In association with Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours, Jersey Girl Book Reviews is pleased tp host the virtual book tour event for Bird In Hand by author Nikki Stern!
ASIN: B08FHK9VM7
BNID: 978-0999548752
“Lieutenant,” he called out. “Sorry to bring you out on such a soggy night.” He suppressed an involuntary shiver.
“Duty calls, Deputy. You did the right thing.” She looked around. “Where’s the person who called it in?”
McCready cleared his throat. “I’m guessing he took off.”
She understood the young deputy’s discomfort. Poaching was a serious offense. On the other hand, the watermen who flouted the law were friends and neighbors to people with whom she worked.
“Never mind. Let’s see what he found. Grab your flashlight.”
Sam pulled a handheld marine searchlight out of the trunk of her cruiser.
“You got anything specific we can use as a starting point?” she asked.
“Dispatch said the caller mentioned sand. The shoreline is mostly rocky around here, but maybe there’s a sliver of open space right up at the point.”
Sam pulled out her phone and pulled up Google Maps. “I see it,” she said. “We’ve got to pass between these trees and the water to get to it.”
“Careful, then,” McCready said. “We’ll probably run into some pretty slippery going what with the mist and all.”
They headed towards a copse of trees adjacent to the manicured lawn. Dawn hadn’t shown itself. Absent any other illumination, they relied on their beams as they picked their way over the uneven surface.
“This is probably about the only piece of land left undeveloped around here,” McCready observed. “You wouldn’t believe how much building has gone on just in the last fifteen years.” He stumbled. “Shit! Sorry, Lieutenant.”
“Nothing I haven’t heard before, Deputy.”
They came upon a slip of sand about a hundred feet long and perhaps fifteen feet wide.
There it was, a body, face up, the left arm extended over the head as if to ward off a blow. The right arm rested on the chest as if in benediction. Both hands were blackened.
She set her searchlight down and crouched by the corpse. The beam coming from McCready’s flashlight wavered.
“You okay, Pat?” she asked.
She heard him swallow. The light steadied. “Yeah, it’s just that, damn, that's Arley Fitchett.”
"You know him?" Sam asked.
"Everybody knows Arley Fitchett."
***
Excerpt from Bird in Hand by Nikki Stern. Copyright 2020 by Nikki Stern. Reproduced with permission from Nikki Stern. All rights reserved.
Author Nikki Stern provides a multi-layered storyline that has enough mystery, suspense, drama, treachery, secrets, dark traumatic pasts, and intriguing twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing, while weaving an intricate and complicated web of what the motive of the treasure hunter murder could have been, along with finding the killer among a growing list of possible suspects. And if that isn't enough to captivate the reader, the author adds a wonderful touch of humor, wit, grit, and a complicated long-distance romance between Sam and FBI Special Agent Terry Sloan, into the mix to keep them entertained.
Bird In Hand is an exciting mystery story intertwined with enough police procedural aspects and realistic characters; witty dialogue and interactions; and a rich description of the setting that transports the reader to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. This fascinating multi-layered storyline draws the reader into the murder investigation that has Sam and the Sheriff Department with the assistance of the Maryland State Police CSI department engage in a frustrating cat-n-mouse game with the treasure hunter killer, until the pieces of the investigation puzzle comes together and is dramatically solved. But alas, just when you think Sam's investigative adventure is over, the author leaves the reader with a cliffhanger ending that will keep them in limbo when Sam comes face-to-face with her traumatic past, leaving a suggestion that perhaps there will be a third book in the Sam Tate Mystery Series.
Bird In Hand is the kind of mystery that easily keeps the reader captivated, guessing, on their toes, and wanting more!
RATING: 5 STARS
So many books so little time. I am hoping to read this one in the near future.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jersey Girl!
ReplyDeleteHi Nikki! Thank you for the opportunity to feature your book on my blog. Love the Sam Tate Mystery series, hope there is a 3rd book!
DeleteThanks, Jersey Girl!
ReplyDelete