I am a retired primary school teacher who writes mystery adventures for young readers. My stories are aimed at the children trying to make the transition from picture books to novels. They are about real kids with no special powers who have to use their wits to cope with the situations in which they find themselves.
<p style="margin:0px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>"A somber, disturbing mystery fused with a scathing look at the fashion industry. </strong><strong>Mangin writes in a confident, razor-edged style."</strong><strong> - Kirkus Reviews</strong></p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>Condom dresses and space helmets have debuted on fashion runways.</strong></p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">A dead body becomes the trend when a coat made of human skin saunters down fashion's biggest stage. The body is identified as Annabelle Leigh, the teenager who famously disappeared over a decade ago from her boyfriend's New York City mansion.</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">This new evidence casts suspicion back on the former boyfriend, Cecil LeClaire. Now a monk, he is forced to return to his dark and absurd childhood home to clear his name. He teams up with Ava Germaine, a renegade ex-model. And together, they investigate the depraved and lawless modeling industry behind Cecil's family fortune.</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 14px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">They find erotic canes, pet rats living in crystal castles, and dresses made of crushed butterfly wings. But Cecil finds more truth in the luxury goods than in the people themselves. Everyone he meets seems to be wearing a person-suit. Terrified of showing their true selves, the glitterati put on flamboyant public personas to make money and friends. Can Cecil find truth in a world built on lies?</p><p style="margin:-4px 0px 0px;padding:0px;font-family:Arial, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><strong>In high fashion modeling, selling bodies is organized crime.</strong></p>
This story was inspired by a visit from a carpet python to my own backyard. The hungry reptile came in search of a meal, namely my four little peach face parrots. I called the local snake man to come to remove the python. He laughed at me and told me that since it was "just a little one" I could have moved it myself. I don't think so. I am not a snake charmer.
<table align="left" border="0" cellspacing="10" style="padding:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-family:Tahoma, Arial;font-size:12px;line-height:normal;width:550px;"><tbody style="padding:0px;"><tr class="rowcompletedon" style="padding:0px;"><td style="padding:8px 0px 0px;font-size:14px;width:140px;" valign="top"> <div align="left" style="padding:0px;"><strong><span class="gray-text-underline" style="padding:0px;font-size:12px;">Completed on</span></strong></div> </td> <td style="padding:0px;font-size:14px;" valign="top"><strong><span class="gray-text-underline" style="padding:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:30px;">12/10/2014</span></strong></td> </tr><tr class="rowscore" style="padding:0px;"><td style="padding:8px 0px 0px;font-size:14px;width:140px;" valign="top"> <div align="left" style="padding:0px;"><strong><span class="gray-text-underline" style="padding:0px;font-size:12px;">Review Rating:</span></strong></div> </td> <td style="padding:0px;font-size:14px;" valign="top"><strong><span class="gray-text-underline" style="padding:0px;font-size:12px;line-height:30px;">5 stars! </span></strong></td> </tr><tr class="rowdummy" style="padding:0px;"><td colspan="3" style="padding:0px;font-size:14px;" valign="top"><span class="gray-text-underline" style="padding:0px;font-size:12px;"><strong>Reviewed By Jack Magnus for Readers’ Favorite</strong><br style="padding:0px;" /> E.J. Gore’s children's and preteen detective mystery, Taya Bayliss: Snake Charmer, is so much fun to read. Taya and Chris have an important mystery to solve while they make preparations for their party, and Taya gets to meet a Carpet Python. While I’ve long been a snake fancier and have owned Burmese and Reticulated Pythons, I was thrilled to learn about this most interesting Australian python. Too many people have irrational fears of these gentle creatures, and Gore’s story is a bright light shining in appreciation of another of God’s creatures. Taya is a marvelous, intuitive sleuth and the two detectives are prodigious at what they do. Taya Bayliss: Snake Charmer is an enjoyable and satisfying mystery and it’s most highly recommended.</span></td> </tr></tbody></table><p> </p>