Review of AFRAID- An omnibus of novels by Lisa Childs, Alexandra Ivy and Lisa Jackson-* * * * *

  

Title:AFRAID

Author: Lisa Childs, Alexandra Ivy and Lisa Jackson

Genre: Murder Mystery

Rating: 5*

Publishers: Zebra

(Feb 22, 2022)

Paperback: 368 pages

ISBN: 978-1420153637

FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley

Copy provided for the purpose of providing an honest review.

 This does not affect my opinion of this book.

A thrilling new book featuring the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Third Grave, that fans of Allison Brennan and Lisa Gardner won’t want to miss! Dark secrets and revenge converge as former students from an elite boarding school, which is also a haven for the daughters of the rich and famous, come face to face with the crimes of the past…
 
LUCY
Lucy Champagne was sent to St. Cecilia’s after her movie-star mother was brutally attacked by her sleazy boyfriend, Ray Watkins. Lucy’s damning testimony landed Ray a twenty-five-year sentence. But now, Ray is free. And he’s going to find Lucy and make her pay, no matter how far and how fast she runs . . .
 
RAYNE
Rayne Taylor found unexpected happiness at St. Cecilia’s, until her roommate, Natalie, committed suicide. Only when Rayne finds a box of mementoes from that time does she realize how wrong she may have been about Natalie’s death—and how far someone will go to keep the truth hidden . . .
ERIN
Erin MacDonald remembers little about the long-ago night she and her sister, Anna Beth, were kidnapped. While Erin was found safe, Anna Beth vanished forever. Now Erin has reluctantly come back to the family estate, where Detective Rafe Montego hopes to finally crack the case. But as flashes of Erin’s memory reemerge, she learns how deep the danger goes . . .

As all of these three authors are familiar and loved by me, this book was an automatic choice for me. While normally I don't read a lot of novellas, they were just the right size for a quick read late at night when I didn't want to be up till 4 AM finishing a suspense novel that would not let me sleep until resolving "who dun it" before being able to sleep. I loved the fact that these books were loosely connected yet stood alone. The only fault was that they ended way to quick. Each novella would have been a fabulous full length novel as they kept me quessing up until the end.

Lisa Jackson is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over ninety-five novels, including Liar, Liar, You Will Pay, After She's Gone, Deserves to Die, Running Scared, and Shiver. She is also the co-author of One Last Breath, Last Girl Standing and the Colony Series, written with her sister and bestselling author Nancy Bush, as well as the collaborative novels Sinister and Ominous, written with Nancy Bush and Rosalind Noonan. There are over thirty million copies of her novels in print and her writing has been translated into twenty languages. She lives with her family and rambunctious dogs in the Pacific Northwest. Readers can visit her online at LisaJackson.com and find her on Facebook.

 

Alexandra Ivy is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal

bestselling author of romantic suspense, paranormal and erotic romance. She has also written Regency historicals under the name Deborah Raleigh. A five-time RT Book Award Finalist, Ivy has received much acclaim for her Guardians of Eternity, ARES Security, Immortal Rogues and Sentinels series. She lives with her family in Missouri and can be found online AlexandraIvy.com.

 

Lisa Childs is an award-winning and international bestselling author of more than seventy novels.  She was born on Halloween, which may have fated her predilection for spinning dark and twisty stories. In addition to romantic suspense, she also writes women’s fiction, paranormal and contemporary romance. Lisa loves to hear from readers who can contact her on Facebook, and through her Website LisaChilds.com.

Review of FREE FROM SIN by Karen Ann Hopkins * * * * *

 

                                      Title: FREE FROM SIN

Series: Possum Gap #1

Author: Karen Ann Hopkins

Genre: Crime Mystery

Rating: 5*

Publishers: Independently published

(Feb 9, 2022)

Paperback: 280 pages

ISBN: 979-8799900489

FTC Disclosure: Free copy provided by the publisher via Goodreads

Copy provided for the purpose of providing an honest review.

 This does not affect my opinion of this book.

FREE FROM SIN is a gripping psychological crime thriller/mystery story about the intertwining lives of three unlikely women in the hills of Kentucky, and the explosive results when a troubled teenager has her day of reckoning.

Sheriff Sadie Mills navigates the challenges of single motherhood while solving crimes in the rural community of Possum Gap, Kentucky. The recent trailer shootings in her jurisdiction have her on edge, and the new coroner, a Yankee transplant from the east coast, is still adjusting to life in the wilderness when all hell breaks loose. Cases stemming from an out-of-control hillbilly clan, sex trafficking, and a murder in the nearby Amish community collide, and Sheriff Mills finds herself in a race to stop a serial killer before they strike again.

