A missing woman. Two hit men. When every second counts, who will survive?
In the stark but beautiful wilds of northern New Mexico, a couples’ retreat at a luxury resort turns into a chilling nightmare when a woman vanishes. Skip tracer Riley MacLeod and private investigator Greyson Chadwick pose as a couple to hunt for clues that might reveal the missing woman’s location. Those leads uncover a harrowing truth: They’re not the only ones looking for her. What begins as a normal tracking case turns into a deadly chase when they, too, become the hunted. As Riley and Greyson work together, their partnership ignites a tumultuous attraction, but Greyson’s secrets prevent him from acting on his feelings for her, and Riley can’t bring herself to fully trust him. Delving deeper into the case, they find themselves fighting not only for justice and the chance at a loving relationship . . . but also for their very survival. Dani Pettrey Hooks Readers With . . .“A fast-paced, thrilling ride. Readers of Lynette Eason and Colleen Coble will enjoy.” —Library Journal starred review on One Wrong Move“Romance that’s as thrilling as the action, and faithful characters integrated seamlessly into a complex web of crime.”– Booklist on The Killing TideThis action-packed romantic suspense novel is the second in Dani Pettrey’s Jeopardy Falls series. Filled with crime and spy investigations, this clean Christian thriller will appeal to fans of Mission: Impossible, Lynette Eason, and Irene Hannon.
Published by: Bethany House Publishers Publication Date: April 29, 2025 Number of Pages: 320 ISBN: 9780764238499 (ISBN10: 0764238493) Series: Jeopardy Falls, Book 2 of 2 || Amazon | Goodreads
A spa retreat for couples. A missing friend. Mysterious clues. Makes you curious, doesn’t it?
Skip tracker Riley MacLeod is hired to find out what happened to a woman who vanished from a luxurious spa. Knowing two heads are better than one, she teams up with Grayson Chadwick to sort things out.
This was a good mystery. And when Riley and Grayson had to dodge bullets and arrows, yes, arrows, the danger and suspense really cranked up. They were in someone’s crosshairs and time was running out. This kept me turning the pages. Something else that kept those pages turning was the romance building between the two. Both of them had baggage and I thought they were perfect for each other.
As the end drew near my anticipation ramped up. Just what was the reason behind the woman’s disappearance? Who was targeting them? And would the end place them safely in each others arms? I got my answers and a very satisfying ending.
4 STARS
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About Author Dani Pettrey:
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Dani Pettrey is the bestselling author of the Coastal Guardians, Chesapeake Valor, and Alaskan Courage series. A two-time Christy Award finalist, Dani has won the National Readers’ Choice Award, Daphne du Maurier Award, HOLT Medallion, and Christian Retailing’s Best Award for suspense. She plots murder and mayhem from her home in Florida.
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As Close as You Can Get to True Crime While Still Breathing!
For the true crime lover—finally, a travel guide from an award-winning travel journalist and suspense author that gives you the down and dirty on exactly where the major crimes occurred, and where the bodies are buried. For aficionados of paranormal, prison, and tombstone travel, there’s a goldmine of tourism suggestions for you here as well. Along with summaries of the major crimes committed in New England, you’ll discover where to find the best crime and ghost tours; which hotels and restaurants are former jails, courthouses, or harbor paranormal activity; where infamous criminals are/were jailed, and which venues and attractions might feed your fancy for murder and justice. Reading lists in each chapter will guide you to books expounding on the crimes discussed.. Best of all, suggested itineraries bring all the pieces together to help you traverse New England’s criminal landscape in an organized and entertaining way. Up for a true crime road trip? Let Vacations Can Be Murder be your ultimate travel guide.
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MY REVIEW
I’m a true crime addict. I can binge shows for hours and devour books about it. I also love paranormal and supernatural shows and books. And don’t get me started on movies. I can browse for a long time to add things to my watch and read list. I come across something and google to see if it’s something new. I was curious to see if I’d learn about new crimes in this book. And I did. And so much more.
The author sure did her research. Lots of detail and not just about the crimes. Also about the areas and other interesting places to see and stay at. A bonus was a guide to ghost tours. I’ve always wanted to do that. It truly is a travel guide and it guides you step by step from crime to crime for each region.
My best friend and I are both retiring soon and aside from some trips across the pond, we also want to explore the US with some road trips. This is one I’ll refer to when I’m planning the next place to go on vacation. It’s now a coffee table book. Always close at hand. And I have my fingers crossed the author will continue this theme and write about other regions. One in the southern area would be awesome. My stomping grounds.
5 STARS
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Praise for Vacations Can Be Murder:
“The perfect reference book for the U. S. crime traveler. Barclay rounds up a collection of known and obscure crimes, arranged by geographic area, that features museums, cemeteries, hotels, prisons, and private properties. She even offers itineraries, murder tours, a location-specific list of true-crime books, victim resources, and some ghost stories. This travel guide is a gem. Be packed and ready before you start reading because you’ll want to go explore.” ~ Katherine Ramsland, author of Darkest Waters, The Nutcracker Investigations, and How to Catch a Killer
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Vacations Can Be Murder Trailer:
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Book Details:
Genre: True Crime, Travel
Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: March 25, 2025 Number of Pages: 340 Series: Vacations Can Be Murder, Book 1
Read an excerpt from Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England:
This is from the Crime Summaries section of the Connecticut chapter. The actual addresses of these crimes are all included in the Itineraries section of the chapter.
