty tries to summon superhero powers but merely manages to bumble along as an amateur sleuth. When Marty’s cousin shows up, she wreaks havoc with his plans and pulls him into yet another mystery.
As threats blossom, Marty doubles down now that his family’s involved. Besides, it’s poor manners to let your friend’s death go unsolved.
Can Marty figure out what happened before a killer, or his imagination, gets to him?
Chutes and Ladder is the second novel in a refreshingly modern mystery series set in Silicon Valley. If you like clever humor and wacky side characters, you’ll love this twisty mystery.

Character Post from Megan Tran, niece of protagonist Marty Golden, in Chutes and Ladder.

Recently I caught up with Megan, the young niece of Marty Golden. Although Marty is the protagonist in my new humorous, cozy mystery book, Chutes and Ladder: A Silicon Valley Mystery, I thought Megan’s perspective might be interesting.

Marc (author): Hi, Megan. Thanks for talking to me.

Megan: [looking at phone] Yup.

Marc (author): What do you want to be when you grow up?

Megan: I keep changing my mind. Before, I wanted to be a race car driver. They can drive their cars as fast as they want and don’t get tickets on the highway like my mom. Last month, I thought I wanted to be a nurse because they help people get better and they can tell visitors what to do. I’m good at telling people what to do.

Marc (author): So, have you changed your mind?

Megan: Yes. [looking up]. Now I want to be a doctor. I saw this woman doctor help some boy on an airplane. That was really cool. And, she got to stand up and walk around even though the flight attendant told me I had to sit down. Doctors get to be in charge. That’s more me.

Marc (author): I understand your Uncle Marty had a crazy week. Have you talked to him?

Megan: Why does everyone want to know about him? He went on a Girl Scout camping trip, found some dead guy, and then rushed around all week trying to figure out what happened. Big deal! Everything is always super crazy for me. Try being a little sister around here, why don’t you? Last week was Halloween and Uncle Marty kept messing up our plans. This Saturday is my birthday party. I can’t decide if I want it to be a Herbie the Love Bug party like ‘Sunshine’, my mom’s old car, or Frankenstein Monsters. My mom’s getting angry that I can’t decide. What do you think?

Marc (author): Oh yeah. Marty mentioned that to me. Happy Birthday. So, how old will you be?

Megan: Did he tell you to ask me that? He doesn’t remember how old I am and he’s always asking me. Ooh, it makes me mad. Uncles should remember how old their nieces are, shouldn’t they?

Marc (author): Yes they should. But your Uncle Marty isn’t all bad, right? Didn’t he get you this new puppy, Buddy?

Megan: [squeals and hugs Buddy] Yes! That was so amazing. I love Buddy. He’s our new Labrador puppy, but he already weighs like sixty pounds. I told Uncle Marty Buddy would be my best friend. [Hugs Buddy]. But, my mom doesn’t always like him. Buddy can be a troublemaker.

Marc (author): What’s he done this time?

Megan: Well, nothing today. That I know of. So far. But last week, he escaped out of his dog crate, jumped on the stove and turned on the gas. The firefighters had to come to the house. Three fire trucks! Buddy was unconscious on the floor. Mom says we’re lucky there wasn’t an explosion. And our neighbor won’t walk near our house now. It’s super funny. She parks her car down the street and she’s sniffing the air when she rushes out of her house.

Marc (author): Have you read my new book, Chutes and Ladder? It’s about your uncle and you’re even in it.

Megan: [looks up from her phone] What?

Marc (author): My books. Have you read them?

Megan: Nah, I like to watch YouTube videos. Your covers are cool, though. Maybe I’ll read them later. Is it about me? You know it would be funny if it’s about me.

Marc (author): Yes, it sure would be funny. But they’re more about Uncle Marty and how he solves the mysteries while juggling his work, his family, his girlfriend, and not getting killed.

Megan: Doesn’t sound like something for me. Hey, Buddy, come back here. [Runs off after dog.]

Marc (author): Well, I guess that’s all we’ll get from Megan today.

For the adult readers out there, my books, Chutes and Ladder and Uncle and Ants, are humorous murder mysteries. Silicon Valley is not your typical cozy mystery locale and Marty Golden doesn’t fit the normal profile of a mystery protagonist. Despite finding himself thrust into challenging situations, Marty isn’t exactly hero material. He has a wonderful combination of wit, irreverent humor and sarcasm mixed in with nerdy insecurities, absent-mindedness, and fumbling but effective amateur sleuthing skills. With an active inner voice and not a lot of advanced planning, he throws himself into solving problems. Sometimes, he even succeeds.

Chutes and Ladder, book 2 in the Silicon Valley Mystery series, can be read standalone. It and Uncle and Ants are free to Kindle Unlimited readers and will have special pricing during the Great Escapes Tour so be sure to buy them today at Amazon. For more about my books or me, please visit www.marcjedel.com.

About the Author

For most of my life, I’ve been inventing stories. Some, especially when I was young, involved my sister as the villain. As my sister’s brother for her entire life, I’m highly qualified to tell the tale of this evolving, quirky sibling relationship.

My writing skills were honed in years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley. While my high tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, we called this marketing collateral, emails, and ads.

The publication of my first novel, Uncle and Ants, gave me permission to claim “author” as my job. This leads to way more interesting discussions than answering “marketing.”

My family would tell you that Marty’s character isn’t much of a stretch of the imagination for me, but I proudly resemble that remark.

Like Marty, I live in Silicon Valley and can’t believe that otherwise normal people would willingly jump out of an airplane and call it fun. Unlike Marty, I have a wonderful wife and a neurotic but sweet, small dog, who is often the first to weigh in on the humor in my writing.

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