The Writings of Larry Stanfel - Novels
THE TOWER MOTEL
In the color and texture of film noir, this suspenseful novel is narrated via the eyes and language of an uncultured, cynical young maid at a deteriorating motel. With Bill Wolfe’s subsiding under an incurable disease that has cost him his job, he and wife, Evelyn, have purchased the Tower Motel as their sole sustenance, though they remain afloat largely through the largesse of money and labor from her elderly parents, both infirm with her mother an alcoholic. Evelyn grows more and more self-insulated in a haze of cigarette, television, and beer addiction, bitterly envies the success of her younger brother, and tolerates daily thefts at the hands of trashy women whose friendships she purchases. The Wolfe’s teenage son is a disobedient, conniving non-entity and neither comfort nor aid to his parents.
The events of the decline of the extended family are detailed by Darlene Englund, the Tower’s only employee. The young woman has acquired funds of common sense and operational decency, mixed with a vigilante’s sense of justice. and her pithy, sometimes caustic, observations on aspects of contemporary behavior add dimensions of humor to a dark tale. When Darlene becomes intimately involved with the Wolfe family, the story takes unexpected turns around love, hatred, loyalty, and treachery as it wends to its conclusion.
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David H.
Fast reading and I could hardly put the book down..also very funny..held my interest.
Andrea DurginTower Motel is a classic crime noir set in a small Illinois town. The story is narrated by, Darlene Englund, an uneducated, cynical maid at the motel. Darlene shares her opinions of the hotel owners, families, and guests. In addition, she also provides them some additional hospitality services of her own. While somewhat humbly considering herself just doing her job or being a good-deed doer, she eventually falls prey to her greed.
Through Darlene Englund, Larry Stanfel captures a dysfunctional level of small-town life but laces the story with sardonic humor to make a fun read.
--Kim Bunner, Chief of Technology, Parlin-Ingersoll Public LibraryI finished your book…it was written in such a way, that I have nothing to compare it to…it was great!! it kept me wondering what other character is going to show up…
I’m glad I didn’t read the ending like I sometimes do when the suspense of ‘what is this book leading to?’ is getting to me…because the ending WAS the clincher…Darlene should’ve paid more attention to detail while watching her crime shows!!
Believable writing!!
The last book I bought had so many words misspelled, I’ve never finished it, it distracts me too much…I give your book an A+
Good job!!Vanita Woytko Garden City, Idaho
THE TOWER MOTEL
In the color and texture of film noir, this suspenseful novel is narrated via the eyes and language of an uncultured, cynical young maid at a deteriorating motel. With Bill Wolfe’s subsiding under an incurable disease that has cost him his job, he and wife, Evelyn, have purchased the Tower Motel as their sole sustenance, though they remain afloat largely through the largesse of money and labor from her elderly parents, both infirm with her mother an alcoholic. Evelyn grows more and more self-insulated in a haze of cigarette, television, and beer addiction, bitterly envies the success of her younger brother, and tolerates daily thefts at the hands of trashy women whose friendships she purchases. The Wolfe’s teenage son is a disobedient, conniving non-entity and neither comfort nor aid to his parents.
The events of the decline of the extended family are detailed by Darlene Englund, the Tower’s only employee. The young woman has acquired funds of common sense and operational decency, mixed with a vigilante’s sense of justice. and her pithy, sometimes caustic, observations on aspects of contemporary behavior add dimensions of humor to a dark tale. When Darlene becomes intimately involved with the Wolfe family, the story takes unexpected turns around love, hatred, loyalty, and treachery as it wends to its conclusion.
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This is a creative, extremely well written story that held my attention immediately and throughout. It captures the people and places described at that time perfectly. I won’t give away the ending ! Really a good story ! I am very happy I made this purchase and I heartily recommend it to others.
David H.Fast reading and I could hardly put the book down..also very funny..held my interest.
Andrea DurginTower Motel is a classic crime noir set in a small Illinois town. The story is narrated by, Darlene Englund, an uneducated, cynical maid at the motel. Darlene shares her opinions of the hotel owners, families, and guests. In addition, she also provides them some additional hospitality services of her own. While somewhat humbly considering herself just doing her job or being a good-deed doer, she eventually falls prey to her greed.
Through Darlene Englund, Larry Stanfel captures a dysfunctional level of small-town life but laces the story with sardonic humor to make a fun read.
--Kim Bunner, Chief of Technology, Parlin-Ingersoll Public LibraryI finished your book…it was written in such a way, that I have nothing to compare it to…it was great!! it kept me wondering what other character is going to show up…
I’m glad I didn’t read the ending like I sometimes do when the suspense of ‘what is this book leading to?’ is getting to me…because the ending WAS the clincher…Darlene should’ve paid more attention to detail while watching her crime shows!!