Hartford may be considered one of Connecticut’s most dangerous cities, but its suburbs have seen their fair share of crime over the years. The Hartford Witch Trials occurred between 1647-1663. In all of Connecticut, there were 43 trials and 16 executions, many in Hartford and three in Wethersfield. On May 26, 1647, Alice (Alse) Young of Windsor was the first to be executed. Servant girl Mary Johnson was the first to confess to witchcraft in Connecticut but was likely coerced by extensive torture. She was executed somewhere between 1648-1650 (reports vary). In 1839, The Amistad criminal and civil cases were tried at Old Statehouse in Hartford. The case revolved around a mutiny by, and subsequent charging of, 53 Mende African men, women, and children who had been captured and were being transported between Sierra Leone and Havana, Cuba aboard the ship to serve as slaves. The story was the subject of the Steven Spielberg film, Amistad. Several other Connecticut locations connected to the trial can be found at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/travelamistad/visit.htm. Joseph “Mad Dog” Taborsky was a murderer sentenced to death after a string of brutal robberies and murders in Hartford and West Hartford in the 1950s. He was sentenced twice to be executed for two different crimes, but the first conviction was overturned due to the mental competency of a witness, his brother Albert, testifying against him. (Albert was later declared insane.) In December 1956, a little over a year after his release from prison, Taborsky launched a 14-month murder spree that killed gas station attendant Edward Kurpewski and customer Daniel Janowski, package store owner Samuel Cohn, shoe store customers Bernard and Ruth Speyer, and pharmacy owner John M. “Jack” Rosenthal. The second conviction stuck, and he died in the electric chair in 1960, the last execution in Connecticut until that of Michael Bruce Ross in 2005. In 2004, Matthew Steven Johnson was convicted of the 2000 and 2001 slayings of three female sex workers he murdered—Rosali Jimenez (33), Aida Quinones (33), and Alesia Ford (37)—who were all found dead in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford. Each of the women had drugs in their system and were found with their bodies stomped upon, strewn with Johnson’s semen, and with their pants pulled down around one leg. Johnson was found guilty and sentenced to three consecutive 60-year sentences at the Cheshire Correctional Institution. Lazale Ashby became one of the youngest prisoners on Connecticut’s death row for kidnapping, raping, burglarizing, and murdering his neighbor Elizabeth Garcia in 2002, when he was just 18. He was suspected of another Hartford rape, as well. Ashby has actually been tried and sentenced three times for Garcia’s murder, the final time in 2023, when he confessed to the crime. Now that Connecticut has abolished the death penalty, he’s been sentenced to 46.5 years in prison. In addition, he was convicted and received a 25-year sentence for the 2003 fatal shooting of 22-year-old Nahshon Cohen of Manchester, whose body was found on a street in the city’s North End. Speaking of Manchester, in August of 2010, the city became the location of a mass shooting at a beer distribution company, Hartford Distributors. Disgruntled former employee Omar Thorton, forced to resign after video evidence revealed he’d been stealing and reselling the company’s beer, fatally shot eight coworkers and injured two others. He then committed suicide on site. Those who knew him cited racism as the reason for his upset, but these allegations were disputed by the firm and not substantiated by the investigation that followed. William Devin Howell’s rape and murder spree, which started on New Year’s Day in 2003, took place in Seymour, West Hartford, and Wethersfield, as well as New Britain. Triggered by a fight with his girlfriend, Howell succumbed to years-long rape fantasies, Referring to himself as the “Sick Ripper,” he would lure female drug addicts, unlikely to be missed, into his “murder mobile.” There, he would rape them, often videotaping bizarre sex acts, before murdering them and disposing of the bodies in a seldom frequented area behind a strip mall in New Britain which he called his “garden.” He was arrested in North Carolina and plea-bargained his way into a fifteen-year sentence for the manslaughter of Mary Jane Menard. However, new evidence that surfaced while he was already in jail earned him six consecutive life sentences (360 years in prison) to be spent at the Cheshire Correctional Institution. In 1986 at the Jamaican Progressive League, a club in Hartford’s North End, Bonnie Foreshaw stopped to get a beer and ended up committing a murder that bought her the longest jail sentence ever handed down to a woman in the state. Having endured a lifetime of sexual and spousal abuse, when Hector Freeman offered to buy her a drink and wouldn’t let up when she turned him down, the encounter triggered her. She drew her handgun to fire a warning shot, but Freeman protected himself by using a pregnant woman, Joyce Amos, as a human shield. Foreshaw’s bullet killed her accidently. Foreshaw spent the majority of her jail time at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic where author Wally Lamb taught a writing class for prisoners. Lamb took up her cause, believing she’d been over-sentenced, and thanks to his help, Foreshaw was granted clemency after serving just 27 years of a 49-year sentence. Once released, she changed her name to Bonnie Jean Cook and helped other ex-convicts adjust to life on the outside until her death in 2022. All of these murders pale in comparison to the crimes of Amy Archer-Gilligan. While she was charged with five deaths (though only tried for one), she may have killed as many as one hundred. Archer-Gilligan ran the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids in the Hartford suburb of Windsor, where countless older residents were bilked out of money and then poisoned by arsenic, including the murderer’s own husbands. Other locations tied to Archer-Gilligan include Newington, where she and her first husband James Archer lived with John Seymour until he died, and then they transformed the home into Sister Amy’s Nursing Home for the Elderly. In 1917, she was convicted of the murder of Franklin Andrew and sentenced to death by hanging, but she appealed. During a second trial in 1919, she pleaded insanity and was convicted of second-degree murder, earning her a life sentence. In 1924, she was transferred to the Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, where she remained until her death in 1962. The play Arsenic and Old Lace is loosely based on her story. Also in Hartford, the Circus Fire that killed 168 persons and injured 412-700 others through trampling and asphyxiation occurred on July 6, 1944 (“The Day the Clowns Cried”) and is considered one of the country’s worst fire disasters. The Big Top Tent was coated in paraffin plus gasoline or kerosene for waterproofing; therefore, it was highly flammable. On top of that, some of the exits were blocked by animal chutes. Arson was suspected; others blamed a carelessly tossed lit cigarette. A mentally ill man named Robert Dale Segee, 21, of Circleville, OH, confessed to setting the fire, as well as up to 30 other blazes in Maine, New Hampshire, and Ohio. He later recanted his confession and was never tried in Connecticut. However, Segee was indicted and convicted in Ohio on two charges of arson and served eight out of a four-to-forty-year jail sentence. He died in 1997. Finally, on May 18, 1988, Billy “Hot Dog” Grant, a bookie who was in charge of Connecticut safe houses for New York’s five families, was reportedly murdered in the parking lot of the Westfarms Mall in Farmington. Grant, who had owned Augie and Ray’s Hot Dog and Hamburger shop in East Hartford, and later the South End Seaport restaurant on Franklin Avenue, was suspected of having given up details of the hiding spot of the brother of a mafia boss. He is supposedly buried underneath a Farmington residence. *** Excerpt from Vacations Can Be Murder by Dawn M Barclay. Copyright 2025 by Dawn M Barclay. Reproduced with permission from Dawn M Barclay. All rights reserved.
About Author Dawn M. Barclay:
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Dawn M. Barclay is a veteran travel trade reporter and an award-winning author who writes nonfiction under her own name and fiction as D.M. Barr. Her first nonfiction book, Traveling Different: Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible, and the Neurodiverse (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) received a starred review from Library Journal, and won the 2023 Lowell Thomas Gold Award from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, Honorable Mention from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (Books that Make a Difference), and first prize in the Maxy Awards. When not writing, she edits for various authors and publishers, creates book trailers, ghostwrites (nonfiction only!), plays competitive trivia, rescues senior shelter dogs, travel, reads, and apparently, drives her family nuts…but they won’t admit it, of course, since she knows a lot about murder.
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Interim sheriff Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers has always had one repeat nightmare: a shadowy figure throwing a suspicious object into her hometown lake in Collier, Washington. For the longest time, she chalked it up to an overactive imagination as a kid. Then the report arrives. In the woods of the Cascade mountain range, right in her jurisdiction, a body floats to the surface of Lake Collier. When the body is extricated and revealed, no one can identify Jane Doe. But someone must know the woman, so why aren’t they coming forward?
Bet has been sitting as the interim sheriff of this tiny town in the ill-fitting shoes of her late father and predecessor. With the nightmare on her heels, Bet decided to build a life for herself in Los Angeles, but now it’s time to confront the tragic history of Collier. The more she learns, the more Bet realizes she doesn’t know the townspeople of Collier as well as she thought, and nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery
Published by: Crooked Lane Publication Date: April 7, 2020
This is a case of do you really know your neighbor. Sheriff Bet Rivers will soon come to realize she doesn’t. She stepped into the job when her father died and she’s determined to fill his shoes the best she can. That means keeping the citizens of Collier safe. A woman found dead, floating in the river, isn’t from her town but she’s still going to get justice for her. As she delves into the mystery, this is where she discovers you can’t really know someone.
