Elena Hartwell's Blog, page 53
May 14, 2022
Murder in the Community Garden by Judith Gonda
Murder in the Community Garden
Budding sleuth Tory Benning has to overcome planted evidence and growing suspicions to save an innocent man from being framed . . .
Designing a community garden as part of a new condo project seemed like a no-brainer to landscape architect Tory Benning, since it would bring people together and enhance the environmental profile of the property. But soon members of the garden begin squabbling and even leveling accusations of sabotage against each other in a friendly growing competition. Then one of the gardeners is found murdered at the grand opening, and Tory realizes she’ll have to weed through some damning false evidence to help prove her implicated friend is innocent.
It’s a daunting challenge given that her friend was seen threatening the victim on live TV and all the clues point to him as the culprit, but Tory is certain someone is behind a devious plot to set him up. As she starts looking into the backgrounds of those closest to the victim, secrets begin to emerge about marital infidelity, a sizable inheritance, and estranged children. Fearful now that she might be going up against someone far more cunning than a garden-variety killer, Tory will have to stand her ground to bring the culprit to justice—and be careful not to dig her own grave . . .
To purchase Murder in the Community Garden, click on any of the following links: Amazon — Barnes and Noble — Kobo — Google Play — Smashwords
Murder in the Community Garden (A Tory Benning Mystery)
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Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – California
Beyond the Page Publishing (May 10, 2022)
Number of Pages: 256
ISBN-10 : 1954717946
ISBN-13 : 978-1954717947
Digital ASIN : B09VLL17QJ
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Read my review of the second book in the series! Click the link here.Judith Gonda
Judith Gonda is a mystery writer and Ph.D. psychologist with a penchant for Pomeranians, plants, and puns, so it’s not surprising they all pop up in her amateur sleuth mysteries featuring landscape architect Tory Benning.
May 4 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
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Elena Taylor
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
The post Murder in the Community Garden by Judith Gonda appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
May 12, 2022
What They Don’t Know: Review of New Suspense
What They Don’t Know: New suspense by Susan Furlong
Review + Book & Author Info + Giveaway!What They Don’t Know
A picture-perfect suburban life fractures . . . and a darker reality bubbles beneath the surface.
Mona Ellison’s life is as perfect as the porcelain dolls lined up on her shelves. She has a successful husband, a loving son, a beautiful home, and a supportive group of girlfriends ever ready for their weekly wine night.
But when Mona’s son gets entangled with the wrong crowd and runs away from home, her blissful suburban world begins to unravel. She tells her friends that boys will be boys, that he’ll be back as soon as his money runs dry . . . but deep down she knows there’s something else going on.
Then the police show up at Mona’s door. A young girl has turned up dead in their quiet town, and her missing son is the prime suspect.
Determined to reunite with her son and prove his innocence, Mona follows an increasingly cryptic trail of clues on social media, uncovering a sinister side of suburbia and unveiling lies and betrayal from those she trusted most. And as Mona spirals further from her once cozy reality, a devastating revelation shatters everything she thought she knew. Now the only thing she’s sure of is that she can’t trust anyone . . . not even herself.
With unrelenting psychological suspense and a wicked twist, What They Don’t Know marries small-town thriller and domestic mystery—suburban paranoia at its best.Genre: Suspense
Published by: Seventh Street Books
Publication Date: May 17th, 2022
Number of Pages: 286
ISBN: 1645060403 (ISBN13: 9781645060406)
Mona Ellison and her husband are moving away from the old Victorian they’ve owned for years, to allow Ben, a psychologist, to live closer to his work.
But the Ellison’s son Gus, no longer the perfect little boy he once was, runs away from home before they even finish packing. Convinced he will return when his money runs out, Mona tries to keep up appearances, as all good suburban wives and mothers do. And appearances matter in this suburban enclave.
Mona also has to leave behind the women in her neighborhood — her tight-knit, if imperfect, inner circle. “We all had things we’d buried lately, things we’d rather remain in denial about. Selma didn’t let herself spy on Victoria; Alice pretended she’d moved on from her husband’s infidelity; Tara acted as if she’d actually chosen to be single at fifty, and I’d denied Gus’s behavior problems, making excuses and bailing him out of trouble, over and over.”
But it’s hard to remain in denial, especially when murder is afoot and the police come knocking.
Furlong does an extraordinary job of creating complex, flawed, and fascinating characters. Each of the women in Mona’s circle are unique, not an easy task with a group of four friends and a protagonist of similar ages and backgrounds.
Further, who is a friend and who is a foe jumbles together as Mona’s on hold on reality turns questionable. What is Ben doing behind Mona’s back? Is Gus trying to reach out in his own, 21st century way?
If you love a good page-turner, look no further. What They Don’t Know will keep you guessing until the final unexpected twist.
Perfect for fans of Tara Laskowski and Jess Lourey.Excerpt from What They Don’t KnowIt was the last Tuesday of the month, our normal book club night, and we were gathered at my house—Selma, Alice, Tara, and me—settled in the living room, Moroccan rug plush beneath us, immersed in the decor’s eclectic mix of whimsy and Old-World aesthetic. This would be our last book club meeting, but it was more than that, really. It was a pulled thread in the carefully woven tapestry of our friendships that had begun in college and endured careers, weddings, our first-borns, and remained constant through affairs, divorces, and much worse …
***
Excerpt from What They Don’t Know by Susan Furlong. Copyright 2022 by Susan Furlong. Reproduced with permission from Susan Furlong. All rights reserved.
Susan Furlong — Author of What They Don’t Know
Susan Furlong is the author of eleven novels including SHATTERED JUSTICE, a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year. She also contributes, under a pen name, to the New York Times bestselling Novel Idea series.
Her most recent novel, WHAT THEY DON’T KNOW, has been praised by reviewers as an engrossing and delightfully creepy read. She resides in Illinois with her husband and children.
To learn more about Susan, click on any of the following links: www.SusanFurlong.com, Goodreads, BookBub – @SusanFurlongAuthor, Instagram – @susanfurlong, Twitter – @Furlong_Sue & Facebook – @SusanFurlongAuthorDon’t miss any of my book reviews! Click the link hereVisit all the Stops on the Tour!
05/09 Review @ Lynchburg Reads
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Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
The post What They Don’t Know: Review of New Suspense appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
May 9, 2022
A Message in Poison: Medical Thriller
A Message in Poison, a Dr. Lily Robinson medical thriller by BJ Magnani
Guest Post + Author & Book InfoDon’t miss any book tour posts! Click the link here. A Message in Poison
Sparks fly as Dr. Lily Robinson-the brilliant academic pathologist and covert assassin for the U.S. Government-investigates two seemingly unrelated deaths alongside her lover, Agent Jean Paul Marchand, and D.C. Medical Examiner Dr. Logan Pelletier.A U.S. Senator and the president of a developing nation are found dead in their beds. As governments thousands of miles apart react to the fallout and begin their investigations, no one claims responsibility, and no motives are clear. Yet, the cause of death implies a link between the two-one that only a mind versed in poisons and politics can decipher. With her personal relationships teetering on the brink and her loved ones facing foreign threats, Lily must unravel the mystery and uncover a plot more calculating than anyone could imagine-but it may be too late.
A Message in Poison, the third part of the Art of Secret Poisoning trilogy (The Queen of All Poisons and The Power of Poison), continues with twists and turns as Dr. Lily Robinson travels the globe, stares down death, and finds herself at “another crossroad, another choice between life real or imagined…”
To purchase A Message in Poison, click on any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodreadsGenre: Medical Mystery / Thriller
Published by: Encircle Publications
Publication Date: April 20th 2022
Number of Pages: 278
ISBN: 1645993256 (ISBN13: 9781645993254)
Series: A Dr. Lily Robinson Novel, The Art of Secret Poisoning Part 3
BJ Magnani, PhD, MD, FCAP
March 30, 2022
Dr. Lily Robinson is a charismatic character who occupies center stage in the original stories written for scientists (Lily Robinson and the Art of Secret Poisoning) and the novels, The Queen of All Poisons, The Power of Poison, and A Message in Poison.
Lily’s story is visual and takes the reader to places like Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Colombia, France, Russia, Hong Kong, and South Korea. The settings are exotic and vivid, and lend themselves to a splashy movie or limited series.
The author on the set of Crossing Jordan alongside Miguel Ferrer, who played the Chief Medical Examiner.Natalie Portman is an actor with gravitas who could portray the complex Dr. Robinson, as both the academic and the assassin. Portman’s smart, the right height and age, and only needs a pair of emerald contact lenses to complete the picture. And Natalie Portman and I graduated from the same high school!
Lily’s lover, and partner in an organization that rids the world of terrorists, is John Paul or JP. This seasoned French operative is cool under pressure and the love of Lily’s life. Their chemistry is passionate, and Vincent Cassel is up to the task—and would reunite with his costar (Portman) from Black Swan.
The enigmatic Dr. John Chi Leigh (“chemistry runs in John Chi’s DNA, forming a double helix with a backbone of genius and base pairs of deception and cunning”) is the part for Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. Both Dr. Leigh and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai are originally from Hong Kong.
Who would play ‘sisters,’ Rose (Lily’s daughter) and Bella? I see Emma Fuhrman as the vulnerable Rose while Kathryn Newton as her tragic fair-haired sibling. Two daughters that end up at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Finally, the arch-villain whose twisted mind challenges Lily at every turn—Grigory Markovic, would be played by Mads Mikkelsen—a worthy opponent.
