✍The First Page: The Lemon House Murders by Tucker May

 

THE LEMON HOUSE MURDERS

By Tucker May

Mystery 

A string of mysterious deaths . . . A house full of suspects . . . A secret that will change everything…

When residents of a live-in drug rehabilitation facility called Lemon House start dying one by one, no one in the outside world seems to care.

Two Lemon House patients, nicknamed Trip and Gobstopper, are the only ones who can see the truth: these are murders.

Their quest to find the killer will push their budding relationship to the brink, cast suspicion on everyone locked in the house with them, and force them to question their most cherished beliefs.

The Lemon House Murders is the rare murder mystery that will have you guessing at the culprit AND thinking deeply about theology, society’s relationship toward the downtrodden, and the importance of self-determination to a fulfilling life.

╰┈➤ Read sample here. 

╰┈➤ The Lemon House Murders is available at Amazon.

*****

╰┈➤Book Details

• Genre: Mystery
• Sub-genre: Contemporary American Fiction
• Language:English
• Pages: 329
• ISBN: 978-1969306099

It started with a single glance. It ended in disaster.
 

The shame hit like a sudden snowfall. It covered every thing and, in a short time, left me numb. Each emotion a unique flake: surprise, outrage, embarrassment, fear. Varying crystalline shapes that together formed the all-encompassing blanket of my self-hatred. It descended, as in escapable as the gravity that drags the cold snow earthward.
 

I stewed in it, frigid isolation forced upon me, a frozen lock flipped. I fled beneath the sheets. My mind raced, sharp and brittle. What if the night had unfolded differently? What if we’d been left alone to steam and mix like cocoa? What if they hadn’t burst in to shatter and scream and ship me off to a distant and unfamiliar floe where winter lasts a full nine months? What if that bracing and unthawable shift in our relationships hadn’t occurred?
 

I guess I’ll never know.

  

Tucker May is a writer of mystery novels, whodunit short stories and all kinds of fun, puzzling tales. Murders, crimes, and mysteries abound. He grew up in Missouri then attended Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. He’s a diehard fan of the Los Angeles Rams and Geelong Cats. He lives in Pasadena, CA with his wife Barbara and their cat Principal Spittle. He is the author of The Lemon House Murders and Death of a Billionaire. 

╰┈➤ Visit Tucker’s website at www.tuckermay.com. 

Connect with him on social media at:

╰┈➤ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Tucker-May-Mysteries 

╰┈➤ Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/TuckerMayMysteries 

╰┈➤ BlueSky: http://www.bluesky.com/TuckerMayMysteries

╰┈➤ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/58926295.Tucker_May 

✍The First Page: Better Safe Than Sorry

 

 BETTER SAFE THAN SORRY

By Mike Martin

Publication Date: May 10, 2024

Mystery

Winston Windflower is (sort of) enjoying his retirement from the RCMP in Grand Bank, Newfoundland, happily spending time with his young family, but feeling a little restless. Corporal Eddie Tizzard is running the Marystown detachment and struggling with the demands of the role while his own family grows. When a new kind of drug threatens the community, a body (the wrong body) is found dead in a hearse, and then another drug-connected mysterious death occurs, Tizzard knows he’s dealing with a deadly menace in their quiet, close-knit community.

Windflower finds himself inexorably (and not unhappily) drawn back into the action, first in an unofficial role to help snare the dealers and then back to active duty in a community that desperately needs his steady hand and good judgement. 

Our favorite Mountie, Sgt. Windflower and his fellow courageous cops in small-town Grand Bank, Newfoundland are back to fight a new threat in this compelling page-turner. Award-winning author, Mike Martin once again brings us a stirring story, blending down-home Newfoundland charm with the warmth of family life. 

You can pick up your copy at Amazon.