I enjoy small town settings as I’m from one myself. The more I read about Collier and the secrets the people kept, the more I became immersed. This story may take place in a small town but there are a whole lot of skeletons in it’s closets. I was captured from the start and as things got darker and the suspense grew, I settled in for the ride. And thoroughly enjoyed it.
4 STARS
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The world felt pure. Nature made the location pristine again, hiding the scene from prying eyes. As if no one had died there at all. In the months since Bet Rivers solved her first murder investigation and secured the sheriff’s seat in Collier, she’s remained determined to keep her town safe. With a massive snowstorm looming, it’s more important than ever that she stays vigilant. When Bet gets a call that a family of tourists has stumbled across a teen injured in a snowmobile accident on a mountain ridge, she braves the storm to investigate. However, once she arrives at the scene of the accident it’s clear to Bet that the teen is not injured; he’s dead. And has been for some time . . . Investigating a possible homicide is hard enough, but with the worst snowstorm the valley has seen in years threatening the safety of her town, not to mention the integrity of her crime scenes – as they seem to be mounting up as well – Bet has to move fast to uncover the complicated truth and prove that she’s worthy of keeping her father’s badge.
A Cold, Cold World is nominated for a Foreword INDIES Award, Best Mystery of 2024 (winner announced early June)
Book Details:
Genre: Police Procedural, Mystery
Published by: Severn House Publication Date: August 6, 2024
You know those movies? The mysteries that have you confused, yet fascinated and determined to figure out? I’ve sometimes rewatched some really twisty ones so I could try to spot clues I missed. That’s how this book was for me. I never really felt like I was close to figuring things out. Not that it took away from my enjoyment. Nope. In fact, the only reason I didn’t read it straight through was because I started it later at night and when I started feeling sleepy I stopped so I wouldn’t lose my edge. Got to keep the brain sharp to try and sort things out. Anyway, back to what I was saying. In some parts of the book I did a rewind. I paused and flipped back when something tickled my memory just to see if I’d found a connection, a bread crumb. When I finally got answers, I realized I’d never been close to figuring out the who and why. Gotta love that, right.
I like small town settings. I like connecting with characters. I like those that make brief cameos that make me think they might be important later in the book. I like a mystery that I can’t figure out. And I like bonuses, such as critter characters that add to the story. This book delivered on all of my likes. So glad it’s a series so I can get tangled up in the next mystery.
4 STARS
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Praise for ALL WE BURIED:
“Well-crafted . . . Taylor skillfully sets the scene, describing the distinctive local landscape [while] the introspective, conflicted Bet proves her mettle. Readers will look forward to her next outing.” ~ Publishers Weekly “This spooky and suspenseful story should be a must-read for fans of Lisa Unger, J. A. Jance, and Julia Keller.” ~ Booklist “Extremely hard to put down . . . Would recommend this to anyone who loves mystery thrillers.” ~ San Francisco Book Review “This book stands apart due to its smart, thoughtful protagonist and its richly layered setting in the remote Washington wilderness.” ~ Midwest Book Review “A thrilling start to a mystery series.” ~ BookTrib
Praise for A COLD, COLD WORLD:
“Readers who appreciate the strong woman police chief in Linda Castillo’s Kate Burkholder books or the vivid landscapes of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire mysteries will appreciate Taylor’s riveting crime novel.” ~ Lesa Holstine, Library Journal Starred Review “Taylor perfectly captures the tension and determination of a small town sheriff facing down an isolating blizzard while racing against the clock to solve a murder and save a missing child. Sheriff Bet Rivers will be your new favorite character” ~ Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author “A terrific ensemble cast in a total immersion setting! Fans of CJ Box and Julia Spencer-Fleming will adore this novel – it’s whipsmart, completely cinematic, and full of heart. Not to be missed!” ~ Hank Phillippi Ryan, USA Today bestselling author of One Wrong Word “Sheriff Bet Rivers is back with a suspenseful and shrewdly plotted story of deadly small town secrets . . . Think Longmire meets Yellowstone” ~ James L’Etoile, award winning author of Dead Drop and Face of Greed “Tense and divinely atmospheric, this is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter’s day” ~ J.L. Delozier, author of the multi-award-winning mystery, The Photo Thief
About Author Elena Taylor:
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Elena Taylor spent several years working in theater as a playwright, director, designer, and educator before turning her storytelling skills to fiction. Her first series, the Eddie Shoes Mysteries, written under the name Elena Hartwell, introduced a quirky mother/daughter crime fighting duo. With the Bet Rivers Mysteries, Elena returns to her dramatic roots and brings readers much more serious and atmospheric novels. The series introduces Collier, Washington, with its dark and mysterious lake, tough-as-nails residents, and newly appointed sheriff with her sidekick Schweitzer, an Anatolian Shepherd. Elena is also a senior editor with Allegory Editing, a developmental editing house, where she works one-on-one with writers to shape and polish manuscripts, short stories, and plays. If you’d like to work with Elena, visit www.allegoryediting.com. Her favorite place to be is at Paradise, the property she and her hubby own south of Spokane, Washington. They live with their horses, dogs, and cats. Elena holds a B.A. from the University of San Diego, a M.Ed. from the University of Washington, Tacoma, and a Ph.D. from the University of Georgia.
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Six months after the events in Death in the Ozarks, Sally Witherspoon is trying to put that terrible time behind her. She books a river cruise down the Mississippi to get away and relax. Unfortunately relaxation is not to be as as she’s called on to get to the bottom of a mysterious death that occurs on board. A combination of Cheers bartender and Miss Marple, Sally Witherspoon is as determined as ever to solve it.
Praise for Murder On The Mississippi:
“An enjoyable, but deadly cruise down the Mississippi that will keep you in suspense from start to finish! A relaxing trip down the river that turns into a nightmare for main character Sally Witherspoon is a delightful mystery for readers… Lots of twists make for an entertaining read. And like Sally, once it’s over, I’m ready for the next adventure. Looking forward to more in the Sally Witherspoon series!” ~ Ivanka Fear, author of the Blue Water Mysteries and Jake and Mallory Thrillers
This isn’t my first crime solving rodeo with Sally Witherspoon. I really enjoyed the first story in Death In The Ozarks.
Now, some of you may think, how can the police and FBI want a bar owners help in solving a murder. I found it very believable. Being a bartender for many, many years, I learned to read the room and the people. To spot trouble brewing and behavior that makes someone ping your radar.
Sayyly was looking forward to a well deserved vacation. She’s on a cruise of the Mississippi River. Her holiday gets cut short when one of the guests dies under suspicious circumstances. She jumps into the investigation, knowing she’s painting a target on her back. They’re all trapped on a boat with a killer.
The cast and crew were so diverse. There’s some I wanted to kick in the seat of their pants. Fear and uncertainty doesn’t bring out the best and people. Sally was so good at keeping her temper and sifting out clues with these people.
I was so caught up in this book. And as the body count rose, so did my anticipation. There were so many suspects and I was clueless on the who and why.
Another solid winner in the series. Can’t wait to see what Sally stumbles into next.
