Shares The Darkness, my fifteenth novel and the
seventh in the Sticks Hetrick crime series, was released today by Torrid Books,
division of Whiskey Creek Press/Start Publishing.
The series is set in Swatara Creek, a fictional
community near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and the characters frequently visit
sites in the capitol. Hetrick is a retired police chief who now works as a
county detective. The protagonist in this latest book is one of Hetrick's
protegees, Officer Flora Vastine, though Sticks is involved in the events.
Sticks is the focus of the series, but others like
Flora and her boyfriend, Cpl. Harry Minnich as well as a few town characters
get their stage time. Fans seem to like that I offer this approach and reveal
the lives and concerns of ordinary officers and their families in addition to
the procedural and forensic detail. The bits of humor (dark, of course, in
keeping with the theme)and romance hasn't turned any off to my knowledge.
I conceived the premise for the series in a short
story while living in Lebanon PA, hence the location of Swatara Creek near
Harrisburg. There is a Swatara creek and even a township with that name, but
the town in the books is entirely my invention.
Though a series, the novels can be read as
standalones. Titles, in order, are: Something In Common, Cruel Cuts,
Corruption's Child, Being Someone Else, Practice To Deceive, A Burning Desire
and Shares The Darkness. Here's a blurb for Shares The Darkness:
Jan Kepler and Swatara Creek Police Officer Flora Vastine
were neighbors and schoolmates, but never close.
When Jan, a school teacher, avid birder and niece of a
fellow officer, goes missing and is found dead in a nearby tract of woods Flora
finds herself thrust into the middle of an examination of the other woman's
life, which opens personal wounds.
And a short
excerpt: Harry’s attitude was more optimistic when he
called her cell later that night.
“Peg’s group only got through part of the game-lands and
you guys didn’t cover everything either,” he told her. “There are some thick
woods out there. Fresh growth on the trees and brush. Deep leaf cover on the
ground. You said yourself, her knapsack was half-buried and you didn’t see it
till you kicked it free.”
“I was so sure we’d find her after that.”
“I’ve heard hunters telling all my life how difficult it is
sometimes to find a wounded deer—even in the season when most trees are bare. Even
in a small area like the Preserve, nature can conceal more than you might
think.”
“I hope you’re right, honey.”
“If she’s out there, we’ll find her. The Staties have
promised two search dogs for tomorrow morning. Aaron said one of the Boy Scout
troops is going to pitch in, too.”
Flora lay back on her bed. Despite the shower and rest,
muscles in her legs ached from the strain of tramping over the rough landscape.
“Before I found the pack I was almost ready to agree with Fred and think she’d
gone somewhere else.”
“Well, now you know she must be out there. Fortunately, the
weather isn’t frigid like it was last month. She’s young and healthy. If she
isn’t too bad hurt and we find her...”
“Oh, God. What if we’re too late, Harry? We...”
“Think positive, babe. Think positive.”
But Harry’s optimism couldn’t obliterate Flora’s fears.
Despite her tiredness, it was a long time before sleep came as Flora kept
visualizing scenarios of Jan lying in the muck in the darkness, wild animals
circling round her, no one responding to her desperate cries for help as the
dampness of the night sucked away her strength and will to live.
Buy links:
http://torridbooks.com/
http://www.amazon.com/author/jrlindermuth
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/lindermuth?_requestid=362650
http://www.simonandschuster.com/search/books/_/N-/Ntt-lindermuth
And other major
booksellers.
Congrats on the publication of the new novel! It sounds great and I love the cover art as well. Wishing you much success.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jacqui. Appreciate the support. Always a bundle of nerves, wondering how a book will be received.
DeleteCongrats on the publication of the new novel! It sounds great and I love the cover art as well. Wishing you much success.
ReplyDeleteExcellent cover. You book is added to my TBR list this morning.
ReplyDeleteTerell Byrd
Thanks, Terell.
DeleteCongratulations, John! It's a really good story. Thanks for the sneak peek.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Maggie.
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