Vault of Secrets

If you came for Beyond the Book, just scroll down and look a the wonderful Thanksgiving recipe, but before you do, why not enjoy this post first? The book looks great.

VAULT OF SECRETS

By

Hawk McKinney

 

BLURB:  

Vault of Secrets is a compelling tale of intrigue, murder, deception and redemption that leads retired Navy SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram in search of the connection between seemingly random murders and a banking conspiracy.  Working with the local homicide investigator, who just happens to be a former Navy buddy, Craige Ingram's attempts to protect a lonely widow and solve the case before another person dies are only thwarted by a psychotic killer whose motivation is based on pure pleasure.  The instincts and skills Ingram and his buddy acquired as Navy SEALS are tested to their limits.

 

EXCERPT:

It was straight up nine when Craige pushed through the doors of the trust department.  He figured after the way he’d behaved, he’d get the brush-off from Ms. Rozkovsky but knew he was wrong the minute she looked up at him.  She didn’t stare; she ogled and promptly dribbled her coffee.  Craige figured if he said anything too pleasant, she’d spill the whole cup, but he decided to risk it.  “Good morning,” he said.  “I have an appointment with Mrs. Stanley.”

 

The blistering instant he spoke, Irene went deaf and numb, swallowed into those gorgeous, green, scintillating eyes, wishing this stack of a man would do everything to her she’d ever wanted a man to do.  She scrutinized every scrumptious imagined morsel she could just taste under his casual Madras cotton shirt.  Having not heard one word he had said, she stuttered, “Can I help you?”  In her mind, she was already peeling away the faded cords pulled across his thighs, that marvelous face with its strong jaw and hint of heavy beard.  She wanted to run her fingers through those curly brown locks, shaded tawny gold like a male lion’s mane--every unmentionable she’d ever swirled in her dizzy head and gave her tingly goose bumps.  She didn’t care what he said as long as he kept looking at her. 

 

Craige repeated, “I have an appointment with Mrs. Stanley.”

 

Irene blinked and blinked again as though she had no idea who he was.  She then stammered, “What’s your name?” Courtesy such as “please have a seat” shot to hell.

 

“Craige Ingram.”

 

“One moment, I’ll tell her you’re here,” she bubbled.  Irene’s heart was in a pity-pat dither.  Her bra squeezed so tight, it was hard to breathe.  She stumbled around her desk and hurried into Terri’s office, somehow managing to shut the door somewhat quietly.  In a butterfly falsetto and a hand at her throat, she said, “He’s here!”

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

 

With postgraduate degrees and faculty appointments in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. In addition to professional articles and texts on chordate neuroembryology, Hawk has authored several works of fiction.

 

Hawk began writing mysteries for his school newspaper. His works of fiction, historical love stories, science fiction and mystery-thrillers are not genre-centered, but plot-character driven, and reflect his southwest upbringing in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma. Moccasin Trace, a historical novel nominated for the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award, details the family bloodlines of his serial protagonist in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series… murder and mayhem with a touch of romance. Vault of Secrets, the first book in the Ingram series, was followed by Nymrod Resurrection, Blood and Gold, and The Lady of Corpsewood Manor. All have received national attention.  Hawk’s latest release in the Ingram series is due out this fall with another mystery-thriller work out in 2014. The Bleikovat Event, the first volume in The Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series, was released in 2012.

 

"Without question, Hawk is one of the most gifted and imaginative writers I have had the pleasure to represent. His reading fans have something special to look forward to in the Craige Ingram Mystery Series. Intrigue, murder, deception and conspiracy--these are the things that take Hawk's main character, Navy ex-SEAL/part-time private investigator Craige Ingram, from his South Carolina ancestral home of Moccasin Hollow to the dirty backrooms of the nation's capital and across Europe and the Middle East."

 

Barbara Casey, President

Barbara Casey Literary Agency

 

www.hawkmackinney.net

 

http://www.amazon.com/Vault-Secrets-Hawk-Mackinney/dp/1933300256/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1384707403&sr=1-4

 

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/vault-of-secrets-hawk-mackinney/1103301288?ean=9781933300252

 

 

Readers, please follow this tour and comment often for your chance to win a $20 Amazon gift certificate. You can find the tour schedule at http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/10/super-book-blast-vault-of-secrets-by.html

Book Blast: The Vigilante

The Vigilante

by Jacqui Morrison

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

BLURB:

 

It isn’t safe for men who work in the porn business in the city of Toronto.

 

When porn producer Sal Turbit is found dead in his apartment, no one seems to care. No one, that is, except Detective Lynette Wilton. Lynette has been a homicide detective for only three months, and has yet to earn her stripes.

 

Murder is murder no matter who the victim is—and Lynette is out to catch a killer. 