BJ Magnani
BJ Magnani (Barbarajean Magnani, PhD, MD, FCAP) is the author of the Dr. Lily Robinson novels: The Queen of All Poisons (Encircle Publications, 2019), The Power of Poison (Encircle Publications, 2021), and A Message In Poison (Encircle Publications, 2022.) Lily Robinson and the Art of Secret Poisoning (nVision Publishing, 2011) is the original collection of short stories featuring the brilliant, yet deadly, doctor.
Dr. Magnani is internationally recognized for her expertise in clinical chemistry and toxicology, has been named a “Top Doctor” in Boston magazine, and was named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Laboratory Medicine Professionals in the World by The Pathologist.
She is Professor of Anatomic and Clinical Pathology (and Professor of Medicine) at Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, and the former Chair of both the College of American Pathologists (CAP) Toxicology Committee and the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Tufts Medical Center.
To learn more about BJ, click on any of the following links: www.BJMagnani.com, Goodreads, BookBub – @bjmagnani, Twitter – @bjmagnani & Facebook – @bjmagnaniauthorVisit All the Stops on the Tour
05/09 Guest post @ The Mystery of Writing
05/11 Interview @ Nesies Place
05/12 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
05/13 Review @ Novels Alive
05/17 Interview @ Quiet Fury Books
05/18 Showcase @ 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS
05/18 Showcase @ The Authors Harbor
05/20 Review @ Waterside Kennels Mysteries
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05/24 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
05/25 Review @ Pat Fayo Reviews
05/26 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
06/01 Review @ Sharon Beyond The Books
06/02 Interview @ I Read What You Write
06/03 Review @ Nesies Place
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
The post A Message in Poison: Medical Thriller appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
May 5, 2022
The Sleepers: New Thriller by KM Kelly
The Sleepers, debut Thriller by KM Kelly
Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner!The Sleepers
A time bomb is ticking—but what if that time bomb is you? A chilling novel of intrigue, terror, and one man and woman in a race against the clock . . .
Sylvie is running. Running from the memories of a terror attack in London she experienced as a child, a catastrophic event in which her brother died. Running from her abusive boyfriend. And running from a warning, given to her on a station platform in Nantes: Someone is trying to kill her.
Corran isn’t really Corran. He’s working deep undercover to infiltrate the political organisation that looks set to win the upcoming British election—a group that doesn’t appear to have existed a few years ago. Corran has been sent to find out who’s behind them and what their true agenda might be.
But he messes up. All he has is a list of names, Sylvie’s included. Only with time does he begin to see the connections. Are those on the list, who were caught up in the London terror attack ten years ago, now being systematically taken out? The hit list will force Corran and Sylvie into a reluctant partnership, and into the centre of a looming threat that could explode at any moment . . .
“Sucks you in from page one and doesn’t let go. Packed with tremendous action.” —Rob Samborn, author of The Prisoner of Paradise and Painter of the Damned
To purchase The Sleepers, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Amazon UK, and IndieBoundThe Sleepers Author KM Kelly — The Interview The Sleepers , your debut novel, follows Sylvie several years after she survives a terrorist attack. What drew you to that for your protagonist’s backstory?As a Brit, terrorism has been part of my reality all of my life. I’ve been fortunate never to have been caught up in anything myself, but I remember hearing an IRA bomb go of once when I was in London with my parents as a child and, although I wasn’t nearby it was still quite scary. I drew on this when I was developing Sylvie’s story. But of course, there is more to the terror attack Sylvie was caught up in – as she soon finds out.
What should readers know about Corran?Corran came into existence long before I started writing The Sleepers. I’m not sure where his character came from but it was a while before I worked out what his story actually was.
Only when I first had the idea for The Sleepers did I realise that this was where he belonged.
The Sleepers includes multiple point of view characters. What was your process like for that kind of structure?I enjoy writing multiple Points of View because it gives you the chance to show things from different perspectives, which is useful since people see things very differently. Then its up to the reader to decide who to believe.
But when I’m writing this way I find it helps to keep to one Point of View per writing session. That was I can keep focused and in that one person’s head.
Tell us about your road to publication with The Sleepers :I have always loved thrillers. It must be my favourite genre, both in literature and film. So it felt natural that this was the genre I was going to write in. My first effort, a speculative thriller, had a lot of interest when I first started submitting it, but ultimately failed to find a home. However, several publishers had said that they would like to see any further novels I might produce.
So once The Sleepers was ready to send out, I decided to skip looking for an agent and go straight to the publishers who had given me positive feedback. One of these was Bloodhound Books. Now part of Open Road Media. They were top of my list, and are now my publisher.
“When I’m not writing you’ll find me outside with mud on my shoes and the wind in my hair.”What might we find you doing when you aren’t writing?When I’m not writing you’ll find me outside with mud on my shoes and the wind in my hair.
I live in a beautiful part of the world and spend much of my spare time out exploring the woods and coast. I am drawn to the sea and I like nothing better than the taste of the salt on my lips.
What are you working on now?I’m currently working on another thriller, this one set entirely in Scotland which is the country of my birth and is somewhere I always go back to.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:Write the story that you would want to read. Write what’s in your heart. Write with passion. Don’t try to follow trends. Make new ones.
Author Pet Corner
Amy and Mimsy!Introducing the cats, Amy and Mimsy.
They are rescue cats, mother and daughter, but now spend their days roaming the fields and woods behind the house.
KM Kelly
KM Kelly was born in Scotland but grew up running wild in the woods and fields of East Devon.
She has written numerous short stories which have been published in a variety of magazines and anthologies and was winner of the 2016 Yeovil Prize (short story).
She has now turned her hand to thrillers, always one of her favourite genres, and believes she has found her niche.
She lives in Dorset with her family and when she is not writing can be found exploring the remoter stretches of the Southwest Coast Path.
To learn more about KM, click on any of the following links: Website & TwitterDon’t miss any author interviews! Click the link here.Elena TaylorElena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
Header image from igorovsyannykov on Pixabay.
The post The Sleepers: New Thriller by KM Kelly appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
May 4, 2022
Bonnar Spring Launches Disappeared
Bonnar Spring launches Disappeared
Author Interview + Book & Author InfoDisappeared by Bonnar Spring
These two sisters are about to be permanently “disappeared”
Julie Welch’s sister, Fay Lariviere, disappears from their hotel in Morocco. Although she leaves a note that she’ll be back in two days, Fay doesn’t return.
Julie’s anger shifts to worry—and to fear when she discovers a stalker. Then, an attack meant for Julie kills another woman. Searching Fay’s luggage and quizzing the hotel staff, Julie discovers Fay’s destination—a remote village in the Saharan desert. Convinced her sister is in danger and propelled by her own jeopardy, Julie rushes to warn Fay.
By the time she reaches the village, Julie finds that Fay has traveled deeper into the desert. With a villager as guide, Julie follows—only to be stranded in the Sahara when the guide abandons her. Julie is eventually reunited with Fay—in a prison cell—and learns the reasons for Fay’s secrecy.
Although furious at Fay’s deception and weak from her desert ordeal, Julie knows they must work together. The sisters, ensnared in a web of dangerous lies and about to be permanently “disappeared”, pit their wits against soldiers and desert in a fight for their lives.
Perfect for fans of Tana French and Martin Cruz Smith
To purchase Disappeared by Bonnar Spring, click on any of the following links: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound, Books-A-Million & Google BooksBonnar Spring — The InterviewWhat should readers know about Julie Welch, the protagonist for Disappeared?Julie grew up as the quiet middle child, lost in the shuffle between an over-achieving older brother (who appears in the story only in flashback) and her sister, Fay, the adorable little sister.
Julie usually called her a suck-up—but when Fay disappears while they are on vacation in Morocco, family ties mean Julie can’t go home without her. Of course, when she learns what Fay was up to, she goes ballistic. Still, they’re sisters.
Disappeared revolves around two sisters. What drew you to writing about that relationship for your second novel?I had three brothers and always wanted a sister.
No matter all my friends who had sisters regularly complained about everything from sharing a room and ‘borrowing’ clothes to more serious invasions of personal space. My imagination combined their stories of the push/pull of sisters’ relationships with my yearning. Julie and Fay are the result.
Disappeared is set in Morocco, what led you to such an exotic setting?I’ve traveled quite a bit—from hopping in the car with my mother and brothers for open-ended road trips across the US and Central America to hitchhiking through Europe as a teenager. I taught school in Senegal and trekked to Machu Picchu.
But when I arrived in Morocco on vacation with my best friend, I felt like Dorothy landing in Oz. I’d never been in such a tantalizing place. The spark of idea that inspired Disappeared was a visceral reaction—almost a panic attack—I had when we landed in Casablanca.
My friend’s suitcase never appeared on the baggage conveyor belt so she went in search of information, leaving me in the luggage claim area with our carry-on and my bag. Alone in a milling crowd speaking a language I didn’t understand, I waited and waited . . . What if she was lost and couldn’t find me again? What if something happened to her? What if she disappeared in the airport? How could I find her? How could I even start to look when I stuck with the luggage—which I couldn’t carry by myself and couldn’t leave?
And if I left, how would we ever find one another in this unfamiliar place?
Since I’ve always loved stories that take me ‘away,’ a foreign setting is natural. And by the end of that vacation, a story was born!