A cross between Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and a Cheers bartender, Sally Witherspoon, a 50-something accountant turned biker-bar owner, loves solving puzzles. Up to now, she has focused on helping neighbors and friends find lost jewelry, lost pets, and lost loves. But when she finds her best friend and business partner, Bill Arnold, dead in a dumpster behind her bar on a Saturday night, she needs all her wits and grit to find out who did it. And she won’t stop until she does.
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MY REVIEW
I love a good mystery and it’s even more fun when there’s more than one. And more than one murder. I know, doesn’t sound so good. But, it’s fiction. This book has a pile. The small Ozarks town of Berry Springs has a pile of bodies and no suspect in sight. Or maybe too many to choose from. Enter Sally Witherspoon. She owns Sally’s Smasher, a local biker bar. When a connection between the victim’s and her club is discovered all eyes to turn to her and her clientele.
I really like Sally. It’s nice to have an amateur sleuth that’s a bit more mature. Doesn’t mean she’s that much wiser in figuring out the who, what and why. But she’s determined despite warnings from the police to mind her own beeswax and maybe drawing attention from the killer or killers. Oh yes, who says there can’t be more than one.
When I reached the end I realized I’d read the book straight through. It was that fun. And if I’d had the next one, I’d have picked it up and continued reading.
4 STARS
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About Author Erik S. Meyers:
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Currently in Austria, Erik S. Meyers is an American abroad for years and years who has lived or worked in six countries on three continents, the longest in Germany. He is an award-winning author and communications professional with over twenty-five years of expertise in a variety of corporate roles. Reading and writing are his passions, when he is not hiking one of the amazing trails in Austria or elsewhere.
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After finding herself in the middle of murder investigation in her last two secretarial jobs, Dot finds the only place that will hire her is her local funeral home.
Why not? At least there all the clients are safe from what the town calls her murderous “Curse of Camden”. It is 1965 and Dot is planning her wedding with a Twiggy like mini-bridal gown, but secretly she’s not so sure it’s a good idea. If she really is cursed, what might happen to the one she loves? Is she willing to put him in danger? She and Ben put wedding planning on the back burner when one of the town’s teenage girls gets hit by a drunk boater who gets away. The closer they get to the answers, the more Dot feels the curse is coming for Ben.
Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Historical Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: February 2025 Number of Pages: 215 ISBN: 978-1-68512-870-8 Series:The Swinging Sixties Mystery Series, Book 4 | Each is a Stand Alone Novel
I’ve never been one to shy away from jumping into a series without having read some of the previous books. Especially if I’ve enjoyed other books from an author. Teresa Trent is one of those authors. She writes fun cozies with characters that are so genuine I feel like I recognize them. So, being the fourth in the series, I had no hesitation on taking that leap.
This is a Swinging Sixties Mystery series. I was just a young lass in the sixties and lots of memories came flooding back. Teresa put me in the era. I remembered metal cups that had that metallic taste when you drank water from them. The big hair-dos, the bold colored clothes, and don’t get me started on the music.
Dot was a woman after my own heart. She had a mind of her own but had lots of thoughts in her head. She really did think things through. Especially since she’s earned the moniker, ‘the Curse of Camden.’ She seems to attract dead bodies through no fault of her own. Figuring if you can’t beat em, join em, she becomes something of a detective.
Starting her new job at a funeral home, the curse rears it’s ugly head. Lo and behold, another dead body. Time to put on the sleuthing hat, and this time Dot’s not going it alone. Her fiancee is right in the thick of things and this puts both of them in the killer’s crosshairs. Cross your fingers that they make it to the altar alive.
4 STARS
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Enjoy this peek inside:
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After leaving Oliver, I decided to speak to the marina owner one more time to try to figure out who took the boat used in Henry’s murder. Grabbing a sandwich at my apartment, I called Ben to see if he would like to go along with me. He was covering court this week for a reporter on vacation, so I was lucky to catch him at his desk.
“Yes, I’d love to go with you, and as luck would have it, the judge rescheduled the court case.”
Even though some people might think a reporter’s life is glamorous and full of intrigue, Ben was covering a case of stolen pigs for The Camden Courier. Shorty Wyckoff, a pig farmer, claimed Bill Wheeler, another pig farmer, snuck up in the cloak of darkness and loaded up an 1100-pound sow into the back of a pickup truck. What made her so valuable was her nickname, Fertile Myrtle. It was reported that she could get pregnant with only one try, and the results were dozens of little piggies. The newspaper had dubbed the case “Makin’ Bacon Caper.” It was a popular series of articles, considering it was one step up from the farm report and featured the sex lives of pigs.
“I’ll pick you up, but I have to warn you, ol’ Bernice isn’t doing too well. I think she’s on her last breath.” “Ol’ Bernice, a 1955 Oldsmobile, had several dents, bald tires, and a constant wheezing coming out from under the rusty brown hood. “Should we take my car?” “Nice of you to offer, but I want to take Bernice today. I have plans for her.” Besides setting her on fire or pushing her off the nearest cliff, I wasn’t sure what he had in mind. I knew Ben had arrived when I heard the familiar wheezing and sputtering of Bernice in my driveway. Ben and I returned to the marina, but this time the marina owner was nowhere to be found. The marina office and residence stood atop a small hill overlooking the glistening waters of the bay. Selma, the guard dog Shep had praised, did not bark or even growl, but playfully nudged her snout against my hand, her tail wagging vigorously in excitement. We knocked on the glass panes of the marina office, and after not getting an answer, I clasped my hands around my eyes and, leaning on the glass, looked inside. As I drew closer, I could hear the low rumble of jazz, heavy on the bass. It created a melodic backdrop with the gentle lapping of the waves. “I think he must be farther back in the house. I hear a stereo.” Ben put his ear to the glass and then turned around to face the parking lot. “Hmmm. How many cars do you see parked here?” I turned back and scanned the parking area. “Three.” “Right. Ours, his, and whose is that?” He pointed at a wood-paneled station wagon. It was the kind of car a family with children would use. “I don’t know. I didn’t see anyone else around here. Maybe someone has taken their boat out.” “Maybe, but when we were here last, there were twelve boats in twelve boat slips. Today I only see eleven. Considering Bubba Jenkins’s boat – was just impounded for a murder investigation. I would say all the remaining boats are here.” “Which means whoever is driving that station wagon is inside, listening to jazz with Shep. Let’s try knocking at the backdoor,” I said. We made our way around, and as we did, the sound of the music grew louder, along with a few other sounds. Ben smiled and blushed a little as we heard rhythmic moans coming from an open window. “They must be big music lovers.” I giggled. “Regular jazz nuts.” There was no doubt about what they were doing, and from the sounds of it, things were going quite well. Ben raised his hand to knock, but then stopped. “Not the best time.” “Yeah. Maybe we can figure this out on our own. I don’t think I could erase a memory of hot and sweaty Shep, but I am curious about who he has in there with him.” “Let’s go look at the boats.” We walked around the house to the parking lot. Selma followed along, her tail still wagging. As the jazz and the sound of other things faded in my ears, I asked Ben, “What exactly are we looking for?” “I’m not sure, just something out of the ordinary. Maybe Henry’s killer left something important on the dock.” “You mean like his I. D.? That would