REVIEW FROM BETWEEN THE LINES:
Title: Rekindled
Author: Jenni Holbrook
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Mystery/suspense Crimson Rose
Rating Spicy pages 240
ISBN: 1-60154-434-0
Blurb:
For the last nine years, Kalee Mead has been running from her past. Now she's running for her life. Her only chance at survival is to return home and patch things up with her father. When she returns to her home in Thief Lake, Minnesota, she finds her father dead and herself becoming the cop's best suspect for his murder. Assistant Police Chief Blaine Walker has been trying to put his ex-wife out of his mind for years, but when he finds her hovered over her father's body, he knows that battle is lost. She becomes his only suspect in a case that doesn't make sense. He vows to find the answers and then hopefully rekindle the flame that has never quite died out in his heart.
Review:
This is an interesting story that holds your attention until the end. I found myself riveted by the mystery and romance. I found myself a bit lost at times, however ,I always got the answers I was looking for. When heartache, death, and questions plague the life of Kaylee, she runs. Blaine, her super sexy ex-husband, throws a whole new spin on her life. The old betrayals, fire, and new sparks between Kaylee and Blaine heat up every page. This is a story that is both passionate and heartfelt. It seems that no matter what everyone can feel a connection to at least one of the main characters since their mistakes, regrets and passion make each feel more real. The tempting passions of these two exes brought together during a tragedy kept me wanting to read more long after the story ended. In a blaze of bullets and steamy touches this is a story that is a must read. Reviewed By Tabatha Franc
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
REKINDLED - excerpt!
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Here is a teaser for the book. It's the first scene. I hope you enjoy. Don't forget that if you buy the ebook you can be entered in a drawing for a free Sony eReader! Just follow the instructions on The Wild Rose Press website. Here is the direct buy link for the ebook. And for those of you that want to wait, the print book will be out May 8, 2009.
Chapter One
“Could you repeat, please?” Assistant Police Chief Blaine Walker asked. He stared out into the cold Minnesota night sky. The moonlight glowed through a thin layer of gray clouds.
“Gunshots reported at twenty-two-fifty Route Nine. The Mead residence.”
“Who reported it?” Blaine asked, tossing his bacon cheeseburger to the passenger seat.
“A neighbor.”
“Five minutes from location.” Blaine slammed the microphone into the cradle. He flipped a switch and the police siren screeched once, then red lights flashed across the sky. He peeled the car out into the deserted street. Not much happened in Thief Lake, but leave it to his ex-father-in-law to stir things up.
As he pulled into the drive and an uneasy feeling washed over him. He stepped from his patrol car and adjusted his holster wishing he’d worn his uniform. A warm front had moved in and melted most of the snow, but there was still a chill in the air indicating that Jack Frost hadn’t caved to the warmth of spring.
It appeared the Mead mansion had every light on, sending an eerie cast of colors across the lake. A little blue SUV was parked in the driveway, door open. He walked across the gravel path and then placed a hand on the hood. Still warm. He planted his hand on the butt of his pistol and headed toward the main house just as a bloodcurdling scream echoed from inside. Reaching for his weapon, he sidestepped onto the porch. Faint sobs echoed in the stillness of the night.
“Daddy,” a woman’s voice cried.
Blaine carefully pushed back the main door. He kept his back against the wood frame as he peered into the foyer. A woman with long blonde hair knelt on the floor, rocking back and forth, whimpering words he couldn’t understand. Holding his pistol steady, he stepped in.
Rutherford Mead’s body lay sprawled out on the floor. His arms stretched wide, legs slightly bent to the right. His eyes were open, but glossed over. Blood trickled out of his neck onto the wood floor.
Blaine swallowed and then focused his attention to the familiar woman hovering over the body. “Police ma’am, back away.”
The woman gasped and scooted backward. Her hands covered her face, but Blaine knew exactly whom he was dealing with. Why had she returned? His muscles tensed as he adjusted his aim toward the floor beside her. “What are you doing here?”
