And Then You Don't

Third of Six in the DREW NOLAN Series

Drew Nolan's trying not to drown, finally gets onto dry land. There he discovers June, arms crossed, with these words coming out of her: There's a woman in our house says she slept with you. And she's brought a present.

Not exactly what a man wants to hear from his lover, but the appearance of an old girlfriend is the least of his worries. She’s brought a gift, that will drag Nolan off of his lawn chair and onto the rainy streets and canals of Amsterdam, to Paris and finally to a Spanish village on the Atlantic coast.

Is he chasing a ghost from his past?

Two ghosts?

Is there even anybody actually dead?

Join Drew Nolan on yet another adventure in which the only answers are those that lead him into forests of even more questions.

You’ll meet lively Pinks and the suicide Bridie, a pair of wild women from his past, sometimes lovers of Nolan, sometimes lovers of his old friend, the world famous painter and murdered Eliseo Barardo, and sometimes lovers of each other.

This fifth novel is the penultimate in the series. Nolan has been reluctantly drawn into all kinds of escapades so far, and this one may be the most challenging so far.

Nothing makes sense, there are no bodies, and yes that is plural, and he's got to find a criminal without a single clue to go on. Maybe, he thinks, it would be easier chasing ghosts.

By the way, while he's off to Amsterdam with a beautiful young woman who likes to get naked — and she's not his main squeeze, June — someone has decided not to answer his phone calls. And that has a way of working on our poor boy's last nerve.

Website: http: //www.charlesbechtel.com

Born Spring Lake, North Carolina, April, 1953, fourth day, five minutes past midnight (thus late for my parents' anniversary, which set a behavioral standard for all such future events.)

Educated: A long while back, when colleges offered to improve human beings attending their classes, not merely dedicate themselves to making a person employable. Ahh, the good old days.
Undergraduate degree: English.
Master degree: English.

Marriage: To Manuela, the finest woman on Earth, by the accounts of many more than myself. Two daughters: Elizabeth (Baby Beth) and Manuela (Meme), who each in turn delivered into my life some ladies of inestimable worth: Sky (b. 2003) Lucy (b. 2007) and Mia (b. 2008.) Though I gave to each huge chunks of my heart, doing so increased heart size.

Work History: Let's say I worked.

What I do for fun: Everything. If it is not fun, I quickly stop doing it. (see Work, above)

Writing Philosophy: Make sense by appealing to the senses.