Product Description
The Hayloft: a 1950s mystery features bobby sox, slow dancing,
the communist conspiracy, bomb shelters—and murder. Within two weeks after starting his senior year of high school, Gary
Blanchard finds himself kicked out of one school and attending
another—the school where his cousin, Ralph, mysteriously died six months before. Ralph’s death was labeled an accident, but when Gary talks to people about it, he gets suspicious.
Did Ralph fall from the auditorium balcony, or was he pushed? Had he found a diamond necklace, talked about by cousins recently arrived from England that was supposedly stolen from Dutch royalty by a common ancestor and lost for generations? What about the principal with an abnormal liking for boys? And are Ralph’s ex-girlfriends telling everything they know?
Gary has a talent that helps him “get in good” with a couple of the key girls in his new school’s social/political machine, the
powerful Sylvia and the beautiful Natalie. This comes in handy
for his quest to find out how Ralph really died. And Ed, his more
distant cousin from England who also attends the school, seems to know a lot about Ralph and the lost necklace. It doesn’t hurt that Ed has a pretty younger sister named Kate—or does it?
Things go awry when the father of one of the students is questioned about his ties to communist organizations. The fallout from this upsets the balance of power within the school and could even get Gary thrown out of his second school within a few weeks. Key scenes take place in the hayloft of the barn on the farm where Gary is staying with his aunt and uncle—Ralph’s parents. What happens in that hayloft will affect Gary for the rest of his life—if he survives.
the communist conspiracy, bomb shelters—and murder. Within two weeks after starting his senior year of high school, Gary
Blanchard finds himself kicked out of one school and attending
another—the school where his cousin, Ralph, mysteriously died six months before. Ralph’s death was labeled an accident, but when Gary talks to people about it, he gets suspicious.
Did Ralph fall from the auditorium balcony, or was he pushed? Had he found a diamond necklace, talked about by cousins recently arrived from England that was supposedly stolen from Dutch royalty by a common ancestor and lost for generations? What about the principal with an abnormal liking for boys? And are Ralph’s ex-girlfriends telling everything they know?
Gary has a talent that helps him “get in good” with a couple of the key girls in his new school’s social/political machine, the
powerful Sylvia and the beautiful Natalie. This comes in handy
for his quest to find out how Ralph really died. And Ed, his more
distant cousin from England who also attends the school, seems to know a lot about Ralph and the lost necklace. It doesn’t hurt that Ed has a pretty younger sister named Kate—or does it?
Things go awry when the father of one of the students is questioned about his ties to communist organizations. The fallout from this upsets the balance of power within the school and could even get Gary thrown out of his second school within a few weeks. Key scenes take place in the hayloft of the barn on the farm where Gary is staying with his aunt and uncle—Ralph’s parents. What happens in that hayloft will affect Gary for the rest of his life—if he survives.
About the Author
After spending more than a quarter of a century as a pioneer in the computer industry, Alan Cook is well into his second career as a writer. The Hayloft is the first book featuring Gary Blanchard. Honeymoon for Three, which takes place ten years later, finds Gary and his love, Penny, going on the trip of their lives, while unbeknownst to them they are being followed by their stalker with a bellybutton fetish.Hotline to Murder takes place at a crisis hotline in Bonita Beach, California. When a listener is murdered, Tony and Shahla team up to uncover the strange worlds of their callers and find the killer.His Lillian Morgan mysteries, Catch a Falling Knife and Thirteen Diamonds, explore the secrets of retirement communities. Lillian, a retired mathematics professor from North Carolina, is smart, opinionated, and loves to solve puzzles, even when they involve murder. Alan splits his time between writing and walking, another passion. His inspirational book, Walking the World: Memories and Adventures, has information and adventure in equal parts. It has been named one of the "Top 10 Walking Memoirs and Tales of Long Walks" by the walking website, walking.about.com. He is also the author of Walking to Denver, a light-hearted, fictional account of a walk he did.Freedom's Light: Quotations from History's Champions of Freedom, contains quotations from some of our favorite historical figures about personal freedom. And The Saga of Bill the Hermit is a narrative poem about a hermit who decides that the single life isn't all it's cracked up to be.Alan lives with his wife, Bonny, on a hill in Southern California. His website is alancook.50megs.com.
