Hardy Durkin Travel Mysteries Series

Revised 2nd edition: Dark secrets and events unfold in a Black Forest castle setting----In Hardy Durkin’s third book, Black Forest Reckoning, we find Hardy and company hiking various venues in the Black Forest, including a day in the luxurious spa town of Baden-Baden, while experiencing the historical legacy, cultural heritage, and sumptuous foods of that region. Their host is Baron Haeflin, owner and lord of the Schloss they call home during their stay. Also resident at Schloss Haeflin is a waif of a girl, the baron’s niece, Zsu-Zsu, who has never spoken, due to emotional trauma at an early age. When another co-ed from the University of Freiburg is reported missing, the third, so far, members of the hiking group realize they are at ground zero for a possible serial killer. Once the suspicion that Baron Haeflin has stolen the identity and money of the real Baron Haeflin becomes a certainty, Hardy’s concern for Zsu-Zsu’s safety is aroused and the game is afoot. Hardy is convinced that Zsu-Zsu holds the key to it all, but she’s not telling anyone. While investigating the baron’s true identity, Hardy suddenly comes up missing. Ultimately, it is Hardy Durkin who untangles the web of deceit, madness, and murder in The Black Forest Reckoning. Bluette Matthey is a third-generation Swiss American, an avid lover of Europe and its cultures, and a keen reader of mysteries. Her love of travel is shared by her husband, who formerly owned a tour outfitter business in Europe. Bluette maintains a mental list of hikes and pilgrimages she still wants to do throughout Europe. She currently lives in Le Locle (NE) Switzerland with her husband, and band of loving cats.

Hardy Durkin is working outside the box of travel outfitting when he heads to the Balkans on a surveillance assignment for the French Foreign Legion under the guise of sailing the Adriatic for some R & R. The mission becomes a rescue operation when he is joined by Colonel Alain Clotiers to find and save a fellow Legionnaire who has gone missing. Hardy becomes entangled in the dark world of sex trafficking, drug smuggling, and illegal arms sales while trying to find the killer of a Roma beauty in "Dalmatian Traffick." Bluette Matthey is a 3rd generation Swiss-American and an avid lover of European cultures. She has decades of travel and writing experience. She is a keen reader of mysteries, especially those that immerse the reader in the history, inhabitants, culture, and cuisine of new places. Her passion for travel, except airports (where she keeps a mystery to pass the time), is shared by her husband, who owned a tour outfitter business in Europe. Bluette particularly loves to explore regions that are not on the "15 days in Europe" itineraries. She also enjoys little-known discoveries, such as those in the London Walks, in well-known areas. She firmly believes that walking and hiking bring her closer to real life any locale. Bluette maintains a list of hikes and pilgrimages throughout Europe for future exploration. She lives in Le Locle, Switzerland, with her husband and band of loving cats. For more information, please visit Bluette's website. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Niume. Bluette's protagonist, Hardy Durkin, appears in her Hardy Durkin Travel Mystery Series, which include: Abruzzo Intrigue, Black Forest Reckoning, Corsican Justice, and Dalmatian Traffick. Her next book, due out this spring, is Engadine Aerie

Hardy Durkin Meets New and Deadly Nemesis in “Engadine Aerie” Hardy Durkin is at it again in Engadine Aerie, the new novel in the travel mystery series by Bluette Matthey. Trained in Sigint, a crack marksman, and fluent in four languages, Hardy is no stranger to daring rescues and narrow brushes with death. From dungeons in the Black Forest to sailing expeditions, Hardy’s experience and training have helped prepare him for his most dangerous adventure yet. Durkin is headed to the pristine Engadine Valley in Switzerland with the Skimarathon in mind. He is detoured by a gruesome body found in the snow and an exotic beauty. While assisting TIGRIS in the hunt for a terrorist arms buyer he narrowly escapes two attempts on his life and meets a new and very deadly nemesis. Bluette Matthey is a third‐generation Swiss American and an avid lover of European cultures. She has decades of travel and writing experience. She is a keen reader of mysteries, especially those that immerse the reader in the history, inhabitants, culture, and cuisine of new places. Her passion for travel, except airports (where she always carries mystery novels to pass the time), is shared by her husband, who owned a tour outfitter business in Europe. Bluette lives in Le Locle, Switzerland with her husband and band of loving cats. Her books include: Abruzzo Intrigue, Black Forest Reckoning, Corsican Justice, and Dalmatian Traffick. Engadine Aerie is available in softcover (ISBN 978‐1‐941611‐11‐1) . This book can also be ordered from most bookstores around the United States and United Kingdom. For more information on the author or the book, please go to www.bluettematthey.com.

A Dark Past and a Dangerous Road to Discovering the Truth The first book of the Hardy Durkin Travel Mysteries, Corsican Justice, introduces the main character, Hardy Durkin, as he travels to the French isle of Corsica to mix some business with mostly pleasure. Or so he thinks. Hardy is a hiking tour outfitter who hosts small groups of successful business people and professionals seeking refuge from their fast-paced lives in off-the-beaten-path destinations in Europe. Hardy is a multi-lingual former pentathlete with a high-tech background in interpreting electronic intelligence and dual German-American citizenship. The GR-20, Europe’s most challenging hiking trail, is in Hardy’s sights to explore with the possibility of adding it to his hiking venues. Hardy also seeks closure for the accidental death of his father several years earlier in a motorcycle accident in Les Calanches region along Corsica’s western coast. After Hardy’s attempted murder and subsequent kidnapping, he learns that his father’s accident was really murder and he vows to avenge this dad’s untimely death. He finds himself involved with the French Foreign Legion, the Russian mob, and an arms-smuggling Corsican gang as he struggles to bring a killer to justice and close a painful cold-case murder. Bluette Matthey is a third-generation Swiss American, an avid lover of Europe and its cultures, and a keen reader of mysteries. Her love of travel is shared by her husband, who formerly owned a tour outfitter business in Europe. Bluette maintains a mental list of hikes and pilgrimages she still wants to do throughout Europe. She currently lives in Le Locle, Switzerlsnd with her husband, and band of loving cats.

Italian Plot Driven by Mystery, Theft, and a Dark Night of the Soul Abruzzo Intrigue, finds Hardy leading a hiking tour in Italy’s high-rural Abruzzo region. Dubbed the ‘green heart’ of Europe, Abruzzo offers the hikers a heady mix of spectacular scenery, medieval hill towns, spiritual history, and fresh, pure regional gastronomy. Some of the cast of characters are who they seem to be, but most aren't. One member of the group, a grieving widower, plans to steal one of the Vatican's most precious religious relics, The First Eucharist Miracle, from the Church of San Francesco in Lanciano, and embarks on a dangerous odyssey of the soul that ends in redemption. Along the way, Hardy crosses paths with an Interpol agent, elements of the Italian mafia, an assassin and, indirectly, an Albanian drug lord. The book is a collision of values and traditions while hiking through the oft-overlooked beauty of ancient Abruzzo. Bluette Matthey is a third-generation Swiss American, an avid lover of Europe and its cultures, and a keen reader of mysteries. Her love of travel is shared by her husband, who formerly owned a tour outfitter business in Europe. Bluette maintains a mental list of hikes and pilgrimages she still wants to do throughout Europe. She currently lives in Le Locle Switzerland with her husband, and band of loving cats.