 

 

 

                     

Some say April is the cruelest month, but Winston Windflower was pretty convinced that it was March. At least in Grand Bank, Newfoundland. They’d had a relatively mild winter up to this point, but now  they were getting slammed. Not once, but twice, by winter storms that  started the day before St. Patrick’s Day and were just ending now on March  19. The locals called the second storm “Sheila’s Brush” as a nickname given to a storm that seemed to occur right after Paddy’s Day. It came from  an old Irish legend that claimed Sheila was the wife or sister or mother of  St. Patrick and that this dumping of snow is a result of her sweeping away  the old season of winter. 

Supposedly, that was to prepare everyone for spring, which the calendar  said was about to begin in a week or so. But judging by the current weather and Windflower’s years of experience in Grand Bank, that new season  was quite a ways off. As he surveyed the banks of snow and checked the  weather on his phone, there was more of the white stuff coming. He didn’t  mind, really. He actually liked the snow and living in this small town on  the easternmost tip of Canada. 

Until recently, Windflower had been an RCMP officer, a Mountie, but  now was the community safety officer for Grand Bank and a number of  other surrounding communities. When the local RCMP detachment closed  because of budgetary concerns, they needed someone to look after their  local policing. The Mounties would look after the big stuff from near by Marystown, about forty minutes away, while they hoped Windflower  would serve as a deterrent to local criminals who wanted to take advantage  of the situation.

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.

He is the award-winning author of the best-selling Sgt. Windflower Mystery series, set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 14 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Better Safe Than Sorry. 

Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Capital Crime Writers.

His latest book is the mystery, Better Late Than Never.

Author Links  

Website | Facebook | X (Twitter)

✍The First Page: Is Truth Stranger Than Fiction? You Decide...by JB Miller

 

 IS TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION? YOU DECIDE...

By JB Miller

Publication Date: April 3, 2024

Mystery

In Is Truth Stranger than Fiction . . . You Decide, J.B. Miller takes readers on a captivating journey through the world of storytelling. The three stories in volume one explore the fascinating intersection of fact and fiction.

With her trademark wit, Miller poses thought-provoking questions about the nature of reality, the power of imagination, and the enduring appeal of a well-told tale. 

Each story is a mystery for the reader to decide. Is it truth or is it fiction?

Hint: There is truth in every story.

Challenge: If you can figure out how the stories connect you can be acknowledged in volume two for being spot on. 

Email miller.jody@icloud.com to enter your answers and your name. By doing so, and if you are correct, you agree to have your name mentioned in volume 2.

Whether you’re a fan of literature, film, or simply mysteries of human experience, this book is sure to enlighten and entertain. A must-read for anyone who has ever wondered where the boundaries of truth and fiction truly lie.

Buy Links:

Amazon:  https://tinyurl.com/yfj5yk5j

Book’s Website: http://www.truth-or-fiction.com

 

 

                     

In a quaint town in New Jersey, where traditions and golf clubs are as revered as family heirlooms, our family’s narrative took an unexpected turn.

The Golf Club, with its manicured greens and old-world charm, was more than just a leisure spot; it was the setting where our lives intertwined with secrets and revelations.

My father, a charming man with a penchant for golf and warm laughter, was a well-known figure at the club. He was the kind who could strike a conversation with anyone, his charisma as effortless as his swing on the course.

But beneath this affable exterior lay a web of secrets that would soon unravel our family’s seemingly idyllic life.

It was the summer of ‘75 when whispers began to circulate among club members.

My father, often seen in the company of the club’s elite, had grown particularly close to one family.

They were the epitome of society; their legacy etched into every corner of the town.

The daughter of this family, a woman of elegance and grace, was often seen walking the course with my father, their laughter echoing across the fairways.

JB Miller is a best-selling author of many books of fiction and non-fiction. Miller has a background in television, is a TEDx speaker, top podcast host and writer of numerous articles and blogs. She resides in Oregon and California.

The MISOGI Method

From Drift to Shift

Hired!

