Stillwater
Melissa Lenhardt
on Tour October 5 - November 7, 2015
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.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Small Town Mystery
Published by: Skyhorse Publishing
Publication Date: October 6, 2015
Number of Pages: 288
ISBN: 1634502264 (ISBN13: 9781634502269)
Series: Jack McBride Mysteries
Purchase Links:
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 f*****g, 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.
"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 f*****g, 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.
Author Bio:
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.
Catch Up with Ms. Lenhardt:
Tour Participants:
Giveaway:
This is a giveaway 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.). The giveaway runs through November 14th, 2015.
a Rafflecopter giveawayGet More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours
My review;
Stillwater, Texas has a new Police Chief, Jack McBride. He used to be an FBI agent with a wife and son until his wife disappeared. He felt he had to start over. He thought that this would be a great place for his son Ethan and him. After he is there only about a week, there is what appears to be a murder suicide, and then there is a skeleton. Ellie Martin is a woman who lives in town who Jack asks for help in solving these crimes. While Jack feels as if he is still married he starts to have feelings for Ellie. Jack and Ellie have more than their feelings to figure out, they have to hurry and find the killer before someone else gets hurt. This is a great mystery with a different storyline. I give this book a 5/5. I was given this book by Partners in Crime Book Tours and these are 100% my opinions.
Sounds like a terrific start to a new series. Thanks so much for introducing us to the book and sharing your thoughts on it with us.
ReplyDelete