National multi-award-winning author Penny Goetjen writes mysteries, crime fiction, and suspense novels where the settings are so colorful they become characters in their own right. A self-proclaimed eccentric, she enjoys the serenity of writing with the allure of flickering candlelight late into the evening, the chaos while perched at a hi-top table in a local coffee shop with half the caffeinated world walking by, and the romance of strolling in a long flowy shirt while observing the world and collecting characters. A proud member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, she often weaves a subtle paranormal thread into her stories inspired by actual events. Seven published novels in and her husband still sleeps with one eye open.
Her latest release DEADLY RIPPLES, which is enjoying rave reviews, is a slow burn, murder-mystery-meets-family-saga set in deceptively charming Charleston, South Carolina where Kathryn Moore grapples with her beloved uncle’s suspicious death and delves deeper into the circumstances surrounding it. As she confronts the effects of ripples set into motion decades earlier, she struggles with visions she has a little control over and can’t help but wonder if the act of logging them into her notebook etches the visions into reality. Could she be responsible for all the misery left in her wake – including her uncle’s death?
THE WOMAN UNDERWATER is a highly-acclaimed contemporary suspense set in New England where Victoria Sands is torn between hanging on the hope her husband is still alive, after disappearing seven years earlier, and the desire to move on with her life. She finds herself submerged in limbo, one that no one could have predicted how it would turn out.
In her riveting mystery THE EMPTY CHAIR—Murder in the Caribbean, which earned the coveted MOM’S CHOICE AWARD, she skillfully weaves the story of a young woman’s terrifying search for her photographer mother who disappeared on the tropical island of St. Thomas during a covert assignment.
In her follow up to THE EMPTY CHAIR, Ms. Goetjen delivers another captivating escapade, this time on the rocky coast of Maine. Set in a deceptively warm cozy inn, MURDER ON THE PRECIPICE, which was awarded Gold in the Human Relations Indie Book Awards for Contemporary Realistic Fiction, depicts the story of a missing female guest with eerie similarities to an unsolved disappearance years earlier when the property was used as an all-girls school.
Second in the Elizabeth Pennington Mystery Series, MURDER BEYOND THE PRECIPICE is set in a deceptively tranquil harbor town on the coast of Maine where the disappearance of an innkeeper’s wife stirs long since buried memories locals endeavor to keep secret, along with the scars left behind.
KIRKUS REVIEWS weighs in on MURDER BEYOND:
“Goetjen is a competent writer who keep things moving along, throwing in hints of the preternatural that add to the overall ambiance. . . .worth a read.”
Third in the Elizabeth Pennington Series, MURDER RETURNS TO THE PRECIPICE :
The untimely death of a young female guest in the fitness center tarnishes the re-opening of the lovingly restored New England inn and appears to be an accident, but when a second body is discovered, Elizabeth Pennington fears the inn’s dark past has resurfaced, yet remains steadfast in her quest to carry on her grandmother’s legacy as innkeeper—until the killer comes after her.
Ms. Goetjen’s books are available in print and e-book from your favorite online retailers (Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Draft2Digital, etc.) and at independent bookstores/gift shops and libraries. She is a proud member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
© 2024 Penny Goetjen