make things easier. Do you know a lot about boats? We didn’t do much boating at our house, although I have been waterskiing with friends.” “A little.” He shrugged. “Not much. We need to concentrate, and hearing about you in a bathing suit is not making my thoughts flow.” I giggled. “Billie Holiday will do that to a person.” We walked on the wooden pier as the surrounding water was still. There was little call to take a boat out on a weekday. The boats were in a variety of sizes, but most were small speedboats, with a pontoon moored at the end. Inside a few boats, there were remnants of beer bottles and sandwich wrappers. “Not very tidy, these boat people, and from the looks of the empty beer bottles, there are several drunk drivers out on the lake at the same time. No wonder Betty Weaver got hit,” I said, walking to the end of the pier. The pontoon was covered with a canvas drape. Looking underneath, the insides were as neat as a pin. “Look at this,” Ben said, crouched down by the tip of a small speedboat. “It looks like they’ve sustained some damage here.” On the side of the boat, a scrape had cut through the sleek paint, making a line through the boat name, Lucky Me. Not as lucky as the boat owner might have thought. “So, somebody isn’t very good at putting the boat back into the dock. I hardly think that has anything to do with boat thefts.” Ben nodded. “You’re probably right, but we know there has been a boat thief out here. What’s to say this person only used one boat?” “You mean like a serial boat thief?” Could a person get away with stealing different boats periodically from the marina? Was starting one boat as easy as starting another? “Think about it,” Ben said. “Just how many days a week are Romeo and Juliet in there playing Billie Holiday on the stereo?” The boat dock was at least fifty yards from the combined house and office. Someone could be out here starting a boat, and if the marina owner was busy, he would hear nothing. “He wouldn’t hear it, and Selma, the guard dog, gets put outside on occasions, so happy for a visitor, she doesn’t even bark.” Ben snapped his fingers. “Bubba Jenkins is Al’s friend, right? We need to talk to him. He might be sitting on information.” “You know, Al has mentioned him, but I’m not sure what he does.” “Then we’ll have to ask him.” As we turned to head back to Ben’s car, the sound of a screen door opening peeled through the air. Shep, his cheeks rosy and his shirt half on, edged around from the back of the house and immediately spotted Ben’s car. His gaze shifted to the dock. “Can I help you, folks? How long have you been standing out here?” I walked forward. “We tried knocking, but there was no answer.” “Yes, you must have been busy,” Ben said. Shep lifted his chin slightly. “Working on the books. Guess I got involved. Numbers are not my thing.” We knew just what his thing was. Ben walked forward and extended his hand. “Ben Dalton, Camden Courier.” Shep reached out with a measured amount of enthusiasm. “I remember you. What can I do for you this time?” “We were wondering if you could provide a list of the boat owners here at the marina. I would also like to get in touch with Bubba Jenkins. Ben said this with such efficiency. Shep let go of his hand and stepped back. “Why would I do that?” Ben swept his hand back toward the boats. “In the interest of the investigation. Two deaths on the water don’t exactly put the security of your marina in a good light.” Shep raised a single finger in the air and shook it at Ben’s face. “Lookie here, son. If I hand over a list like that, it will be to the police, and only the police will get it. Hear me? You and your lady friend need to quit nosin’ around here. If I see you again, I’ll call the cops on you for trespassing. Get me?” “This is public property. There’s not much you can do.” “Watch me.” “You seemed more than willing to let people nose around and steal other people’s boats. I think you’re a little late with your righteous indignation,” I said. “Yeah, well, a tiger can change its spots. I don’t need a lot of folks here getting into my business.” He glanced up at the house. “Talking to you has been a mistake, and now I’m fixing it. Out with you.” As we made our way to the car, Ben turned and spoke. “We’re leaving, but remember, if you ever want to talk…” “Out!” *** Excerpt from I Can’t Get No Satisfaction by Teresa Trent. Copyright 2025 by Teresa Trent. Reproduced with permission from Teresa Trent. All rights reserved.
About Author Teresa Trent:
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Teresa Trent started out teaching English in Colorado, but life and children intervened, and with all that new spare time, she began writing. Besides The Swinging Sixties Series, Teresa has penned the Pecan Bayou, Piney Woods and Henry Park Mystery Series and always has a little idea in the back of her mind for the next one. She is also the author of several short stories and is teaching writing at her local library encouraging new writers. Teresa lives in Houston, Texas with her husband and son. Her podcast, Books to the Ceiling, features authors with new mysteries on the market.
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On the run in the mountains… with a killer on their trail.
After unearthing secrets from her late brother’s police notebook, journalist Emma Hayes discovers his death was no accident—he was murdered. Only someone doesn’t want Emma to find out the connection to the cold case her brother was investigating…and they’ll kill to keep it that way. Now Emma must rely on local ER doctor Logan Greer to help her stay alive and follow a trail of elusive evidence. But as they unravel a conspiracy, they realize that the killer could be anyone hiding in the mountains…
Book Details:
Genre: Love Inspired Suspense – Romantic Suspense
Published by: Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense Publication Date: April 1, 2025 Number of Pages: 206 ISBN: 9781335980533 (ISBN10: 1335980539)
Susan gives you two intriguing mysteries in one. Journalist Emma Hayes comes back home after learning of her twin brothers death. As a police officer he’d been investigating a cold case and the more she learns the more she comes to believe his death was no accident. You get many clues and false leads. Several suspects and a feeling of conspiracy. You also get a bit if romance. All prime ingredients for what I’d categorize as a mystery, romantic suspense.
After having really liked another of Susan’s books, Lethal Wilderness Trap, I knew she could come up with a well thought mystery to keep me guessing, along with suspense to keep me invested, and genuine characters with flaws and baggage. And she delivered.
4 STARS
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About Author Susan Furlong:
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Susan Furlong grew up in North Dakota where she spent long winters at her local library scouring the shelves for mysteries to read. Now, she lives in Illinois with her husband and children and writes mysteries of all types. She has over a dozen published novels and her work has earned a spot in the New York Times list of top crime fiction books of the year. When not writing, she volunteers at her church and spends time hiking and fishing.
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Category: Children’s Fiction (Ages 3-7), 38 pages Genre: Children’s Picture Book Publisher: Mascot Kids Release date: April 2025 Content Rating: G – Picture book intended for children. No mature language or themes.
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Book Description:
Fostering animals isn’t easy. Suddenly, you’re living with a strange dog that needs your help. And once you’ve finally bonded, it’s time to say goodbye. But hard things are worth doing, especially when they change lives.
Follow along to see rescue dog Pepper and her foster family navigate the foster process, the feelings that come with it, and how one leash makes all the difference.
Taking a dog into your home. Nurturing it. Giving comfort and love. And then letting go is a selfless act. And one of bravery. Those who have dogs know how much they give us. The love they demonstrate when greeting us joyously when we come in the door. Comforting us when we are sad or feeling poorly. They truly are man’s best friend.
Foster’s Leash is a sweet, poignant tale of one young girl’s act of compassion for a dog, Pepper, who needs a home. The illustrations are lovely and the story a gentle one. It’s also an educational experience for those who are considering fostering. Bonding with a foster pet is inevitable, yet, the letting go, knowing the dog will have a home, is a reward in itself. A lesson of love.