Oh, and one big plus about setting Disappeared in North Africa in 2005: Like a lot of writers these days, I need to invent a setting (place and time) where you can’t just pick up your cell phone to get rescued.
You love to travel. How does that impact your writing?I lie to myself about why I travel. I say I want (as the cliché would have it) to “get away from it all.” There’s a kernel of truth—I like taking a break from daily workouts, escaping long New England winters. Still, I plan seriously involved vacations, not two weeks at the beach with a stack of novels. That always sounds scrumptious, but somehow it never happens.
I end up biking in Cuba or riding a camel into the Sahara . . . because, for me, getting away is only the means to an end. And the end is learning more about who I am when I’m not supported by the norms and expectations of my home culture.
We’ve all had the disorienting experience of driving home from work, only to find ourselves pulling into the driveway with no memory of the trip. Our internal maps keep us from needing to pay attention to most road signs throughout our daily lives.
Now that I’ve got a few novels under my belt, I realize I’m doing the same thing with my characters that I do on vacation. Because I write international thrillers, they often turn up in places they’ve never been before. In addition to not knowing friend from foe, my characters literally don’t know their way around. To meet the challenge of unfamiliar territory, their senses must remain on high alert.
I want my readers to experience my characters’ heightened awareness along with them.
Tell us about your writing process:I write every day, if possible in the morning when I have more energy. Also, I often wake up with semi-formed writing ideas, so getting right to it after coffee is best for getting the words/idea out of the either and onto paper (the computer, I mean.)
What are you working on now?I recently put the finishing touches on a third thriller, this one set less-exotically in my backyard, the White Mountains of New Hampshire. It’s out on sub right now.
My new project is writing my first mystery, a process I’m finding it much more difficult than thriller-writing.
With thrillers, plotting typically moves ‘forward’ to a ticking-clock climax; in mysteries, because the crime usually occurs near the beginning, the narrative looks backward to unraveling clues . . . clues that, to make unveiling who-done-it fair, the careful writer has larded into the narrative.
It’s a fun story about an abandoned yacht and a couple of star-crossed sleuths, set on a small island in the Bahamas.
Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:Expressions become clichés because they get over-used. These Words of Wisdom are often repeated, but they remain true.
All writing is re-writing.
You can’t revise a blank page.
You have to create (quoting Anne Lamott) your “shitty first draft” and go from there.
Don’t miss any of my author interviews! Click the link here.Bonnar Spring
Bonnar Spring writes eclectic mystery-suspense novels with an international flavor.
A nomad at heart, she hitchhiked across Europe at sixteen and joined the Peace Corps after college. Bonnar taught ESL—English as a Second Language—at a community college for many years.
She currently divides her time between tiny houses on a New Hampshire salt marsh and by the Sea of Abaco.
To learn more about Bonnar, click on her name, photo, or any of the following links: Facebook, Author Facebook, Twitter & InstagramElena TaylorElena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
Header background photo by jplenio on Pixabay
The post Bonnar Spring Launches Disappeared appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
May 3, 2022
Historical Mystery: Murder, Sweet Murder
Historical Mystery, Murder, Sweet Murder by Eleanor Kuhns
Guest Post + Book & Author Info + Giveaway!Historical Mystery — Murder, Sweet Murder
Will Rees accompanies his wife to Boston to help clear her estranged father’s name in this gripping mystery set in the early nineteenth century.
January, 1801. When Lydia’s estranged father is accused of murder, Will Rees escorts her to Boston to uncover the truth. Marcus Farrell is believed to have murdered one of his workers, a boy from Jamaica where he owns a plantation. Marcus swears he’s innocent. However, a scandal has been aroused by his refusal to answer questions and accusations he bribed officials.
As Will and Lydia investigate, Marcus’s brother, Julian, is shot and killed. This time, all fingers point towards James Farrell, Lydia’s brother. Is someone targeting the family? Were the family quarreling over the family businesses and someone lashed out? What’s Marcus hiding and why won’t he accept help?
With the Farrell family falling apart and their reputation in tatters, Will and Lydia must solve the murders soon. But will they succeed before the murderer strikes again?
To purchase Murder, Sweet Murder, click on any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodreadsGenre: Historical Mystery
Published by: Severn House Publishers
Publication Date: February 1st 2022
Number of Pages: 224
ISBN: 0727850091 (ISBN13: 9780727850096)
Series: Will Rees Mysteries #11
Although I write historical mysteries that take place in the Federalist period, roughly from the late 1700s to early 1800’s, I always include real life problems for Will Rees, my protagonist, and his family. Events will naturally affect people (in this case, my characters), but they will also have their own dreams and their own challenges.
Because his wife Lydia Rees is a very important piece of the crime solving partnership, I frequently examine the constraints on women. Women had few rights at this time. They couldn’t vote and a widow could not inherit from her husband unless he specifically named her in his will. Instead, she became the charge of her eldest son. You can imagine how well that worked out, especially if mother and son were on poor terms.
In Murder, Sweet Murder, I take a slightly different tack. I spend some time on Rees and Lydia’s adopted daughter Jerusha and her dream of becoming a teacher.
But first, some background.
When Lydia receives a frantic letter from her sister Cordelia begging her to come to Boston, Lydia’s first impulse is to refuse. She has been estranged from her father for years, fleeing her childhood home and taking refuge with the Shakers in Maine. Now her father has been accused of murder — and Lydia suspects he may be guilty. Marcus Farrell has become wealthy from his involvement in the Triangle Trade; using the molasses byproduct from the production of sugar to distill into rum, and then using the rum to buy slaves in Africa. But he is still her father.
But Lydia has intended to visit someday, and look for a school for Jerusha, as well as showing off new baby Sharon. Although Jerusha has gone through the local dame school and knows how to read and write, already more than half of the women of that time could do, she desperately wants to become a teacher and to achieve her goal she needs more education.
So, Rees and Lydia take Sharon and Jerusha and set off for Boston.
Although Rees knew Lydia came from money, he is shocked and dismayed by the wealth of the Farrell family. They in turn, are scornful of these country cousins. Jerusha, in particular, has a difficult time. She is sharing a room with Cordelia, Lydia’s sister. A flighty girl, Cordelia is concerned only with parties, clothes, and making a good marriage. Jerusha is a quiet studious girl determined to further her education. While Cordelia is sneaking out of the house to meet a young man, Jerusha is reading and studying. She is, in the derogatory vernacular of the times, a bluestocking.
As Rees and Lydia begin investigating the first murder, and then shortly thereafter the second — this time Marcus Farrell’s brother, Jerusha reminds them she is there to look at a school. Schools for girls were new. Illiteracy was endemic and families who educated any of their children usually schooled the boys. In Boston, an educator named Caleb Bingham had set up a school for girls. Lydia had attended it as a young woman. The school was there although it had been taken over by the Boston School System.
Rees and Lydia squeeze in a visit to the school before they follow a lead to a run-down boarding house on the poor side of town — and a wild pursuit of a suspect through the Boston streets.
A third murder occurs in an ordinary tavern, within walking distance of the Farrell household but miles away in terms of wealth and privilege. Since this working man’s tavern was the site of the first murder, Rees is certain the three murders are connected. But how? And why would the tavern keeper’s wife be targeted?
The third murder paves the way for the final resolution. But the final decision about Jerusha’s future remains undecided.
Murder, Sweet Murder — Historical Mystery ExcerptAfter regarding Rees for several seconds, Mr Farrell extended his hand. Rees grasped it, painfully conscious of his rough hand, calloused by both farm work and weaving. ‘Please attend me in my office,’ Mr Farrell said. ‘We are expecting a few guests for dinner tonight so we will have little time to talk then.’ Turning, he strode away. Rees started to follow but, realizing that Lydia was not by his side, he turned back. She stood hesitantly by the table, her hands tightly clenched together. Rees glared at Mr Farrell’s back and then, reaching out, he pulled one of her hands through his elbow. Together they followed her father into his office.
As Farrell moved a stack of papers from the center of the desk to one side, Rees looked around. A large globe on a stand stood to the right of Farrell’s desk and one chair had been drawn up to the front. A seating area, with additional chairs, were arranged by the window that looked out upon the front garden. A table in the center held an intricately carved tray with a crystal decanter and several glasses. Shelves of books lined the wall behind and adjacent to the desk, on Rees’s right.
The room was chilly although the fire was burning. Newly laid, it had been lighted, no doubt by some anonymous servant.
Farrell looked up and his eyes rested on Lydia in surprise. Rees felt his wife shrink back, intimidated. He was not going to stand for that. He pulled a chair from the window grouping and placed it in front of the desk. She hesitated for a few seconds and then, lifting her chin defiantly, she sat down. Once she was seated, Rees lowered himself into the opposite chair. After one final dismissive glance at his daughter, Farrell looked at Rees.
‘So, you are a weaver.’
‘That is so,’ Rees said, adding politely, ‘I understand you are a merchant.’
Farrell smiled. ‘I see your wife has told you very little about me or my profession.’ Since responding in the affirmative seemed somehow disloyal to Lydia, Rees said nothing.
Farrell took a box from his desk drawer and opened it to extract a cigar. ‘Would you like a smoke?’
‘No thank you,’ Rees said.