Believable writing!!
The last book I bought had so many words misspelled, I’ve never finished it, it distracts me too much…I give your book an A+
Good job!!Vanita Woytko Garden City, Idaho
THE TENDER CARE MURDERS
When a near-nonagenarian watches friends “hospiced to death,” as she characterizes the starvation-desiccation regimen practiced at her assisted-living facility, she determines to defend herself and the other residents from the same end. The plan? To murder the venal owner/manager, who lives on the premises, for which crime Mamie enlists a 90-year-old colleague as her accomplice. How, though, can a pair of geriatric, wheelchair-confined antiquarians harm anyone?
Realizing the necessity of additional brain and muscle power, they deceive three alert residents into what they offer as a murder-planning game, contrived to protect their friends from guilt while amusing them and gleaning their ideas. .As the group investigate murder methodologies, the two ring leaders must balance precariously on the remaining fabric of their Catholic principles. Cunningly, Mamie even finesses the homebound Communion ministers into abetting her scheme.
Through the painstaking, generally humorous planning, they struggle towards the suspenseful setting of their trap. While their three recruits celebrate the successful and therapeutic culmination of the game, the two conspirators arrive in a turmoil of contradictory emotions at the night when their trap will snap shut.
A last-minute, improbable twist contorts their plot, however, and the reader must evaluate for himself the gang’s achievement. Along with an amusing and entertaining story, the book delivers a frank look at what passes for acceptable care of the elderly.
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Just a quick note to tell you how much I enjoyed your story. A perfect bedside read even if Viola didn’t have perfect bedside manners. I’m sure you have the Hollywood casting all envisioned in your head.
Steve Mark, Executive Vice-President, Tenzi Corp
THE TENDER CARE MURDERS
When a near-nonagenarian watches friends “hospiced to death,” as she characterizes the starvation-desiccation regimen practiced at her assisted-living facility, she determines to defend herself and the other residents from the same end. The plan? To murder the venal owner/manager, who lives on the premises, for which crime Mamie enlists a 90-year-old colleague as her accomplice. How, though, can a pair of geriatric, wheelchair-confined antiquarians harm anyone?
Realizing the necessity of additional brain and muscle power, they deceive three alert residents into what they offer as a murder-planning game, contrived to protect their friends from guilt while amusing them and gleaning their ideas. .As the group investigate murder methodologies, the two ring leaders must balance precariously on the remaining fabric of their Catholic principles. Cunningly, Mamie even finesses the homebound Communion ministers into abetting her scheme.
Through the painstaking, generally humorous planning, they struggle towards the suspenseful setting of their trap. While their three recruits celebrate the successful and therapeutic culmination of the game, the two conspirators arrive in a turmoil of contradictory emotions at the night when their trap will snap shut.
A last-minute, improbable twist contorts their plot, however, and the reader must evaluate for himself the gang’s achievement. Along with an amusing and entertaining story, the book delivers a frank look at what passes for acceptable care of the elderly.
-
Just a quick note to tell you how much I enjoyed your story. A perfect bedside read even if Viola didn’t have perfect bedside manners. I’m sure you have the Hollywood casting all envisioned in your head.
Steve Mark, Executive Vice-President, Tenzi Corp
Coming Soon
BLACK KEYS
When a gesture of international goodwill explodes in the face of the cooperating surgeon, his family is sundered, and a part of it drifts into the Czechoslovakia of the post-Dubcek, Communist era. A fresh, tantalizing love flutters always just out of his reach, while his former wife merges into the novelties and constraints of a privileged life within a dictatorship. In America, fortunes develop against a backdrop of medical science and outdoor beauty and, in Czechoslovakia, with virtuoso music, political intrigue, treachery, and revenge gone awry. As usual with this author, twists, coincidences, and spates of humor flag the characters’ journeys. Be prepared to laugh and to weep.
BLACK KEYS
When a gesture of international goodwill explodes in the face of the cooperating surgeon, his family is sundered, and a part of it drifts into the Czechoslovakia of the post-Dubcek, Communist era. A fresh, tantalizing love flutters always just out of his reach, while his former wife merges into the novelties and constraints of a privileged life within a dictatorship. In America, fortunes develop against a backdrop of medical science and outdoor beauty and, in Czechoslovakia, with virtuoso music, political intrigue, treachery, and revenge gone awry. As usual with this author, twists, coincidences, and spates of humor flag the characters’ journeys. Be prepared to laugh and to weep.