Chaffee author pens 2nd murder mystery

Ronnie Senciboy Sr. of Chaffee, Missouri, was a big reader growing up, some of his favorite books being murder mysteries. Now, many years later, he's the author of two murder mysteries, and still has ideas for more.

Going by the pen name Bob R. Creel, he has released "Made to Order" in February 2021 and "The Night Owl" in November.

It took more than 25 years for Senciboy to write "Made to Order" because of his career and family obligations, but "The Night Owl" took just eight months from pen to paper until it was bound and ready to sell.

The latest novel follows a man who solves mysteries and writes books of his own. The story entails vengeance, crime and murder, and the use of teamwork to solve an ongoing mystery, according to book's description on Amazon.

Senciboy self publishes his books while using resources in his family. His sister Sandy worked as a teacher at Chaffee High school and proofread his books.

He also includes his family members in his books, from being on the front covers to using their first names in the novels.

Senciboy said he hopes that when people read his books, they get a sense of enjoyment.

"I've tried to make them interesting to where they wouldn't want to put it down. But some people are different. ... So you don't know you can appeal to everybody," Senciboy said.

"Made to Order" and "The Night Owl" are both relatively short — 150 and 133 pages, respectively — and could be probably be read by many people in one sitting, Senciboy said.

People from Southeast Missouri will notice familiar towns in "The Night Owl".

"Both of the books are fiction, but I do incorporate a little bit of local stuff," Senciboy said. "'The Night Owl' is about Southeast Missouri; it's set in Southeast Missouri around the Sikeston, Cape Girardeau, Jackson area. ... 'Made to Order' was set in a fictional town; I just made up names of towns, but it's kinda got Missouri, St. Louis and stuff like that in it.

Both books are available for purchase on Amazon, and are available at libraries in Chaffee and Cape Girardeau.