5 STARS
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Meet Author Sarah Sommer:
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Sarah Sommer is an award-winning children’s picture book author who aims to tell stories that evoke emotion. As a former professional musician, Sarah values the way words, art, and stories come together in picture books. Having fostered many German shepherds, Sarah is passionate about animal advocacy and helping others. Sarah wrote this book to showcase the foster process and inspire others to open their hearts and homes.
MIT OUT SOUND by Rick Lenz Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 378 pages Genre: Hollywood Tie-in Literary Fiction Publisher: Chromodroid Press Release date: February 2025 Content Rating: PG-13 +M. My book is rated PG-13 + M for swear words, one non-explicit sex scene, adultery and references to abuse and one on page murder.
Book Description:
”It’s time to make a mess,” said Emily.
Would-be movie producer Emily Bennett didn’t believe the legend of a lost movie, starring James Dean and John Wayne. But when she meets two uncannily talented celebrity impersonators-Jimmy Riley and Tom “Duke” Manfredo, and stumbles upon the elusive film editor who stole the master negative of Showdown, it dispels her doubts, fills her with a courage she didn’t know she had, and she sets out to complete the movie.
But as Emily and her stars prepare for day one of shooting, they find themselves entangled in a complex love triangle with Oedipal undertones, mirroring their own past lives and off-screen dynamics. As doubts about their ruthless director, Solange Borugian, surface, Jimmy’s and Duke’s friendship is turned upside down, while Emily and her brother Ben, struggle with their own unresolved issues and are forced to confront their dying father.
On location in Arizona, amidst Apache holy grounds and the magic of day-for-night shooting, the lines between past and present blur and the flawed characters’ backstories intertwine into a tumultuous finale that exposes their hidden animosities, demons, and loves.
When I was a little girl, I’d sit on the floor in the living room, my against the chair my father sat in, the only light illuminating the room coming from the television. The only sound, the actor’s voices. No talking during a western movie. That was when my love for western movies began. And John Wayne. The Duke, loomed larger than life. His baritone drawl. His smile that looks like he knows something you don’t. And his trademark walk. I remembered thinking, I’m gonna marry that man. LOL
Mit Out Sound. Whispers of an unfinished movie starring John Wayne and James Dean. Emily, a woman who can’t seem to let it go. Determined to track down the supposed film and finish it. But how?
Emily meets two impersonators, dead ringers for a young James Dean and John Wayne. She gets her hands on the film. She begins to make the movie. From day one, nothing goes smoothly. Will the film get finished? Should it?
This book checked so many boxes for me. An intriguing mystery. A flawed protagonist. It’s character driven. And has such an original story line. As I read the book, I easily pictured it playing on the big screen. Such fun.
5 STARS
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Meet Author Rick Lenz:
When Rick Lenz retired as a stage and film actor (playing opposite Ingrid Bergman, John
Wayne, Lauren Bacall, Walter Matthau, Peter Sellers, etc.), his passion for drama refused to retire with him. Although he was an actor most of his life, he is also a seasoned writer.
His plays have been produced Off-Broadway, on PBS television, and in regional theatres across the country. Rick’s memoir North of Hollywood was called “masterful” by Writer’s
Digest. His first novel, The Alexandrite was named “one of the best books of the year” by Kirkus Reviews. Bret Easton Ellis called it “almost impossible to put down.” Booklife calls A Town Called Why, “An absorbing tale of mystery and revenge… nuanced … powerful.” Rick’s books have won several awards, including, Readers Views (first place), the Chanticleer Somerset Grand Prize for Literary, Contemporary and Mainstream Fiction, an IPPY Award, and a Foreword Book of the Year. Most recently, his time-travel love story Hello, Rest of My Life was a 2022 Silver Nautilus Book Award winner (fiction), and Eric Hoffer Award finalist (fiction).
He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Linda and an ever-shifting array of animals.
Andi Wyndham has communicated with spirits since she was a kid. When a bone pendant carved into the likeness of a girl’s face calls to her at a gem show in Pennsylvania, she can’t resist buying it and a sister piece. When she discovers the girls are missing runaways and the pendants are made of human bone, Andi is drawn into a mystery that will force her to confront her gifts, her guilt, and the ghosts haunting her. Pendant Girls Mariah and Bennie urge Andi to find a man they call “Fisherman,” a master of disguise. Teaming up with a handsome private eye and a South Carolina sheriff, Andi must find the girls’ bodies and put their souls to rest, before the Fisherman casts his deadly net to trap Andi.
Published by: CamCat Books Publication Date: February 25, 2025 Number of Pages: 496 ISBN: 9780744307931 (ISBN10: 0744307937) Series: Andi Wyndham, Book 1
Do you enjoy the paranormal? Suspense? Thrillers? Well, this book has it all. Along with a strong protagonist in Andi and the supporting characters. And it provides plenty of feels. From kind of eerie to sad and funny.
I admit, the cover was what first caught my attention. It’s gorgeous. And once I got further into the book, the cover and title held more meaning for me.
The story alternates between more than one POV and more than one world. I easily followed the story and was always eager to read about who and what was happening where.
There’s mystery, suspense, a sprinkling of romance and great dialogue. Many of the characters won me over and a certain someone needed to be voted off the island, permanently. There was never a time where I felt like skipping ahead. The writing and plot kept my full attention. This was an excellent story and I’m crossing fingers and toes that this won’t be the last time I read about these characters and worlds.
