A Staged Murder
by Jo A.
Hiestand
GENRE: Mystery
BLURB:
Bonfire Night! The
four hundred-year-old tradition of burning the straw effigy is beginning in
Upper Kingsleigh, England. The torch extends… But it’s no mock figure at the
end of the rope; it’s the body of a man, an American tourist. Brenna Taylor,
Derbyshire C.I.D., is assigned to the case on a team of detectives under
Detective-Chief Inspector Geoffrey Graham. It is the chance Brenna has been
waiting for, and she is anxious to impress him.
Most villagers
suspect an outsider as the killer. But when the frost-covered body of a
resident is discovered, apprehension shifts and suspects multiply. Among them
are the American's brother-in-law, still angry over his sister's death; the
husband, who fears his wife will desert him for the American; the inebriated,
penniless uncle, who clings to his nephew's fortune tighter than a cork in a
wine bottle. Then Brenna becomes the target of a series of frightening
pranks--the work of a harassing male colleague, or a deadly warning to leave
the case? Her hunt is personal now.
Excerpt:
“Is that how you made sergeant
grade?”
The question, though a joke, came
from the sober lips of my friend, Margo Lynch. She was a constable, ten years
my junior, and was learning from me as I was from Graham, though I was certain
Margo was getting shortchanged.
We sat on a bench outside the pub,
half-filled glasses in our hands, expounding on the world in general and the
murder case in particular. I shivered as I took a swallow.
“Never mind the smart remarks,” I
said. “What happened to your rose-colored glasses? You’re supposed to wear them
when you look at me.”
“I take them off at sunset.”
“Great. I thought you wanted the
benefit of my experience.”
“I do, Bren! I marvel at you.”
“You’ll make sergeant quicker than I
did, Margo, if you avoid my bruises and mimic my laurels.”
“Will I know which is which?”
I glared at her, in no mood for
humor. The hours were slipping away and I still had to talk with Graham before
I got to bed. I finished my shandy. “Why am I laying my theories before you,
then?”
“So you’ll hear them, find holes in
them, and fix them before you recite them to Graham, who will, we both know, fillet
you like a piece of cod and roast you for good measure if they aren’t
reasonable.”
She stared at me, her dark eyes
serious in the light from the pub’s windows. She had a good figure and a good
mind, and really had no need of my tutelage, but it was great to have a friend.
Confiding in Margo was like writing in my diary.
“He unnerves me at times,” I
confessed, keeping my voice low.
“I think he unnerves all of us,
Bren.”
AUTHOR BIO:
A
month-long trip to England during her college years introduced Jo to the joys
of Things British. Since then, she has
been lured back nearly a dozen times, and lived there during her professional
folksinging stint. This intimate
knowledge of Britain forms the backbone of the Peak District mystery series.
Jo’s
insistence for accuracy--from police methods and location layout to the general
“feel” of the area--has driven her innumerable times to Derbyshire for
research. These explorations and
conferences with police friends provide the detail filling the books.
In
1999 she returned to Webster University to major in English. She graduated in 2001 with a BA degree and
departmental honors.
Jo
founded the Greater St. Louis Chapter of Sisters in Crime, serving as its first
president. Besides her love of mysteries
and early music, she also enjoys photography, reading, creating recipes, and
her backyard wildlife. Her cat,
Tennyson, shares her St. Louis home.
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A handmade lapis lazuli necklace on a bamboo cord (International). The cord is adjustable and the necklace is comprised of three stones ranging in length from 1 5/8" to 2 1/8". (It's like the one Brenna Taylor in the book wears)
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2 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thank you for hosting my book -- I appreciate it!
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