Naked Truths by Karen Botha - Book Tour
Naked Truths
He’s a grieving widower, the perfect boyfriend, and the prime suspect…
Lucy knows the importance of boundaries. As a massage therapist, she
keeps her work and her personal life completely separate. But when a
handsome widower shows up on her table and sparks an instant attraction,
Lucy is shameless. Breaking her rule, she crosses the line, triggering a
series of thrilling mysteries.
Paula isn’t so sure about her best friend’s perfect man… or the story
of his wife’s death. To uncover the truth, the former detective
infiltrates his social circle. When she examines a scandalous lodger, a
jealous brother, and a protective mother-in-law, everyone seems to have a
hidden motive for murder…
Lucy is torn between her old friend and her dark new love. Will she
follow her head or her heart? And can Paula discover the true killer
before her friend makes a fateful mistake?
Naked Truths is the first book in a series of pulse-pounding romantic
suspense books. If you like the odd steamy sex scene, complex
characters, and twists you won’t see coming, then you’ll love the
suspense of Karen Botha’s gripping romantic suspense.
The rest of the Naked Series of gripping mystery romances can be read
as stand alones or as part of the series and are free on Kindle
Unlimited.
Purchase Links
Excerpt
Naked
Truths was the first novel that I wrote and as such it is based very much on my
personal experiences. It's just been in to a kick-ass editor for a complete
overhaul. Even after the countless hours poring over it, this still remains one
of my favorite sections because this happened. I went to Blackmore show with my
dad and after he almost knocked over a passing cyclist trying to park on a
country lane, I saw one of my massage clients and felt all the emotional
turmoil that Lucy experiences when caught out of her comfort zone.
Parking is easy, barring
the close shave with a passing cyclist who bangs on the car in disgust.
Giggling at the poor chap, mischief in our bellies, we hop out, eager to win a
ton of junk on the raffle that we’ll only throw away later.
A steel band kicks off as
we slam the car doors shut. We’re in the midst of an instant carnival. I do a
funny shuffly walk, swaying my hips as I cross the road toward the event. I’m
not alone. People are laughing and dancing in the sun to any rhythm other than
that of the metal drums. It doesn’t matter. The sun is shining, music is
playing, and it’s fun.
We head for the stalls
nearest the beer tent and grab a cool drink to help us on our way.
“Are you still enjoying
being a massage therapist?” Paula is obviously still mulling over our earlier
conversation.
“Yeah, totally,” I lower
my voice. “I had a real lovely specimen in earlier this weekend.”
“Oh,” she’s unimpressed,
distracted by a stall displaying scarves and home crafted jewelry. After
browsing what any market stall sells for half the price, we’re off with purpose
to the hog roast, which is the highlight of our Sunday.
“It’s a long line and
it’s not even lunch time.” Someone speeds up to jump in front of us. We leave
them to it, exchanging a look of mutual derision for this unmannered
individual.
“It has the aroma of
being somewhat overcooked,” Paula is not wrong. Never mind, I’ve been dreaming
about this.
“I’ll stand in line for
ten minutes to pay an over-inflated price for bread lathered with more butter
than pork,” I roll my eyes.
“And we will enjoy it
because the smell demands it,” she throws in. So, there we are, happily
standing in line for a guaranteed disappointment, when I spot a face in the
crowd at the other side of the serving girl.
There it is.
That thump in my chest.
Again.
“Don’t look now, but that
guy there is Giles. He’s the hottie client I was telling you about, the one
from Friday.”
“Where? Don’t look
where?” she hisses, eyes darting in every direction. I try to point him out
discreetly. For once Paula does not do the embarrassing thing I expect. She’s
quiet.
“He’s familiar but I
can’t place him. He’s handsome. I can see how he got your juices flowing.”
I try to keep my rapid
breathing under control as the line edges closer to the counter. Closer to him.
I pray I’m not blushing and that my forehead isn’t shiny from the heat. Oh no,
do I smell? It’s such a hot day.
“Oh hi again.” He notices
me as we draw near.
“Hi,” I’m as cool as I
can muster, “didn’t see you there.”
“Fancy bumping into you
here. You enjoy these kinds of things then?” he asks, but I’m sure I mentioned
the other day we were coming. It could have been another client, I can’t be one
hundred percent certain.
“Yeah,” I reply instead
of grilling him.
We stand in awkward silence,
the hairs bristle on the back of my neck until the line finally moves forward.
I’m unable to remove a kind of polite half-smile that tells him I have no clue
how to react beyond the initial niceties. I find myself fidgeting with my
hands, wringing my fingers.
Here, I’m the real Lucy;
thirty-two, (just) single and a little fatter in places than I’d choose, but
not enough to bother me. And here he is with nowhere to hide.
When we are past him and
I’m sure he won’t notice, I sneak a wary glance to my left to judge Paula’s
reaction. She has remained unusually silent throughout the exchange.
“You’ve got a crush on
him, haven’t you?” She whispers even though Giles is now a distance away. I
discard the sense there’s more to her throw away comment. “Yeah, he’s a bit of
a dish, but he’s a client.”
“What difference does
that make?” She shoots me a quick smile, then focuses on the tasks dictated by
arriving at the front of the line. We both order our much-anticipated slice of
dry pork in a stale roll then head to the refreshments tent to grab a drink.
Lo and behold, Giles is
loitering. I had kept a sneaky eye on him, just to be prepared, obviously. He’d
headed in this general direction, but I lost him when I placed my order and was
required to behave like a rational adult. Primed now, I’m now overjoyed to see
him re-emerge from the crowd.
Author Bio
Karen Botha was born in Lincolnshire, England where her father was in
the Royal Air Force. As a young girl she always had a passion for
reading and writing, studying English Language before University.
Working
most of her adult life in digital marketing didn’t leave her much time
to pursue her passion for stories. But, at the age of 36 she retrained
as a reflexologist and started working for herself. This helped her free
up more than enough time to enjoy a re-found passion; writing.
Her first novel was inspired by the true life experiences of her
clients. But don’t believe everything you read, she has more than enough
imagination to catch you out with twist and turns galore.
She enjoys romance, travelling and motor sport, which also provide her inspiration for her books.
She currently lives in London with her husband and rescue dog, Shadow.
Social Media Links –
0 Comments
Please try not to spam posts with the same comments over and over again. Authors like seeing thoughtful comments about their books, not the same old, "I like the cover" or "sounds good" comments. While that is nice, putting some real thought and effort in is appreciated. Thank you.