More Excerpts from STAC Mysteries

In the run up to the launch of The Chocolate Egg Murders, the seventh STAC Mystery, we’re continuing with excerpts from previously published titles in the series, and today it’s the turn of Mysteries #3 and #4, beginning with:

A Halloween Homicide

Spending Halloween weekend at the allegedly haunted Palmer Hotel near York, Joe is at the main entrance, having a smoke and talking to Deidre Prudhoe, who is speaking frankly about her husband, Edgar.

“He’s been an MP for eight years, and he’s determined that one day, he will be in the driving seat at Number Ten. The trouble is, he’s also as thick as the proverbial short plank. It hasn’t dawned on him why he’s been on the back benches for eight years. He was overlooked in the shadow cabinet and when the party came to power, he didn’t even get a junior post. He thinks it’s because the Prime Minister is waiting to call another election, at which Edgar is certain they will win with a clear majority, and then he’ll land a decent job in government.”

“You don’t believe that?”

“I do not,” she assured him. “Most of his parliamentary colleagues can’t stand him. He’s too noisy, too brash, and if you’ve been listening in on his conversations, you’ll realise he’s too self-centred.” Deidre puffed her cigarette again. “You’re a businessman. How do you stay in business?”

Joe shrugged. “I give my customers what they want at a reasonable price.”

“Exactly,” Deidre agreed. “Edgar gives his constituents what they want, a dedicated member who will look after their interests. But that’s all. Away from the constituency, he bullies people who stand in his way. The voters in the constituency don’t care about that because they don’t see it, but the parliamentarians are a different breed. They see a man who is prepared to push himself, not the needs of the country.”

“I thought all politicians were like that,” Joe commented.

“Not so,” Deidre argued. “Most go into politics from a genuine desire to see the country improved.”

“You should try telling that to the redundant miners of Sanford,” Joe grumbled.

A Halloween Homicide is available for download from:

Amazon (Kindle)

Smashwords (all formats)

Crooked Cat Books (MOBI, EPUB PDF)

And in paperback from

Amazon

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And next we move on to Yuletide with…

A Murder for Christmas

It’s Christmas and the Sanford 3rd Age Club are enjoying the weekend at the Regency Hotel in Leeds. It’s the first evening, and Joe is at the bar, talking to Tom Patterson, Chair of the Leodensian Historical Society. Patterson has challenged Joe to demonstrate his detective skills, while Joe is reluctant.

“Oh, come on, old boy,” Patterson insisted. “You’re a detective and I’m really fascinated by your claimed powers of observation and deduction.”

Mentally Joe added another item to his list. “All right. You smoke too much, you probably drink too much, too, and you’re widowed.”

Patterson’s mouth fell open. “I, er, well, good lord.” He glanced at the brown stains on his fingers. “Nicotine. That’s how you knew I smoked too much.”

Joe nodded. “One cigarette is too many, and you’re hearing that from a man who rolls his own and has done for forty years.”

“And drink?” Patterson asked.

“You’re holding a glass of spirit, but look at your complexion. It’s glowing like a traffic light on stop. Could be high blood pressure, but it’s more likely to be a boozer’s blush.”

Patterson shook his head in bewilderment. “Fair enough. Those I understand, but how did you guess I’m a widower?”

Joe indicated the waistband of Patterson’s trousers, where the button hung by a long, stretched thread. “You called me, old boy. That tells me you were privately educated and it means you come from well-to-do stock. You probably chose your wife carefully, and such women are particular. For them, appearance matters. No wife like that would allow her husband to be seen in public with his button hanging off. She could be long-term ill, bedridden, hospitalised, but even so, she would insist on you turning out as you should be turned out. It means, Tom, that your good lady is no longer a factor in your life. She’s deceased.”

Patterson smiled and applauded. “Very good and very accurate. But how do you know I’m not simply single or divorced.”

“You’re wearing a wedding ring.” Joe indicated the gold band on Patterson’s left hand. “Most bachelors won’t wear one because it puts other women off. Men who are divorced tend to throw the wedding ring in a box and leave it in the attic because they don’t want to be reminded of a relationship gone sour. That’s where mine is. Only a man who had a stable marriage and who had lost his wife would continue to wear the wedding ring.”

A Murder for Christmas is available for download from:

Amazon (Kindle)

Smashwords (all formats)

Crooked Cat Books (MOBI, EPUB PDF)

And in paperback from

Amazon

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The Chocolate Egg Murders is released on Wednesday , March 20th, and everyone is welcome to join the Facebook launch party.