Bill Noel

 

Praise for Bill Noel and his Folly Beach Mystery Series

 

Final Cut  Five Stars (out of Five)

Characters young and old come alive in this excellent, readable island murder mystery.

The crown in the quirky character category belongs to surf shop owner Dude, whose speech patterns and thought processes are nearly sui generis.

With seven novels in this series already published, Noel returns to his alternate Folly Beach community with nary a misstep. This outing seamlessly melds personal, political, and mystery elements into a excellent and very readable tale.

Final Cut is another top-notch entry worthy of more readers and media attention.

Foreword CLARION Reviews

 

Final Cut

All the elements add up to another fun, yet riveting, episode of the Folly Beach Mystery series. Author Bill Noel’s fans get another addicting fix–for which there is no known rehabilitation.  Kentucky Monthly

 

Missing  Five Stars (out of Five) 

Solid characters, delightful prose, and well-paced action set Missing apart from other amateur-detective novels. Love, loss, scruples, and power are the scaffolding upon which Bill Noel builds a book that is one heck of a read.

The book follows retiree Chris Landrum and his friend, Charles Fowler. Chris is sought out by a teen who thinks he saw a woman being adducted. Chris and Charles agree to look into the matter, and they open up a can of worms.

Noel deftly soaks Missing with just enough descriptive terms to make the sensation of clean ocean air and unspoiled beaches lift from the page like a mist. More than the settings, however, it’s the characters who are most memorable in this story, thanks to their solidity and variety. All the characters are three-dimensional, familiar personalities, as Noel has mastered the art of showing more than telling.

The cover art and back cover summation work well to snag a reader’s attention. Both are sparse and elegant. The test itself is smooth and very easy to read.

With its delightful prose style and well-paced action, Missing sets itself apart from other amateur-detective novels. Just enough loose threads are left at the end to make a follow-up novel quite feasible.  ForeWord CLARION Reviews

 

Washout   Five Stars (out of Five)

In Washout, Noel crafts an almost perfect mystery novel. The briskly paced chapters introduce a swift, engaging flow to the plot, and the characters have enough quirks to make them memorable, but not so many as to turn them into caricatures.

Washout takes readers further into Chris Landrum’s life with sprightly prose and a generous helping of good humor. Noel’s narrative skills ensure that readers will wish to linger on Folly Beach, enjoying its ambiance, even when they are not following Chris on amateur detective duty.

Noel has been honing his craft throughout the Folly Beach Mystery series, and Washout continues his tradition of well-edited, high-quality storytelling. Author Bill Noel comes strongly recommended by the publishing company, and it is easy to see why.  ForeWord CLARION Reviews

 

The Pier  Five Stars (out of Five)

Noel writes with a fast-paced, easily read style, with plenty of humorous asides to characterize Chris’ bemused, sarcastic point of view. As Chris and his friends make connections and form plans based on intuition, intelligence, and the occasional stupid risk-taking, the plot runs believably for the unofficial gumshoes: The characters are neither smart enough to solve everything right away, nor stupid enough to walk right into the murderer’s schemes. With his smarts nicely calibrated at the average reader’s level, Chris provides a good-humored, engaging entry into the world of Folly Beach.

A well-written mystery novel and portrait of a small town, The Pier should appeal to readers who like a scenic whodunit with plenty of character development and local color.  ForeWord CLARION Reviews

 

The Edge  Five Stars (out of Five) 

Although this is the fourth installment in the Folly Beach series, new readers will slide comfortably into the pages because Noel does a stellar job of reintroducing his eminently likable characters.

The plot zips along, thanks to short chapters, near-constant action, and witty repartee. Just when readers think they have things figured out, the author serves up a new twist. Readers are invited to live on the edge and enjoy this mystery.  ForeWord CLARION Reviews

 

The Pier  Bill Noel, himself a seasoned photographer, has followed his debut offering, Folly, with The Pier, another engaging Folly Beach Mystery.  Armed with a gift for creating ultra-quirky yet believable characters, Noel shows how a healthy dose of cynicism—even among untrained, nonprofessional types—can lead to solving a murder mystery that the police had initially decided wasn’t even a homicide.  Kentucky Monthly

 

Folly  For those who enjoy reading local fiction, or just want a beach read with a bit of a twist, Folly should be right up you alley.  Grand Strand Magazine

 

The Pier  … better than most …at devising a well-crafted tale.  Noel knows how much information to give his readers, how to make his characters realistic and interesting, and how to carry the plot along to a satisfying conclusion.  And although there is a murder at the center of The Pier, he has a light enough touch to add bits of humor to the dialogue and narrative.   The Voice-Tribune

 

Folly   Bill Noel…fills the bill in Folly, an intriguing murder mystery set on Folly Beach.  Try Folly if you’re a fan of the area or familiar with the strange characters and customs of small-town life.  The Sun News