Eclectic writer

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Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Code Blue #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #medical #suspense #romance #second chance

Join the authors at MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com For some great excerpts. Mine is found at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com and is from Code Blue a romantic suspense.

BLURB:

Nurse Susan finds the body of the hospital’s “gossip queen” in the orthopedic storage room. She doesn’t realize this is the first of a series of murders involving her colleagues or that her life is in danger. She is a widow and is exploring a new romantic relationship that promises love but she fears the man she is falling for is as controlling as her dead husband.

The arrival of courtship gifts, at first, seen as innocuous soon takes on a sinister note.

Reviews
This book kept me on edge from the first page to the last. Several times I just 'knew' I'd figured out who the killer was, but each time, there was a bit of doubt there until the very last paragraph! I highly recommend this book. 4 Stars (Excellent!)"--Tracie's Book Reviews

"Fast-paced mainstream novel ... Walters plots carefully, each scene constructed to perfection. For readers who enjoy being terrified, this is an author to turn to for entertainment. She tells all, while managing to create paranoia among the characters."--Affaire de Coeur

EXCERPT:

He crouched in the cemetery that embraced three sides of the hillside parking lot across from Bradley Memorial Hospital. A massive family marker shielded him yet allowed him a clear view of the steps, the street and the door of the Emergency Room. Dark clouds slid across the surface of the moon. Lights, set high on poles around the perimeter of the lot sent finger shadows groping among the cars.

The watcher straightened and edged from behind the granite marker. White puffs of vapor from the shallow, rapid breaths he took coalesced around his face. He held his body as rigid as a tombstone. As he waited for the evening nurses to end their tour of duty and hurry across the street to their cars, his narrowed eyes focused on the brightly-lit hospital entrance. Every night for a week, he had watched while excitement and anticipation had circled like a swarm of hornets. Would she come tonight?

"I'll never leave you." When he was eight, Mommy had said the words that had become his litany. That broken promise had brought him here.

He stared at the steps. When would Susan come?

When Mommy was a patient, Susan had been her favorite nurse. He had liked Susan, too, but she hadn't stopped those other people from hurting Mommy. His shoulders tensed.

"I'll never leave you. They'll have to kill me first."

The night Mommy died was etched into his memories. On that dreadful night, he had begun his plan to make them pay.

Mommy would be unhappy about what he meant to do. To her, nurses were special and Susan more wonderful than the rest.

He rocked from his heels to his toes. The last time he had disobeyed, Mommy had threatened to tell everyone how bad he was. He had promised her he would be good. His hands curled into fists. Sometimes he wanted to feel the heat of accomplishment so much he felt sick.

He gulped a breath. Tonight the heat would blossom and he would feel powerful again.

Susan was like Mommy. She would tell. He chewed on his lower lip. Her death would free him to still the people who had hurt Mommy on that dreadful night.

His smile became a grimace.

He had trusted Susan but she had failed to keep Mommy safe. Though he wished to see the others dead, Susan had to be first. He had laid his plans carefully, and while he had considered all the things that could go wrong, days had become weeks and then months.

The bright lights across the street caught his attention and stirred his hopes. She had to come tonight. He wanted to be free.

His hand brushed Mommy's tombstone. He pressed his fingers against the engraved letters of her name. He cocked his head and listened to the whisper of the wind.

"Nurses give so much to others. Someone should take care of them."

Mommy's husky voice thrummed in a corner of his mind. Her face appeared. Tears spilled from her eyes. He shook his head. Why should he listen to her when she had left him?

Sometimes at night when he slept in her bed, he caught a glimmer of her presence. For fleeting moments, the scent of her perfume brought her to him.

He squared his shoulders. Since he was eight and Daddy died, Mommy had watched him carefully. One day, her vigilance had wavered. The neighborhood bully had fallen from a tree and broken his neck. That awful boy shouldn't have torn up Mommy's flower garden.

Mommy had liked the candy and the other presents he had given her every time he disobeyed. He groaned. Who would like his presents now?

Where was Susan? Waiting made him anxious. She had to come so she would be just like Mommy.

