A Wicked Wicket

The beautiful young Simone Amstutz certainly catches orthopedic surgeon Terry Canale’s eye when she waltzes into his social club. She is in the middle of a messy divorce from her powerful husband, and Canale can’t say he’s upset that she’s suddenly become available. After a pleasant chat at the bar, the two go their separate ways. Canale goes back to his normal life, and Simone tragically ends up in the club’s swimming pool—dead.

A croquet wicket and a ball found in the pool with Simone’s body point to a deadly game of croquet.

When a mallet shows up in Canale’s locker at the club, their innocent chat at the bar gets a closer look by police. Canale knows that he’s a suspect, but he also knows that he isn’t the only one. Simone not only angered her attorney husband but was having an affair with a mystery lover. Between the husband, the lover, and Simone’s best friend, the enchanting Monique, there is no shortage of loved ones in Simone’s life who may have wanted her dead. To clear his name, Canale unwittingly enters a twisted game a lot more dangerous than croquet.

Terry Canale has spent more than forty years working as an orthopedic surgeon for the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to his successful medical and academic career that has seen his leadership in a multitude of national and international orthopedic organizations, he is an accomplished author and editor, having published numerous journal articles and book chapters in the field of orthopedics. He is currently the editor of a book that has become known as the bible of orthopedics.

A Wicked Wicket is Canale's debut novel, a murder mystery that offers glimpses into the real-or not so real-life of Terry Canale. In addition to writing, he enjoys painting and spending time with his wife, Sissie, at their home in Memphis. They have two children and five grandchildren.