Joan Hetzler
Author of Mysteries and Poetry Books
From the mountains of North Georgia to the marshes of coastal Georgia, Joan Hetzler captures her experiences in stories and poems that reflect the glory of God.
She hopes you, too, find a glimpse of God from our earthly home in these writings. They offer a time to pause and reflect.
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Buy the mystery books
Megan O’Connell Mysteries are Christian fiction novels set in Atlanta, Georgia. Books 1 through 3 are on Amazon as ebooks and print on demand. Check out Joan’s author’s page at Amazon below
Undercover…
Stalked by a killer…
Small Town Girl in deep water…
Megan O’Connell is an overworked journalist who returns home to Atlanta, Georgia, for a peaceful visit with friends and some quiet time with her church.
Instead, she finds a friend being blackmailed and agrees to help by going undercover to find the culprit in a very secure, very secret software company run by a most eccentric owner. Megan soon finds herself asking the age-old question, “do the ends justify the means?” Once into her masquerade she must dodge a journalist who knows her, the suspicious and intense director of research, and a killer who wants to permanently type her into his daily planner.
Add a touch of humor and romance and the corporate world isn’t a bit dull when Megan’s at work.
Is the truth too old fashioned to be believed?
Or will the truth set free a popular pastor accused of killing a former church member?
In book two of the Megan O’Connell Mysteries, Megan investigates to find out if a mega church pastor was framed for the murder of a deacon who became wealthy preaching that “all is relative.” Megan’s friend, Lisa, whom she helped find her way back to church after falling away and Detective Fielding, an Atlanta homicide cop and potential love interest, are church members who believe their pastor is innocent. So does the pastor’s beautiful blonde wife, Candy, who is a surprising mixture of Southern charm and street smarts. Megan’s search for the truth leads her to suspicious church administrators, charming library ladies who solve all with prayer and casseroles, as well as an answer to her own spiritual question.
Megan O’Connell moves to Atlanta to start a new job at an International Christian ministry for investigative reporters. Her first assignment is to find and expose the crime boss behind a human trafficking syndicate that targets young women from Christian homes.
As she moves deeper into the world of secret sales behind sports venues and old world mansions, one of her sources is killed before sharing her secrets. Megan locks eyes with the killer and can identify him, but the police write it off as a domestic dispute and refuse to investigate. Megan is on her own but not entirely. Her friend Lisa offers her high tech computer skills for the search, and Derek, her handsome homicide detective boyfriend, comes to her rescue, more than once.
Megan’s quest for answers shows the truth does set the captives free.
Who shot Attorney Adam Cranford?
On a hot Fourth of July night, crowds filled the streets of a small rural Georgia town and fireworks exploded overhead. Adam Cranford sat at his office desk waiting on a visitor. Someone stepped inside and aimed a single, accurate deadly shot at Adam’s head.
Was it his political opponent for his incumbent seat on the county commission? Was it his gentle wife who never argued until the day before he died and moved out of the house? Was it the law partner who loved the widow from afar and disapproved of Adam’s ethics? Was it one of Adam’s criminal clients whom he was blackmailing? Or was it an unknown person to the small town?
Four years later, the killer is still at large. A new political race for the upcoming election brings accusations between two of the county commission candidates and against the police. Tired of innuendos against his department, Sheriff Tagger hires former Atlanta homicide detective, Derek Fielding, to reopen the case, put the rumors to rest, and find a murderer.
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Poetry that Celebrates the Beauty of God on the beaches of St. Simons Island and stories of growing up amidst the beauty of North Georgia.
Sunlit Memories at Grandma's House
A chapbook of short stories and poems about childhood visits to my Grandparents’ farm house in North Georgia during the 1950s and 1960s.
Water Ways and God's Ways on Saint Simon's Island
A walk with God on the beautiful beaches and sandy pathways of Saint Simons Island, a barrier island off the coast of Georgia, U.S.A. The poems are simple, sweet and uplifting.