The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way

by Frances Metzman

Overview

Would you move a dead body for the sake of your best friend? Ask cha-cha babe Celia Ewing, a sixty-five-year-old widow who has just settled into Boca Pelicano Palms, the Florida retirement community of her dreams. When Celia’s best friend Marcy calls her and their friend Deb for help in the middle of the night, they find a naked Marcy trapped under the body of her beau, the community’s board president, Melvin. And he’s dead. The three friends secretly move Melvin back to his apartment setting off a chain of events that will threaten to tear their community apart and send them to jail. Melvin is one of a number of residents who are dying under suspicious circumstances; and soon Celia becomes an amateur sleuth in an attempt to identify what she suspects is a serial murderer.

Filled with humorous, witty observations about retirement communities, the realities of getting older, and the promise of new love, the Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way celebrates the deep bonds of female friendships, the desire for companionship at any age, and shows us that it’s never too late to learn how to cha-cha through life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780578591537
Publisher:	Tree of Life Books
Publication date:	06/01/2021
Edition description:	Cha Cha Babes of Pelican Way
Pages:	504
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.12(d)

About the Author

Frances Metzman, author, writes fiction because it affords her the ability to find closure for various events and relationships whereas in real life they always proved elusive. A sculptor years ago, she's traded creating images with clay to images with words.

She's had a short story collection published, February 1, 2012, THE HUNGRY HEART STORIES, (Wilderness House Press) Before that she co-authored and published a novel, UGLY COOKIES (Pella Press, 2000). Publishing 24 short stories in college and university journals, she, also, speaks on panels of various writing conferences (such as; Philadelphia Stories and Marymount Manhattan College). She has given numerous workshops at various universities such as Temple University, Bryn Mawr College, Penn State, Widener and many others. Also, she presently teaches creative writing/memoir workshops at Temple University's adult program, OLLI. At Rosemont College, she taught publishing/writing skills to grad students. As fiction editor for a literary journal, Schuylkill Valley Journal, she selects and edits the submissions. Many of her articles, essays, and stories deal with all aspects of society that influences relationships for all ages, including the mature set (sometimes tongue in cheek). Website:
AWARDS:
Nominated for a Dzanc Books award, "Best of the Web" 2009.Natioalist in Amelia's Short Fiction Contest, 1996
Third Prizewinner in Minnesota Ink Short Story Contest, 1995, published in Writers' Journal
Honorable Mention in Minnesota Ink Short Story Contest, 1994, published in Writers' Journal
Second Prize in Labyrinth, (A Philadelphia newspaper), 1994
Two Runner-Up Stories in Labyrinth, 1994
Honorable Mention, Short Fiction Contest, Short Story Digest, Caldwell, 1994
Runner-Up, Writer's Digest Short Story Contest, 1994

In her spare time she likes to cook (simple recipes that look complex - maybe like fiction is bigger than life), reading and playing tennis. At a mature (advanced more likely) age, she still dances up a storm and loves walking, hiking and travel.

Editorial Reviews

"The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way is a fast-paced romp of death, passion, and dark humor. Way too damn much fun!"

— Jonathan Maberry, New York Times best-selling author of Glimpse

"Frances Metzman…has… put the vision to fortitudinous use in her new fast-paced and psychedelically covered novel The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way. Sex. Murder. Serial murder. Embezzlement. More murder. Betrayal. More sex. Oh, and, yes, not just cha-cha but the rules of cha-cha, which include 'don’t be afraid of resistance. It opens new horizons' and 'judgments immobilize the mind. They limit freedom of choice.'

It all goes down at the Florida retirement community where Celia Ewing, a 65-year-old widow who can pull off a cleavage-bearing outfit and thong to better effect than her daughter, has found herself caught up in a mystery that may cost her and her daughter their lives.

The plot revs, tilts, bangs. There is gunfire. There is a car chase. There’s some fancy computer work and Plan A and Plan B and hiding in small spaces and sneaking wires onto jackets. There is also the liberation of the cha-cha — both the dancing lessons the ladies take and the rules they try to live by.

Metzman supposes with abandon, goes in for a few red herrings, and doesn’t shy away from financial forensics…The book is nearly 500 pages long, but you’ll finish it in a day. You’ll want to know if Celia wins the day — and if she’ll keep rocking that thong."

– The Philadelphia Inquirer

"… a compelling and surprising whodunit whose plot likely won’t end up where readers expect. Metzman artfully constructs each character, giving them backstories full of regret and frustration that lend literary weight to their sometimes-comical present. A thoroughly entertaining, lighthearted murder mystery."

– Kirkus

"Full of fun thrills that will make you smile and keep you on the edge of your seat.”

– Chicago Tribune

"The Cha-Cha babes of Pelican Way" is riveting! At times you will smile, at times you will cry but in the end you will leave with a smile from side to side. Long live the Cha-Cha babes…”

— The Daily Press

"The Cha-Cha babes of Pelican Way" is one of these laugh-out-loud books that will make you take you on a whirlwind of emotion…”

– The Baltimore Sun

"The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way is ready to be next to the sun tan lotion and towel as it makes its way to the beach this summer. Before you know it, this novel will splash you deep in the water of an adventure as it will captivate all the senses of in your body leaving you begging for more.”

– The Sun Sentinel

“The The Cha-Cha babes of Pelican Way is simply a MUST Read, filled with humor, thrills and even some chills that you will love time and time over.“

– The Capital Gazette

"The Cha-Cha babes of Pelican Way" is filled with descriptiveness and filled raw grit that only a seasoned pro can pull off.”

— The Virginia Gazette

“The feel good book of the summer is here; so grab the beach chair and bring the The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way with you to your favorite reading spot."

– The Orlando Sentinel

From the Publisher