PARK RIDGE
A Senior Center Murder

Park Ridge: A Senior Center Murder
Just released!

This first novel by Cheryl Hagedorn pits four elderly pinochle players against enthusiastic activity boosters at a Chicagoland senior center while pointing up the peril of chronically dividing senior citizens into active and passive. This is not a whodunit: the reader knows from each murderer's own words the "how" and sometimes "why." The mystery is whether the detective can discover who committed the crimes and if he will be able to convince the State's Attorney that "old people" can be pushed to murder. A gentle romance between thirty-seven-year old detective, Stan Nevins, who has a passion for Jack Daniels, Stetsons and line-dancing and the curvaceous Senior Center director, Teresa Cusentino, plays out in the background while the director confronts her need to redefine "active" participation.

Buy now! E-Book, $8.95 Paperback, $14.95 OR at Amazon.com Barnes and Noble Borders

The second novel, Six County Senior Olympics, furthers the romance of Stan and Teresa through a sweaty summer of athletics complete with senior citizens who take competition very seriously, to the point of murder.

Des Plaines (spring '07?) will have its own twists, characteristic of the shizophrenic split in physical facilities during a time of transition.

All novels are works of fiction. Any references to real people and places are used only to give a sense of reality. All of the characters are the product of the author's imagination, as are their thoughts, actions, motivations, or dialog. Any resemblance to real people and events is purely coincidental.

Coming Soon!

The Rules Are Simple, a collection of short murder stories, originally crafted as entries in a "Murder at the Senior Center" writing contest, will be available late fall. The rules were: it had to involve murder, had to take place at a senior center, and had to be between 500-2000 words.