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Albert Camus

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

Friday, March 6, 2020

when life gets complicated - Lies He Told Book Series by Sylvie Grayson

"This is another great Sylvie Grayson crime mystery. Thrilling suspense and excellent plot development. I hope there is more about Rain Man and Sophia in future books." J Young, Goodreads



Description:

Rain Man (#2)

Can Rain solve his last case without getting his girlfriend arrested? 

Rainier is a survivor. He’s made some mistakes, and now he’s paying for them. As a condition of his probation, he must work with the police on investigations where his skills might be useful. There is one more case to solve to complete his commitments. Then he’ll be free. As he heads undercover to work this last case, Sophia arrives in town. She is a childhood crush who means a great deal to Rain, and she is obviously terrified of someone. 

Sophia has made a bad choice in the past, and now she’s in hiding to avoid dealing with it. Still, it follows her, and Rainier is the only one she can trust to help her deal with it. 

Rain’s problem? The clues he uncovers on his final case all seem to lead directly to Sophia. Can he solve the case without breaking his heart or pointing the police in his girlfriend’s direction?

EXCERPT

At least they didn’t put him in jail. Rainier Murdoch couldn’t think of anything that would embarrass his folks more. Surprisingly, it had been a relief to be caught by the police, and deal with the whole mess after months of working undercover and running. His business partner was dead, and when the dust settled Rain was charged with running a gambling operation without a licence, and failure to pay the taxes on the proceeds. Now he was on probation.

Rain pulled his pickup to the side of the rural road and parked in the empty gravelled area he’d found here before. Early spring, and the sun was shining glaringly on the fast receding water in the flats. He reached for his binoculars in the glove box and climbed out to walk to the edge of the pond. Uncle Toby had a house on the other side of the open water and there wasn’t a better place in Victoria to watch the birds. Since moving to Vancouver Island from the Canadian Prairies, he’d missed the wildlife he’d grown up with in Saskatchewan.

The flats were quiet today, the shallow water still, a dozen large grey and black geese floating calmly in a circle near the middle of the pond. Through the trees, he caught sight of the deck of Uncle Toby’s house. He scanned the view with his binoculars, pausing in surprise. He’d been on that deck a few times with his uncle, there was a shower and a hot tub positioned there. Uncle Toby would pour him a scotch, toss him a towel and lead the way out the door where they’d each have a quick shower and step into the steaming water to relax and catch up with each other.

Someone was showering on the deck. He adjusted the lenses of his binoculars and took a closer look as his breath caught in his throat. It was a woman, young from the look of her, although her face wasn’t what held his total attention. As the water flowed over her shapely body, she soaped up then lifted an arm to rinse, her breast moving enticingly with the motion. She turned to wash her other side and he focussed on her ass. Very nice.

This wasn’t any business of his. Toby could entertain whomever he wanted at his place. He was a widower, after all. Rainier glanced around in sudden worry to see who else might be watching the activity on the deck. There was no one here but himself which caused the tension in his chest to ease somewhat.

The problem was, Uncle Toby had left town last week. Having finally retired from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the national police force, he’d taken a long talked about trip to southeast Asia. The house should be empty. Had this person just steered down his road, walked onto the deck to shower and use his hot tub? As Rain watched, the woman leaned to shut off the showerhead and flipped the lid of the hot tub open. Then she stepped in, steam rising in a cloud around her.

What to do? Toby hadn’t specifically asked him to keep an eye on the house. Should he just ignore this? Since being charged with offences, Rainier had been released on bail. The conditions of his probation included working with the cops on various cases where they thought his skills would be of use. As time went by, he’d begun to feel like a police officer, given some kind of responsibility to enforce the law. Spending time with Uncle Toby in the last few months had simply reinforced that feeling. He couldn’t walk past this.

Lowering the binoculars, he headed determinedly for his truck. His job today was to find out what was going on at Uncle Toby’s place. Getting a closer look at the woman with the great ass and spectacular chest would just be a bonus.

When Rain pulled up in front of Uncle Toby’s door, everything looked normal. Toby’s truck was parked in its usual spot in the drive. He never used the twin garages attached to the side of the house, and on Rain’s first tour of the place, he’d noticed they were full of junk, so no room to fit his vehicle in there. Either the female visitor was driving Toby’s truck, or she’d left her car elsewhere. But she had to have access to a vehicle of some kind, out here in the boonies.

Parking right in front of the entry, he climbed out, slamming his door loudly. Didn’t want to startle anyone unnecessarily. Marching up the couple of steps to the front door, he pressed his thumb hard on the button for the doorbell. It chimed inside the house.

There was the sound of footsteps approaching, but the door didn’t open right away. He turned his face toward the side window, imagining he was being scrutinised by the occupant within. That probably meant they were nervous about having a caller show up at the door. The question was, would they open it?

Then he heard the lock snick back and saw the handle twist down. The door opened, and his heart beat a little harder. Would it be Toby or the woman he’d seen on the back deck?