 

Could the killer be Wanda Chambers, a mentally ill woman who hates the “scumbags” who prey on the vulnerable? Wanda’s beloved sister, Cathy, was one such woman. Cathy became a porn actress and then took her own life when her sleazy manager/boyfriend, Gil Lee, wouldn’t let her go.

 

Lynette’s sergeant doesn’t think it’s possible. Wanda has a debilitating illness. But Lynette believes that Wanda’s hatred and harsh childhood make her a prime suspect, and she proves it by catching Wanda in the act of attempting to shoot Lee.

 

Renowned defense lawyer Maxine Swayman takes on Wanda’s case; Maxine has a different view of the accused. She wants to help Wanda get the help that she needs, and it’s not going to happen in a prison cell.

 

As the trial proceeds, will Maxine prevail and save Wanda, or will Lynette be able to tie Wanda to Turbit’s murder as well? 

 

 

"Morrison knows how to create suspense! She brings readers on a roller-coaster ride that leaves you breathless from start to finish!" —Trey Anthony, star and producer “Da Kink in Da Hair”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Excerpt:

 

Chapter 1

“Hey,” Sal said, “come on in. You’re right on time. Good to meet ya.” He left the visitor in the living room of his shabby apartment in a grungy, low-rent building, and slipped into the kitchen. The metallic pop of a beer bottle opening echoed in the other room. Then another.

 

Six empty beer bottles, a heaping ashtray, and assorted marijuana paraphernalia were already strewn across his table. The grandfather clock struck four times. Sal stumbled back into the room. “I got you a beer.”

 

Glassy-eyed, Sal said, “I’ve got lots of great products for you to move today.” He showed the visitor the cover of a DVD. “This one is new. It’ll sell out. She’s a real sweet thing. Told me she was eighteen ’n had the ID to prove it. Likely just some little tramp from nowhere-ville. Came to the big, bad city for excitement––”

 

The metal felt cool as the visitor pulled out a gun.

 

“What the hell?” Sal screamed, just before the bullet penetrated his skull.

 

He fell onto the sofa, blood oozing out the back of his head. His face was contorted, almost angry looking. Certainly surprised.

 

The spent cartridge from the handgun ricocheted against a metal garbage can––reminiscent of the pop of a beer cap––and then landed on the carpet.

 

The murderer studied the victim’s splayed body, feeling a sense of elation and satisfaction. Out came a Swiss Army knife, and the killer wordlessly hacked off a section of Sal’s hair, stuffed it into a small plastic bag, and then threw it into a knapsack. The killer then picked up the half-spilled beer that Sal had been handing over when the shot was fired. Perfect. Grinning, the murderer chugged the beer, retrieved the spent cartridge, and smugly looked at Sal Turbit’s still body, now surrounded by pooling blood.

 

Still wearing leather gloves, the murderer put the beer bottle and hot metal bullet charge into a knapsack and fled, smiling, into the dense night.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

I am Jacqui Morrison. I started writing poems and short stories as a child. I also enjoyed public speaking in elementary school and at University. In High School, a great teacher, Lenore Hawley, inspired me and in 1995 I pursued my life-long passion for writing.

 

 My career is a complicated web and includes: owning an ice cream parlour and fine food shop, teaching life-skills management to adults, teaching computer applications, social service work and marketing.

 

From 1994 to 2003, I assisted survivors of domestic violence in both criminal and family court as a support worker. I’ve always had a strong interest in law and justice.

 

I love to write and I am happiest writing or encouraging others to fulfill their writing dreams. I facilitate writing seminars for Canadore College and various agencies.

 

I live in northern Ontario, Canada with my daughter Alison, my husband Wayne, and a three-legged dog named Willow. Our daughter has convinced us to adopt four cats so Felix, Sasha, Nikke and Angel round out our family. Angel, at four-months-of-age was abandoned by its owner and we rescued her in -15 degree weather.

 

Alison has a future in politics, animal rescue work or sales … because I’m not really a cat person and she’s persuaded me to adopt four.

 

My parents are the late Drs John and Irene Morrison. Mom was a family physician and a competitive swimmer. My father worked for the Provincial Parole Board. Dad enjoyed to write fictional stories in his spare time. He was my mentor, my editor and my hero. I have one sister named Trish. She is a competitive swimming coach. Trish resides in southern Ontario with her husband, four children, two dogs and a cat.

 

In our spare time we like to cruise Georgian Bay on our boat or spend quality family time.

 

Her Website: http://jacquimorrison.ca/

 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jacqui.Morrison

 

 

 

Readers, you'll want to follow Jacqui's tour at

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/06/virtual-super-book-blast-vigilante-by.htmlhttp://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/06/virtual-super-book-blast-vigilante-by.html   Every time you comment you're entered into a drawing for Loose Tea and Chipnuts, and she's giving away two prizes.