M.M. Gornell
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Madeline is a lifetime lover of mysteries, and besides reading and writing, she is also a potter with a fondness for stoneware and reduction firing. She lives with her husband and assorted canines in the Mojave High Desert near the internationally revered Route 66 (Newberry Springs).
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Books Published
Madeline (M.M.) Gornell has six published mystery novels—including PSWA award winners Uncle Si’s Secret and Lies of Convenience (also a Hollywood Book Festival honorable Mention), Death of a Perfect Man, and Reticence of Ravens (a finalist for the Eric Hoffer 2011 fiction Prize, the da Vinci Eye for cover art, and the Montaigne Medal for most thought provoking book), Counsel of Ravens (her first sequel) a continuation of Hubert Champion’s Mojave saga, is a London and Los Angeles Book Festival award winner. She continues to be inspired by historic Route 66, and her latest, in 2015 Rhodes The Mojave-Stone has garnered an Honorable Mention in the San Francisco Book Festival.
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RHODES THE MOJAVE-STONE
Between Needles and Victorville, California, many Mojave Desert locations have called out--“Stop awhile, listen to what I have to say.”Special places where one can envision future dramas unfolding and evolving, while simultaneously eavesdropping on tales from long gone times. Then add into such flights-of-fancy, kaleidoscope-like memories of Chicago mansions and childhood neighborhoods; followed by the improbable thought of a homestead--indeed a whole town--rising out of the rugged and desolate ridges along a familiar stretch of Route 66. There are many events and stories hidden underneath shifting desert sands, and quite possibly many of these tales are doomed to ridead infinitum on relentless desert winds—ghosts trapped on a plane-of-existence they can never escape. The town of Shiné (Shy-knee) is a fictional concatenation of several of these magical places, fanciful thoughts, and hidden dramas. A place where provocative and unanswered questions actually escape the entrapment of Mojave winds and take center stage. Hopefully, the small fact Shiné does not exist will not dissuade you from visiting… |
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Uncle Si's Secret
Belinda “Bella” Jones and her brother Bernard, owners of the Cedar Valley Residence, have put their hearts, souls, and a ton of cash into this dream endeavor. Now, after five years of hard work, their charming home is almost full of a lovable cast of residents and there’s just one more building addition they want to do. But then Lana Norris, a beautiful area resident is brutally murdered on Cedar Valley Trail just a few feet from their property line, and their world turns upside down. |
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Dead of a Perfect Man
Belinda “Bella” Jones and her brother Bernard, owners of the Cedar Valley Residence, have put their hearts, souls, and a ton of cash into this dream endeavor. Now, after five years of hard work, their charming home is almost full of a lovable cast of residents and there’s just one more building addition they want to do. But then Lana Norris, a beautiful area resident is brutally murdered on Cedar Valley Trail just a few feet from their property line, and their world turns upside down. |
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Reticence of Ravens
Time and events have turned Hubert James Champion III into a morose man trying for the last year to escape into California’s Mojave Desert--somewhere a little north of Route 66 on the way to Arizona. No longer a practicing psychologist and FBI collaborator, Hugh now owns Joey’s mini-mart, a half-defunct gas station with no gas, no supplies, and little food for customers. Opening hours variable.
He has become a man hiding out from the world, and himself—trying to seek redemption among the creosote and Palo Verde trees. His main companions these days are an aged desert dog, and the unkindness of sometimes raucous, but usually reticent ravens. But Hugh soon senses that he can’t escape—especially when a “special” young woman with red Medusa-like hair, and covered in her father’s blood is brought to him one Sunday evening. Turner Jackson has been murdered, and LoraLee Jackson is the main suspect. In quick order Hugh is drawn into proving LoraLee’s innocence by both locals and unwanted East Coast intruders. Add the sudden appearance of LoraLee’s previously unknown brother, a bulldog FBI agent with an agenda of his own, and Hugh’s cousin Della’s love-sick ex-husband—not to mention multiple shootings, exploding drug-labs, and most importantly, Hugh’s past demons rearing their ugly heads once again. No, Hugh cannot escape having to find a murderer--or his own past. |
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Lies of Convenience
A brother’s call for her immediate presence in Palm Springs draws Margot Madison-Cross from her beloved Chicago waterfront—to California’s uncompromising Mojave Desert. The only bright spot is the opportunity to see her niece Camille. But Margot quickly realizes she is ill-prepared for Graham’s actual news, Camille’s medical world, and the Mojave. And before she can deal with her brother and unpleasant family secrets, murder rears its ugly head, putting her niece’s safety in peril. A monumental sand storm, a cave-like Quonset hut, repercussions from past events, and a torrential rain storm conspire against her. All the while, Graham's horrible secret hangs over all their futures. And so much of their worlds, relationships, and what Margot must do, is based upon Lies of Convenience…
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Counsel of Ravens
In the dark of night, murder strikes on Route 66, and once again Hubert James Champion III finds himself having to face realities he’d rather run from. Indeed, within two days, Hugh finds himself embroiled in murder on a national scale, seeking justice for petty-crimes of a local nature—and very close to home, reviving his skills as a psychologist to help people who have become friends. Indeed, his friends need him.
In addition, there are troubling mysteries of the personal kind still tucked away in the recesses of Hugh’s subconscious. He may be still “hiding out” in the desert, but East Coast ties continue to haunt and thwart his building hopes for the future. Fortunately, he has his ravens to counsel him, and through it all—the Mojave winds continue to blow… |