Join the authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com for some great excerpts. Mine is from Murder and Tainted Tea when Katherine visits a friend in Santa Fe she finds family intrigues.
BLURB:
Katherine heads to Santa Fe, New Mexico along with a Maine Coon Cat kitten to spend New Year’s Eve with Lars. Her guilty feelings over the organist’s death has her needing an escape. When she reaches Santa Fe, she discovers Lars is missing. She seeks and finds him and steps into another mystery.
Lars’ daughter dislikes Katherine but when the young woman is kidnapped, they are puzzled. The murder of Lars’ daughter and one of his employees makes solving the mysteries necessary. Can she learn before Lars becomes a victim.
Editorial Review
With every book, I think the Katherine Miller Mysteries can't get any better. I'm always wrong, because they always do. ~ Writer Gail Roughton
Excerpt:
The directions Lars had
sent took me into a area of large houses.
Most of them were behind walls. I
counted gates. Had he said four or five?
Then at the foot of the dead end street, I saw the
sign. Casa de Oro. House of gold, indeed. Bonnie had chosen the name, but in a way it
suited Lars. Years ago my husband had
teased Lars about his Midas touch for nearly every business he touched prospered.
The gate stood open.
I frowned. Lars had said I’d have
to announce myself and he’d open the gate.
I’ll surprise him, I thought and drove into the compound.
At the top of the rise I saw the reason for Bonnie’s
choice. Bathed in sunlight the two story
house at the top of the rise appeared to glisten. The golden adobe wasn’t my destination. On the lower end of the horseshoe drive stood
two smaller houses.
The adobe with a long porch on the left side of the
drive was Don’s. The H-shaped ranch on
the right belonged to Lars.
Though Bonnie’s choice was above the gate, Lars’ name
amused me. He called the estate Las
Casas de Los Tres Osos. The houses of
the three bears.
Laughter bubbled free. Was I Goldilocks? Not according to my hair color. Mine is a rich auburn shade courtesy of my
beautician.
I pulled into the carport beside Lars’ silver
Mercedes, twin to the car he drives back east.
The house seemed larger than my “Painted Lady,” circa 1890.
The difference was that mine has two stories and an attic while this
house is on one level.
With the kitten carrier in one hand and my purse in
the other, I walked to the front door and rang the bell. To my surprise, the door was ajar.
When no one answered, I rang a second time. Where was Lars?
What now? My
foot beat an impatient rhythm against the flagstone walk. The kitten cried and scrambled around the
carrier making my hold iffy.
I pushed the door open. “Lars, I’m here.”
He didn’t answer.
I set the carrier on the slate floor of the foyer. Since the door had been left open and his car
sat in the carport, he was probably in the rear of the house or at one of his
children’s. I returned to the car for my
suitcases.
I left my luggage in the foyer and stepped into the
living room. A portrait of my friend
hung above the massive fieldstone fireplace.
Several Navaho rugs hung on the cream colored walls.
Through the archway I glanced into the dining
room. The table was set for one. The sight of a partly-eaten breakfast sent
fear surging through my veins.
“Lars, are you here?”
My voice echoed in the deserted room.
What if he’s
had some kind of attack? A stroke or his
heart.
Those thoughts propelled me through the dining room
and into the kitchen. I glanced into the
pantry and stepped into the sunroom.
Lars, where are
you? Had something dreadful
happened? Was my visit responsible for
his disappearance?
Don’t be a
fool. The world does not revolve around
Katherine Miller. He’s at Don’s or
Bonnie’s.
Those thoughts failed to staunch my rising
panic. Though I felt like an intruder, I
made a quick tour of the house. I found
three empty bedrooms, a deserted office, two powder rooms and three bathrooms
and nowhere was there a sign of my friend.
I returned to the dining room. The food was cold. A fork lay on the oak floor. What had happened here? Lars and I are in our sixties. He’s my senior by six months, but his health
has always been excellent.
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No. No. No. You can't leave us hanging like that!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat snippet. Can feel her concern.