Title: Serf and Turf (Silicon Valley Mystery #3)
Author: Marc Jedel
Published on: 9 October 2019
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Serf and Turf is the third book in Marc Jedel’s Silicon Valley Mystery series.
I have been eagerly waiting to read this book for months now!! I absolutely, ABSOLUTELY love this series. Maybe the engineer in me is a tad partial because this series is set in the Silicon Valley.
Marty isn’t your average next-door neighbour. He’s cool, super-quirky, introvert and a world-class sleuth. (Well, he likes to think that he is a world class sleuth so who am I to say no?) He’s supposed to be secretly helping the cops in solving murder. Sshh, it’s a secret… so secretive that even the cops do not know he’s a CI.
In the previous book – Chutes and Ladder – Marty gets himself into an uh-oh – he was supposed to deliver a red Ferrari to Fernando the mob boss but delivered it instead to Fernando the world-class barbeque-r. A car full of mobsters drove across Laney’s (Marty’s sister) place scaring the flip-flops out of Marty. [Just to be clear, the flip-flops I mentioned here are the ones you use in devices.]
So, Sunshine – the bright yellow Volkswagen Beetle is no more. Laney and the girls – Megan and Skye – are being secretive about their new car. Meanwhile, Marty’s girlfriend Meghan (When it’s Marty, anything can happen. A niece named Megan and a girlfriend named Meghan) is being a grumpy-doo.
The story starts with Marty finding a dead body. Two soccer mums are fighting over who’s daughter is better – right in front of the dead body. The cops come in and take statements. When Marty mentions his name, the cops ask him to stay. It looks like Marty Golden has triggered a code-word. Now, isn’t it cool that Marty has a code word. Huston, the Hawk is *white noise* I repeat, the Hawk *white noise*
Okay, I should stop beating around the bush and move on with the review. So, the dead guy was a dear friend of Meghan. *Sniffs jealousy in the air. Ooh, it’s Marty…* Meghan asks him to find the person who killed her friend and Marty being Marty readily agrees. Well, he has a chance to prove to his girlfriend that he’s worth it so why not??
Marty meets quite a few interesting characters as he starts to ‘solve the case’. First, there’s The Bard. He speaks Shakespearean and Marty is suspicious. Then comes Sabrina the teenage witch , the dead-guy’s rumored girlfriend. Fernando makes an appearance too (I am not telling you which one) while Raj is in India. (I remember Marc telling me that Raj will be back in book #4, possibly with a new bride *wink wink* – the bride part of it is my assumption. )
The characters are super quirky and super likeable. The story is AWESOME!!! With Marty around, one can expect cart loads of laughter – you will laugh so much that your tummy would start to hurt. 😀 Serf and Turf is a mind-blowing, wackalicious and totally entertaining cozy mystery. I highly recommend this series.
There’s a giveaway for this tour. If you like to win a copy of Serf and Turf, click here.
Many thanks to Lori for the blog tour invite.
The Book Decoder 
Great Review! Thank you for being part of this tour.
You’re most welcome, Lori. 😀
Okay, just to let you know up front this comment has nothing to do with “Serf and Turf”.
I rarely read fiction but I used to when I was younger. Maybe majoring in English Lit burned me out. 🙂 When I do read now it’s a lot of History (mainly pre-18th century), Art Appreciation/History, and Science, with an occasional Biography. I do miss your old blog but I’m sure you are enjoying this and that’s what counts. Just wanted you to know I do check in every now and then.
Hello David, I hope you are doing fine. 😀 The old blog had some issues – as is the case with most of the photo blogs – copying photos without permission and all that.
Oh yes, you are right. I am enjoying book blogging. 😁😁
Wow — wackalicious! I’m so glad you liked this book. Besides the James Bond and Pink Panther theme songs, you might need to play the Inspector Gadget (the uncle in there had 2 young nieces, remember?) and perhaps a little of the Monk TV series. Combining all of those would help capture the essence of Marty-ness. Thanks for the wonderful review and hosting me today. This gives me extra incentive to keep going on book 4, where Raj does indeed return and we’ll see Fernando (one or both? I’m not telling). But, this being Marty’s world, things are never quite as straightforward as one might expect. Readers can join my mailing list at http://www.marcjedel.com to find out about special offers, read the first chapters of all my books for free, and get other updates. Also follow me on Facebook — http://www.facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author for short bursts of craziness from daily life in Silicon Valley.
Thanks a bunch, Marc. 😁 Oh yes, Marty has a bit of Inspector Garget and Mr Monk in him. Can I expect ‘the clash of Fernandos’ in the next book? 😉