‘Or a glass of rum? Or whiskey if that is your tipple.’ When Rees declined again, Farrell put away the cigars and walked to the fireplace to light a splint. The end of the cigar glowed red and the acrid scent of burning tobacco filled the room. Puffing, Farrell returned to his seat. ‘I suppose one could say I was a merchant. But I do so much more. I own a plantation as well as a fleet of ships that sail between Boston, the West Indies and Africa. In Jamaica they take on sugar and molasses which are returned to Boston. Some of it is transformed into rum in my distillery. I export the liquor overseas, both to England and to Africa where the proceeds are used to purchase slaves.’
Sick to his stomach, Rees glanced at Lydia. She was staring at her hands, her face flaming with shame. Although she had alluded to her father’s profession, she had not told him the half of it. She had not told him of her father’s pride in it. Rees understood why she hadn’t.
‘Most of the slaves are brought to the sugar plantation,’ Farrell continued, seemingly oblivious to his daughter’s distress, ‘but some are sold in the Southern states. And you needn’t look so shocked. Why that upstart Republican with his radical ideas, Mr Jefferson, owns slaves. And he may be the next President. I suppose you voted for him.’
Rees did not respond immediately. Although many of Mr Jefferson’s ideas were appealing, Rees had found in the end that he could not vote for a slave holder. Instead, he had voted for Mr Adams. But that gentleman had not placed; the election was a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. Sent to the House for resolution, Jefferson had won by one vote.’ No,’ Rees said carefully, keeping his voice level with an effort, ‘I voted for his opponent.’
‘Well, that makes us kin then. Although you will meet a few slaves here in Boston, in this very house.’ He grinned and Rees thought of Morris and Bridget with their tinted skin. ‘But few, very few. Neither the Africans nor the Spanish Indians adapt well to this northern climate and they quickly die.’ This was said with indifference as though he spoke of a broken chair.
Farrell flicked a glance at his daughter and smiled. With a surge of anger, Rees realized that Farrell fully understood the effect his speech would have on her and was enjoying her misery. Rees gathered himself to rise from his chair. Lydia reached out and grasped his sleeve.
‘This is for Cordy,’ she whispered. Rees sat down again, his body stiff.
‘But you did not come to listen to me natter on about my profession,’ Farrell said, watching the byplay with interest. ‘Shall we discuss that ridiculous murder, the one of which I am accused?’
Rees looked into Lydia’s beseeching eyes and after a few seconds he relaxed into his seat. God forgive him, a part of him hoped Marcus Farrell was guilty.
‘Go on,’ Rees said coldly. Marcus smiled.
‘Permit me to save you both time and effort,’ he said. ‘I did not kill that boy.’
‘Then why do people think you did?’ Rees asked. Puffing furiously, and clearly unwilling to reply, Farrell took a turn around the room.
‘Did you know him?’ Lydia asked, her voice low and clear. ‘This Roark?’
Farrell stood up so abruptly his chair almost tipped over. ‘Yes, I knew him.’ He glanced at Rees. ‘We were seen, Roark and I, arguing down at Long Wharf.’
‘Arguing about what?’ Rees asked.
‘It is not important. He was a nobody.’ Farrell glared at Rees, daring him to persist. Rees waited, never removing his gaze from the other man. Sometimes silence made the best hammer. Finally, Farrell said angrily, ‘He wanted a rise in his wages. I said no. He disagreed. That was all there was to it.’
Rees glanced at Lydia and found her staring at him. He knew, and he suspected she did
too, that her father had just lied to them.
Historical Mystery Author Eleanor Kuhns
Eleanor Kuhns is the 2011 winner of the Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur first mystery novel. Murder, Sweet Murder is the eleventh mystery following the adventures of Rees and his wife.
She transitioned to full time writing last year after a successful career spent in library service. Eleanor lives in upstate New York with her husband and dog.
To learn more about Eleanor, click on any of the following links: www.Eleanor-Kuhns.com, Goodreads, BookBub Twitter – @EleanorKuhns & Facebook – @writerkuhnsJoin the insta-party! Visit Instagram – #eleanorkuhns to join!
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Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
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Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
The post Historical Mystery: Murder, Sweet Murder appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
May 2, 2022
Shadow of the Gypsy: A New Thriller
Shadow of the Gypsy is the latest thriller by Shelly Frome
Josh Bartlett had figured all the angles, changed his name, holed up as a small-town features writer in the seclusion of the Blue Ridge. Only a few weeks more and he’d begin anew, return to the Litchfield Hills of Connecticut and Molly (if she’d have him) and, at long last, live a normal life.
After all, it was a matter of record that Zharko had been deported well over a year ago. The shadowy form John had glimpsed yesterday at the lake was only that — a hazy shadow under the eaves of the activities building. It stood to reason his old nemesis was still ensconced overseas in Bucharest or thereabouts well out of the way.
And no matter where he was, he wouldn’t travel south over eight hundred miles to track Josh down. Surely that couldn’t be, not now, not after all this.
To purchase Shadow of the Gypsy, click on the following link: Amazon
Shadow of the Gypsy
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A Novel
Crime – Thriller – Love Story
Setting – The Blue Ridge, The Litchfield Hills, and Waterbury, CT
BQB Publishing (May 3, 2022)
Paperback : 340 pages
ISBN-10 : 1952782570
ISBN-13 : 978-1952782572
Digital ASIN : B09HST8WP5
Print length : 280 pages
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Recollections as a small child of a trauma I experienced, plus something I lost or never had drove this venture along with a debt that was foisted on me I never understood. In addition, looking back to the time when I was around the age of six or seven, there are images of the unattainable proverbial “girl next door” who seemed especially golden and pure.
Tell us about Josh Bartlett:Josh tried his level best to repress his haunted memories, even to the point of changing his name from Sonny Korda, moving far from the Litchfield Hills south to the Blue Ridge and becoming a features reporter for a small town newspaper.
In this way, he thought he could look at life from a safe remove from anything ethnic and threatening and simply just fit in. In a sense, he hoped to erase his past, soon reunite with Molly, his childhood sweetheart, and return to the idyllic Connecticut countryside of his youth. After all, America is said to be the land of the second chance.
Describe the Blue Ridge for us, how does the environment impact the characters?Black Mountain is a small mountain town in the Blue Ridge. It affords Josh the feeling of being nestled from the hustle and bustle of even, say, nearby Asheville where you can’t even see the mountains.
Here, there is a palpable slower pace, no one cares where you came from, how affluent you are, where you live or what car you drive. Comparatively speaking, even the folk music played live at the White Horse Tavern or emitting from the radio stations is a far cry from the big city beat of pop songs.
And Amanda, the perky little neighbor, even calls over “Hey, mister Josh, you gonna come see me dance in the County Day School musical?”
In contrast, Zharko is totally unnerved by this ambiance. It causes him to feel even more foreign, out of place and inept. In a hurry to strike as soon as possible and return to his old stomping grounds. On the other hand, nearby Asheville represents the perfect alternate route to the Florida Keys and the culmination of his insidious plans.
What can you share with us about Zharko?Zharko is a restless, amoral rogue gypsy, a fish out of water so to speak, who learned his trade from the Red Mafia and first got in trouble in his native Hungary with his rolling carnival knife throwing act.
In the ethnic diversity of Waterbury, Connecticut he plied his illicit trade, was deported and has suddenly returned armed with some mysterious hold he has over Josh and Josh’s mother. As it happens, Josh’s nightmares stem from something he witnessed out in the woods during a wintry day that caused Zharko to send Josh packing to a boarding school in the Cumberland Gap of Tennessee.
Zharko also holds a promissory note Josh unwittingly signed a few years back which makes Zharko’s sudden return that much more menacing. Especially when coupled with Zharko’s current nefarious scheme.
You are also an actor and professor of theater, how do your experiences in the dramatic arts impact your fiction?In effect, I play all the characters and allow them to be true to themselves rather than force them to be tools of some predetermined plot outline.
As a result, I am always surprised by some of the things they do and say which, for me, is one of the great joys of writing fiction. It reminds me of what a noted playwright once told me: “I write to discover something deeply meaningful I didn’t realize I already knew.” Only lively characters can lead me to achieve that end.
Along these same lines, the work becomes organic, almost self-generating. My characters aren’t just hanging around off-stage waiting for their cue. They’re always coming from somewhere, affecting in some positive or negative way what happens, always helping to “make a scene” and in most cases make things worse or move things along.
In the same way, no characters appear who are just there to impart some information. They have flaws, a vibrant inner as well as outer life, and will never quit on me because they always have something at stake. They also assure this will not just be another day. It’s as if I’m always asking myself “Why here, why now and so what?”
When you aren’t writing, what are we most likely to find you up to?Interviewing lively local characters for Gannett Publications, taking Baxter, my golden doodle on various jaunts, interacting, working on a new novel, reading, researching and frequently daydreaming.
What are you working on now?I find myself reminiscing about the good ole days in New York when the city seemed so accessible when I first arrived from Miami. A heady time when you could almost afford to be a starving actor, writer, painter or dancer. A period when you could literally find yourself and meet up with all kinds of kindred spirits in Greenwich Village.
I’m deep into a first draft with the working title “Fast Times/ Big City.”
Author Pet Corner!
Baxter!Baxter came into my life when my oldest son brought him down from Lake Ontario when he was only eight weeks old soon after my wife unexpectedly passed away.
He’s approximately nine years old, loves to go for a ride at least once a day to visit the nice people who give him dog cookies at the bank, drug store and various other locales.
He loves going for a walk here and there and visiting his pal Tucker, a younger golden doodle, who lives relatively nearby.
