'Good beach read': Local author's Sanibel mystery books 'love letters' to island
Jennifer Schiff fell in love with Sanibel Island 12 years ago, moving there part-time in 2016 and full-time three years later.
Before long, she was settling into island life and began writing about it in her Sanibel Island Mysteries series with her first work published in 2017. She wrote more since then about the popular oasis in the Gulf.
Then Hurricane Ian roared across Sanibel in September 2022, washing away her home and leaving her and her husband, Kenny, to pick up the pieces.
Moving to paradise, then watching it get washed away
“We lived on Sanibel in our beautiful home that got hit with nine feet of pounding water from a hurricane, which destroyed our beautiful house we had just finished renovating that spring,” said Schiff, who moved with Kenny from Connecticut.
Schiff’s Sanibel Island Mysteries series takes place prior to Hurricane Ian. Reading it now can transport readers back to the island’s prime years.
“The books are really love letters to Sanibel,” Schiff said. “It was my happy place… I finally found a place and a community where I felt I belonged.”
The idea for the first book in the series, “A Shell of a Problem: A Sanibel Island Mystery,” came to her in a dream. In it, the series’ main character ― Guinivere Jones ― takes on the mystery of a missing shell. This lost shell ― a rare Golden Junonia ― is connected to a murder on the island.
Readers loved her books, so Schiff wrote more
The book’s success motivated Schiff to write more Sanibel Island Mysteries. Now, the series ― with 10 published books and another in the works ― is a glorious remembrance of Sanibel as it once was.
“I really wanted to honor (Sanibel),” Schiff said. “All of the places in the book are either actual places or modeled after real places.”
The most recent book in the series, “Framed in Naples,” has Guinevere Jones investigating another murder. While Jones ― an investigative reporter ― is covering a major art retrospective at the Baker Museum in Naples, a dead body is discovered there. Something about the obvious lead suspect is not quite right, leaving Jones to paint herself as a detective once again.
The descriptiveness of the books certainly highlights what Schiff so greatly admires.
“Nothing makes me happier than when people say ‘I’ve never been to Sanibel, but reading your books, I feel like I’m there,’” she said. “And that really was what I was going for when I wrote them. I wanted to share my love of a special place.”
Reviewers enjoy Schiff's books, solid praise like 'good beach read'
Each book in the series is rated at least 4.3 out of five stars on Amazon. The fifth and sixth books in the series ― “Shell Shocked” and “Trouble in Paradise” ― are rated highest at 4.7 out of five stars.
“The author brought me back to Sanibel and west coast FL, and I haven't been in almost 30 years,” an Amazon reviewer said in a five-star rating.
“Kinda drawn out....but good beach read,” according to a more critical reviewer, who gave a three-star rating.
The majority of Amazon reviewers do provide positive feedback: 55% of the reviews gave five-star ratings and 26% gave four-stars.
Following the devastation of Hurricane Ian, when she was left with nothing but her husband, their cats, and no insurance reimbursement after the loss of her house and car, Schiff still chose to donate half the proceeds to organizations around the island to support the recovery.
This included not just the beloved book series, but also a calendar that Schiff designed with photos from around the island. She raised thousands through her sales, with Sanibel lovers uniting to support the cause.
Relocating to Naples after Hurricane Ian
“Sanibel isn’t just a beautiful place, but the people who are there really love the island and want to preserve that environment where we honor nature, we honor the environment. They’re shell collectors, they’re birders. There are plenty of people who go for the beach and to play golf or tennis.”
Schiff has taken up residence in Naples since the hurricane. While Sanibel was her true happy place, reminders of Hurricane Ian’s devastation would be too much for her to face on a daily basis.
Before deciding to become an author in Southwest Florida, Schiff worked in fact-checking and researching, freelance writing and editing for various magazines and book publishing companies, and at a marketing communications agency.
Lovers of Sanibel can purchase the Sanibel Island Mystery books through Amazon (https://www.amazon.com/stores/Jennifer-Lonoff-Schiff/author/B077BRJKTS) and anywhere else books are sold online. Schiff’s works are also available in select bookstores across Southwest Florida and through the Lee and Collier County library systems.
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Schiff also has two non-Florida-specific books ― “Something’s Cooking in Chantai,” which takes place in Italy, and “Tinder Fella,” in New York. “A Mocktail for Murder,” another Guinivere Jones mystery set in New York, and “Finding Gemma Lovegood,” a novel set in England, are also in the works.
All of Schiff’s works are published through Shovel and Pail Press. More information available at shovelandpailpress.com, sanibelislandmysteries.com and the Sanibel Island Mysteries Facebook page.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Local author's Sanibel mystery books 'love letters' to island