He spotted a pair of bare feet, the toenails painted a dark red, and his gaze travelled up slim bare legs to the hem of a silky-looking green housecoat. There was enticing cleavage where the garment met across the woman’s chest. Her face was lovely, pale blue eyes and a plump mouth. A smile formed on that exquisite face. “Hello, Rain Man,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

The Lies He Told Me (#1)

When a police detective falls in love with his main suspect, life gets complicated. 

When Chloe Bowman woke to find her husband gone, never did she imagine it would take so long to find him, or that in the midst of the search she'd discover she didn't really know this man at all. She soon realizes she has been left alone with her young son and a time bomb on her hands. Then the earthquake throws everything into question. Lurking in the shadows is the mysterious Rainman who travels under an unknown name.

Police Detective Ross Cullen was already investigating Chloe's husband when he disappeared. Although he's powerfully drawn to Chloe, Ross also knows that when one member of a family disappears, the first place to look for the suspect is among those closest to him. No one is closer than Chloe.

But the deeper Ross digs the less he knows, and the more he's attracted to the young wife as she struggles to put her life back together. Can Ross break through the Rainman's disguises to solve the case so he can be with Chloe? 

EXCERPT

Ross Cullen shifted on the seat of his truck and cranked his neck sideways. Surveillance duty was hard work. He was staff sergeant now and had become detective a year ago. He didn’t have to do a lot of the grunt work anymore. But he’d wanted this case. He’d already had Jeff Sanderson in his sights.

When the Missing Persons Notice crossed his desk, it all seemed too convenient. After the husband disappeared, the house got finished, the lawn went in. Today was his day off and he didn’t have to be here. 

He’d seen the tapes of Chloe’s first interview at the station. After she filed the report about her missing husband, she’d been asked to come in and answer some questions. Her brother John had come with her, but Chloe herself had been impressive. She was obviously shaken. She’d looked tenuous but dogged as she recounted everything she claimed she knew about her husband’s last days in Victoria. He was gone, his laptop, his cell phone, his dog and car were gone. She answered the same questions over and over as they were put to her different ways, until she sagged back in her chair in exhaustion.

“Well,” she said. “I’ve had enough. If there’s anything else you want to ask that might help find my husband, then please ask now. Otherwise I’m going home.”

She stood, looking down at the officer who sat with his finger midway down the page and a surprised look on his face. “You may have more to say but I’m through. Now you’ve had my cooperation and I want yours. Find my husband. Quit dragging your feet, quit pretending he ran off and find him!”

She turned her back and headed toward the exit, followed closely by her brother. The officer at the door looked past her to see what his instructions were, then opened the door and escorted them out. It was Ross’s opinion that Chloe and her brother John were cut from the same cloth. Chloe was just younger and hid her steel under her feminine nature. But she was just as tough in her own way and just as determined.

And beautiful. He’d been fascinated by her dark glossy curls and fair skin, the large liquid eyes. He’d watched the recording of the interview more than once and it irked him to know that it was as much to look at her as to analyze the information.

He watched from his truck now as Chloe called across the yard to her little white dog and leaned down to ruffle his ears. Ross slowly panned the binoculars over her form, feeling his temperature rise. Maybe this kind of surveillance wasn’t healthy. He might get a fever just watching her.

book#2 Only .99 cents!!
About the author: 
Sylvie Grayson loves to write about suspense, romance and attempted murder, in both contemporary and science fiction/fantasy. She has lived most of her life in British Columbia, Canada in spots ranging from Vancouver Island on the west coast to the North Peace River country and the Kootenays in the beautiful interior. She spent a one year sojourn in Tokyo Japan. 

She has been an English language instructor, a nightclub manager, an auto shop bookkeeper and a lawyer. Now she works part time as the owner of a small company, and writes when she finds the time. 

She is a wife and mother and still loves to travel, having recently completed a trip to Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam and Hong Kong. She lives on the coast of the Pacific Ocean with her husband on a small patch of land near the sea that they call home. 


Author's Giveaway 

4 comments:

tetewa said...

New author for me, sounds good!

Nancy P said...

Nice covers

Unknown said...

Do you understand there's a 12 word sentence you can say to your crush... that will trigger intense feelings of love and instinctual attraction to you deep inside his heart?

That's because deep inside these 12 words is a "secret signal" that fuels a man's impulse to love, admire and guard you with all his heart...

=====> 12 Words Will Fuel A Man's Desire Impulse

This impulse is so hardwired into a man's brain that it will drive him to try harder than ever before to do his best at looking after your relationship.

Matter-of-fact, triggering this mighty impulse is absolutely essential to having the best possible relationship with your man that as soon as you send your man one of the "Secret Signals"...

...You will instantly notice him open his mind and soul to you in a way he's never expressed before and he'll identify you as the only woman in the universe who has ever truly tempted him.

Jennifer L. said...

Love the covers.