Violated
by
Carolyn
Arnold
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE:
Police
Procedural, Thriller
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Sometimes
the past should stay there…
The murder is one of the most heinous Brandon Fisher has ever seen, but that’s not why it has his and his colleagues’ attention. The FBI’s interested because the prime suspect is one of their own, Paige Dawson.
But Paige didn’t go to Valencia, California to kill anyone. She had set out on “vacation”—her new lover in tow—only to confront the man who had raped her friend twenty-some years ago. While the hands of the law are tied, she wants him to face the fact that he destroyed a young woman’s life and know that, as an FBI agent, she’ll be watching his every move. But instead of accomplishing her goal, she wound up in the back of a police cruiser.
Now Paige must face off with a hard-nosed detective determined to stick a murder charge to a fed. But with the trained eyes of the FBI on the case, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the evidence lends itself to a serial killing, not an isolated incident. And as long as the local authorities are focused on Paige, the real murderer is still out there, possibly waiting to strike again…
The murder is one of the most heinous Brandon Fisher has ever seen, but that’s not why it has his and his colleagues’ attention. The FBI’s interested because the prime suspect is one of their own, Paige Dawson.
But Paige didn’t go to Valencia, California to kill anyone. She had set out on “vacation”—her new lover in tow—only to confront the man who had raped her friend twenty-some years ago. While the hands of the law are tied, she wants him to face the fact that he destroyed a young woman’s life and know that, as an FBI agent, she’ll be watching his every move. But instead of accomplishing her goal, she wound up in the back of a police cruiser.
Now Paige must face off with a hard-nosed detective determined to stick a murder charge to a fed. But with the trained eyes of the FBI on the case, it’s becoming more and more obvious that the evidence lends itself to a serial killing, not an isolated incident. And as long as the local authorities are focused on Paige, the real murderer is still out there, possibly waiting to strike again…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt:
MONDAY,
AUGUST 24TH, 11:10 PM PACIFIC TIME
CANYON
COUNTRY, CALIFORNIA
THE
MARK WAS IN HIS FORTIES, had no kids, and worked a white-collar job.
Average height, average looks. Nothing was truly memorable about him
except for his uncommon first name, and that was only because it
belonged to a character from a popular eighties movie.
Ferris
Hall.
She
had followed him to some honky-tonk in Canyon Country, an unsavory
location at any time of day, but factor in the late hour and it was
even worse. But Ferris had chosen this dive as his hunting ground.
Women were easier to lure in with a little chemical persuasion, and
that was easy to pass off around here.
He
entered the bar with head held high, his back straight, the tease of
a smirk on his lips—the end of the evening a foregone conclusion in
his mind. He was sipping on his first bourbon, though he was acting
as if he was on his third by slurring his words and talking loudly.
He’d even thrown a sway into his swagger. Somehow he always managed
to make his eyes look bloodshot, too, furthering the charade. And the
women would come. And the women would fall for his tricks.
Tonight,
she’d be that woman, but she’d be his last. He had to learn there
was a price to pay for his actions.
She
was sitting down the bar from him. Occasionally, he’d pass her a
look—the predatory kind that made her blood boil. She smiled at
him, doing her best to convey carnal hunger with her gaze, smearing
on a seductive curve to her lips. She dipped her finger into her
manhattan and sucked on it—the cherry juice sweet, the whiskey
bitter.
Ferris
was off his stool and sidling up her to within three seconds.
The
ruse worked every time. It also helped that she exploited what nature
had given her—a slender frame and shapely legs. High heels
accentuated her well-defined calf muscles, and men stared when she
walked into a room. When she paired even higher stilettos with a
short skirt and crossed her legs, men’s mouths tended to fall open.
She utilized all these virtues tonight.
She
flashed another sultry smile, and he lifted his glass toward her
before tilting his own back and draining it. He set it back on the
bar and knocked on it to get the bartender’s attention.
“I’ll
have another on the rocks and—” he rolled his head toward her
“—get the lady whatever she’d like.”