No Time for Love

The Perfect Gift

The BIG Little Book of Happiness

The BIG Little Book of Work Happiness

Psyche (coming soon)

Nike (coming soon)

Victory (coming soon)

Praise for J. B. Miller’s work

“Miller is a master storyteller, weaving together complex characters and compelling plot lines with ease.” – NY Book Reviewer

“Miller’s writing is intelligent, engaging, and always thought-provoking.”      – Online Book Review

J.B. Miller is an accomplished author, TEDx speaker, thought leader, podcast host, and founder of Reel Media Agency. Contact her at: miller.jody@icloud.com

Visit JB Miller on the web:

Website: www.truth-or-fiction.com and www.jodybmiller.com

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/JBMillerAuthor 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JodyBMillerAuthor

✍The First Page: The Edison Enigma by Thomas White

 

 THE EDISON ENIGMA

By Thomas White

Publication Date: February 29, 2024

Scifi/Mystery

Edison, a Chicago physicist, manages to successfully transport an object through time. Almost immediately following this success Dr. Edison is shut out of the facility and told by benefactor Raphael Barrington, to take a vacation. He is contacted by Don Rivendell, a grizzled old man with a secret. Rivendell explains to Tom that he is not the first person to discover time travel. Someone else went back and changed history by saving a young girl from dying in an internal combustion engine explosion.

Dr. Edison is tasked with going back and fixing history. He travels back to 1904 to find the younger version of Rivendell and stop him from saving the girl. 

You can purchase your copy of The Edison Enigma at Amazon at https://t.ly/_NOoo.

 

 

                     

The rising sun reflected off Lake Michigan, projecting a silvery flicker on the buildings along
the shoreline. As usual, the morning southbound traffic on Lakeshore Drive was bumper-tobumper, moving along at a torrid speed of three miles per hour. As a serene Spring breeze drifted
in from the lake, Dr. Tom Edison checked the dashboard clock, banged his palm against the
steering wheel, and hit the phone button under his left thumb.
“Call the lab.” He barked with growing frustration. As the number dialed, he heard the chimes
through the car’s speaker.
A dark gray sedan sat off to the side of the road about a hundred yards ahead. Smoke billowed
out from under the popped hood. This fire was one of the reasons for the traffic jam, but if it hadn’t
been this car fire, it would have been something else. Chicago’s modern population far outweighed
the capabilities of its ancient infrastructure. Up ahead, Tom could see the fire department
approaching on the Northbound side, lights flashing.
“Barrington Scientific Research Center. How may I direct your call?” The operator asked with
professional precision.
“Dr. Bruce Reeves, please.” Bruce had been with him from the beginning, and with his
invaluable help, they had hammered out the first feasible theories for their project.
“I’m sorry. Dr. Reeves is unavailable. Can I take a message?”
Tom gritted his teeth and reminded himself that this fellow was just doing his job.
“Is this Cliff? It’s Dr. Edison. I need to speak with Dr. Reeves.”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t recognize your voice. One minute, Dr. Edison.”
The fire engine stopped on the far side of the concrete barrier opposite the fire. Eager
firefighters jumped out and began to set up on that side of the highway. Tom could only hope to
move past the car fire before the fire department shut down the drive in both directions.
The on-hold sound was the local radio station WBBM-Chicago. Lizzo was belting out the final
lyrics of “It’s About Damn Time,” and the station shifted to a news report.
“According to a United Nations Climate Change report, it has been found that the US climate
action plans remain well below acceptable limits to affect global temperature rise. Under the
Paris Agreement, there are parameters that have not yet been attained. Globally, even with
increased efforts by some countries, more definitive actions are needed.

Thomas White began his career as an actor. Several years later he found himself as an Artistic Director for a theatre in Los Angeles and the winner of several Drama-Logue and Critics awards for directing. As Tom’s career grew, he directed and co-produced the world tour of “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out Of Their Shells”. The show toured for over two years, was translated into seven different languages and seen by close to a million children. Tom served as President and Creative Director for Maiden Lane Entertainment for 24 years and worked on many large-scale corporate event productions that included Harley Davidson, Microsoft, Medtronic Diabetes, and dozens of others. The Edison Enigma is Tom’s third novel following up Justice Rules which was nominated as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2010 Literary contest, and The Siren’s Scream.

