Title: Deadly Yours
Author: Cyndi L. Stuart
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Book Blurb:
This Killer Won’t Let You Run Away!
A letter, sealed with blood red wax, arrives in a small coastal town. Samantha’s hopes of a new, quiet life are shattered. The killer is back. Like years before, the crime scenes mimic classic mysteries Samantha once taught in her English Lit class—The Art of Detection. Is one murder staged from an Ellery Queen novel? P.D. James? Sherlock Holmes? Maybe more!
Five years ago, strangers died. This time—friends. As the body count climbs, this menace must be found or the killings may never stop. What’s hidden in the tiny details? Why is the killer taunting her? As the killer closes in, does she once again cut and run or stand and fight? What will Sam risk to bring this nightmare to an end?
Excerpt:
A young, tall officer paced in front of a large whiteboard as he made notes and pinned up photos. A photo of a sea chest caught Samantha’s attention. Her head spun to the next picture which showed the same chest with a body inside. The note written alongside the image read, “killed by a sharp weapon—run through trunk into body.” Her eyes scanned the top of the board and then stopped on the photo and the words written below—Victim Robert Brignone.
Samantha shoved herself away from the counter, then turned and ran back into the conference room. She wrenched the door wide open, raced inside, and slammed it shut. The three investigators huddled around the letter on the table, stared up in alarm.
“Was that trunk found in a museum?” Sam demanded.
Detective Jessica Noguchi’s face looked confused. “What trunk?”
“The body in the trunk!” Sam shouted and pointed to the room behind her. “On the whiteboard. Was it found in a museum?”
Jessica squinted through the window to the squad room and then her eyes darted back to Sam. Oh, crap! She’s seen the incident board. Even though it contained details of an unrelated crime scene, she didn’t want to discuss an ongoing case with a civilian.
Before Jess could respond, Criminal Profiler, Colin Davies, stood up. “No, not in a museum exactly, but...” There, he thought as his voice trailed off, a spark of recognition in Sam’s eyes behind the fear.
The pitch of her voice rose. She turned toward Colin. “Then…a-a-a party? Was there a party in the room with the ch-ch-ch-chest?”
Jess and Police Chief Marlene Porter stared at her stunned. Colin answered again. “Yes.” He walked over toward the door. “He was found in an old sea trunk two days after a party at his home.”
Sam’s next words came out as a whisper. “It’s the killer.”
Her hands shook as she reached out and grabbed hold of the closest chair. She stumbled into it so hard it began to roll away from her before she could sit down in the seat. In one fluid movement, Colin caught the back of the chair with his left hand and Sam’s upper arm with his right. He then steadied the chair and sat her squarely in the seat. He reached out and pulled a nearby chair close to hers. Sam held her head in her hands. Colin sat down beside her.
In a soft voice, he asked, “Sam?”
Silence.
“Samantha,” he said, with more force as he placed his hand on her arm. “Please. Look at me.”
Sam raised her head and looked into his green eyes. The scent of fresh cedar and bergamot wafted over her as Colin leaned in. It reminded her of walks in the woods and Earl Grey tea.
“What did you see? Tell me what you think happened.”
Sam stared for another moment at those kind eyes and then went on to describe the murder details, the chest, the stabbing, all of it. When she finished, she put her head back in her hands and waited.
They all sat there in silence for a few minutes and then the hammer came down. Jessica exploded. She stood over Sam with her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes flashed fire.
“Okay, would you care to explain how you know about this murder, which we only got called to yesterday morning! Only his name has been released. The press don’t even have all the details yet.”
“Because you taught this case to your students, didn’t you?” Colin asked Sam. As his eyes took in her pale face, the back of his neck prickled like it had done at the crime scene.
Sam stared again into Colin’s eyes. The muscles in her face and shoulders began to relax. “You see it too.”
“I think so, but you will need to fill in the blanks for me.”
Marlene jumped in. “Stop! Roll it back! Could you two Poindexters explain what’s going on? Please!”