5 STARS
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Enjoy this peek inside:
Ginkgo leaves drifted down like butterfly wings outside the gem show. They made a yellow carpet on the walkway to the boarding school’s gymnasium. Within the swirling leaves, Andi heard a voice. Hollow metallic vowels rustled like leaves in gutters. Consonants scratched and thumped like animals trapped in heating ducts. When the frantic skittering of syllables merged into words, a ghostly plea slipped into her consciousness. Trapped . . . help. “You’ll find your way to the Other Side,” Andi whispered. Some days, the spirits refused to leave her in peace. Turning off spirits’ voices was like trying to keep a snake in a bird cage. The Shadows had been with her since she was four. Her mother had sent those spirits to watch over her. But the voice she heard today was not the Shadows. They rarely spoke. Please . . . help. Andi opened the door. “I’m not the one to help you,” she told the young voice. “I attract bad men.” The ticket ladies took her money and stamped her hand. She scanned from one end of the gymnasium to the other. So many vendors. Where to start. Left past the fossils to a station called P&S Lapidary. They always had unique pieces. Please . . . ma’am. The whisper had a faint Southern lilt. “Aw come on. Hijack someone else’s head. Go see my ex-husband. Convince him to give me all his money.” Andi looked left and right to make sure no one had heard. No need to worry. Odds were good that at least one other person in the crowd talked to herself. Andi made her way through thirty stations. Through bargain-bound women rummaging in bins of clearance beads, through vendors taking orders to set stones, through miles of bead strands, she searched for the perfect happy, shiny piece. Twice around the gym, and that whispering voice drilled its way into her conscience again. Please . . . buy . . . me. Cripes! The urgency of that sweet young voice. She heaved a sigh. “Hope you’re not expensive. Where are you?” Her feet ached and the place was stifling hot. “Where?” Over here! She couldn’t see a damn thing through the shoppers lined up two people deep at the stations. Up on her toes, down, from foot to foot, sideways. A tiring, annoying dance. Andi shivered despite the stuffy gymnasium. Here! Easing her way through the shoppers, she peered into a glass display case. Malachite beads, a red coral branch necklace, two strands of ringed freshwater pearls, and one pendant with a cameo-style face etched in bone. The vendor with a bolo tie looked like her ninth grade geography teacher. “Let me open that for you. The face pendants are going fast. Only two left.” He lifted the hinged glass cover. Me! A loud whisper from the carved pendant with a girl’s face. Andi looked intently at it. Like most cameos, the face was a side profile. Tendrils of the girl’s curly hair escaped an upswept hairdo, framing her face. At first, she appeared to be asleep. Then the girl’s face turned and studied her too, eyes blinking as if she’d just awakened. Andi shivered. In the spirit world she’d inherited from her mother, voices whispered. Images in jewelry didn’t move. What now? She spoke silently. Subconscious to subconscious. Hurry, ma’am! Buy . . . A woman who reeked of Chanel No. 5 snatched the face pendant from the case. “Excuse me,” Andi said. “I came here to buy that piece. It called to me.” There now, she’d admitted she was crazy. She gave a lopsided grin and a shrug. “Please could I have it?” “Sorry, hon. I got here first.” A condescending glance at Andi, and the lady wrapped her bratwurst fingers around the pendant. “Not to worry, ladies,” the seller told them. “I have another like this.” He pushed the tablecloth aside, reached under the table, and pulled out a second pendant. “It’s stunning with Namibian Pietersite accents. I could let you have it for the same price.” No . . . me. An adamant voice. “I don’t want the other pendant,” Andi said. “I came here for the one in her hand.” At the next booth, a woman holding a jade jar stopped talking and stared at her. Andi blushed, knowing she sounded like a petulant child. Suddenly, Chanel Lady gasped. “Ouch! Awful thing cut me. It has sharp edges.” A thin line of blood welled on her finger, and she dropped the pendant as if it had bitten her. Andi caught it before it hit the floor. The silver bezel felt ice-cold. A young girl’s eyes gazed up at her and blinked. Thanks, ma’am. She stared at the pendant. Her mother had warned about spirits attaching to people. If spirits attached, she’d said, terrible things could happen. Chanel Lady cradled the darker pendant. Not a word was uttered from it. Maybe the tea-stained piece believed in being seen and not heard. Its bone face was younger. Pietersite in the top bezel had chatoyancy, a luminous quality. Thin wavy splotches of browns, blacks, reds, and yellows swirled through the dark stone like tiny ice crystals in frozen latte. “Yes. I like this one better. Excellent quality Pietersite,” Chanel Lady said. “If you don’t mind, I’ll take her payment first.” The seller probably wanted to send the woman to another station before she started a fight with his customers. “No problem. Is this ivory?” Andi asked. Whether vendors called it mammoth bone or not, elephants didn’t deserve to be slaughtered for jewelry. “Absolutely not. Wouldn’t sell it if it was. Cow bone,” he assured her. A triumphant smirk aimed at Andi, and Chanel Lady made her way through the crowd. Subduing an impulse to give her the middle finger, Andi turned back to the pendant. She studied the heart-shaped face, turned it over and winced at the tiny price sticker. Was she insane? Andi couldn’t afford that; she’d lost her teaching job. “I’ll need your address and email.” The seller handed her a clipboard. She’d fought over it and won, no changing her mind now. While he charged her credit card, Andi filled out the information for his mailing list. Then she weaved through the shoppers to find a quiet corner by the concessions stand. What the hell. The pendant was a dose of credit card therapy. Unzipping the plastic sleeve, she lifted the piece by the bail. Two bezels set in silver. One disk held labradorite, a luminous blue stone with black veins, and in the second bezel, a face carved in bone. She shifted it in her palm, studying the details. Had light played with the image, making it look like the girl moved? It would warm at the touch of her skin. Once more around the gym, and she left the show, slogging through the field toward her car, wondering how a whispering girl had convinced her to buy a pricey pendant. Yet, she had a sense that something other than her credit card bill had changed. *** Excerpt from Bone Pendant Girls by Terry S. Friedman. Copyright 2024 by Terry S. Friedman. Reproduced with permission from Terry S. Friedman. All rights reserved.
About Author Terry Friedman:
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Terry Friedman is a writer and a rockhound. Her novel, BONE PENDANT GIRLS, a paranormal thriller, was published by CamCat January 30, 2024. Terry began her writing career freelancing for a small newspaper outside Philadelphia. While raising her daughters Jessica and Chelie in West Chester, PA, she taught English for decades and traveled abroad with students. Terry earned an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and also graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy. Thirteen of her fiction and non-fiction pieces have been published, and she co-edited Delaware Valley Mystery Writers’ short stories anthology. DEATH KNELL V. She is an award-winning author. In 2022 the Southeastern Writers Association awarded her first place in their writing contest for her humor piece, second place for BONE PENDANT GIRLS in a fiction category, and an honorable mention for THE BANSHEE’S WAIL, an unpublished Irish novel. She is a Killer Nashville Claymore Finalist in the Supernatural category. A Pennwriters Board member and a member of Sisters in Crime, she currently writes thrillers from coastal South Carolina. Terry has traveled the world from Fiji to Delphi and brings to her writing a solid respect for things that go bump in the night.
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Will Logan and his friends expose the lies that have haunted him for years, or will they be Dragged Down Deep into the swampy, secretive underbelly of a town that guards its mysteries with deadly intent?
Title: Dragged Down Deep
Author: Michael Okon
Pages: 331
Genre: Action Adventure/Monster
Logan Osborne has spent his life chasing the shadows of the past.
As a child, he watched helplessly as his father was snatched from a fishing boat by what he swore was a mermaid. No one believed him then. No one believes him now.
Determined to prove that mythical creatures exist, Logan is drawn back to the small coastal town where his nightmares began after another mysterious disappearance stirs the waters.
Teaming up with his pragmatic colleague Elliot Sheppard and his fiercely loyal friend Penny Swanson, Logan dives headfirst into an adventure packed with danger and deception. As they dig deeper, the trio faces resistance at every turn—a secretive agency with its own agenda, a suspiciously unhelpful police force, and Logan’s old flame, who may know more than she’s letting on.
What they uncover is far darker and more terrifying than Logan ever imagined: the truth about his father, the secrets of Minatuck, and the horrifying reality of the Mermaid of the Hamptons.
Will Logan and his friends expose the lies that have haunted him for years, or will they be Dragged Down Deep into the swampy, secretive underbelly of a town that guards its mysteries with deadly intent?
I’m always searching for the next cryptid story. I even watch those cheesy documentaries where they search for mythical creatures. And Michael Okon is one of my favorite authors on the things that stay hidden, that prowl those hard to reach places. I’ve read all his books and when I spotted this one it was a no brainer. A mermaid? A killer mermaid? I was all in!
This had everything I could have hoped for. Big Brother cover ups. Threats of death around every corner. Believable characters that you can empathize with. Worthy villains. And a creature that mesmerized and terrified me in equal measures. The suspense was almost continuous.
