about the book
The name is Collier, Charlie Collier. I’m practically a legend here in Oak Grove, Illinois, and Roosevelt Middle School. I help people. I discovered who dumped the goldfish in the principal’s water cooler. Check me out online—I’m the big kid, as in size XXL. Sure I carry a little extra…err…muscle. It’s in the genes. I accept it. Extra pounds come in handy in my line of work; helps if I have to push people around. You see I’m a private eye, just like my 1930s pulp fiction hero, Sam Solomon.
I’ve got super deductive abilities. Can unravel any riddle; word problems are no problems at all. I’ve built a pretty impressive client list. Charge a dollar a day plus expenses and my office is in my folk’s garage. It is open only when the ‘rents are gone. They don’t know about the shamus stuff.
Henry Cunningham, my pal, is right by my side booking clients and handling the mullah. He’s the company muscle. Short but tough, he can take on someone twice his age. Though my parents don’t have a clue, my free-spirit Grandma Constance and Eugene, the elderly librarian, are on to us. Eugene is a licensed PI himself. Grandma was once a former spy. She’s got super code-cracking skills.
My life as a sleuth is progressing very nicely. I just need a really big score. And then in walks Scarlett Alexander, a tall statuesque drink of water with a killer smile. I’ve been smitten with her since kindergarten. Seems her grandfather’s parrot has been stolen and Eugene’s not interested in the case. This is my big chance!
Turns out, it’s not just the parrot missing; other birds have been taken, too. And the guys doing the poaching? They’re no school bullies. As the clues unravel and the plot twists, this turns into a really dangerous caper, even with Grandma’s and Eugene’s help. We are in way over our heads. Then, just when I’m sure we’re in real deep trouble, I remember Sam Solomon!
Now, what would he do?
about the author
John Madormo is an author, a screenwriter, a general manager of a radio station, and a professor of broadcast law, audio production, commercial copywriting, and radio performance at North Central University. He’s been teaching there for over thirty years.
He was born in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, and the kids in school used to called him “Mud” (His Italian last name is pronounced “Mud-dorm-o”.) By the age of twelve he wanted to be a spy, so he wrote a letter to the Central Intelligence Agency offering his services. They actually wrote back! It was a really nice letter suggesting a college education with an emphasis on languages. It was the 60s and spy television shows where all the rage. So were private eye shows, so John directed his goals toward that direction instead.
All grown up, he earned a degree from Northern Illinois University and began to write screenplays. When the economy took a tumble, people were more interested in concepts that had a proven record. He was told that if his screenplay was based on a book, it would be easier to sell—so he decided to write a book! Since he was still a twelve-years-old at heart, he naturally turned to those school years…and Charlie Collier, Snoop-for-Hire was born.
Sources:
Author website
Charlie Collier, Snoop for Hire website
Author name pronunciation
Author biography: North Central College
Author video interview: GoodReads
Book trailer: The Homemade Stuffing Caper
Also by John V. Madormo:
The Copycat Caper (Charlie Collier, Snoop for Hire, Book 3). Philomel. 2013.
The Camp Phoenix Caper (Charlie Collier, Snoop for Hire, Book 2). Philomel. 2013.
read more!
The Camp Phoenix Caper (Charlie Collier, Snoop for Hire, Book 2) by John V. Madormo
Super-snoop-for-hire, Charlie Collier is back as he tries to track down a missing friend’s brother and identify a gang of masked teenagers committing a series of robberies in town. But first he’ll have to get himself out of juvie and back to his office in his parent’s garage where he can figure out just what is going on!
The Detective’s Assistant by Kate Hannigan
In 1859, Nell goes to live with her aunt, Kate Warne, the first female detective for Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency. Nell helps her aunt solve cases, including a mystery surrounding Abraham Lincoln, and what happened to Nell’s own father.
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When Max’s thespian parents receive an invitation to perform for a Maharajah in India, he travels to the port to join them and learns they have already sailed, leaving only a note behind. Were they kidnapped? Talented at finding solutions to problems and missing objects, Max starts his own most unusual business. Dressed in his parent’s theater costumes, he becomes Mister Max, Solutioneer! His first case? Discovering what happened to his own parents!