Lucinda Coblentz is a devoted wife, mother, and member of a strict religious order. Her kind and generous ways make her the perfect target of a master manipulator and has put her beloved family in grave danger. Can she make matters right before it’s too late?

Charlie Baker endured years of torment by a wicked stepfather and a coldhearted mother before she finally escaped her suffering. Now eighteen, her powerful journey takes her between two worlds, one good and the other evil. Struggling to cope with buried secrets and the demons from her past, she’ll stop at nothing in her search for the one thing that has always eluded her—happiness.

When I first started this book, I thought it was going to be a bust as I hate books told from different points of view. In fact, I often avoid a book written in this manner. However, the story managed to drag me in. I loved the location, the hills of Kentucky, and was surprised to realize there were Amish communities in Kentucky. Being from the foothills of North Carolina, I can't believe I hadn't run across this fact before. In fact, there are nearly 8000 Amish in the state of Kentucky.

I loved the pacing of the story and was back and forth about my feelings for Charlie. The story was so compeling that I managed to complete it in several hours and I'm already looking forward to the next story in this series and checking out her Serenity's Plain Secrets series.

You can visit Karen Ann Hopkins at her website: www.karenannhopkinsfiction.com.

Karen Ann Hopkins resides in northern Kentucky with her family on a farm that boasts a menagerie of horses, goats, sheep, peacocks, chickens, ducks, rabbits, pigs, dogs, and cats. Karen rescues and fosters a variety of pets and farm animals, but she also finds time to give riding lessons, coach a youth equestrian drill team, and of course, write. She was inspired to create her first book, Temptation, by the Amish community she lives in. The experiential knowledge she gained through her interactions with her neighbors drove her to create the story of the star-crossed lovers, Rose and Noah.

Karen grew up about a mile from Lake Ontario in Upstate New York. She was bitten by the horse bug at the age of five, and after diligently taking riding lessons for several years, was rewarded with her first horse at the age of eleven. The feisty horse's name was Lady, a Quarter Horse-Thoroughbred cross, who became Karen's steadfast companion. Through the years, the constant force in her life was horses. Eventually, Karen found her place as a riding instructor herself. Before accepting her fate in the barnyard, she worked a short stint as a paralegal, traveled abroad, and guided tourists on horseback riding tours in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee.

Karen is currently working on her Amish mystery series, Serenity's Plain Secrets, along with several new projects.

Review of CONNECTIONS IN DEATH By J D Robb- 1*

In this gritty and gripping new novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling series, Eve Dallas fights to save the innocent―and serve justice to the guilty―on the streets of New York.

Homicide cop Eve Dallas and her billionaire husband, Roarke, are building a brand-new school and youth shelter. They know that the hard life can lead kids toward dangerous crossroads―and with this new project, they hope to nudge a few more of them onto the right path. For expert help, they hire child psychologist Dr. Rochelle Pickering―whose own brother pulled himself out of a spiral of addiction and crime with Rochelle’s support.

Lyle is living with Rochelle while he gets his life together, and he’s thrilled to hear about his sister’s new job offer. But within hours, triumph is followed by tragedy. Returning from a celebratory dinner with her boyfriend, she finds Lyle dead with a syringe in his lap, and Eve’s investigation confirms that this wasn’t just another OD. After all his work to get clean, Lyle’s been pumped full of poison―and a neighbor with a peephole reports seeing a scruffy, pink-haired girl fleeing the scene.

Now Eve and Roarke must venture into the gang territory where Lyle used to run, and the ugly underground world of tattoo parlors and strip joints where everyone has taken a wrong turn somewhere. They both believe in giving people a second chance. Maybe even a third or fourth. But as far as they’re concerned, whoever gave the order on Lyle Pickering’s murder has run out of chances…

Title: Connections in Death 

Series: In Death (#48)

Author: J D Robb

Genre: Murder Mystery

Rating: *

Publishers: St. Martin's Press

(February 5, 2019)

Hardback: 384 pages

ISBN: 978-1250201577

FTC Disclosure: Public Library

I never thought I'd see the day that I gave a JD Robb/Nora Roberts book a one star review. While this was absolutely the dullest murder mystery that Eve Dallas has ever been involved with, I also have my doubts that it was penned by Robb. There is none of the clever wit, snarky humor, or warmth that I have come to expect when reading an IN DEATH book. There was no clever evil doer that Eve matched wits with. It was blah! It was so flat, no life at all to the story. I've been less than satisfied with the last couple of books in the series but this one was a new low. All the characters were there, Eve , Roark, Somerset, Peabody, Feeney, McNab, but none of the life that you expect from this series. Thank goodness it was a library book. I thought I might be getting burned out on the series so after the last book I started listening to the series as audio books and nope they were as great the second time as the first. The newer books just fail to rise to the level of the earlier books. So as much as it grieves me it may be time to pull the plug on what has up to now been my favorite on going series.