Time
to feign innocence and flattery.
She
waved a dismissive hand in his direction. “I really shouldn’t.”
She
saw the quick look he gave her glass before meeting her eyes again.
“Nonsense. Please, it would be my treat.”
If
she stripped his voice of its candy-coated tone, his words were pushy
and controlling.
“Well”—she
angled her glass, showing how little of her drink she had left—“only
if you’re sure.”
If
she had actually been given a chance to prove her acting skills, she
could be living in a sprawling mansion by now.
“Absolutely.
What will it be?” Ferris asked, a grin teasing his lips as he
tugged down on his left earlobe. It wasn’t hard for her to figure
out what was going on. Ferris was asking for something “special”
to be added to her drink—the “special” being some kind of
date-rape drug.
She
lifted her glass to the bartender. “Another manhattan.”
“Coming
right up.” The tender left to make their drinks, and she watched
him, taking the time to calm her heartbeat and flow of adrenaline.
“I
like a woman who can handle her whiskey.” Ferris was looking quite
comfortable beside her now. He was fully facing her, his left elbow
perched on the counter, and he wasn’t discreet about his drifting
gaze, which gravitated to her thighs.
“What
can I say? I’m a little whiskey girl.” The words from the country
song rolled off her tongue, cinching her gut, but she had to do what
was necessary to pull him in.
“Toby
Keith,” he said.
“Pardon?”
“Toby
Keith.” He pointed to a speaker on the ceiling. “The singer who
sings that one.”
“Ah,
yes.” And here, she thought she was doing well by knowing it was
even a country song. She smiled at him again. He truly thought of
himself as a woman’s man.
Pathetic.
“Have
I seen you here before?” he asked.
She
dipped her head.
“I
knew it. I never forget a beautiful face. So what’s your name?”
“Names
really aren’t important, are they, baby?” She extended her hand,
her long, narrow fingers bowing before him in feminine elegance.
“Oh,
she’s mysterious. I like it.” He kissed the back of her hand, and
she was proud of herself for not rolling her eyes.
The
bartender returned and placed their drinks in front of them. “Here
you go.”
From
her observations, Ferris seemed to keep a running tab here. Rape now,
pay later?
Oh,
and Ferris would pay…
“You
never told me your name,” she said, falling into her role.
“Oh,
I can tell you mine, but you can’t—”
“Uh-huh.”
She sucked on the tip of her finger again.
“Ferris.”
He still held onto her other hand, and she pulled it back shyly.
“Are
you from around here?” she asked, resorting to the necessity of
small talk.
“I
just fly in from time to time for business.”
“Ah.”
She’d have to call upon her acting skills for this performance. She
knew he lived less than three miles away from this place. “What
business?”
He
tapped his jacket pockets, then slid a hand inside one. “How
embarrassing. I don’t have any cards with me. Besides, I don’t
really want to bore you. Why don’t we talk about you?” He leaned
toward her and lifted his rocks glass. “To a fun night.”
“To
one we won’t remember.”
They
toasted, and he took a long pull of the amber liquid. She pressed her
own glass to her lips and pretended to take a sip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This book is a ask yourself what the heck did I just read!!??!! This is part of a series but yet I felt that this can be read as a stand alone. But I must read the rest of the series too! This is a seat gripper! Not a book that you'll be able to lay down easily. A page turner, a promise that you'll finish up one more page and find yourself another chapter in! This is a MUST read!
*Received for an honest review*
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
CAROLYN
ARNOLD is the international best-selling and award-winning author of
the Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher, and McKinley Mystery series. She
is the only author with POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW
ENFORCEMENT.™
Carolyn
was born in a small town, but that doesn’t keep her from dreaming
big. And on par with her large dreams is her overactive imagination
that conjures up killers and cases to solve. She currently lives in a
city near Toronto with her husband and beagle. She is also a member
of Crime Writers of Canada.
Connect
with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:
And
don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date
information on release and special offers at
http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.
No comments:
Post a Comment