Beach Murder Mysteries Book Launch Party

A series of three murder-mysteries with scenes and characters based in Virginia Beach will be launched at 7 p.m., March 10, at Doc Taylor’s Seaside Lounge at the Oceanfront. The series, a first for  Hampton Roads, is being published by Beach-based Köehler Books Publishing. Many of the crime scenes in the three novels take place at or near the city’s beaches and Oceanfront strips.

Rue Elliott and her book, Guilt Before Innocence, and Michelle Johnson and her book, The Footloose Killer, will be joined at the launching party by John Koehler and Timothy Choquette, co-authors of the first book in the series, The Case of the Russians Maids.

The idea for the series came from John Koehler, founder and publisher of the book company.

“Russian Maids was a complete change of direction for me,” said Koehler. “I had always wanted to try my hand at a murder mystery, and figured it would make sense to keep it local. I found Tim and we knocked the book into shape and published it in the fall of 2011.”