Huh? Why? and Punch: A Silicon Valley Mystery by Marc Jedel | Book Review and Guest Post

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When murder crashes his vacation, can a techie in paradise still catch some waves while snaring a killer?

Huh? Why? and Punch: A Silicon Valley Mystery

by Marc Jedel

I received this book free; however, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.

Huh? Why? and Punch: A Silicon Valley Mystery
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
BGM Press (January 14, 2022)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 258 pages

Marty Golden is ready to kick back at the beach. When his neighbor offers free rooms in Hawaii, the software engineer is quick to round up his girlfriend, sister, and nieces for the luau of a lifetime. But his arrival at the resort turns his sun-filled hopes into hunches about homicide after he encounters a very deceased and inconvenient body.

Pressured into helping, a grudging Marty uses his sharp attention to detail to hone in on a crucial clue missed by the police. But his half-hearted investigation spirals out of control with wild chases, burglaries, and secret passageways before the reluctant sleuth gets serious when he’s suddenly added to the target list.

Can Marty hula his way to the real culprit before he’s lei’d to rest?

Huh? Why? and Punch can be read standalone and is the humorous fifth book in the Silicon Valley cozy mystery series. If you like brilliant but bumbling heroes, crazy fun supporting casts, and daring escapades, then you’ll love this laugh-out-loud whodunit.

Buy Huh? Why? and Punch today to dive into a unique taste of paradise!

Guest Post: The Inspiration for my latest novel: HUH? WHY? AND PUNCH by Marc Jedel

It was early in the pandemic and I really wanted to go somewhere on vacation. Anywhere. So my wife and I talked about where we’d like to go. Hawaii came up high on the list—probably because it was winter, but also because it’s Hawaii. However, like millions of people in the US and around the world, I’ve got a compromised immune system, so even with the Covid vaccine, it’s not safe for me to be around people who might have Covid. 

That didn’t stop me from daydreaming about vacations. After all, my main character’s tendency to daydream had to come from somewhere. So, I started looking into Hawaii. 

Of course, that led me to re-watch Jurassic Park, Waterworld, and Tropic Thunder. Fed up with my movie choices, my wife then decided to take matters into her own hands. She found that 50 First Dates and 6 Days, 7 Nights were filmed in Hawaii so rom-com was on the agenda for a few nights. Digging deeper, I was surprised to learn that the Peruvian jungle scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark were actually filmed in Hawaii. Even stranger, the tropical scenes from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides were actually filmed in Hawaii rather than the Caribbean.

Disappointed by this fakery, I returned to TV and re-watched some early episodes of Magnum P.I. While Tom Selleck was still as good as always, the original show had lost something over the years. I was again surprised to learn that they had re-made this series in 2018. Although the new Ferrari was cool, the remake didn’t measure up—probably because no Tom Selleck. Wondering if this same pitfall had hit Hawaii Five-0, I watched as much of the original episode from 1968 as I could take. It was slow, sexist, and boring. Curious, we tried the re-make from 2010 because that had lasted for ten seasons. We liked it, even if the plot holes were often cavernous, and each episode miraculously managed to reach its conclusion in an almost identical forty-three minutes of non-stop action. 

Now that I had the inspiration for the location, the key missing piece was the title. Yes, I’m one of those strange authors who likes to come up with a clever title and then write to the title. HUH? WHY? AND PUNCH came up fairly quickly during the brainstorming session and had the added advantages of matching my other titles with a pun and the word “and” in the middle. Plus, it makes me chuckle whenever I notice it.

Sprinkle in some references to the game of Clue, some ideas from HGTV shows, and my own initial confusion between the Kool-Aid and Hawaiian Punch commercials, and I was all set.

I still haven’t had the chance to go to Hawaii since Covid started, but at least I’ve read about a bunch of fun places to visit there and watched a lot of entertaining (and boring) shows featuring Hawaii’s spectacular scenery.

