by Linda Hope Lee
Adult Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 210 Pages
March 25th 2016 by The Wild Rose Press, Inc
March 25th 2016 by The Wild Rose Press, Inc
Held responsible for a student's tragic death, teacher Deborah Kent was fired from an exclusive girls' school in Fairfield, Vermont and left town in disgrace. Now, she’s back in Fairfield with the intention of operating a bed and breakfast from her guardian's Victorian home. When threatening notes indicate someone isn’t happy with her return, Deborah suspects her student’s death was no accident. The man she turns to is the one least likely to help.
Horse breeder Milo Jordan has long harbored anger toward the woman he blames for his younger sister's death. Too many questions have gone unanswered, but now Deborah appears to hold the key to the truth. Can he put aside his anger, and his growing attraction, and work with her to solve the puzzle of the deadly event?
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Excerpt:
Chapter One, Part 1
On a warm day in September, Deborah Kent drove her silver SUV along the winding country road
connecting Castletown to Fairfield, Vermont. As she’d hoped, the Castletown flea market was an excellent place to find furniture for the bed-and-breakfast she planned to open in January. The oak rocking chair and matching end tables she purchased were secured in the rear of the vehicle.
Instead of traveling Highway 89, she chose a side road where she could enjoy the beauty of the autumn countryside. The scenery was spectacular. Maple and aspen trees blazed with red, orange, and yellow leaves, while in the distance, purple hills rose into a cobalt blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds.
Then, as she slowed to navigate a curve, the SUV’s engine sputtered and lost power. Deborah stepped
on the accelerator, but the car continued to inch along. She barely made it to the side of the road before the vehicle lurched to a stop.
Stunned, Deborah sat there staring at the swirls of dust rising from underneath the tires. Why would the car quit so suddenly? She switched the ignition off and then on again. The engine ground but would not catch.
She tried several times with the same result.
An icy chill washed over her. Could this problem be related to the note she’d found stuck in her screen door last week? Closing her eyes, she pictured the note’s bold printing:
GET OUT OF TOWN OR YOU’LL END UP LIKE CARLA CASSIDY.
Deborah did not want to share Carla Cassidy’s fate. The young woman’s tragic death was the reason
Deborah left Fairfield four years ago. Now she was back, intending to once again make the small town her home. The cruel note told her someone didn’t want her to return.
Several people who might have written the note had come to mind. After a week passed with no further warnings, Deborah was ready to dismiss the threat as a prank.
Now she was having car trouble. Coincidence? Or connected to the note?
Whatever, she must deal with her immediate problem, and soon. She looked around. Not a car in sight.
No way did she want to linger on this isolated road.
Car mechanics were a foreign language to her, so no use looking under the hood. She’d have to call for help. Reaching into her purse lying on the passenger’s seat, she pulled out her cell phone, switched it on, and spotted a red X, indicating no phone service. Disappointing, but no real surprise, considering the hills and thick woods surrounding this rural area.
Peering through the windshield, she glimpsed the silver silo and red barn of a farm about a mile away.
Someone there would have a phone she could use. She pulled her keys from the ignition, grabbed her purse, and stepped from the SUV. An ominous stillness greeted her. Despite the sunshine, gooseflesh speckled her skin, making her shiver and rub her arms.
She’d no more than locked the door and started off when the clatter of a horse’s hooves broke the
silence. Turning, she spotted a sleek, black horse, with the rider sitting tall, trotting along the road. Maybe he could help.
When they reached her side, the rider reined his mount to a halt.
The man looked to be in his thirties, with deep-set dark eyes and thick, black hair. He wore a denim
shirt, jeans, and brown leather boots.
On a warm day in September, Deborah Kent drove her silver SUV along the winding country road
connecting Castletown to Fairfield, Vermont. As she’d hoped, the Castletown flea market was an excellent place to find furniture for the bed-and-breakfast she planned to open in January. The oak rocking chair and matching end tables she purchased were secured in the rear of the vehicle.
Instead of traveling Highway 89, she chose a side road where she could enjoy the beauty of the autumn countryside. The scenery was spectacular. Maple and aspen trees blazed with red, orange, and yellow leaves, while in the distance, purple hills rose into a cobalt blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds.
Then, as she slowed to navigate a curve, the SUV’s engine sputtered and lost power. Deborah stepped
on the accelerator, but the car continued to inch along. She barely made it to the side of the road before the vehicle lurched to a stop.
Stunned, Deborah sat there staring at the swirls of dust rising from underneath the tires. Why would the car quit so suddenly? She switched the ignition off and then on again. The engine ground but would not catch.
She tried several times with the same result.
An icy chill washed over her. Could this problem be related to the note she’d found stuck in her screen door last week? Closing her eyes, she pictured the note’s bold printing:
GET OUT OF TOWN OR YOU’LL END UP LIKE CARLA CASSIDY.
Deborah did not want to share Carla Cassidy’s fate. The young woman’s tragic death was the reason
Deborah left Fairfield four years ago. Now she was back, intending to once again make the small town her home. The cruel note told her someone didn’t want her to return.
Several people who might have written the note had come to mind. After a week passed with no further warnings, Deborah was ready to dismiss the threat as a prank.
Now she was having car trouble. Coincidence? Or connected to the note?
Whatever, she must deal with her immediate problem, and soon. She looked around. Not a car in sight.
No way did she want to linger on this isolated road.
Car mechanics were a foreign language to her, so no use looking under the hood. She’d have to call for help. Reaching into her purse lying on the passenger’s seat, she pulled out her cell phone, switched it on, and spotted a red X, indicating no phone service. Disappointing, but no real surprise, considering the hills and thick woods surrounding this rural area.
Peering through the windshield, she glimpsed the silver silo and red barn of a farm about a mile away.
Someone there would have a phone she could use. She pulled her keys from the ignition, grabbed her purse, and stepped from the SUV. An ominous stillness greeted her. Despite the sunshine, gooseflesh speckled her skin, making her shiver and rub her arms.
She’d no more than locked the door and started off when the clatter of a horse’s hooves broke the
silence. Turning, she spotted a sleek, black horse, with the rider sitting tall, trotting along the road. Maybe he could help.
When they reached her side, the rider reined his mount to a halt.
The man looked to be in his thirties, with deep-set dark eyes and thick, black hair. He wore a denim
shirt, jeans, and brown leather boots.
Linda Hope Lee writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and mysteries. She enjoys traveling especially to small towns in search of story ideas. She's also an artist, specializing in watercolor, pen and ink, and colored pencil. Photography provides inspiration for both her writing and her art. She lives in the Pacific Northwest, where many of her stories are set.
Other Books by the Author
Tour Schedule
April 4th: Launch
April 5th: Bookworm Nation
April 6th: Katie's Clean Book Collection & deal sharing aunt
April 7th: Bookworm Lisa
April 8th: Getting Your Read On & Rockin' Book Reviews
April 10th: EskieMama Reads
April 11th: Grand Finale
Tour Giveaway
$50 Amazon eGift Card
3 copies of Dark Memories (print if US, ebook if international)
Open internationally
Ends April 16th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
$50 Amazon eGift Card
3 copies of Dark Memories (print if US, ebook if international)
Open internationally
Ends April 16th
a Rafflecopter giveaway
This sounds like an interesting story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, steph!
DeleteThe Castletown flea market sounds like my kind of place! Congrats on your release!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Renee. I love flea markets and garage sales, too, and it's just about the season for them.
ReplyDeleteLoved the description and the excerpt from "Dark Memories." Also love mysteries, so I will be reading "Dark Memories" in the future. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI love the book cover, very nice.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is very intriguing and its description is very interesting as well!