Grave Girl
by Dan Padavona
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GENRE: Mystery/Thriller
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BLURB:
Every mind holds a secret. Some are more deadly than others.
Nightshade County Sheriff Thomas Shepherd is a successful model for every law enforcement officer with autism. He leads an idyllic life in his uncle’s old home along Wolf Lake and is planning to marry private investigator Chelsey Byrd.
But when a star athlete’s girlfriend disappears while camping, everyone blames the boyfriend. He’s volatile and dangerous. Did he murder the girl and bury her in the woods?
The sheriff’s gut tells him there’s more to the story than the boyfriend is willing to admit. The more he digs into the case, the more he worries someone is hiding a dark secret.
Is the boy a killer? Or is he the next victim?
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EXCERPT
Only one road led to the scenic lookout above Lucifer Falls, and it was winding and treacherous even during the day. At night, Thomas kept both hands on the wheel and leaned forward, ignoring the crick in his neck. It seemed that he drove through a sea of black. Trees sprang out of nowhere and lurched toward his F-150.
Chelsey held the door handle, her gaze fixed on the road ahead, as though she were driving. She yelped, and Thomas slammed his brakes when a shadow darted in front of the truck. The deer bounded through the brush and disappeared.
“Slow down, Thomas.”
“If I go any slower, I might as well put the truck in neutral. It’s impossible to see.”
She tightened her seatbelt. The truck jounced over a rut. Thomas pulled the wheel when the sloping terrain swept him toward a hundred-foot drop off. The brights did little to drive back the night, and to make matters worse, a fine mist curled along the ground. He hoped it didn’t expand into a full-fledged fog. The road was challenging to traverse as it was.
Darren’s blue Silverado popped out of the darkness. Beside the ranger’s truck, the shoulder opened to a lookout. An iron rail prevented sightseers from plunging off the cliff. The falls roared beyond the rail, and water droplets formed on the sheriff’s windshield. Darren climbed out of the cab and waved a hand over his head. Raven was there too, and by the way she cupped her elbows with her hands, she’d already succumbed to the cold. The ranger flared a flashlight and illuminated a dirt path that followed the hill down to the stream.
“Tell me what happened,” Thomas said, hopping out of his truck with Chelsey beside him.
“I came out to do my nightly rounds and ensure nobody was on the trail. As I passed the falls and walked along the stream, I found the body in the weeds. I wouldn’t have seen him were it not for the bugs. Fresh body, no death scent.”
“That means the killer dumped the body recently. You didn’t spot anyone in the woods?”
“No, but I heard a motor pass the lookout just after sunset. Thought nothing of it. If I’d acted sooner...”
1. Favorite childhood memory involving books? My favorite childhood memory involving a novel was reading The Stand by Stephen King. I must have been 11 or 12 at the time, and not only was a proud of myself for making it through a scary book, I’d probably read more pages in one book than most of friends had read in their lives, lol.
2. What fantastical fictional world would you want to live in (if any) given the chance? Well, that’s easy. It would have to be Hobbiton in The Shire. It’s green and sunny all the time, the houses are underground and cozy, and there’s always a party with fireworks.
3. Did you want to be an author when you grew up?
I did, though I never took being an author seriously until I became an adult. I couldn’t imagine thinking of that many words, let alone writing them. Now I knock out 2000+ words in a morning and hardly blink. Times change.
4. If you had to describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
Loving, driven, and optimistic.
5. What’s one movie you like recommending to others? The first Kick-Ass movie. It’s incredibly violent, but it’s portrayed in such a humorous and entertaining manner that I can’t look away. Plus, Hit Girl might be the coolest on screen character of the last twenty years.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Dan Padavona is the author of The Wolf Lake series, The Logan and Scarlett series, Darkwater Cove, The Scarlett Bell thriller series, and The Thomas Shepherd Mysteries. Many of his novels rank in the top-10 in Amazon’s thriller and mystery categories. He is a husband, a parent, and proud member of the International Thriller Writers Organization.
When he’s not writing, Dan enjoys photography, biking, weightlifting, and storm chasing. Dan has videotaped tornadoes from New York to Oklahoma and Texas and was nearly swept up by a strong twister outside Sweetwater, Texas. A self-proclaimed ice cream and gelato lover, Dan admits to spending too much time in the gym, compensating for his questionable nutritional decisions.
Website: https://www.danpadavona.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djpadavona
Instagram: @dan_padavona
Twitter: @DanPadavona
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B3ZHMKFD
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Dan Padavona will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via
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Thanks for hosting!
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DeleteReally nice cover and excerpt, looking forward to reading this!
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