Title: The Shiver in Her Eyes
Author Brian Anderson
Genre Mystery
Publisher The Wild Rose Press
Book Blurb:
Hired by a mob-controlled pornographer to investigate a grisly murder, Minneapolis PI Lyle Dahms faces murderous gunmen, merciless gang members, and a massive ex-professional wrestler who, besotted with the dead man’s wife, insists on tagging along.
The real mystery involves the pornographer’s mistress, a dark and vulnerable beauty who steals Lyle’s heart—and who may not be everything she seems. As the lies continue to mount and loyalties change like the Midwest weather, Dahms risks his life to seek justice and protect the woman he loves.
Excerpt
I didn’t want to work for Farnum. I didn’t like the man, and Angelino scared the shit out of me. But I didn’t want to say no to him. There’s no sense in pissing off a guy with his connections. Besides, at five hundred dollars a day I could afford to mess around for a couple of days while the cops solved the thing.
“Okay, Al,” I said. “You got yourself a P.I.”
Farnum was writing me out a check to serve as a retainer when I heard a door open in the back of the apartment. I turned around just as a woman entered the room.
As she appeared, Angelino stood but otherwise remained as expressionless as a slab of basalt. Farnum remained seated, but his face broke into a smile that I can only describe as one of pure joy. He held out both arms to her, as if to hug her, but she did not rush to his embrace. Instead, she nodded to Angelino and leveled her eyes on me. I fumbled in my seat for some confused seconds, but finally stood, and my eyes met hers.
She was young, in her early twenties, and I was immediately struck by the youthful, almost luminous glow of her creamy, dark skin. She was tiny, about five foot two, and her stature suggested a vulnerability that was belied by the firmness of her body and the strength that shown in her brown, tranquil eyes. She was dressed in a pair of acid-washed blue jeans, and a silky, purple blouse. The purple of the blouse seemed to accentuate the deep beauty of her milk chocolate complexion.
I felt like something had reached out and was clenching at my insides. This was a lovely woman. Gifted with a beauty so deep that at once I wanted to be lost within it. She reminded me of twilight, of the last moments of the day when the sun slips behind the horizon and dusk comes on to cool the soul before enveloping the world in the sleepy darkness of night. She smiled and the whiteness of that smile broke across the room like heat lightning across a midsummer sky. The sight of this woman didn’t just cause me to drift into uncharacteristic, poetic rhapsody. She actually made me ache.
I was totally unused to the effect that she had on me. I suddenly felt ridiculous standing there staring at her. I lowered my gaze and shuffled my feet like an embarrassed schoolboy.
“Carmen!” Farnum exclaimed. “There you are, my princess. We were just concluding our business. But here you are and I...I...I.” He stuttered, unable to finish his thought. He turned to me and, regaining his composure, said, “I think we’re done here, Lyle. Keep me informed.”
The sight of Farnum so befuddled made me forget that she had just had the same effect on me. I smiled at him. “I can see you have other things on your mind now, Al,” I said. “I’ll just be going.”
“Alexander,” Carmen said. “Please introduce me to your business associate.”
Hers was a voice of silk and sandpaper—low and steady, yet somehow breathless, with a catch like the tiny growl of woman on the brink of ecstasy. It was a voice that demanded attention.
The smile disappeared from Farnum’s face, and he looked at her quizzically for a moment, but finally he sputtered out, “This is Mr. Dahms. He will be working for me for the next few days. Mr. Dahms, this is...uh, this is Carmen.”
She stepped toward me and extended her hand. “Mr. Dahms? That’s a bit formal, isn’t it?”
I wiped my hand on my pants and placed my hand in hers. “Lyle, ma’am,” I said. “Lyle Dahms.”
Her hand was soft and dry, and her handshake was firm. I realized that I was grinning like a maniac.
She let go of my hand and I took a step back, but she did not turn away. “What will you be doing for Alexander, Lyle?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to say, so I just smiled and looked to Farnum for help.
“Dahms will be looking into the Rovig matter for us, sweetheart,” he told her. “Mr. Dahms is a confidential investigator.”
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-shiver-in-her-eyes-brian-anderson/1141502896?ean=9781509242801
The Wild Rose Press: https://wildrosepress.com/product/the-shiver-in-her-eyes/
Author Biography
Brian Anderson is a graduate of the University of Minnesota whose Dinkytown neighborhood provides the setting for his mystery series featuring private investigator Lyle Dahms. The Dahms novels spring from his lifelong love of mystery fiction, especially the works of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, as well as more contemporary masters like Robert B. Parker and G. M. Ford. He is a three-time finalist in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association mystery and suspense contest, and his debut novel, The Shiver in Her Eyes, was a finalist in their Nancy Pearl Contest for published fiction.
In 2024, he released his standalone novel Yule Tide, which features a fallen angel turned private investigator who fights to wrest Christmas from the dark forces who have taken control and twisted it to their evil ends.
Brian spent much of his professional career working to alleviate domestic hunger serving as the operations director of the Emergency Feeding Program of Seattle & King County as well as the manager of the Pike Market Food Bank in downtown Seattle. Married with three beautiful daughters, he now lives and writes in Ocean Shores, a small city on the Washington coast.
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