In Death
1. Naked in Death (1995)
2. Glory in Death (1995)
3. Immortal in Death (1996)
4. Rapture in Death (1996)
5. Ceremony In Death (1997)
6. Vengeance in Death (1997)
7. Holiday in Death (1998)
7.5. Midnight in Death (1998)
8. Conspiracy in Death (1999)
9. Loyalty in Death (1999)
10. Witness in Death (2000)
11. Judgment in Death (2000)
12. Betrayal in Death (2001)
12.5. Interlude in Death (2001)
13. Seduction in Death (2001)
14. Reunion In Death (2002)
15. Purity in Death (2002)
16. Portrait in Death (2003)
17. Imitation in Death (2003)
17.5. Big Jack (2010)
18. Divided in Death (2004)
19. Visions in Death (2004)
20. Survivor in Death (2005)
21. Origin in Death (2005)
22. Memory in Death (2006)
22.5. Haunted in Death (2006)
23. Born in Death (2006)
24. Innocent in Death (2007)
24.5. Eternity in Death (2007)
25. Creation in Death (2007)
26. Strangers in Death (2008)
27. Salvation In Death (2008)
27.5. Ritual in Death (2008)
28. Promises in Death (2009)
29. Kindred in Death (2009)
29.5. Missing In Death (2009)
30. Fantasy in Death (2010)
31. Indulgence in Death (2010)
31.5. Possession in Death (2012)
32. Treachery in Death (2011)
33. New York to Dallas (2011)
33.5. Chaos in Death (2013)
34. Celebrity in Death (2012)
35. Delusion in Death (2012)
36. Calculated in Death (2013)
37. Thankless in Death (2013)
37.5. Taken in Death (2013)
38. Concealed in Death (2014)
39. Festive in Death (2014)
40. Obsession in Death (2015)
41. Devoted in Death (2015)
41.5. Wonderment in Death (2016)
42. Brotherhood in Death (2016)
43. Apprentice in Death (2016)
44. Echoes in Death (2017)
45. Secrets in Death (2017)
46. Dark in Death (2018)
47. Leverage in Death (2018)
48. Connections in Death (2019)
49. Vendetta in Death (2019)

50. Golden In Death (2020

Review For NAKED IN DEATH (In Death Series)(audio) ... J. D. Robb-5*

Title: Naked In Death

Series: In Death #1

Author: J D Robb

Genre: Murder/Suspense

Rating: * * * * *

Publishers: Berkley

(July 1, 1995)

Paperback: 320 pages

ISBN: 978-0425148297

ASIN: B0019ZWMBQ

FTC Disclosure: my copy

In a world of danger and deception, she walks the line--between seductive passion and scandalous murder... Eve Dallas is a New York police lieutenant hunting for a ruthless killer. In over ten years on the force, she's seen it all--and knows her survival depends on her instincts. And she's going against every warning telling her not to get involved with Roarke, an Irish billionaire--and a suspect in Eve's murder investigation. But passion and seduction have rules of their own, and it's up to Eve to take a chance in the arms of a man she knows nothing about--except the addictive hunger of needing his touch. 

I've read the full set of IN DEATH books/novellas and read the newest within days of release. As I have started traveling once a week to visit grandkids that are out of town, I decided to start listening to audio books. Murder mysteries are at the top of my list to listen too as they engage the mind while mindless driving alone for hours. I decided to listen to this series as it has been a top fav of mine and it has been twenty+ years since I started reading it. First mistake, I picked up the abridged edition of the first three novels in this series. Definitely stick with the unabridged as all the emotion, the subtleties, what makes it special, is not in the abridged edition. If I had listened to the abridged addition before I read the books, I'd have never picked them up and the loss of this awesome series would be forever lost to me. It was a fun trip, rediscovering how Roarke and Eve met and remeeting Mavis, Feeney and others who are so important to Eve and this series. This was a great start to the series and I can't wait to listen to the rest of it.