Author Links  

Website | X (Twitter) | Facebook 1 | Facebook 2 | Goodreads

✍The First Page: The Siren's Scream by Thomas White

 

 The Siren's Scream

by Thomas White

Mystery Horror

An old mansion sits atop of a cliff, overlooking the ocean, in Santa Cruz, CA. A young realtor, Darcy Wainwright, manages to sell the dilapidated old house to Henry Childs, an obese nebbish who is obsessed with the property. In the backyard is a pool. Not an ordinary pool but a giant tide pool. In the tide pool is a siren with an evil agenda for revenge.

The Thornton Mansion was a talisman for the death and mystery that surrounded it. Unoccupied for years until Henry Childs was summoned by the house. As directed, he reached out to unsuspecting, novice realtor Darcy Wainwright. Darcy finds herself intricately involved with the house, its history and the haunting tide pool that filled the backyard. It was the pool that beckoned her, and it was the pool that would decide if she lives or dies. The Siren’s Scream. Available on Amazon.

Release Date: October 5, 2022

Publisher: Savvy Books

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1088067819; 480 pages; $21.14

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3TEz7kx

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sirens-scream-thomas-white/1142494493?ean=9781088067819

Purchase your copy at the author’s website: https://thomas-white-author.com/

 

 

 

 

 

                    

Henry Childs led a life of total inconsequence. He had no friends, no hobbies, no guilty pleasures. He had spent his thirty-eight years in the space behind his mother’s aggression, lacking the courage to reach for anything more than this pitiless world deigned to dish to him.

Edith Childs screamed at Henry from the other room, “Henry, I’m bored. I want to go for a drive.” 

Henry’s face scrunched in disdain, and the folds in his ample neck turned red. There was no denying her, not that he had ever had the backbone to attempt anything so drastic. 

With a stoic exhale, he paused his video game, gulped down his cinnamon roll, lifted his considerable bulk out of the comfort of his reclining chair, and began the routine that would eventually get his mother from her bedroom to her wheelchair and into the car. 

He grabbed her yellow sweater to be sure that she would stay warm. 

“Henry, I’m not a child. I know if I’m cold or not.” 

 He held up the cardigan and attempted to help her into it.

Thomas White began his career as an actor. Several years later he found himself as an Artistic Director for a theatre in Southern California and the winner of several Drama-Logue and Critics awards for directing. As Tom’s career grew, he directed and co-produced the world tour of “The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out Of Their Shells”. The show toured for over two years, was translated into seven different languages and seen by over a million children. Tom served as President and Creative Director for Maiden Lane Entertainment for 24 years and worked on many large-scale corporate event productions that included Harley Davidson, Microsoft, Medtronic Diabetes, and dozens of others. The Siren’s Scream is Tom’s second novel that follows up Justice Rules which was nominated as a finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association 2010 Literary contest.

Tom’s latest book is the mystery/horror, The Siren’s Scream.

Visit his website at www.thomas-white-author.com or connect with him at Facebook.

✍The First Page: The Code by Sean Keefer

 

 The Code

Sean Keefer

It should have been an otherwise uneventful Sunday morning for Charleston attorney Noah Parks. Perhaps a trip to the beach or a run with his new Australian Shepherd, Austin. But with a cryptic voicemail, everything changes.

A client has vanished, leaving nothing behind as a clue to where he may be. Neither his family, friends, nor neighbors are able to provide help.

Turning to his friend Emmett Gabriel, Charleston’s newest police detective, Parks can only watch as what started with a simple voicemail takes on a sinister life of its own. 

Parks soon finds himself entangled in an affair that spans centuries, going back to the time of Charleston’s birth.

With a focus on learning his client’s fate, Parks will soon find himself facing a mystery that will not only be a test of his wits but leaves him challenged in ways he never imagined.

