Published: March 07, 2011
Words: 60,537 (approximate)
Language: English
ISBN: 9781458054623

Short description

Beyond the urban sprawl of a Pacific Northwest city lurks the peculiar little town of Providence and in it, an organic farmer named Joe Parker. Joe’s lurid story begins when Sheriff Caine fashions the big idea to grow jalapenos, albeit with questionable methods. Everything is going as planned, that is, until Vera Cruz makes an appearance. Will Vera save Joe or lure him further into depravity?

Extended description

Beyond the urban sprawl of a Pacific Northwest city lurks the peculiar little town of Providence and in it, an organic farmer named Joe Parker. Joe’s lurid story, or rather this particular piece of it, begins when Sheriff Caine fashions the big idea to grow jalapenos, albeit with questionable methods. The gritty scheme is plucked from the undercurrent of the sheriff’s self-righteous mind and carried out with the help of Joe’s skill, two local agents, and a coroner. Everything is progressing as planned. That is, until Vera Cruz, a prostitute and girlfriend of a drug dealer, is delivered late one night on Joe’s doorstep. The new houseguest suddenly complicates his routine. The woman bunking on the rear porch not only threatens to upset the jalapeno operation, but also Joe’s conviction about what is rightly just and intrinsically wrong. Will Vera save Joe or lure him further into depravity?

The creation of The Secret of A Spicy Jalapeno derives from the unequivocal inf.. (Read more) Beyond the urban sprawl of a Pacific Northwest city lurks the peculiar little town of Providence and in it, an organic farmer named Joe Parker. Joe’s lurid story, or rather this particular piece of it, begins when Sheriff Caine fashions the big idea to grow jalapenos, albeit with questionable methods. The gritty scheme is plucked from the undercurrent of the sheriff’s self-righteous mind and carried out with the help of Joe’s skill, two local agents, and a coroner. Everything is progressing as planned. That is, until Vera Cruz, a prostitute and girlfriend of a drug dealer, is delivered late one night on Joe’s doorstep. The new houseguest suddenly complicates his routine. The woman bunking on the rear porch not only threatens to upset the jalapeno operation, but also Joe’s conviction about what is rightly just and intrinsically wrong. Will Vera save Joe or lure him further into depravity?

The creation of The Secret of A Spicy Jalapeno derives from the unequivocal influence of acclaimed Southern gothic writer, Flannery O’Connor.

“Sometimes it takes a violent and grotesque act for a character to experience a moment of grace. Perhaps, this is the truest path toward fictional redemption.” ~ Charlie Courtland
(Less)

Adult-content rating: This book contains content considered unsuitable for young readers 17 and under, and which may be offensive to some readers of all ages. For more information, see the Support FAQ.

Tags

horror, mystery, small town, redemption, recycling, pacific northwest, psychological horror, horror fiction, horror book, crime novel, mystery series, mystery fiction, psychological drama, northwest author, serial murder, dark drama, charlie courtland, 2011, psychological motivation, organic farming, vigilante justice, crime book, criminal elements, 2011 new release

Available ebook reading formats

Single purchase gains access to all formats. How to download ebooks to e-reading devices and apps.

Format	Full Book	Sample First 20%
Online Reading (HTML, good for sampling in web browser)	Buy	View sample
Kindle (.mobi for Kindle devices and Kindle apps)	Buy	Download sample
Epub (Apple iPad/iBooks, Nook, Sony Reader, Kobo, and most e-reading apps including Stanza, Aldiko, Adobe Digital Editions, others)	Buy	Download sample
PDF (good for reading on PC, or for home printing)	Buy	No sample available
RTF (readable on most word processors)	Buy	No sample available
LRF (Use only for older model Sony Readers that don't support .epub)	Buy	Download sample
Palm Doc (PDB) (for Palm reading devices)	Buy	Download sample
Plain Text (download) (flexible, but lacks much formatting)	Buy	No sample available
Plain Text (view) (viewable as web page)	Buy	No sample available

Reviews

Log-in to write a Review   Log-in to add a Video Review

Review by: Janel Biondo on Feb. 23, 2012 : (no rating)
Don't waste your money. I spent the 2.95 on this book only to delete it after trying to read only a few pages. I loved the other two books written by Charlie Courtland about the Blook Countess and was very dissapointed in this one. It is as if it was written by someone totally different.
(reviewed within a week of purchase)

Review by: Darcia Helle on May 08, 2011 :
Plot recipe: Start with a few completely original and unforgettable characters and a large heaping of twisted gruesomeness, mix in a generous dash of humor, then add a splash of an unexpectedly sweet romance. That is what you'll find in The Secret of A Spicy Jalapeno. The story is crazy, horrid and often graphic but, like a bad car wreck, I couldn't make myself look away. If you're looking for a story to make you laugh while you cringe, this one's for you.
(reviewed long after purchase)

Review by: Sarah (Workaday Reads) on March 28, 2011 :
Joe Parker grows jalapenos on the local sheriff's farm. His secret to growing them is based on questionable methods that the sheriff concocted. When Vera is delivered to the farm to hide from her drug dealing ex-boyfriend, Joe's life is turned upside down.

This story is something quite different from what I normally read. I did enjoy it though. Getting past the gruesome growing of jalapenos, there was a surprisingly sweet romance between Joe and Vera.

Technically, I found a few incidents in the beginning half where the narrative switched from third person to first person with no warning or reason. This was a little jarring, and caused me to re-read a few pages to figure things out, but it could be easily fixed. I also found there were a few overall graphic and unnecessary sexual references.

But getting past these few things, I really liked the growth in Vera, and sweetness of her relationship with Joe.
(reviewed within a month of purchase)

Review by: Joel Kirkpatrick on March 09, 2011 :
Charlie Courtland fans will be thrilled to have this new story. Altogether different from her Elizabeth Bathory series in style and tone, there are still precious Charlie moments within it. If you’ve never read her tales, The Secret of a Spicy Jalapeno is a spectacular place to begin to know her. She is wickedly inventive, and this new book is delicious.

So skilled at nuancing her characters, Charlie makes you desperate to figure them out. Some of us already love her most wicked character, the Blood Countess, but Joe Parker is a close second for being many things at once, some of them impossibly opposite. Charlie also understands the need to balance horror with humor, and she can dance the thinnest of lines between the two. She knows how to be overtly macabre and still keep you reading.

I’ve read the first draft, and this final release. I thought the first draft flawless, but she is passionate about what she’s put on the page. Charlie’s skill is so evident; her edits are seamless, and spare. It is a rare treat, to witness an author’s craft as closely as I’ve been able to do here. This earned five stars from me long ago; now you get to experience Joe Parker and Vera Cruz for yourself and see why I like them so much.
(reviewed the day of purchase)

Reason for report:
— Select a reason — Book is or contains spam Book infringes copyright Same content is published elsewhere with different author (for ex., by private-label rights) Duplicate Incomplete work (such as sample or serial) Should be marked adults-only Category is inappropriate Poorly formatted Nudity or other inappropriate content on cover Nudity or other inappropriate visual content in book Inappropriate erotica content Cover image is improper Content is inappropriate Other violation of Terms of Service Other reason not shown above.

Additional details: