Book Review / AMAZON Giveaway: Stilwater by Melissa Lenhardt


Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from Partners in Crime Tours, 
for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it


And now for your guilty weekend pleasure read:





Synopsis:


Former FBI agent Jack McBride took the job as Chief of Police for Stillwater, Texas, to start a new life with his teenage son, Ethan, away from the suspicions that surrounded his wife’s disappearance a year earlier.
With a low crime rate and a five-man police force, he expected it to be a nice, easy gig; hot checks, traffic violations, some drugs, occasional domestic disturbances, and petty theft. Instead, within a week he is investigating a staged murder-suicide, uncovering a decades’ old skeleton buried in the woods, and managing the first crime wave in thirty years.
For help navigating his unfamiliar, small-town surroundings, Jack turns to Ellie Martin, one of the most respected women in town—her scandal-filled past notwithstanding. Despite Jack's murky marriage status and the disapproval of Ethan and the town, they are immediately drawn to each other.

As Jack and Ellie struggle with their budding relationship, they unearth shattering secrets long buried and discover the two cases Jack is working, though fifty years apart, share a surprising connection that will rattle the town to its core.

Read an excerpt:

From Chapter One...

"Helluva case to get on your first day, eh?" the doctor said.

Jack nodded and gave a brief smile. He pulled gloves and more paper booties from his coat pocket and handed them to Jesson and the doctor. Jack walked down the hall and entered the room. Jesson stopped at the door.

"Gilberto and Rosa Ramos," Jesson said. "Found dead this morning by Juan Vasquez." He jerked his thumb in the direction of the man sitting on the couch. "Says he's Rosa's brother. He don't speak much English but from what I gathered, he came to pick Gilberto up for work and heard the baby screaming. When no one answered, he let himself in. Door was open. Found them just like that."

They were both nude. The woman lay facedown, covering half of man's body. The right side of the man's head was blown across the pillow. Blood and brain matter were sprayed across the bed, under the woman and onto the floor. A clump of long dark hair was stuck to the window with blood. Her right arm was extended across the man's chest, a gun held lightly in her grip.

Jack walked around the bed.

Doc Poole stood next to Officer Jesson. "It takes a special kind of anger to kill someone you are in the middle of fucking, doncha think? Doc Poole said. "Ever see that in the F-B-I?" Derision dripped from every letter.

Jack ignored him. "Where's the baby?"

Jack hoped the revulsion on Jesson's face meant scenes like this were rare in Stillwater. If he wanted to deal with shit like this on a regular basis, he would have taken a better paying job in a larger town.

"Officer Jesson?" Jack said. "Where's the baby?"

"Oh. It's with a neighbor."

"Has anyone called CPS?"

"Why?"

"To take care of the baby."

"The neighbor offered."

"And, what do we know about this neighbor?"

He shrugged. "She didn't speak much English."

"So, she could be in the next county by now?"

"Oh, I doubt that," Jesson said. "She seemed like a nice sort. Very motherly."

Jack cocked his head and puzzled over whether his most senior officer was ignorant, naive or an amazing judge of character.

He turned his attention to Doc Poole. "What's the time of death?"
"Sometime last night."

"Can you be more specific?"

"Didn't see the need. Seems pretty obvious what happened."
"Oh, are you a detective?"

"No. I'm a general practitioner."

"You're the JP, aren't you?"

"No. I used to be." He chuckled. "Too old for this now."

"Yet, here you are."

"JP is on the way, Chief," Jesson said.

Jack kept his focus on Doctor Poole. "So you heard this over the radio and decided to come? Or did someone call you?"

"Well, I —"

"Do you have the instruments necessary to establish a time of death?"
"Not with me, but —"

"Then get off my crime scene."

The little man straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin. "I can see why Jane Maxwell liked you." He started to leave but turned back. "We do things different here in Stillwater."

"Not anymore we don't," Jack said.


 Review:

I read this book in one sitting, I just could not put it down. Both Jack and Ellie are such strong characters that you can't wait to see what happens next with them, The book is part police procedural, part mystery and part romance, which means you leave it satisfied, and yet wanting to jump back into the story to see what happens next! In fact, you really just want to go visit Stillwater for a weekend trip! LOL Don't miss this book- it's one all mystery readers will be talking about this Fall season!


About the Author:


Melissa Lenhardt writes mystery, historical fiction, and women's fiction. Her short fiction has appeared in Heater Mystery Magazine, The Western Online, and Christmas Nookies, a holiday romance anthology. Her debut novel, Stillwater, was a finalist for the 2014 Whidbey Writers' MFA Alumni Emerging Writers Contest. She is a board member of the DFW Writers' Workshop and vice president of the Sisters in Crime North Dallas Chapter. Melissa lives in Texas, with her husband and two sons. Check  out her website, Facebook and Twitter pages for more info,


flashing Win

 Giveaway:

This giveaway is hosted by Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours for Melissa Lenhardt.

There will be one winner of 1 AMAZON US gift card and 1 copy of Stillwater
(For US residents only.).

- a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway runs through November 14th, 2015.


Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Goodreads


Tour Participants:

Comments

  1. Sounds like a terrific start to this series! Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on this mystery with us.

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