If you've been hesitate to start this series because of the length and depth of it and you like a good romantic murder mystery, don't deprive yourself. I started out slow myself reading two or three of the books back to back and was amazed at how addictive it became. Now my name is first on the list at the library to read each new release (we get two books a year). There have been so many of these sold that you can pick them up at used book stories for pennies if you can't find them at the library.

In Death Series
1. Naked in Death (1995)
2. Glory in Death (1995)
3. Immortal in Death (1996)
4. Rapture in Death (1996)
5. Ceremony In Death (1997)
6. Vengeance in Death (1997)
7. Holiday in Death (1998)
8. Conspiracy in Death (1999)
9. Loyalty in Death (1999)
10. Witness in Death (2000)
11. Judgment in Death (2000)
12. Betrayal in Death (2001)
13. Seduction in Death (2001)
14. Reunion In Death (2002)
15. Purity in Death (2002)
16. Portrait in Death (2003)
17. Imitation in Death (2003)
18. Divided in Death (2004)
19. Visions in Death (2004)
20. Survivor in Death (2005)
21. Origin in Death (2005)
22. Memory in Death (2006)
23. Born in Death (2006)
24. Innocent in Death (2007)
25. Creation in Death (2007)
26. Strangers in Death (2008)
27. Salvation In Death (2008)
28. Promises in Death (2009)
29. Kindred in Death (2009)
30. Fantasy in Death (2010)
31. Indulgence in Death (2010)
32. Treachery in Death (2011)
33. New York to Dallas (2011)
34. Celebrity in Death (2012)
35. Delusion in Death (2012)
36. Calculated in Death (2013)
37. Thankless in Death (2013)
38. Concealed in Death (2014)
39. Festive in Death (2014)
40. Obsession in Death (2015)
41. Devoted in Death (2015)
42. Brotherhood in Death (2016)
43. Apprentice in Death (2016)
44. Echoes in Death (2017)
45. Secrets in Death (2017)
46. Dark in Death (2018)


In Death (Novellas)
Midnight in Death [short story] (1998) (in Silent Night)
Midnight in Death (1998)
Interlude in Death [short story] (2001)
Remember When (2003) (with Nora Roberts)
Haunted in Death [short story] (2006) (in Bump in the Night)
Haunted in Death (2006)
Interlude in Death (2006)
Eternity in Death [short story] (2007) (in Dead of Night)
Eternity in Death (2007)
Ritual in Death [short story] (2008) (in Suite 606)
Ritual in Death (2008)
Missing in Death [short story] (2009) (in The Lost)
Missing In Death (2009)
Big Jack (2010)
Chaos in Death [short story] (2011) (in The Unquiet)
Possession in Death (2012)
Chaos in Death (2013)
Ritual in Death / Missing in Death (2013)
Taken in Death (2013)
Wonderment in Death (2016)

Book Blitz & GiveawayFor THE SUBURBS HAVE SECRETS By Barbara Wallace

The Suburbs Have Secrets

by Barbara Wallace

A Sadie McIntyre Mystery

Publication Date: September 11, 2017

Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Mystery

Read for FREE in KindleUnlimited!

Amazon

When Sadie McIntyre gives a drunken Marylou Paretsky a ride home on a rainy night, little does she realize it’s the last time anyone will see Marylou alive.
Tragic accident? Or Murder?
The following morning, Marylou is found dead at the bottom of her staircase. What first appears to be a drunken tumble becomes far more complicated as Sadie discovers Marylou wasn’t as sweet and timid as everyone thought. Turns out Marylou spent her spare time digging up dirt on her neighbors and left behind a list of their secrets. Much to her horror, Sadie’s name is right on top.
Eager to keep her past buried, Sadie, with the help of her best friend Rob and Dan Bartlett, the town’s sexy new chief of detectives, sets out to who on the list was desperate enough to kill. Will she discover the answer before the truth gets out?
Or will the killer find Sadie first?

EXCERPT

Review For MURDER BETWEEN THE LINES by Radha Vatsal-5*

Title: Murder Between The Lines

Series: Kitty Weeks #2

Author: Radha Vatsal

Genre: Murder Mystery

Rating: * * * * * 

Publishers: Sourcebooks Landmark

(May 2, 2017)

Paperback: 320  pages

ISBN: 978-1492638926

FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

As the specter of the Great War hangs over the country, a promising young student turns up dead.