“I… I… ” She brushed her long blonde hair from her angel-like face. Her hair looked longer than Blaine remembered. She glanced toward him. “Oh. Blaine, I… ”
His breath hitched at the mere sight of his ex-wife. The blueness of her eyes was still prettier than any summer sky he’d ever seen. The porcelain shine of her skin glittered in the bright light. “Kaylee,” he said, and then cleared his throat. “Put your hands in the air.”
She held her arms out to the side, dropping something to the floor. “Call for help,” she whispered. Her eyes shimmered with shock. “I was about to call for help.”
He now recognized the object that had fallen from her trembling hands as a portable phone. He reached with his free hand for his cell and called the dispatcher, resting the phone on his ear. With his eyes on Kaylee, he bent forward and felt Rutherford’s neck for a pulse. “Possible homicide. Get the medical examiner and Chief Whitcomb out here.” He snapped his phone shut.
“You’re scaring me.”
Blaine did his best to control his ragging pulse and focus on the situation and not the frightened creature sitting before him. He knew all too well that where Kaylee was concerned, things were never what they appeared to be. It had been years since he’d last seen his ex-wife. Years since anyone, including her father had seen or heard from her. “What happened here?”
She stared at him for a moment. “I found him like this.”
“How long have you been here?” He forced his trembling muscles to hold his aim steady, but not directly on her.
“Fifteen minutes?” Her voice trembled.
“How did you get in the house?”
“The kitchen door.”
“Did he know you were coming?” Not that Blaine spoke much to his father-in-law, but last he heard Rutherford had very little contact with his daughter. He’d even cut her from the will a few years after she’d left. But now rumors had been circulating that he’d changed his will again and left everything to her, making this a very difficult situation.
“You don’t think… ” Her jaw dropped open as her eyes widened. “Oh God, you do.”
“Let’s step outside.” Blaine holstered his gun and nodded toward the porch. He laced his fingers around her arm, and she twitched, jerking away. Her eyes met his with a combination of fear and confusion. Blackness smudged her pale, stricken face.
“To my car.” He took her elbow, just like he would any other suspect or witness. “Sit down,
Kaylee.” He pulled open the door and helped her in. He stood with his back to her, trying to collect his thoughts. Living in a small town made every case he worked on harder, because he knew everyone on a personal level. Investigating the death of his ex-wife’s father
was about as personal as things could get. Rarely at a loss for words, he let out a breath
and focused on the gray, smoke-like puff that formed in the air. The last time he had been unable to utter a single word was the last time he saw her. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, Kaylee.” He took a blanket out of his trunk and covered her shaking body.
“He left the kitchen door open for me.” The blanket curled under her fingers. “Dad never left doors open or lights on unless he knew someone was coming.”
“You entered via the kitchen? Then did what?” he questioned knowing he shouldn’t. Their past relationship really put a damper on him being able to control this case.
“I called for him, but got no answer. I was nervous so I helped myself to a drink of water.”
“Did you go anywhere else in the house? Touch anything else?” he asked. He was just doing his job. He was the first on the scene. Everyone would understand he was just trying to get a handle on things until back-up came. A slow burn churned from his stomach to his throat. He turned and looked at the big white house with dark-green shutters. With every light on, the house gleamed like a scene straight from The Exorcist.
“I went from the kitchen to the stairs and found him on the floor. Then you showed up a minute later.”
“Did you any hear gunshots?”
“No.”
The sound of gravel crunching under large tires caught his attention. His boss’s pickup, followed by an ambulance and the medical examiner’s car, pulled in. Blaine knelt beside Kaylee, placing his hand on her knee. The moment he touched her, a single spark ignited in his veins spreading warmth through his body. He yanked his hand away. He had a job to do and lingering in the past had nothing to do with the present situation, no matter how pretty the past looked. “I need you to stay right here.” A soft scent of strawberries and vanilla filled his nostrils. He leaned across her to grab his keys. The familiar
smell reeled in his head like a song you couldn’t stop humming. “Dave and I need to examine the scene. Promise me you won’t move from this spot.” Pressure on his bicep stilled him.
