Works by Sam McCarver
Novel Writing for Wanna-be's: A Step-by-Step Handbook
Type of work: Nonfiction
Published by: iUniverse, 4/05
ISBN: 0-595-35053-4
Brief description: An easy-to-read and enjoyable practical guide in how to write a novel, written by a published mystery novel author and instructor who has taught the writing of novels, including mysteries, for over six years. With this book, learn everything you need to know about putting your novel together and turning your story idea into an intriguing plot with memorable characters, compelling scenes and natural dialogue. Dozens of case studies and examples are included to help you write and present your novel in a way that will interest agents and editors, including formats for a query letter and manuscript, and a discussion of the publication process.
The Case of Cabin
13
Type of work: Novel
Published by: New American Library/Signet, 5/99
ISBN: 0451-196-902
Setting: The Titanic, April 1912.
Brief plot description: Professor John Darnell, world's first paranormal
detective, books
cabin 13 on the Titanic to investigate three mysterious White Star Line
cabin 13 deaths and bring a demented killer to justice.
Character notes: A Professor of psychology and philosophy, Darnell calls
himself a "psychichologist."
He meets Penny Winters aboardship.
Other notes: The first John Darnell Mystery.
The Case of
Compartment 7
Type of work: Novel
Published by: New American Library/Signet, 2/00
ISBN: 0451-199-596
Setting: The Orient Express, April 1914.
Brief plot description: Professor John Darnell, world's first paranormal
detective,  investigates
apparitions of a blood-drenched young woman in compartment 7 - and murder - on the Orient Express, in dangerous days before World War
I.
Character notes: A Professor of psychology and philosophy, Darnell calls
himself a "psychichologist."
He and Penny Winters have married now - John and Penny Darnell.
The Case of The 2nd Seance
Type of work: Novel
Published by: New American Library/Signet, 11/00
ISBN: 0451-201-604
Setting: London, England, December 1916, during World War I.
Brief plot description: When new Prime Minister David Lloyd George's teen-aged daughter, Megan, disappears during a seance arranged by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, his friend, Professor John Darnell, world's first investigator of paranormal events, is called in to solve the mystery and save the missing girl. Then, in a 2nd seance, murder reveals that an international conspiracy is involved.
Character notes: Darnell is a professor of psychology and philosophy at Cambridge and is known as a "psychichologist." He and his wife, Penny, often are thrust into danger together during Darnell's journeys and cases.
The Case of The Ripper's Revenge
Type of work: Novel
Published by: New American Library/Signet, 11/01
Setting: London, England, August 1917.
Brief plot description: 29 years after Jack the Ripper viciously murdered five women in the Whitechapel District of London and then disappeared, a ghostlike figure is seen in Whitechapel in August 1917. When hauntingly-similar murders begin again in Whitechapel, Scotland Yard calls in Professor John Darnell, the world's first and only paranormal detective, who debunks supernatural events, to investigate. Then when similar killings begin in fashionable parts of London, Darnell is drawn more deeply into the mystery, must set a trap to catch the killer, and enlists the aid of playwright George Bernard Shaw.
The Case of The Uninvited Guest
Type of work: Novel
Published by: New American Library/Signet, 8/02
Setting: Paris, France, December 1918.
ISBN: 0451-207-157
Brief Plot Description: Following the armistice for World War I, amid many celebrations in Paris, an American publishing company's Editorial Director convenes a meeting of his eclectic group of writers from various parts of the world at Le Grand Hotel in Paris. In a late-night party, when one writer is found murdered, the Surete investigates. But when a ghostly apparition resembling the murdered writer begins to haunt the hotel's halls, John Darnell, the world's first detective specializing in apparent supernatural events, is called in to investigate that. Ultimately he solves both mysteries with some help from a young, wounded soldier on his way back to Ameica--Ernest Hemingway--but not before the life of Darnell's wife, Penny, is threatened and two other hotel guests are gruesomely murdered.
To Die, or Not to Die ...
Type of work: Novel
Published by: Five Star
ISBN: 0-7862-5444-0
Brief Plot Description: Professor John Darnell travels from London to
Stratford-upon-Avon in 1919 at the request of the Mayor, who is worried about
appearances of what seem to be ghosts just outside the Shakespeare theater, and
their impact on the annual Shakespeare festival. The actor, John Barrymore,
traveling from America, is about to arrive in Stratford to star on the Shakespeare
Memorial Theater stage in Hamlet and Macbeth. Darnell's wife, Penny, seven months
along in carrying her first child, accompanies Darnell on the trip and they stay at
the Anne Hathaway Inn for a week. The ghostly sightings lead quickly to two
murders, which John Darnell investigates. He calls in Scotland Yard, and together
they pursue the investigations. But Darnell faces even greater dangers as rare,
valuable scripts are stolen and an assassination of a member of English royalty is
plotted by the killer.
"The Loch Ness Mystery"
Type of work: Short Story, appearing in "And The Dying is Easy"
Published by: Signet, 6/01
Brief plot description: John and Penny Darnell go to Loch Ness in Scotland for a combination vacation and investigation of mysterious occurrences which Sandy MacDougall, reporter for the London Times, tells them about, urging Darnell to come. In the spooky Drumnadrochit Inn, a murder occurs and Darnell must uncover the motivation and find the killer in the nearby town of the same name. Has the Loch Ness monster really been seen this time?
URL: http://socalmwa.com/works/mccarver.htm
Last updated:
June 11, 2005
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