Shelly Frome
Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at UConn, a former professional actor, and a writer of crime novels and books on theater and film. He also is a features writer for Gannett Publications.
His fiction includes Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Lilac Moon, Twilight of the Drifter, Tinseltown Riff, Murder Run, Moon Games and The Secluded Village Murders. Among his works of non-fiction are The Actors Studio: A History and a guide to playwriting and one on screenwriting, Miranda and the D-Day Caper is his latest foray into the world of crime and the amateur sleuth.
He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.
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Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
The post Shadow of the Gypsy: A New Thriller appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
May 1, 2022
Canary in the Coal Mine: Brand New Noir
Canary in the Coal Mine by Charles Salzberg
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PI Pete Fortunato, half-Italian, half-Jewish, who suffers from anger management issues and insomnia, wakes up one morning with a bad taste in his mouth. This is never a good sign. Working out of a friend’s downtown real estate office, Fortunato, who spent a mysteriously short, forgettable stint as a cop in a small upstate New York town, lives from paycheck to paycheck. So, when a beautiful woman wants to hire him to find her husband, he doesn’t hesitate to say yes.
Within a day, Fortunato finds the husband in the apartment of his client’s young, stud lover. He’s been shot once in the head. Case closed. But when his client’s check bounces, and a couple of Albanian gangsters show up outside his building and kidnap him, hoping he’ll lead them to a large sum of money supposedly stolen by the dead man, he begins to realize there’s a good chance he’s been set up to take the fall for the murder and the theft of the money.
In an attempt to get himself out of a jam, Fortunato winds up on a wild ride that takes him down to Texas where he searches for his client’s lover who he suspects has the money and holds the key to solving the murder.
“Charles Salzberg’s Canary in the Coal Mine is everything a reader wants in a great crime novel, and then some. The rat-a-tat cadence of the noir masters, seamlessly blended with the contemporary sensibilities of an author thoroughly in control of his craft. I liked this book so much I read it twice. No kidding. It’s that good.”
—Baron R. Birtcher, multi-award winning and Los Angeles Times bestselling author
Genre: Crime/Noir
Published by: Down & Out Books
Publication Date: April 18, 2022
Number of Pages: 276
ISBN: ISBN-13: 978-1-64396-251-1
When any of my friends or students ask my advice about how to “make it” as a writer (as if any writer ever considers their career “made,”) they hear three words: “Never give up.”
Of course, it’s not quite as simple as that, but one thing’s for sure, if you’re not fully committed, if you give up after a few submissions come back with “no thanks,” I can pretty much guarantee you’ll go back to your job at Walmart (not that there’s anything wrong with that) because you won’t have a career as a writer.
Writers come in all shapes and sizes, but there are a few common traits I’ve noticed over the years. One, we suffer from “imposter” syndrome, and fear that at any moment we’ll be unmasked. Two, we’re a sensitive lot, not that anyone likes rejection. But with artists of all kinds, we get rejected way more than we get accepted. And if you want to make it, you have to steel yourself for all kinds well-meaning (and sometimes not so well-meaning) criticism and rejection. Or, as my friend’s father used to say, “you can’t catch a fish unless you throw your line in the water.”
Swann’s Last Song was my first crime novel and the first in what turned out to be a series of five Swann books. And yet it took twenty-five years between the time it was written and the time it was published. Here’s why.
That first Swann was written as a contemplation of the world we live in wrapped in a crime novel. Murder is a messy business and it’s a detective’s job to clean it up. Writers, too, are always trying to “clean up,” to make sense out of the world we live in. But what if the world is messy? What if everything is random? Chaotic? What if the pieces don’t always fit?
Growing up in the 1960s and ‘70s, this alternative view of the world, which seemed to be spinning out of control, fascinated me. There was the Cuban missile crisis, the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the war in Vietnam, Charlie Manson’s killing spree.
In the midst of this chaos, I came across this passage from Ross MacDonald’s, The Instant Enemy: “I had to admit to myself, that I lived for nights like these, moving across the city’s great broken body, making connections among its millions of cells. I had a crazy wish or fantasy that some day before I died, if I made all the right neural connections, the city would come all the way alive, Like the Bride of Frankenstein.”
But what if those neural connections were made and the city didn’t come alive?
So, in effect, I set out to write what a friend of mine called, “an existential anti-detective novel.”
I chose a skiptracer—a finder of lost things—for my anti-hero, Henry Swann. The plot starts out traditionally: Gorgeous woman hires detective to look for her missing husband. But I turned that conceit on its head by having Swann, a money-grubbing loser working out of a small office in Spanish Harlem, find that the man had been murdered, thus effectively putting him out of a job. But the wife disagrees with the police theory and rehires Swann to find the real killer. That quest takes the cynical Swann halfway around the world as he follows clues showing the dead man had several different identities and led several different, lives, among them a California rock star, a Mexican rebel, a German spy.
The novel ended with Swann confused, disillusioned, and no closer to the solution of the crime. the police find the perpetrator who had had nothing to do with all the clues Swann so carefully followed.
Editors and agents liked the book, but hated the ending, and I, young and stubborn said, okay, I’ll just wait you guys out. So, I put it in a drawer and forgot about it…Until, about twenty-five years later when I stumbled across it, took it out, read and decided that with a little up-dating, maybe I should try again. After all, a lot of time had passed and maybe things were different now.
So, I updated it and showed it to an editor at a house where I’d just finished book doctoring a true crime book.
“Love this,” the editor said, “but I’m afraid we can’t publish this with this kind of ending.”
“What if I change it?” I asked— in those twenty-five years, I’d either lost my principles or got smart enough to know how to capitulate.
Long story short. The book was published and, much to my surprise, it was nominated for a Shamus Award for Best First PI novel.* I lost, but it started me on the path of a crime writer, which I never intended to be. And now, I’ve had five Swanns published, Devil in the Hole, named as one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine, Second Story Man, also nominated for a Shamus Award and winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, three crime novellas, and several short stories. And now, my latest, Canary in the Coal Mine will be published this spring.
But none of this would have happened if I hadn’t been stubborn enough to keep trying.
*The latest edition of the book, published by Down & Out Books, has both my original ending and the one I rewrote for the original publisher, so you can decide for yourself which one you like better.
Excerpt — Canary in the Coal MinePart OneNew York City
“Doubt, of whatever kind, can be ended by action alone.”
—Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present
1
This Could Be the Start of Something Big
I wake up with a bad taste in my mouth.
It’s not the first time this has happened and it won’t be the last. I like to think of it as my personal canary in the coal mine. That taste usually means trouble on the horizon. Sometimes it’s someone else’s trouble. Sometimes it’s mine. Sometimes it’s both. Those are the times I have to watch out for.
Once I rouse myself from bed—it’s never easy when I’ve had a rough night—I launch into my usual routine. Shower, shave, brush my teeth, my pride and joy, especially the two phony teeth implanted on the upper left side replacing those knocked out in a particularly vicious fight I didn’t start, at least that’s the way I see it. The way I usually see it. It was a pickup softball game. A guy came into second hard and late and spiked my shortstop in the leg. It was bad. So bad, it took eleven stitches to close the wound. Someone had to do something and as usual I was the first one out there and the one who threw the first punch. That’s the drill for most of my fights. I never start them, well, hardly ever because being provoked doesn’t count. But when I do throw a punch I always have good reason. The fights usually end with me bloodied but unbowed. You might say I have a temper but I prefer to think of it as a short fuse and an obsession with justice. No one gets away with anything on my watch. I win a few. I lose a few. There’s always a price to pay and I always make my point. But let’s face it there are no real winners when it comes to violence. Everyone, even the winner, loses something. That’s just the way it goes.
These phony teeth of mine match the others perfectly. A dentist who owed me a favor—I provided him with all the information he needed to divorce his cheating wife and avoid being taken to the cleaners—planted them and swore no one could tell the difference. So far, he’s been right. I like to think those are the only phony things about me. Everything else, for better or worse, is me, all me. I don’t apologize for it. Take me or leave me. I don’t care.
Lately, I’ve had to curb the physical stuff. Now that I’m well into my forties, things are starting to fall apart. They say it’s the legs that go first, but in my case, it’s my shoulder. I displaced it throwing a punch at someone who deserved it, someone who’d had a little too much to drink and insulted a woman I was with. The embarrassing thing is I missed. Turns out that’s what did the damage. Missing my target. I had my arm in a sling for almost a month. It’s pretty much healed now though I sometimes feel it in damp weather. The doc warned me it could go out again any time. “Try to stay out of fights, Pete,” he said, then added, “though knowing you that’s not very likely.”
He was right. I’m combative. It’s my nature. I’ve never run away from a fight and I probably never will. If you don’t stand up for yourself, who will? I just have to be a little more careful now, which means choosing my battles more wisely.
I stop at the local diner for my usual breakfast: two cups of black coffee—neither of which take that bad taste out of my mouth—then head downtown to my office in Greenwich Village. Well, let’s be honest here. It’s not really my office. It’s the office of a friend who runs a small real estate firm here in the city. He has an extra desk he rents me for only a couple hundred bucks a month, which includes phone service and a receptionist, if you call the person who takes up space at a desk up front a receptionist. I mean, shouldn’t a receptionist be able to take a proper message? Shouldn’t they be able to direct someone to your desk, even if it’s in back, half hidden behind a pillar? But there’s a hitch—there always is. When business picks up and they have to hire another broker, it’s arrivederci, Pete. Fortunately, in the two years I’ve been here that’s only happened once, and then just for a couple months.