“Someone killed my father.”
“We don’t know what happened, but I’ll find out.” A sudden sharp pain ripped through Blaine’s heart. A murder had occurred on his watch. To make matters worse, he had one possible witness and one possible suspect— his ex-wife. All in all, not a good night.
He nodded to Police Chief Dave Whitcomb as they made their way up to the house. While the door didn’t appear damaged, his instincts told him foul play had been involved. However, with her so close and the gut-wrenching emotions she sparked, his instincts couldn’t be trusted. When he entered the foyer, he had to step around Rutherford’s body. At first glance, it looked like he might have fallen down the curved staircase. Blood pooled under his head, which could be consistent with a fall, but something didn’t feel right.
“Why is it you always have to get me out of bed when you’ve got the night shift?” Dave rubbed his unshaven face, looking around the foyer. “I won’t even mention the uniform issue.”
“I never wear it, and you don’t have a problem with it.” Blaine removed the lens cap from the police issue camera, flipped on the flash, and photographed the body while Dave made some measurements and scribbled them on a pad. “Besides, have I even seen you in one?”
“Keep taking pictures,” Dave said.
“Something’s off here.” Blaine looked from the staircase to the body. He pointed to the base of the neck, before snapping a picture of an open wound oozing blood.
“That looks like a bullet graze,” Dave said.
“I know what it looks like,” Blaine muttered. Ten years ago, his life had changed forever when Kaylee had run off to Europe, cutting all ties to Thief Lake, including those to her father. “Someone reported gunshots, which is what brought me here in the first place.”
“You see that?” Dave asked as the medical examiner who was already assessing the scene. The medical examiner gently pushed up Rutherford’s shirt. “A bullet hole.”
Blaine swallowed and then took a few more pictures. “Didn’t search her,” he mumbled. Anyone who might benefit from a death usually looked guilty in the eyes of the public. If Rutherford changed his will, then Kaylee Mead stood to inherit one hefty sum.
“Let’s take a look around,” Dave said.
Blaine followed him down the hall and into the kitchen. Other than all the lights were on, everything looked normal. “She says she came in through the kitchen, got a drink, and then went looking for him.”
“How long?”
“Said fifteen minutes. I heard her scream as I came to the door.” Blaine snapped on his gloves and started looking for anything that could take the blame off Kaylee. She was a lot of things, but not a cold-blooded murderer. “Damn.”
“What is it?” Dave asked.
“A bullet.” Blaine knelt down next to the kitchen table. “Give me a bag.” First, he took a Polaroid while Dave sketched the dimensions on his pad. Then, using a pocketknife, Blaine dug the bullet out of the table and shoved it in the evidence bag.
“Doesn’t look like there was much of a struggle,” Dave commented.
“That’s puzzling, isn’t it?” Blaine said.
“Maybe he was having a conversation with someone he thought he could trust, like his
daughter?”
Blaine froze and gripped the chair. The overwhelming desire to protect and defend Kaylee
bubbled in his bloodstream. Regardless of the rift between father and daughter, and Kaylee’s inability to think beyond herself, she couldn’t kill someone. Could she? “Or, whoever it was cleaned up before they left.”
“I hope for her sake, you’re right,” Dave said.
Blaine circled the kitchen table. There had to be a clue. Something that would tell him Kaylee had just stumbled into a bad situation. Anything that could tell him who and why. No scuff marks on the floor. Nothing out of place. Everything seemed as it should be. Not even a dirty dish in the sink.
“Jonsey and Mac will be here shortly to take over,” Dave commented. “You can’t question her.”
“I know.” Blaine stuffed the camera in the bag as they made their way back to the foyer. “I’ll take her to the station and get someone else to take the official statement.”
“We have to treat her as a suspect.” Dave raised his brow.
“I was first on the scene. Nothing we can do about that. You need to take over here. Call ahead and have someone waiting for us. I won’t say five words on the way there.” Blaine didn’t like not being able to question her.
“Don’t screw up.” Dave shook his head. “So, what do you make of your ex-wife’s timely return?”