When Kitty Weeks' latest assignment writing for the New York Sentinel Ladies' Page takes her to Westfield Hall, a well-regarded girls' school in New York City, she expects to find an orderly establishment teaching French and dancing―standard fare for schoolgirls in 1915. But there's much more going on at the school than initially meets the eye. Kitty especially takes note of the studies of Elspeth Bright, the daughter of a scientist heavily involved in naval technology, who has inherited her father's interest and talent for scientific inquiry.

Elspeth's seemingly accidental death is a shock to the school community and to Kitty―and the more she finds out about Elspeth and her family, the more the intrepid reporter begins to believe that it may not have been an accident after all.

This book had two of my favorite things-mystery and pre-World War I New York. I adore a book that while getting me totally lost in a murder mystery will also take me on a trip to the early 1900's in New York City. I love seeing the awesome clothes and visiting the sites throughout NY City. This book was chock full of history that often had me going to my laptop to check out and read more in depth on. I haven't read the first book in this series which in no way lessened my enjoyment of it but I do intend to go back and read it as I have fallen in love with this author. I so hope there will be many, many more books in this series.

Radha Vatsal grew up in Mumbai, India, and came to the United States to attend boarding school when she was sixteen. Her fascination with the 1910s began when she studied women filmmakers and action-film heroines of silent cinema at Duke University, where she earned her Ph.D. from the English Department. A Front Page Affair is her first novel. Radha lives with her husband and two daughters in New York City.

Review Of The Last Renegade By Jo Goodman-5*

Title: The Last Renegade

Series: Bitter Springs #1

Author: Jo Goodman

Genre: Western Romance Suspense

Rating: * * * * *

Publishers: Berkley

(Sept 4, 2012)

Paperback: 384  pages

ISBN: 978-0425250969 

A stunning western historical romance from USA Today bestselling author Jo Goodman, one of today's “premier western romance writers.”*

SHE HIRED HIM TO PROTECT HER TOWN

As the owner of the Pennyroyal Saloon and Hotel, Lorraine Berry is privy to almost everything that goes on in Bitter Springs, Wyoming—including the bloodshed plaguing its citizens. With all of the good men dying at the hands of a local rancher and his three sons, Raine hires a shootist to be the town’s protector. But her handsome new employee is more than a hired hand; he’s a man who keeps his guns close and his secrets closer. 

BUT NOTHING COULD PROTECT HER HEART
 
After a chance encounter on a train, Kellen Coltrane travels to the Pennyroyal to carry out a dying man’s last wish. But once he meets the hotel’s fiery-haired proprietor, Coltrane finds himself assuming the role of the shootist’s accomplice and agrees to protect Bitter Springs. And as he learns more about Raine’s own tragedy, Coltrane can’t deny his growing desire for the courageous widow, or the urge to protect her from the threat that draws near…

I don't know if it's because I recently watched the last season of Longmire, but I've read oodles of western romance  books lately. I absolutely adored this first book in Goodman's Bitter Springs series. I love a good western romance and when you throw in a good mystery to boot, it ramps up my enjoyment 50%. 

You go into this story and after about 50 pages or so you think you know what's going on but let me tell you, you'll be wrong. Yes, I figured out a few of the minor mysteries but right up to the end Goodman keeps you guessing all while you are enjoying a wonderful romance. Luckily, I do have the other two books in this series and intend starting the second one shortly even though it's already past midnight. Ah, the joys of being retired and getting to read as long as I can keep my eyes open.

Bitter Springs
1. The Last Renegade (2012)
2. True to the Law (2013)
3. In Want of a Wife (2014)

Review For TWO DAYS GONE By Randall Silvis- 5*

Title: Two Days Gone 

Series: Ryan Demarco Mystery#1

Author: Randall Silivis

Genre: Murder Mystery

Rating: * * * * *

Publishers: Sourcebook Landmark

(Jan 10, 2017)

Paperback: 400 pages

ISBN: 978-1492639732

FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

A literary page-turner about a beloved college professor accused of murdering his entire family, and one small-town cop’s dangerous search for answers.

Thomas Huston, a beloved professor and bestselling author, is something of a local hero in the small Pennsylvania college town where he lives and teaches. So when Huston’s wife and children are found brutally murdered in their home, the community reacts with shock and anger. Huston has also mysteriously disappeared, and suddenly, the town celebrity is suspect number one.
Sergeant Ryan DeMarco has secrets of his own, but he can’t believe that a man he admired, a man he had considered a friend, could be capable of such a crime. Hoping to glean clues about Huston’s mind-set, DeMarco delves into the professor’s notes on his novel-in-progress. Soon, DeMarco doesn’t know who to trust—and the more he uncovers about Huston’s secret life, the more treacherous his search becomes.