“Yes!” said Jess as her voice rose in volume and pitch. “And right now!”
“I won’t bore you with all the background,” said Sam, “but let’s just say that in detective literature there is an Agatha Christie novel where the victim hides in a chest to catch his wife cheating during a party and is then run through with a sword by the killer. I thought at first it might have been a reenactment of the P.D. James novel, The Murder Room. That’s why I asked if the chest was found in a museum.
“In the Christie novel, the killer talked the husband into hiding in the chest. It was printed under different titles over the decades, but the most well-known is, The Mystery of the Spanish Chest. It can’t be a coincidence.”
“Don’t rule out The Murder Room just yet,” said Colin. He visualized the crime scene in his mind. “The body was found in a study that could have been taken for a museum. It was packed with antiques.”
Sam’s thoughts went to the photos on the board of the room and the body. Then with a slow nod of her head, she said, “Oh, so it could be PD James. But in the James novel the victim was shot before going into the trunk.”
“Hmm, well that would depend on how accurate the killer is trying to be with the murders,” said Colin.
Jessica looked ready to have a stroke. “So, if this crazy theory you have is right, there’s a well-read murderer out there killing people for sport? Or,” she said, as a nerve in her right eye twitched, “is he hoping to become some sort of real-life literary sensation?”
Sam sat back in her chair and knew the moment had come. She had not only seen Bob’s study before in photographs but stood in that very room seven years ago for a party.
“And one more thing, and you’re not going to like it. I know—knew—Bob Brignone.”
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
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"Deadly Yours is that rare mystery written and plotted expertly. A who-done-it with a killer premise told by relatable characters I hope to read again. Put it on your list of must-reads."
Robert Dugoni, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Tracy Crosswhite series.
"I just finished Deadly Yours in a two-day binge and...WOW, WOW, WOW!!!
It's brilliant. The characters come alive, the humor caught me laughing aloud, and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough. To top it off, there's no lack of surprises, suspense and twists."
Valerie J. Brooks, Award-Winning Writer & Femmes-Noir Author of the Angeline Porter Trilogy
"Deadly Yours is a nail-biting tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat and up way past your bedtime turning the pages because you’ll never fall asleep until you find out what happens next. This exciting story has more than earned the five-star rating this reader has awarded it."
Susie Black, Author of the Award-Winning Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series
5 stars for Deadly Yours (A Samantha McMican Mystery) by Cyndi L. Stuart. Wow, Deadly Yours is a gripping cozy mystery. Its original premise is unlike anything I’ve read before. The writing is brilliant with a flair for the dramatic. The characters are well-written and engaging. The mystery itself had me riveted to the story. Deadly Yours is an unputdownable mystery. If you’re looking for a fresh, inventive cozy mystery unlike any other, pick up Deadly Yours. -N.N. Light’s Book Haven
Giveaway –
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Runs July 23 – July 29, 2024.
Winner will be drawn on July 30, 2024.
Author Biography:
Cyndi didn’t start out life as a mystery writer. But one day something unexpected happened—she became a woman of a certain age.
“What in the world are you waiting for?” said the voice in her head as she woke up on her fiftieth birthday. “That novel isn’t going to write itself! And YOU, sweet pea, are NOT getting any younger.”
So, after years spent as a naturalist on the north Oregon coast and PNW garden speaker, Cyndi dusted off her old Comm degree, left technical writing behind and got to work on short stories, flash fiction, and personal essays. But in secret she tapped away on her first mystery novel, Deadly Yours, which has now been published by The Wild Rose Press.
The challenge of creating stories from her own imagination, current events, history, and things she might have overheard at the local coffee shop is what makes her happy and where her passion for writing began. She now lives on a small island in south Puget Sound where she and her husband, a potter and artist, run an artisan business. When not reading, writing, or procrastinating, Cyndi can be found hiking, biking, or swimming in the local lakes, streams, and even Puget Sound.
Cyndi is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writers Association and Sisters in Crime.
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