My Places

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Medical Murder and Mayhem Mystery

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

Committee of Angels #MFRWHooks #BWLAuthor #Medical #romance #mystery # suspense #second chance

Join the Authors at #MFRWHooks here http://mfrwbookhooks.blogspot.com for some intriguing excerpts. Mine is found at eclecticwriter.blogspot.com and is from Committee of Angels, a romantic suspense story

Blurb:

The article passed around the table on a hot August night. “Five to ten percent of the nation’s doctors are so impaired or incompetent they cannot or should not practice medicine.” The nurses at Bradley Memorial thought they had them all. That night they formed a group they called The Committee of Angels.

Nearly a year has passed and Laura Bancroft wonders why little has been done to change things. She also wonders about some of the nurses fitting the pattern. Laura has three doctors on her list of incompetents. She seldom meets with the other members and several of the others are upset with her. When her ex-husband joins the medical staff, she realizes she still has feelings for him. One of her list of doctors dies after emergency surgery and Laura finds her suspected since she was assigned to the doctor. She must deal with suspicions, her feelings for her ex. Then a second on her list commits suicide and speaks of blackmail.

Can Laura learn the truth of who is responsible before she faces arrest?

Susan

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2022

Verified Purchase

Book Review: Committee of Angels by Janet Lane Walters

1st sentence: Laura scurried down the hospital corridor, feeling like the White Rabbit.

Murder and mayhem with doctors and nurses spike a nicely paced ‘who dunnit.’ Ms. Walters pens the most intriguing characters, and this story pacts a punch bowl full of them.

Excellent gripping read with a surprise and satisfying ending. Couldn’t put the book down once I started. Highly recommended for anyone who likes mysteries and medical dramas with a nice touch of romance.

Excerpt:

The straining air conditioner barely managed to keep the temperature inside Charlie’s a tad cooler than the August heat outside. At ten minutes to midnight the temperature outside registered at eighty-nine. The humid air hung heavy.

Laura Bancroft paused inside the door of the dimly lit bar area of the restaurant. She walked to the large booth at the rear of the narrow rom. For a moment she wondered why she’d come. Her hectic schedule as an evening nurse, being a single mother and working on her master’s degree made joining her colleagues a seldom event.

Several nurses waved and slid along the curved bench. The dark-haired man seated at the end brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Glad you decided to come.”

Laura leaned against the padded back of the booth. “I’m free tonight. Stacey has a weekend sleepover and Dad invited his buddies for cards.”

His hand covered hers. “You’re free tomorrow. So am I. I’ve an idea. Come home with me.”

Laura sighed. Should she? She liked him. They shared classes at the local university as they both were working for a Master’s degree. Her hands tightened. Lately she’d felt uncomfortable. Moving beyond friendship seemed impossible.

Before she refused the waitress arrived with a tray of glasses. “The one with the straw is the soda.”

Laura took that glass. “Thanks for remembering.”

“You seldom indulge in alcohol.” He turned his beer mug in circles.

Exhaustion swept through Laura’s body. She bent her head and sipped the cola savoring the taste and the coolness on her dry throat. She listened to the gossip sweeping around the table.

“So I said,” One of the nurses began. “Doesn’t an elevated temp three days after surgery men something’s brewing.” She groaned. “This is the third pending infection for Blunder Doctor this month.”

“And it’s only August sixth,” another nurse said. “Give him a chance to better his record.”

“Guess what Princess Doc said this afternoon. “Don’t call me. Call the service and someone will get back to you. I have a busy evening.”

“She must have tickets to the opera,” Laura mumbled.

A nurse with gray hair Laura had never seen before leaned forward. “Seems things aren’t much different from the last place I worked.” She unfolded a piece of paper. “Months ago I read this. Five to ten percent of the nation’s doctors are so impaired or incompetent they cannot and should now practice medicine.”

A blast of chill air sent shivers along Laura’s spine. Mentally she listed the doctors at Bradley Memorial who fit that description. “I think the numbers are too low unless there are four or five hundred doctors on staff.”