I started this book a bit hesitantly as I'd read it was told from two POVs. I hate books told in alternating POVs so I was blown away when I realized that for a change this aspect didn't annoy the crap out of me.

This book is dark, very dark and the viciousness of the murders were very disturbing, however, the story was so darn captivating that I read it in two sittings. I love a book that can keep me guessing until almost the very end. I wasn't sure of Huston's guilt or innocence and keep swinging in first one direction and then another.  

The police detective, DeMarco was as fascinating and engrossing as Huston. There were so many facets in his personality that I'm not sure which character, Huston or DeMarco, was more fascinating. The secondary characters were as well flushed out as the main characters and you find yourself weighing each to see if one of them could have possibly killed the Huston family. There are several twists and turns in this story that keeps you clutching your book for dear life and unable to go to bed until you read just a bit more. Just one more chapter and then one more till you realize you been up all night. At first, I thought this was a standalone novel but I kept seeing it listed as a Ryan Demarco Mystery  so I sure hope we see more of this awesome detective or I'm really going to be disappointed. 

Novelist, playwright, essayist, and screenwriter Randall Silvis is the author of six books of fiction; two more are forthcoming from St. Martin's Press. A Senior Fulbright Fellow and Thurber House writer-in-residence, his many awards include the prestigious Drue Heinz Literature Prize, three National Playwrights Showcase Awards, and two fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. His work has been translated into eight languages.

DEATH AND DONUTS by Stan Schatt

Death and Donuts

The Frankie and Josh #3

Stan Schatt

Genre: police procedure /mystery/ 

paranormal mystery

Publisher: Pen-L

Date of Publication: 11/22/2016

ISBN: 978-1-68313-074-1

Number of pages: 210

Cover Artist: Kelsey Rice

Hollywood stars! Politicians! Betrayal! Murder! And a by-the-book cop just trying to do her job in the middle of it all.
To solve the murder of a movie star just weeks before the Academy Awards, Detective Frankie Ryan has to navigate through a web of Hollywood secrets and political landmines, not to mention the "old boys club" in her own police department. The presence of a new designer drug and the deaths it is tallying up threaten to hinder her investigation and leave her without a suspect—and maybe out of a job. Even with the aid of psychic reporter Josh Harrell, there is more confusion around every corner. Trusted friends will turn on her, leaving her unsure who to believe and who might be in on the murder and conspiracy. 
Can Frankie discover the killer before it is too late?

Note: this is book 3 of the series but each book stands alone

Amazon 

Excerpt: 

Frankie nodded and stepped inside the curtain. Daniel Martin 
wasn’t a large man, but now he seemed even smaller in the over- sized hospital bed. He stared at Frankie with glassy eyes. 
“I guess now I’m one of the usual suspects to be rounded up,” he said with a voice just above a whisper. 
“We can pin attempted murder on you for Belmont and probably link you to Hobbs and Gordon, but we can make things a lot more manageable for you if you just tell me who is behind Ruby Red.” 
Martin’s face broke into a rueful smile. “You just don’t get it. You’re dealing with forces much bigger than you or me. You’re just a pawn, and so am I.” 
Frankie drew her face closer. “You might not have much time. I can have a priest or minister here if you want to make your peace. Don’t die with this on your conscience.” 
Martin’s smile turned into a sneer. “The old circling the drain argument. Does that ever work? You’re not even good material for a Grade B cop movie from the ’40s. You keep digging into this, and you’ll be busted down to walking South Central on the midnight shift.” 
“Is someone in the department dirty?” 
Martin just stared at her while his lips broke into a grim smile. His face became flushed, and his eyes lost focus. An alarm sounded, 
and the room was flooded with nurses. Frankie led Josh out. She shook her head. 
What could possibly be scary enough for a man on death’s door- step to keep him from talking? 

Stan Schatt is the author of forty books including mysteries, science fiction, biographies of Michael Connelly, Daniel Silva, and Kurt Vonnegut, and even college textbooks. His novels draw upon experiences he has had in a wide range of careers that include college professor, police department administrator, autopsy assistant, telecommunications consultant, and market research executive.  Schatt has been cited for outstanding teaching by the University of Southern California, the University of Houston, and DeVry Institute of Technology.

  www.stanschatt.com

@stanschatt

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1537028.Stan_Schatt

https://www.facebook.com/Stan-Schatt-Author-629146090523126/