New York City real estate is like having a license to print money, but the competition for listings is fierce and how anyone but the crème de la crème makes a living is beyond me. But I can’t say being without an office puts much of a dent in my business, since it’s always been pretty much touch and go. Thank goodness for that bank overdraft protection thing which has kept the wolves from my door more times than I’d like to admit.
I’m a PI. I have a license that says so. I take it out and look at it every so often, just to remind myself I actually have a profession. Profession. I say the word aloud. It’s a strange word. It makes me think of the “world’s oldest.” I’ve done pretty much everything in my life except for that, though some might not make much of a distinction between what I do and what they do. They do it on their back. I do it on my feet. That’s pretty much what sets us apart. It’s like that Sinatra song. You know the one. Puppet, pauper, pirate, poet, pawn and king. Only with me substitute menial jobs like shoe salesman, night watchman, doorman—one summer the year after I graduated college—hot dog vendor, dog walker, even a short stint as a waiter. I was the world’s worst. Half my salary went for broken glassware and plates. Once, I actually had to pay for a guy’s meal out of my own pocket to keep him from ratting me out to the owner and getting me fired. Turned out it wasn’t a very good investment. The next day I got canned anyway. I also spent a short time as a cop. More on that later.
This job as a PI stuck by process of elimination. The only real talent I have for anything was as a ballplayer, and after I washed out of the game because of injuries that pretty much made it impossible to throw or swing a bat, then trashed my way through that bunch of other jobs, I realized I was suited to do little else. My new profession meets a laundry list of criteria.
I do not have to wear a suit and tie.I do not have anyone telling me what to do, where to be, and when to be there.It gives me an opportunity to use my brain, brawn (not that I’m brawny, but even now I’m still pretty solid, topping out at 170 pounds on my five-foot-ten-inch frame, but I’ve always been a physical guy willing to use what muscle I had), and ingenuity. But not too much of any of the three.It doesn’t take too much concentration since like half the population of the world, I’ve got ADHD issues. In other words, I lose interest very quickly.I make my own hours.I mind someone else’s business while I can ignore my own.The job fits my cynical, paranoid personality which makes me suspicious of everyone and supports a strong belief in Clare Boothe Luce’s claim that no good deed goes unpunished. I believe there is evil lurking in everyone’s soul, especially mine, though I do my best to fight against those darker urges. Other traits I own up to include being lazy, combative, argumentative, and stubborn. I love getting up in everyone else’s business, which gives me the perfect excuse to avoid mine.I didn’t grow up watching cops and robber shows. My drug of choice was sports, especially baseball. I loved the game not only because I was good at it but because although it appears that for long stretches of time nothing is happening there’s always something going on. Even if it isn’t discernible to the eye. Baseball is not just a game of physical skill. It’s a game of thought, analysis, contemplation, and anticipation. Unlike other team sports, there is no time limit. It takes as long as it takes, and in this sense, it mimics life. No one knows when it’s going to end. Theoretically, a game can go on forever, ending only when one team has scored more runs than the other. It is a game of nuance. It is a game that can be won with power, or speed, or defense, or a combination of these attributes. It can be won on the mound, at the plate, or in the field. It can be won by a score of one nothing or twelve to eleven. It can end as a result of a timely hit or an untimely error. It is a game of ebb and flow. It is unpredictable. Just like life.
I’ll take a thinking player over a naturally talented one any day of the week. Baseball is a game like chess. The best ballplayers are always several steps ahead of the game. They’re thinking about what they’ll do long before they actually do it. “If it’s hit to me I’ll fake the runner back to second then go to first.” That sort of thing does not show up on the TV screen nor does it appear in the box score. But that’s what wins and loses games.
Baseball imitates life: Long stretches of nothingness, then short bursts of action, which comes as a logical conclusion of those stretches of nothingness. This is much how our lives unfold. At least it’s the way mine does.
I thought I’d make it as a major league ballplayer, but I never got the chance to prove it. I was a pretty good high school pitcher and when I wasn’t pitching, I played shortstop with middling range, a good arm, and a better than average bat, although I lacked power. I told myself I’d grow into it, though I never did. I threw the ball in the mid-eighties, not very fast by today’s standards, when young players can now flirt with a hundred on the gun. But I had a decent curve and was working on what I hoped would be a better than average changeup. I figured by the time I got to the minors I’d ramp it up, adding a few miles per hour to the fastball. I was good enough to earn a partial scholarship to a small upstate New York college.
But before I got halfway through my first college season, I developed arm trouble. In those days, more than a quarter century ago, Tommy John surgery wasn’t what it is today and it certainly wasn’t for college kids without a buck to their name. Even if I wanted it, who was going to pay for it? My father was lucky to make the rent each month and if it hadn’t been for that athletic scholarship, I would have wound up working some soul-sucking civil service job.
Once I accepted the fact I’d never pitch again, I had to shift gears, away from the idea of becoming a professional athlete. They let me keep the scholarship so long as I maintained my grade point average. I was certainly no A student, but when I put my mind to it, I can do almost anything, no matter how unlikely. I sure as hell wasn’t the best student in the world, but I wasn’t the worst either, and somehow, I made it through to graduation. The first to do so in the Fortunato line. My mother’s family was a bunch of brainiacs. She went to college and might have gone further if she hadn’t met my father. That was the first thing he screwed up in her life. It wouldn’t be the last.
I’d like to say I’m choosey about the kinds of cases I take, but that would be a lie. It’s not that I don’t lie, by the way, it’s just that I don’t lie frivolously, which makes it difficult to know whether what comes out of my mouth is the truth or a lie. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, in my business it probably qualifies as a plus.
It’s that time in New York when the city isn’t quite sure what season it wants to be. A few days before Halloween, people are already gearing up for Thanksgiving, then Christmas. Always one, sometimes two holidays ahead of itself. One day in late August, I was shocked to see plastic pumpkins lined up on display in a CVS pharmacy. As if life isn’t disorienting enough.
The weather doesn’t help. Today, when I look out my window, the sky is cloudless and that shade of deep blue so beautiful it makes you want to cry. But it’s deceiving because when I get outside the temperature is hovering in the low forties. But like the city itself, the weather can break your heart by promising something it just can’t seem to deliver. Tomorrow it’s supposed to be pushing seventy, at least that’s what the weather people are forecasting. And as if that isn’t disorienting enough, the next day it’s supposed to drop back to the fifties with overcast skies and intermittent showers. It’s that schizo time of year when you never quite know what to wear. As a result, I always seem to be dressed one or two days ahead or behind the weather.
I usually roll into my office around ten, which I think is a pretty decent time considering the erratic hours I keep. Sometimes it’s because I’m on a job, sometimes it’s because I suffer from debilitating bouts of insomnia. When that strikes either I lie in bed thinking about all the things I could have done different in my life, and there are plenty, or I get up, get dressed, and roam the streets. In this city, there’s always plenty to keep things interesting. So yeah, New York really is the city that never sleeps. At least that’s true for some of its citizens. No matter how late or early it is I’m never the only one walking the streets. But I’m probably the only one who has no idea where he’s going.
Obviously, not everyone is in agreement about arriving at a decent hour thing, because half a dozen other desks in the office are already filled with folks either working the phones or staring blankly into their computer. I park myself at my desk way in the back, near the bathroom, and as soon as I do, Philly, my friend and boss man of the real estate firm, appears in front of me.
“I wasn’t sure you were coming in today, Petey,” he cracks. He flashes a goofy grin after the words tumble out of his mouth like a waterfall. He’s a born and bred New Yorker so he talks as if he’s in a race to finish a sentence so he can move on to the next one. Sometimes, he speaks so quick the words stick to each other and he is this close to being unintelligible. Unlike others who have to ask him to slow the fuck down, I, being a born and bred New Yorker, too, can understand him without much effort.
When he speaks, he bares his teeth, which are a dull yellow and seem to be in a life-or-death struggle for room in his mouth. But his nose, well, that’s another story. Unlike mine, which has been broken too many times to count, his is straight and in perfect harmony with the rest of his face. You might suspect he’s had work done on it, but no, Philly was born this way. He is, no doubt about it, a handsome man—except for those teeth, which I keep advising him he ought to get fixed—and he knows it. He’s been married three times, each one of them a stunner, and if he ever gets divorced from his present wife, Marnie, I have no doubt there’ll be a fourth waiting in the wings. He can afford it, though.
“What are you talking about?” I say, tapping my watch for emphasis. “This is fucking early for me.”
“I’ve been here since eight, my friend. That’s early.”
“You’re not going to tell me about the damn bird, are you?”
“What bird?”
“The one who gets the worm.”
“I don’t need any bird to tell me when to get to work, Petey.”
“What can I say, Philly, other than you’re a better man than me.”
“Damn straight. You’d give everything in your bank account to change places with me, Petey, and you know it.”
“That wouldn’t be much, Philly, and you know it.”
He shrugs. “Maybe that’ll change. There was a broad in here earlier looking for you.”
“Yeah?”
“That’s right.”
“She actually asked for me?”
“Yeah. By name, not the usual ‘where’s that scumbag owes me money?’”
“What’d she look like?”
“That’s the first thing you ask?”
“I yam who I yam.”