Blaine cringed. “I’d say it’s untimely.”
Dave stopped at the front door and turned. “I’m going to search her car.” He lowered his chin. “If I find a gun, or anything that gives me cause, I’m going to arrest her.”
“I get it.” Blaine ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. No way would he be letting her out of his sight. If she didn’t kill her father, someone else did, and that someone might have seen her. And since he was probably going to be forced to stay in the background on this one, he’d make sure he’d stay up-close and personal with her. Untimely didn’t begin to describe his ex-wife’s return.
“Could you repeat, please?” Assistant Police Chief Blaine Walker asked. He stared out into the cold Minnesota night sky. The moonlight glowed through a thin layer of gray clouds.
“Gunshots reported at twenty-two-fifty Route Nine. The Mead residence.”
“Who reported it?” Blaine asked, tossing his bacon cheeseburger to the passenger seat.
“A neighbor.”
“Five minutes from location.” Blaine slammed the microphone into the cradle. He flipped a switch and the police siren screeched once, then red lights flashed across the sky. He peeled the car out into the deserted street. Not much happened in Thief Lake, but leave it to his ex-father-in-law to stir things up.
As he pulled into the drive and an uneasy feeling washed over him. He stepped from his patrol car and adjusted his holster wishing he’d worn his uniform. A warm front had moved in and melted most of the snow, but there was still a chill in the air indicating that Jack Frost hadn’t caved to the warmth of spring.
It appeared the Mead mansion had every light on, sending an eerie cast of colors across the lake. A little blue SUV was parked in the driveway, door open. He walked across the gravel path and then placed a hand on the hood. Still warm. He planted his hand on the butt of his pistol and headed toward the main house just as a bloodcurdling scream echoed from inside. Reaching for his weapon, he sidestepped onto the porch. Faint sobs echoed in the stillness of the night.
“Daddy,” a woman’s voice cried.
Blaine carefully pushed back the main door. He kept his back against the wood frame as he peered into the foyer. A woman with long blonde hair knelt on the floor, rocking back and forth, whimpering words he couldn’t understand. Holding his pistol steady, he stepped in.
Rutherford Mead’s body lay sprawled out on the floor. His arms stretched wide, legs slightly bent to the right. His eyes were open, but glossed over. Blood trickled out of his neck onto the wood floor.
Blaine swallowed and then focused his attention to the familiar woman hovering over the body. “Police ma’am, back away.”
The woman gasped and scooted backward. Her hands covered her face, but Blaine knew exactly whom he was dealing with. Why had she returned? His muscles tensed as he adjusted his aim toward the floor beside her. “What are you doing here?”
“I… I… ” She brushed her long blonde hair from her angel-like face. Her hair looked longer than Blaine remembered. She glanced toward him. “Oh. Blaine, I… ”
His breath hitched at the mere sight of his ex-wife. The blueness of her eyes was still prettier than any summer sky he’d ever seen. The porcelain shine of her skin glittered in the bright light. “Kaylee,” he said, and then cleared his throat. “Put your hands in the air.”
She held her arms out to the side, dropping something to the floor. “Call for help,” she whispered. Her eyes shimmered with shock. “I was about to call for help.”
He now recognized the object that had fallen from her trembling hands as a portable phone. He reached with his free hand for his cell and called the dispatcher, resting the phone on his ear. With his eyes on Kaylee, he bent forward and felt Rutherford’s neck for a pulse. “Possible homicide. Get the medical examiner and Chief Whitcomb out here.” He snapped his phone shut.
“You’re scaring me.”
Blaine did his best to control his ragging pulse and focus on the situation and not the frightened creature sitting before him. He knew all too well that where Kaylee was concerned, things were never what they appeared to be. It had been years since he’d last seen his ex-wife. Years since anyone, including her father had seen or heard from her. “What happened here?”
She stared at him for a moment. “I found him like this.”
“How long have you been here?” He forced his trembling muscles to hold his aim steady, but not directly on her.
