Book Spotlight (and a Giveaway!): Asbury High and the Kidnapper’s Drive by Kelly Brady Channick

Posted May 19, 2021 by meezcarrie in contemporary, cozy mystery, giveaway, Kelly Brady Channick, mystery/suspense, YA / 4 Comments

ASBURY HIGH AND THE KIDNAPPER’S DRIVE
SERIES: Asbury High #4
GENRE: Cozy Mystery / Young Adult
PUBLISHER: Purple Milk Publishing
RELEASE DATE: February 6, 2021
PAGES: 383

On a quiet summer night, in the peaceful seaside town of Asbury, a local girl is kidnapped from her home.
That very same day, a car thief is chased through an empty car lot, narrowly escaping from their teenage pursuer.
Can the two be connected?
Once again, it’s up to Asbury’s favorite, fearless foursome to find out.
Carly, Maddie, Pilot and Cornelious enter the summer before their junior year ready for normalcy. After a few weeks of calm, it seems that Carly may finally have the drama-free summer of her dreams—other than her boyfriend returning from his two-week vacation hotter than ever, drawing interest from her peers.
Just as Asbury is lulled into a sense of serenity, tragedy strikes when a local six-year-old is kidnapped from her home…with no sign of a break-in, no ransom, and no reason. While the town is desperate to find the missing girl, car parts from Maddie’s father’s shop suddenly go missing, and the gang begins to wonder if the two are connected. With little faith in law enforcement, and prodding from Maddie’s younger siblings, the gang finds themselves at the center of the investigation.
Unfortunately, solving both cases isn’t so easy, as the gang must work around the continually growing criminal enterprise of the Pitbulls, the constant construction occurring around town from Governor Gibbz’s Grant, as well as their changing feelings towards each other. When Maddie and Cornelious begin to sense their friendship might be more than what they realize, jealousies arise as the teens garner attention from others.
With all these distractions, can the foursome save the missing girl and figure out who is stealing from Petrozza Auto?
Asbury High and the Kidnapper’s Drive is the fourth book in a thrilling young adult cozy mystery series, that fans of Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys and Scooby Doo will love.

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The day following the Fourth of July was often the ultimate Holiday Hangover. Leftover firework and sparkler debris—from both the legally permitted and illegally unsanctioned private celebrations—were scattered all over. One would think a Vesuvius-like explosion of America’s national colors spewed out overnight as red, white, and blue streamers, confetti and various types of décor were spread all throughout Asbury. Believe it or not, the colorful scene where most of the debris and seemingly all-night hardcore partying took place was not located on the beach, nor the Junkyard (where teens were known to congregate), but instead was the front lawn of the Stenton Retirement Home. The elderly not only knew how to party, but they didn’t even care about the consequences enough to clean up their crime. Dozens of illegal firework casings and burnt-up fuses were left shredded all over the property. Usually, the Asbury PD would send an officer over to lecture the Retirement Home residents on the hazards of setting off fireworks without proper supervision and know-how.

Usually.

Around Asbury, the only thing more prevalent than America’s colors, were the flyers of Mayor Gibbz in his promotion of the Gibbz Grant. Jeremiah may not have been depicted on every poster, but his name was written clear as day on each one. One could look at poster and realize that Jeremiah’s vision for rebuilding Asbury was only beginning. In fact, the campaign seemed to promise replacing the cement that made up the sidewalks lining each boardwalk block with cobblestone, and changing the boardwalk ramps themselves from wood to a stone based one, with a different mosaic on each of the three ramps. Shoobies stared at the beautifully drawn posters and promised themselves to schedule a future visit to Asbury to check out all the beautiful architectural updates. Usually, the local Asburyans would’ve proudly viewed the flyers as a strong promise made by a trustworthy Mayor. They would’ve celebrated the fact that Asbury’s premiere politician was making good on his campaign promises and rebuilding Asbury to greater heights, while employing its own citizens to help in the effort.

Usually.

After a night of gorging on junk food and hanging out with friends on the beach, Maddie, Pilot, Cornelious and Carly came back to Maddie’s and once again, relived the chase through the Auto Shop, and rechecked Maddie’s head wound. Dane, hurt by the fact that Maddie had ignored his considerate advances, and instead chose to converse in his private with his cousin, left the beach shortly after the fireworks show and headed back to the Gibbz estate. Though none of the gang seemed to notice nor comment on Dane’s absence, Cornelious felt victorious and a smile remained on his face the whole night. Waking up in Maddie’s room, usually the foursome would’ve made their way to Brady’s for some much-needed delicious fuel, and spent the day recovering on the beach or maybe poolside at Club Cosentino.

Usually.

And finally, for the littlest kids in town, the day after the Fourth was usually spent at the Mary Edwards Library, where they partook in a scavenger hunt and created many crafts, while reminiscing and learning from the previous day’s events. Maddie or Trent would be tasked with bringing Daniel and Shannon over to the building, where they would meet up with Kimi Davies and the gaggle of Sobrinski children. Usually, the kids would run screaming down the street, racing each other to high five Mr. Stremee first, and enjoy the homemade pancake breakfast set before them.

Usually.

Today was clearly not a usual Fourth of July. And unfortunately, it was one that would not soon be forgotten.

For this morning, at precisely eight-thirty, all TV sets, radio programming, and even computer screens were in Asbury taken over by a blazing red banner reading BREAKING NEWS.

For as long as she could remember, Kelly Brady Channick loved making up stories and leaving her listeners/readers on the edge of their seats.

Perhaps that’s why she always managed to talk herself out of trouble…

After graduating from NJ’s own Ocean City High School, Kelly accepted a basketball scholarship to Holy Family University, in Philadelphia. As a lifelong athlete, Kelly understands the importance of teamwork and overcoming adversity, something she hopes translates into her books.

Before writing page-turners, she taught first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade — like a dessert menu, she simply had to test them all out. But her favorite job is the one she’s now doing full time: writing. Kelly loves to craft whodunit mysteries, leading readers through various twists and turns filled with red-herrings, hidden clues, and more peculiar characters than a reality show.

Kelly lives in South Jersey with her handsome husband, energetic baby boy, two cookie-stealing dogs, and an awfully smart cat.

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