Facing down twists, turns, betrayals, and traditions of honor, will he break The Code?

Release Date: October 7, 2022

Publisher: Rivers Turn Press

Soft Cover: 978-0998575575; 319 pages

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IETRpM 

Rivers Turn Press: https://bit.ly/3V9725u 

 

 

 

 

Warm. Wet. Gone. Warm. Wet. Gone.
This sensation. I knew it. No. Wait. Did I?
Warm. Wet. Gone. Warm. Wet. Gone.
This was no good. This wasn’t sleeping. I needed to go back to sleep.
But…
Again.
Warm. Wet. Gone. Warm. Wet. Gone.
I didn't want to wake up. It was too early on a Sunday. A late Saturday
night. Friends. Did I meet anyone? No. Drinks? Yes, drinks. Not too many drinks.
Maybe too many drinks.
What was this? Who was this?
Warm. Wet. Gone. Warm. Wet. Gone.
Wait.
Oh, that’s right.
Austin.
I was in bed with Austin.
Austin was demanding attention.
Immediate attention.
As the light of the pending dawn filled the room, I opened my eyes. The
entirety of my vision was filled with a brown dog nose only inches from mine.
Then a warm and wet dog lick.
Austin, my Australian Shepherd.
My new alarm clock.
He was a rescue, abandoned by his owners, barely old enough to be away
from his mother. During the nine months, he’d been with me, he'd acclimated to
his new home. And he’d grown. He’d gone from a scrawny 15 pounds to a healthy
and very energetic 45. He was smart, easily trained, with a unique personality and
a striking red-tri coat. He was friendly but fiercely protective of me.

Sean Keefer is the award winning author of three legal thrillers, The Trust, The Solicitor, and The Code, all set in and around coastal South Carolina.

He is also the author of Mediation in the Family Courts of South Carolina, a legal treatise on family law mediation.

He lives and writes in Charleston, South Carolina.

In addition to his writing, Sean is a recording and performing guitarist/singer/songwriter of Americana and Alt-Country music. Watch him sing Carolina Sunset which was inspired by his latest book, The Code. Listen here!

For more information about his writing and music, visit SeanKeefer.com and ADogNamedBear.com.

Follow him on Facebook @theNoahParksMysterySeries and @SeanKeeferMusic. Follow him on Instagram @NoahParksMysteries and @1ADogNamedBear1 

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

✍The First Page: Dangerous Waters by Mike Martin

  

 Dangerous Waters

by Mike Martin

 

Mystery

Old habits die hard…

Sgt. Windflower tries his best to ease away from life as a Mountie, but the lure of an investigation is too hard to resist.

After a missing man turns up dead, Sgt. Windflower is pulled in to investigate. Meanwhile, the arrival of a group of unique foreign visitors during a snowstorm in Grand Bank offers up another mystery. Even with so much going on, Windflower can’t resist the enticement of a good meal and a trip to the island of Saint Pierre off the coast of Newfoundland.

But when things get rough, Windflower can always rely on Eddie Tizzard and the gang to have his back.

As always, Windflower’s wife Sheila and their daughters are beacons of love and support as he navigates dangerous waters.

Grand Bank beckons you to another great story in the Sgt. Windflower Mystery Series.

Book Information

Release Date: April 30, 2022

Publisher:  Ottawa Press and Publishing

Soft Cover: ISBN: 978-1988437828; 288 pages; $16.95; eBook $4.99: FREE Kindle Unlimited

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3RczNNA 

 

Eddie Tizzard looked down at the three files on his desk. Three men, all in their early sixties, reported missing from their homes and families in Grand Bank. One, Cedric Skinner, was found floating at the far end of Quidi Vidi Lake in St. John’s. The other two, Paddy Slaney and Leo Broderick, were still missing. 