Along with the article, laughter moved around the table.

“Maybe we have them all,” someone whispered.

Laura frowned. The clipped voice belonged to one of the evening supervisors. What was Edith doing here? How often did someone from administration socialize with staff nurses? The older woman sat next to the young blonde who had just completed her month long orientation.

“Something should be done," someone said.

Laura scanned her companions. Who had spoken? “What can we do?” Her question joined the chorus.

“There’s more.” The supervisor moved the globed candle closer. For an instant the flickering flame changed her round smiling face into a grotesque mask. “Only a doctor can determine if another doctor is incompetent.”

“Wrong,” the strange nurse said. “Nurses can act>”

“Not true,” someone said.

“Sure.” Skepticism colored the speaker’s voice. “We all know how they avoid and close their ranks around the incompetent. They’re afraid of what they might find.”

“And if any of the doctors agree with us. Their afraid of what they might find.”

“So what can we do?” Laura’s question halted the buzz of conversation.

“Nothing,” their sole male said. “Look at what happened to Alice when she complained about Blunder Doc. She lost her job. While this isn’t a fun job, it pays the bills.”

A second woman slapped the table. “He’s right. The doctors will continue with business as usual.”

How right they were. Laura drew a deep breath. For at least twenty years Dr. John Moore had been a sloppy surgeon. Her nails bit into her palms. The infection he has caused when he’s operated on her mother had caused her death. Laura had been forced to face her teenage years motherless. How many times had a similar scenario been repeated because of him?

The stranger nurse rested her elbows on the table. “Who says we must work alone. I’ll tell you what the nurses at the last hospital where I worked did. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “They formed a committee.”

My Places

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Thursday, September 21, 2023

The Opening Scene from Code Blue is featured today #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #suspense #medical #romance

"I'll never leave you." When he was eight, Mommy had said the words that had become his litany. That broken promise had brought him here.

He stared at the steps. When would Susan come?

When Mommy was a patient, Susan had been her favorite nurse. He had liked Susan, too, but she hadn't stopped those other people from hurting Mommy. His shoulders tensed.

"I'll never leave you. They'll have to kill me first."

The night Mommy died was etched into his memories. On that dreadful night, he had begun his plan to make them pay.

Mommy would be unhappy about what he meant to do. To her, nurses were special and Susan more wonderful than the rest.

He gulped a breath. Tonight the heat would blossom and he would feel powerful again.

Susan was like Mommy. She would tell. He chewed on his lower lip. Her death would free him to still the people who had hurt Mommy on that dreadful night.

His smile became a grimace.

The bright lights across the street caught his attention and stirred his hopes. She had to come tonight. He wanted to be free.

His hand brushed Mommy's tombstone. He pressed his fingers against the engraved letters of her name. He cocked his head and listened to the whisper of the wind.

"Nurses give so much to others. Someone should take care of them."

Mommy's husky voice thrummed in a corner of his mind. Her face appeared. Tears spilled from her eyes. He shook his head. Why should he listen to her when she had left him?

My Places

https://www.facebook.com/janet.l.walters.3?v=wall&story_f

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Fun, suspenseful thriller

Sunday, September 17, 2023

Code Blue is featured today as Sunday's Book #BWLAuthor #MFRWAuthor #suspense #medical #romance

Sonia Enriquez

Code Blue

Reviewed in the United States on December 26, 2012

Verified Purchase

Code Blue is an interesting book that keeps you trying to out what the identity of the killer was. It's an amazing book.

RabidReader

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2016

Ms. Lane-Walters' thriller, Code Blue, is a fun thriller. A killer's stalking nurses at a hospital, taking them out one by one. The novel's almost a throw-back to the thrillers of yesteryear when modern technology didn't make it easier to call for help, yet somehow seemed more suspenseful for it. A stubborn protagonist and too much time spent on a romance bog the thrills down a tad , but this is a well-written book with a steady supply of shocks. Ms. Lane-Walters also proves adept at delving into the mind of a psychopath and in these passages, the writing soars. Recommended for thriller and romance fans!

My Places

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