Best of all, I completed HUH? WHY? AND PUNCH and am proud of how I tossed in some new wrinkles to Marty’s life, added more character growth, and managed to come up with even more puns, idioms, and quirky characters. I’m only sad that I can’t claim credit for this line from the book description: “Can Marty hula his way to the real culprit before he’s lei’d to rest?”

HUH? WHY? AND PUNCH is available at: getbook.at/HawaiianPunch. It can be read standalone but you’d enjoy reading all five of the Silicon Valley Mystery series in order even more. You can find them at: http://getbook.at/SiliconValley. The first three of those are also out on audiobook from Tantor Audio, available everywhere audiobooks are sold. All of my books are free for Kindle Unlimited members. 

Book review

Marty Golden is back in the latest Silicon Valley Mystery book, Huh? Why? and Punch by Marc Jedel. This time, Marty and family/friends who are like family are vacationing in Hawaii. Marty, his nieces, his girlfriend, and Mrs. Kim (the amazing neighbor) arrive ahead of Marty’s sister, Laney, and his college aged son and daughter (Eli and Amanda) who are planning on arriving the next day. But, ah,“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men. Gang aft a-gley”. You know it sounds awesome in the original, but, yeah, The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and Laney, Eli, and Amanda’s plane gets delayed…and delayed…and…well, you’ll see.

You’d think arriving in paradise would be, well, paradise. But when the first thing that greets you is a murder scene, you know this vacation isn’t going to go as planned. However, if you know Marty, this is just the thing he’s wired for! After all, he’s “consulted” on murder cases back home. Is he destined to solve this crime too?

This book has plenty of Uncle Marty’s corny humor and hijinks. If you’ve read the prior books, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, I’d recommend that you do. Knowing how everyone fits into the “family” is helpful, and you’ll already know how Marty operates. Though I liked this one, I missed a couple of side characters who only make brief appearances. There’s a lot more sexual innuendo in this book between Marty and his girlfriend as well, so if you’re uncomfortable with that in cozy mystery books, be prepared for it.

It’s really fun watching Marty try to solve the crime. He thinks he’s got awesome skills, but it’s usually his friends who give him the most helpful clues. I really like the addition of his long lost high school friend Scott and hope he makes another appearance. If you like your mystery books with lots of hijinks, you’ll enjoy Huh, Why? and Punch.

About Marc Jedel

Marc Jedel writes humorous murder mysteries. He credits his years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley for honing his writing skills and sense of humor. While his high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, these were just called emails, ads, and marketing collateral.

For most of Marc’s life, he’s been inventing stories. As he’s gotten older, he’s encountered more funny and odd people and situations. This has made it even easier for him to write what he knows and make up the rest. It’s a skill that’s served him well, both as an author and marketer.

The publication of Marc’s first novel, UNCLE AND ANTS, gave him permission to claim “author” as his job. This leads to much more interesting conversations than answering, “marketing.”

Like his character, Marty from the Silicon Valley Mystery series, Marc now lives in Silicon Valley, works in high-tech, and enjoys bad puns. Like his characters Jonas and Elizabeth from the Ozarks Lake Mystery series, Marc grew up in the South and spent plenty of time in and around Arkansas.

Along with all his protagonists, Marc too has a dog, although his is neurotic, sweet, and small, with little appreciation for Marc’s humor.

Visit his website, marcjedel.com, for free chapters of novels, special offers, and more.

Author Links

Website: www.marcjedel.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author

BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/profile/marc-jedel

Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18403497.Marc_Jedel

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/mjedel/

Blog: www.marcjedel.com/blog

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Jedel/e/B07H7MVKJL

• Purchase Link– Amazon

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Huh? Why? and Punch TOUR PARTICIPANTS

February 7

Reading Is My SuperPower – GUEST POST

Mythical Books – SPOTLIGHT

February 8

Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

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Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

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Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, GUEST POST

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Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW

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Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

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Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

Ebook addicts – SPOTLIGHT

February 15

Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

February 16

StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

February 17

I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

February 18

My Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST

February 19

Nellie’s Book Nook – REVIEW, GUEST POST

February 20

BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  

The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT

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