He had just finished talking to Leo Broderick’s wife. She was doubly distraught, first by the unexplained absence of her husband, then by the death of Cedric Skinner and the disappearance of Paddy Slaney. “What’s going on?” she’d asked Tizzard. He had few answers for her or the other women in this small community on the southeast coast of Newfoundland. 

“We’ll do everything we can,” he told Leo Broderick’s wife. But truthfully, right now, there wasn’t much anything he or anybody else could do to bring her husband back. He only hoped that it wasn’t too late.

Tizzard leaned back in his chair and looked out the window. There was snow on the ground and more falling by the hour. Nothing unusual there. February in Newfoundland at the easternmost tip of Canada was cold, wet, and snowy. What was unusual was the fact that this wasn’t his chair, and it wasn’t his office. He looked down and saw something else that was new: corporal’s stripes on his uniform. Two chevrons, to be exact, and an Acting Corporal title to go along with them.

He was acting head of the Grand Bank detachment of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Mounties. He had been a corporal before but was demoted when he had an altercation with a superior officer. But now they needed him, so they gave him back his stripes, at least on a temporary basis until they figured things out. What caused all of this to unfold was the sudden resignation of his old boss, Sergeant Winston Windflower. That’s whose chair Tizzard was sitting in as he looked out at the snowy morning in Grand Bank.

Winston Windflower wasn’t looking out the window, nor was he thinking about Tizzard or the Mounties this morning. He and his co-worker, Levi Parsons, were nearly done refinishing the hardwood floors at the beautiful old B&B that Windflower and his wife Sheila Hillier owned and co-managed. Levi was a shy and quiet young man who had somehow built a friendship with the much older Windflower, and under his tutelage, had been working at the B&B for a couple of years now. He was even taking hotel and hospitality classes to learn the management skills he needed to help run the B&B. 

But today the skills he needed were more of the manual labour type. They had already sanded and buffed the floors over the weekend, and now they were applying a new coat of stain. Tomorrow, they would start on the finish, and three coats of that later they would have perfect-looking hardwood floors to welcome their first dinner guests.

The B&B had been closed for over a year since the pandemic, and they were using this time, and Windflower had lots of it, to fix up the place before what they hoped would be a stellar tourist season. It had better be, thought Windflower. They would soon be without any steady income when his last few cheques from the RCMP dried up. Sheila had lots of business ideas cooking, but none were ready to provide them with the finances they would like to support their lifestyle and two small children. 

Levi went off to clean their brushes while Windflower poured himself a coffee in the kitchen and walked upstairs. He went to the small veranda on the second floor and opened the doors. The cool, fresh air flooded in, aided by the ever-present wind. He stared out, past the lighthouse and what was left of downtown Grand Bank, into the vastness of the ocean. It always calmed him to have this view, and today was no exception. He paused for a few moments, gave thanks for the view and the beautiful day, and went downstairs.

 

Mike Martin was born in St. John’s, NL on the east coast of Canada and now lives and works in Ottawa, Ontario. He is a long-time freelance writer and his articles and essays have appeared in newspapers, magazines and online across Canada as well as in the United States and New Zealand.

He is the author of the award-winning Sgt. Windflower Mystery series set in beautiful Grand Bank. There are now 12 books in this light mystery series with the publication of Dangerous Waters. A Tangled Web was shortlisted in 2017 for the best light mystery of the year, and Darkest Before the Dawn won the 2019 Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award. Mike has also published Christmas in Newfoundland: Memories and Mysteries, a Sgt. Windflower Book of Christmas past and present.

Some Sgt. Windflower Mysteries are now available as audiobooks and the latest A Long Ways from Home was released as an audiobook in 2022. All audiobooks are available from Audible in Canada and around the world.

Mike is Past Chair of the Board of Crime Writers of Canada, a national organization promoting Canadian crime and mystery writers and a member of the Newfoundland Writers’ Guild and Ottawa Independent Writers and Capital Crime Writers.

His latest book is the mystery, Dangerous Waters.

You can visit his website at https://SgtWindflowerMysteries.com/  or connect with him on Twitter and Facebook.