Michael takes you from the past to the present throughout the book. His choice of telling the story that way was dead on. Kept me so invested in wanting to know all about the characters and the events that occurred. When I finished reading Dragged Down Deep, which is a perfect title, I felt like I could have been watching the movie. I could imagine myself sitting in the dark, the surround sound cranked up, hugging a pillow and covering my face with my hands, peeking between my fingers so I wouldn’t miss anything.
Bravo, Michael. You continue to make this lover of all things cryptid happy.
5 STARS
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Book Excerpt
The creature was indistinct in the dark night. A howl split the air, the noise somewhere between the lolling of a cow and with the shrillness of a siren. It traveled through Logan, making the fillings in his teeth hurt. If an elephant and a Tasmanian devil had a baby, it would have sounded like this, Logan thought inanely.
It began to move purposely toward them, its arms outstretched. Its eyes shone like blazing yellow neon, mesmerizing them. There was no place to hide in the tidal pool. Logan spun, pushing Elliot toward the parking lot.
“That was no turtle,” Elliot gasped.
Logan ran, his heart pumping feeling like it would jump from his chest. “Run!” he yelled.
They splashed heavily in the shallows; their feet weighted with water. Clamoring through the tide, Logan slipped, Elliot pulled him under the armpit propelling him forward. Their clothes were drenched, glued to their perspiring bodies, their feet heavy with trapped fronds and weeds. They made it onto the beach.
Logan was afraid to look behind them. “Move this way!” Logan pointed to a perimeter of shrubs lining the sand.
They took off, their arms slashed by the tall grasses. Elliot clutched his phone. He turned for a second, but Logan grabbed the back of his shirt to drag him through the reeds. “Not now, you idiot!” Logan screamed.
They could hear the heavy splashes of the creature following them. They burst out of the grasses, running at full speed onto the sandy area toward the car. The reassuring outline of the jeep greeted them at the same time a club grazed Logan’s shoulder.
Logan heard Elliot grunt with pain, the distinct sound of a fist meeting flesh echoing in the still night. Ham-sized hands gripped Logan’s shoulder, spinning him to plant a fist that landed under his right eye. The night went silent but for the sound of the roaring of the blood in his head. He felt the trickle of blood leak onto his lips after his nose connected with what felt like a brick wall. He was on his knees, looking down at two sets of biker boots, silver skulls dangling over the insteps right in front of him.
Logan caught sight of another pair of footwear, polished traditional lace-ups. He pushed himself up on all fours, reaching out and grabbing the legs connected to those shoes. He clutched a handful of beige trousers, the gabardine material slipping in his hand. He recognized the uniform. He felt rock-hard muscles underneath the pants leg. His assaulter kicked, Logan’s head snapping back to see a field of spinning stars. Their attackers were laughing. Logan was outraged.
They wouldn’t be laughing when the mermaid from hell pounced on them, he thought grogilly. He opened his mouth to let them know they were about to be surprised by the alleged wild dog or imaginary alligator but decided he’d have more satisfaction watching them wrestle with whatever was following them from the marsh.
A strong hand picked him up by the hair and another pounded his ribcage. He winced, his vision blurred, trying to see when the creature from the Black Lagoon would arrive like the cavalry.
Except that pursuer never arrived. It appeared that the monster had more brains than he and Elliot put together.
Logan listened vainly for whatever was following them to break through the marsh, but it must have been scared off. He chose that time to swing wildly, his fist finding a face that must have been hewn of stone. The impact stunned him more than the beating his ribs were taking. His arm went numb from knuckles to elbow.
His cheek landed in the dirt while Elliot was thrown against the car wheel. A baseball bat made contact with the windshield, showering them with shards of glass. The bat sailed through the air to smash the side mirror. More glass rained down on them.
Logan lay on his face, every bone in his body aching, his head heavy. He heard new footfalls, lighter one, followed by the sound of a plank of wood connecting with a body.
“Ow!” one of his attackers howled.
Next he heard several grunts, and the hard slam of bodies falling.
Logan picked up his head, his vision fuzzy to see two figures in wetsuits beating the crap out of his assailants. Tilting his head, he squeezed his eyes, discerning one was decidedly curvy and feminine. “Penny?” he asked, the word garbled by his swelling lips.
Running feet penetrated the fog that was swallowing his brain. Everything sounded muffled, as if he could barely hear it. There was a loud ringing in his ears.
“Done,” a woman’s voice came to him from far away. “Cowards,” she spat.
“What do you want to do with these too?” a male voice asked.
“Leave them. They’re harmless.”
“The boss isn’t going to be happy.”
“I said leave them,” the voice commanded.
Logan tried to rise, groaned and fell down into the wet sand. “Elliot?” his voice a thread.
“He’s coming around. We have to go!” a man’s barked.
The cold touch of a wetsuit made his skin goosebump as a person knelt next to him. He tried to roll over. Logan felt a soft hand brush back his hair. “Stop tilting at windmills, you silly man. Go back to school.” He caught sight of a smile with a mole on the upper lip.
Logan felt the blood drain from his head as it fell onto a cushion of grass.
“Did you see them?” Logan spit out a mouthful of dirt. He was sprawled on a small mound and couldn’t move.
“My eye is swollen shut,” Elliot’s voice was gravelly. “I feel like I got hit by a train. Am I imagining it, or were we rescued by the creature?”
“It wasn’t the creature.” Logan was breathless with the effort, wondering if he should share what he thought. “I think it was Aimee.”
“Aimee!” Elliot coughed. “What’s she doing here?”
Logan ignored the question; he was wondering the same thing.
Rising painfully to his knees he crawled over to where Elliot was propped against the wheel of the jeep. “Anything broken?”
“Only my pride. I feel like I’m trapped in an eighties crime drama. What are you doing?” he asked Logan, who was pulling his phone from his pocket with a battered hand.
“I’m calling the police.”
“I think that was the police,” Elliot retorted weakly. “What happened to your mermaid?”
Logan growled, “She’s not my mermaid.”
“Did you get any pictures?” Logan asked.
“Let me see with my good eye.” Elliot squinted as he looked at his screen. “Nothing good. Maybe it was one of those goons setting us up.”
Logan shrugged. “I couldn’t see much, but I know it was that monster, Mitch and his playmates,” he paused and continued, “And Aimee and some other guy.”
“You think she was working with them?”
Logan shook his head. “No, they beat the crap out of them. Mitch practically crawled out of here.”
“Are you sure it was Aimee? This is a major complication.”
Logan didn’t answer. He spoke into his phone. “Pen? Can you swing by the marsh, and Penny… don’t say anything to anyone.”
– Excerpted from Dragged Down Deep by Michael Okon, Chelshire Publishing, 2024. Reprinted with permission.
Michael Okon is an award-winning and best-selling author of multiple genres, including paranormal, thriller, horror, action/adventure, and self-help. He graduated from Long Island University with a degree in English and then later received his MBA in business and finance. Coming from a family of writers, he has storytelling in his DNA. Michael has been writing from as far back as he can remember, his inspiration being his love for films and their impact on his life. From the time he saw The Goonies, he was hooked on the idea of entertaining people through unforgettable characters.
Michael is a lifelong movie buff, a music playlist aficionado, and a sucker for self-help books. He lives on the North Shore of Long Island with his wife and children.