He smiles. There are those teeth again. I want to give him the name of my dentist but I know it won’t do any good, so why bother?
“You and Popeye. She looks like you’d want to get to know her and spend a lot of time with her. If I weren’t so blissfully married, she’d be at the top of my list for number four.”
I resist asking, how long’s that gonna be for? and say instead, “That good, huh?”
“Yeah. That good.”
“I hope you didn’t try to sell her an apartment.”
“She didn’t look like she needed one.”
“Did she tell you why she wanted to see me?”
“Nope. But she did give me this.” He pulls a business card out of his pocket and tosses it on my desk. “Said you should call her. If I were you, I’d do it ASAP. She reeked of money and folks with money don’t like to be made to wait.”
I look at the card then bring it up close to my nose. It smells like lemons. The name on it is Lila Alston. I like the sound of that. And the smell of lemons. Her name reminds me of those in one of those pulp crime novels. Like Velma. Or Bubbles.
As soon as Philly dismisses himself, I dial the number. A woman’s voice answers. I take a shot.
“I believe you were looking for me, Ms. Alston.”
“If you’re Peter Fortunato that would be correct. But it’s Mrs. Not Ms. At least for the moment.”
“Then I’ll take a wild guess and say this has something to do with your husband.”
She laughs. It’s short and it’s raspy and it’s sexy. Very sexy. “That’s correct. And it appears I may have found the right man…for a change.”
“Would you like to meet in person or continue this over the phone, Lila?”
“I liked it better when you were more formal, Mr. Fortunato. At least until we get to know each other a little better.”
I can’t wait. I’m already getting the beginnings of a hard-on.
“Got it. So, phone or meet up, Mrs. Alston?” I’m hoping she’ll agree to the latter. I have to see for myself what this chick looks like because Philly is only prone to exaggeration when it comes to real estate.
“I suppose a face-to-face meeting would be more advantageous. This is a rather…odd situation and it might take some explaining.”
“I specialize in odd situations, Mrs. Alston.”
“I suspected as much.”
“By the way, how did you come to get in touch with me?”
“I went down a list of private investigators until I found a name I liked. It happened to be yours. Fortunato. It has a rather nice ring to it.”
“Yeah, just like the sound of a cash register. So, you know nothing else about me?”
“I didn’t say that, Mr. Fortunato. I didn’t say that at all.”
***
Excerpt from Canary In the Coal Mine by Charles Salzberg. Copyright 2022 by Charles Salzberg. Reproduced with permission from Charles Salzberg. All rights reserved.
Charles Salzberg — Author of Canary in the Coal Mine
Charles Salzberg is a former magazine journalist and nonfiction book writer. His novels Swann’s Last Song (the first of the five Henry Swann novels) and Second Story Man were nominated for Shamus Awards and the latter was the winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award.
Devil in the Hole was named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense Magazine. His work has also appeared in several anthologies as well as Mystery Tribune. He is a former professor of magazine at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communication at Syracuse University, and he teaches writing in New York City.
He is one of the Founding Members of New York Writers Workshop, and is a member of the Board of PrisonWrites and formerly a board member for MWA-NY.
To learn more about Charles, click on any of the following links: www.CharlesSalzberg.com, Goodreads,BookBub, Instagram – @CharlesSalzberg & Twitter – @CharlesSalzbergVisit all the Stops on the Tour!
04/09 Interview podcast @ Blog Talk Radio
04/09 Review @ Just Reviews
04/20 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
04/22 Review @ Novels Alive
04/25 Guest post @ Novels Alive
04/25 Showcase @ nanasbookreviews
04/26 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
04/28 Interview @ I Read What You Write
05/01 Guest post @ Author Elena Taylors Blog
05/05 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
05/05 Showcase @ The Bookwyrm
05/06 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
05/07 Review @ Pat Fayo Reviews
05/09 Review @ Nesies Place
05/13 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
Elena TaylorElena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
The post Canary in the Coal Mine: Brand New Noir appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
April 28, 2022
Lis Angus Guest Blogs: Readers Help Writers
Lis Angus, debut author launching Not My Child, blogs about all the ways readers can help writers.
Guest Post by Lis Angus + Author & Book InfoFind more great blog tours! Click the link here.Not My Child by Lis Angus
When Ottawa psychologist and single mother Susan Koss discovers that a strange man has been following her twelve-year-old daughter Maddy, she fears he’s a predator. But it’s worse than that. The man, Daniel Kazan, believes Maddy is his granddaughter, abducted as a baby, and he’s obsessed with getting her back.
Susan insists on a DNA test to disprove Daniel’s claim, but the result is one she can’t understand or explain: it says she’s not Maddy’s mother.
Then Maddy vanishes. Susan’s convinced Daniel has taken her, but he has an alibi, and two searches of his house turn up nothing. The hunt is on—police are on full mobilization, and Susan fears the worst.
To purchase Not My Child, click on any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | GoodreadsGenre: Suspense
Published by: The Wild Rose Press
Publication Date: April 18, 2022
Number of Pages: 308
ISBN: 978-1-5092-4118-7
There’s a meme I saw recently, depicting a conversation between a reader and a writer. It went like this:
The fact is, readers can do a lot to help a book succeed, and without that support even the best book can fall flat. Every writer needs reader support. This is particularly true for debut authors who are struggling to build an audience for their book.
If you’ve recently loved a book, here’s a list of some things you can do (besides buying it) to help it succeed.
Review it on Amazon, Goodreads, Bookbub or any other sites that invite readers to rate and comment on books. Tell other readers what you liked about it! Your review doesn’t need to be long or erudite. Just the fact that you are commenting will boost the book’s standing and encourage other readers to try it.Recommend it. Those same sites encourage you to recommend a book to other readers. And don’t forget to mention the book to your family, friends, and co-workersRequest it at your library. If it’s not in their catalog, most libraries have a “suggest to purchase” option. You may need to provide the book’s publisher, ISBN and year of publication, which you can find in an early page of the book (or you can look it up on Goodreads.)Ask for it at your local bookstore. If they don’t have it in stock, recommend that they order it. The store manager may not be aware of a new local author, and it’s good to let them know that there is an audience for the book.Suggest it to your book club. The author may be willing to attend a meeting, either in person or virtually, or collaborate with the club in some other way.Don’t forget social media. Take a photo of the book “in the wild” —in your kitchen, in a bookstore or library, wherever you find it— and post to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. You can add your recommendation or a mini-review. And if you encounter other people’s posts with news about the book or author, retweet or repost these to magnify their effect.Subscribe to the author’s newsletter. The author’s website likely encourages sign-ups, and may offer a free bonus to new subscribers. Authors typically use the newsletter to stay in touch with their readers, keeping them updated with news and events as they happen.Attend author events. These might be in-person events (a book launch, a book signing, a reading), or may take place online (on Zoom, Facebook live, or similar). Bring a friend! A good crowd is very encouraging to an author, and it shows the publisher/bookstore/library that there’s an audience for the book.Ask if the author has bookmarks. Authors often do, and will probably be happy to give or send you some. Besides promoting the book, bookmarks are useful in themselves. You may hand them out to friends, or leave some at a local coffee shop for patrons to pick up.Host an author on your blog. If you have a blog of your own, you can post a review of the book. Or you can offer to interview the author (the way this usually works is you send questions and the author sends back answers) or ask them to submit a guest blog.Nominate the book for an award. Local organizations sometimes give awards in a number of categories, inviting patrons and customers to nominate and vote. Even being nominated helps raise the book’s (and the author’s) profile. And Goodreads has an annual Readers Choice award competition, which allows any book to be nominated in the first round, before voting narrows the list of contenders.There are probably other ways to help an author grow their audience, but this list will be a good start and will certainly gain you the author’s gratitude.
Great Advice for Readers. Thank You For Joining Us, Lis!Lis Angus
Lis Angus is a Canadian suspense writer.
Early in her career, she worked with children and families in crisis; later she worked as a policy advisor, business writer and editor while raising two daughters.
She now lives south of Ottawa with her husband.
To learn more about Lis, click on any of the following links: LisAngus.com, Goodreads, BookBub – @lisangusauthor, Instagram – lisangus459, Twitter – @lisangus1 & Facebook – @lisangusauthorVisit all the Stops on the Tour!
04/01 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
04/02 Review @ Savings in Seconds
04/04 Review @ Nanasbookreviews
04/05 Review @ The World As I See It
04/10 Review @ Pat Fayo Reviews
04/11 Guest post @ Novels Alive
04/12 Interview @ I Read What You Write
04/13 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
04/14 Review @ Lynchburg Reads
04/15 Review @ Socrates Book Reviews
04/17 Showcase @ Our Town Book Reviews
04/18 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
04/19 Review @ flightnurse70_book_reviews
04/20 Review @ Quiet Fury Books
04/21 Review @ tea. and. titles
04/22 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
04/23 Review @ addictedtobooks86
04/24 Review @ Margaret Yelton
04/25 Review @ Jersey Girl Book Reviews
04/26 Review @ Sunny island breezes
04/27 Review @ 5 Minutes for Books
04/28 Guest post @ TheMystery of Writing
04/29 Review @ A Room Without Books is Empty
04/30 Review @ One More Book To Read
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
The post Lis Angus Guest Blogs: Readers Help Writers appeared first on The Mystery of Writing.
Distorted Perception by Trish Arrowsmith
Distorted Perception, New Domestic Suspense by Trish Arrowsmith
Guest Post + Book & Author Info + GiveawayDon’t miss any books on a blog tour!Distorted Perception by Trish Arrowsmith
At twenty-six years of age, Kathleen has almost everything she needs: a fulfilling teaching career, a new car, and a recently purchased home. She dedicates her free time to her students, supporting them in a manner she never had growing up. Her days are filled with love and hope, but her nights are empty without a family to call her own. While spectating the first home baseball game of the season, she meets a man that she believes will change her evenings in the best possible way. With no children of his own, he committed his free time to bringing his young nephew to watch the game, hoping to encourage him to play. Kathleen is immediately drawn to him and sees him as a true family man.
Maxwell is handsome, successful, and charming. When he proposes marriage shortly after they begin dating, Kathleen is eager to accept as the desire to start her own family consumes her. Within months of their marriage, Maxwell’s sweet, doting personality gives way to a more sinister, controlling side. Kathleen quickly realizes that while she was looking for a partner, Maxwell was looking for someone who existed solely to fulfill his needs.
When he suggests a move to the country, Kathleen is hesitant to leave her job but believes the change of atmosphere will be an opportunity to bring them closer together. She soon realizes the isolation of the countryside only serves to enhance his power over her. It doesn’t take long for her to learn the devastating truth of who her husband really is, and she finds herself left with two choices: She can try to escape and hope he doesn’t find her, or she can stay and fight the battle in which all odds are against her.
To purchase Distorted Perception, click the following links: Amazon | GoodreadsGenre: Suspense, Domestic Suspense, Drama
Published by: Trish Arrowsmith Author
Publication Date: February 24, 2022
Number of Pages: 276
ISBN: 9781736755952
As an avid reader, I’ve been asked many questions relating to books. Most of those questions focus on generalities: Have you read it? Did you like it? Have you heard of it? One questions I have never received as a reader is in relation to what I expected or hoped to get out of the book. If I was asked, I would answer in a broad manner. I read for the entertainment value. I read because it relaxes me.
Since I published my first book, I’ve been asked so many times what I want my readers to take away from my books. At first, I didn’t have an answer. I’d never considered what I wanted them to take away from my books besides losing themselves in the story for a few hours.
After thinking about it for a while, I realized what I wanted my books to do and once I figured it out, it made so much sense. Yes, I want people to use my books to escape for a while, I want them to use them to relax. I want people to relate to some characters and hate others and I want some sort of emotional reaction to the book, be it love or hate. But the main idea I want my readers to take away from my stories is that people don’t always fit into a neat, little box.
Like my characters, not all humans are going to react the same way to a situation. When something tragic happens in a person’s life, they may shut down and isolate themselves. Others may act out by creating a façade as a way of trying to prove they are okay. Some may be able to recognize red flags in a relationship and leave right away where some won’t see them until they think it’s too late to get out of the situation. I could list examples all day but I’m sure you can come up with plenty.
If you’ve ever watched any true crime shows, you’ve most likely heard the interrogating officer mention the suspect wasn’t acting innocent. They were either too quiet, too calm, too upset, too much of this or that. While behavioral analysts and psychologists will tell you most people react a certain way, the fact is, “most” is not “all”. Someone could be considered too calm but they are really in shock. Someone may be too upset but it’s because they have had a string of bad news and this last piece was their breaking point.
There are always underlying causes for why people behave a certain way, whether it’s the environment they grew up in, the situations they have recently faced, a trauma in their past that they haven’t yet healed from.
The rare reactions are the ones I pull forth in my characters. As a reader, you may not know the characters’ entire past, and you shouldn’t. Because, just like in real life, you don’t always know what someone else has been through. From a young age, we are conditioned to believe that people should react a certain way in a particular situation and we tend to silently (or not so silently in some cases) judge a person based on such beliefs.
I want my readers to see that it’s okay to have different reactions. People are not built to fit into a little box. I want my readers to think about how they would react in a situation and then see the extreme reaction come through from my characters. I had never thought about why I created my characters as I did until I was asked what I wanted my readers to take away from my writing. I’m glad people have asked because now I have an answer to a question I wasn’t aware needed answering.
Excerpt Distorted PerceptionHe reached out and grabbed her hand like he used to when they were dating. “We’re moving. Next week.”
“What?” Kathleen cried. “What do you mean we’re moving?” She pulled her hand from his.
“We’re moving to the country. I bought us a house out there.”
Kathleen went from being the happiest she had been in a long time to livid in a matter of seconds. Her whole body begin to shake. “We can’t move next week, Maxwell. I own this house. I’ll need to clean it and put it up for sale. It could take months.”
“Already taken care of, beautiful. You don’t need to worry about a thing.”
She cringed at his choice of the word ‘beautiful.’ “It’s going to take me weeks just to pack everything.” She sounded like she was whining but she didn’t care, this was a huge decision he made for both of them without consulting her. He had never even mentioned a desire to move, and certainly not to the country. She had never been outside the suburbs of the city. She was already feeling lonely and now she would really be by herself.
“No need to worry. I hired movers. They’ll be here Tuesday.”
“Tuesday? Like five days from now?”
Maxwell laughed. “Well, yes. What did you think I meant when I said next week?” He continued eating his dinner like this was a normal conversation they would have on any given day.
Kathleen had lost her appetite. She slid her plate away from her and shook her head. She was upset that she hadn’t gotten to tell Maxwell her news. She wanted to make it a joyous occasion for them both and it had completely lost its appeal. At least for now. She got up and left the table without eating any more. She needed some time away to process what he told her.
She stood in the bathroom for five minutes fighting back tears before she went to stand in the doorway of the kitchen. She leaned against the frame with her arms crossed. “What do you mean it’s already taken care of? Did you sell my house? How is that even possible?”
Maxwell’s eyes rolled toward the ceiling. After all this time she still didn’t seem to get it. Her naivety both humored and annoyed him. “You seem to forget rather easily that I’m a lawyer. There are so many things that I can do, so many things that I have access to, it would make your head spin. And yes, to answer your question, I did sell it. Got a pretty penny for it, too.” He smirked at her. “Did you make any dessert?”
Kathleen was furious that he had managed to sell her house without her knowing about it. She was sure his job gave him access to information like that, but it didn’t mean he had to abuse the privilege. How did he even know she bought the house outright, maybe she had inherited it from her grandmother or bought it from someone else in her family? She didn’t, of course, and she guessed he had access to that information as well, but this was the first house she had ever owned. She was proud of her little house. And considering it was hers, she would have liked to have some say in selling it. She decided now was not the time to ask him for specific details, but eventually she wanted to know why he sold it and how much he got for it.
She dropped a plate with a slice of Boston crème cake in front of him. The fork rattled and bounced from the plate to the table. Kathleen crossed her arms over her chest again and stared at him. “I know you have access to a lot of information but how did you manage to sell my house without my consent?”
Maxwell straightened his posture, he pulled back his shoulders, puffed up his chest, and smiled so wide it made Kathleen want to slap it off his face. “As a lawyer, I should advise you to read all forms and documents thoroughly before you sign them.”
Kathleen squinted and shook her head. “But I never…”
Maxwell howled with laughter as he watched the realization hit her.
Her mouth hung open and she sighed with shame. “Our wedding day.” Her arms dropped to her sides; her head fell forward.
He nodded his head and shoved a fork full of cake into his mouth. “What’s yours’ is mine.”
Trish Arrowsmith — Author of Distorted Perception
Trish recently moved across the country where she found her forever home, enjoying the desert sunshine and wildlife all year long. She was born and raised in a small town in northern Connecticut.
Growing up, she was always fascinated by unsolved mysteries and true crime as well as the psychological elements behind them. As an avid reader, her go to books are thrillers, suspense, and true crime.
To learn more about Trish, click any of the following links: www.TrishArrowsmithAuthor.com, Goodreads, BookBub – @trisharrowsmith, Instagram – @trisharrowsmithauthor, Twitter – @author_trish & Facebook – @TrishArrowsmithAuthorDon’t miss the Author/PICT Giveaway! Click the link here!Visit all the Stops on the Distorted Perception Book Tour!
03/28 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
03/29 Guest post @ The Book Divas Reads
03/30 Interview @ I Read What You Write
03/31 Showcase @ The Suspense is Thrilling Me
04/01 Review @ Pages and Pups
04/02 Showcase @ Books Blog
04/05 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
04/08 Guest post @ Quiet Fury Books
04/08 Showcase @ Geauxgetlit
04/08 Showcase @ nanasbookreviews
04/14 Review @ Instagram -@ mokwip8991
04/15 Review @ The World As I See It
04/17 Review @ Margaret Yelton
04/18 Guest post @ Novels Alive
04/20 Review @ Pat Fayo Reviews
04/23 Review @ Blogging With A
04/25 Review @ Lynchburg Reads
04/26 Showcase @ Celticladys Reviews
04/27 Review @ A Room Without Books is Empty
04/27 Review @ flightnurse70_book_reviews
04/28 Guest post @ Author Elena Taylors Blog
04/29 Review @ Jersey Girl Book Reviews
Elena Taylor is the author of All We Buried, available now in print, e-book, and audio book format at all your favorite bookstores and on-line retailers.
For more information on All We Buried, click on the link here to visit the home page.
Silver Falchion Award Finalist, Best Investigator 2020
Foreword INDIE Award Finalist, Best Mystery 2020
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