“Fifteen minutes?” Her voice trembled.
“How did you get in the house?”
“The kitchen door.”
“Did he know you were coming?” Not that Blaine spoke much to his father-in-law, but last he heard Rutherford had very little contact with his daughter. He’d even cut her from the will a few years after she’d left. But now rumors had been circulating that he’d changed his will again and left everything to her, making this a very difficult situation.
“You don’t think… ” Her jaw dropped open as her eyes widened. “Oh God, you do.”
“Let’s step outside.” Blaine holstered his gun and nodded toward the porch. He laced his fingers around her arm, and she twitched, jerking away. Her eyes met his with a combination of fear and confusion. Blackness smudged her pale, stricken face.
“To my car.” He took her elbow, just like he would any other suspect or witness. “Sit down,
Kaylee.” He pulled open the door and helped her in. He stood with his back to her, trying to collect his thoughts. Living in a small town made every case he worked on harder, because he knew everyone on a personal level. Investigating the death of his ex-wife’s father
was about as personal as things could get. Rarely at a loss for words, he let out a breath
and focused on the gray, smoke-like puff that formed in the air. The last time he had been unable to utter a single word was the last time he saw her. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m sorry, Kaylee.” He took a blanket out of his trunk and covered her shaking body.
“He left the kitchen door open for me.” The blanket curled under her fingers. “Dad never left doors open or lights on unless he knew someone was coming.”
“You entered via the kitchen? Then did what?” he questioned knowing he shouldn’t. Their past relationship really put a damper on him being able to control this case.
“I called for him, but got no answer. I was nervous so I helped myself to a drink of water.”
“Did you go anywhere else in the house? Touch anything else?” he asked. He was just doing his job. He was the first on the scene. Everyone would understand he was just trying to get a handle on things until back-up came. A slow burn churned from his stomach to his throat. He turned and looked at the big white house with dark-green shutters. With every light on, the house gleamed like a scene straight from The Exorcist.
“I went from the kitchen to the stairs and found him on the floor. Then you showed up a minute later.”
“Did you any hear gunshots?”
“No.”
The sound of gravel crunching under large tires caught his attention. His boss’s pickup, followed by an ambulance and the medical examiner’s car, pulled in. Blaine knelt beside Kaylee, placing his hand on her knee. The moment he touched her, a single spark ignited in his veins spreading warmth through his body. He yanked his hand away. He had a job to do and lingering in the past had nothing to do with the present situation, no matter how pretty the past looked. “I need you to stay right here.” A soft scent of strawberries and vanilla filled his nostrils. He leaned across her to grab his keys. The familiar
smell reeled in his head like a song you couldn’t stop humming. “Dave and I need to examine the scene. Promise me you won’t move from this spot.” Pressure on his bicep stilled him.
“Someone killed my father.”
“We don’t know what happened, but I’ll find out.” A sudden sharp pain ripped through Blaine’s heart. A murder had occurred on his watch. To make matters worse, he had one possible witness and one possible suspect— his ex-wife. All in all, not a good night.
He nodded to Police Chief Dave Whitcomb as they made their way up to the house. While the door didn’t appear damaged, his instincts told him foul play had been involved. However, with her so close and the gut-wrenching emotions she sparked, his instincts couldn’t be trusted. When he entered the foyer, he had to step around Rutherford’s body. At first glance, it looked like he might have fallen down the curved staircase. Blood pooled under his head, which could be consistent with a fall, but something didn’t feel right.
“Why is it you always have to get me out of bed when you’ve got the night shift?” Dave rubbed his unshaven face, looking around the foyer. “I won’t even mention the uniform issue.”
“I never wear it, and you don’t have a problem with it.” Blaine removed the lens cap from the police issue camera, flipped on the flash, and photographed the body while Dave made some measurements and scribbled them on a pad. “Besides, have I even seen you in one?”
“Keep taking pictures,” Dave said.
“Something’s off here.” Blaine looked from the staircase to the body. He pointed to the base of the neck, before snapping a picture of an open wound oozing blood.
“That looks like a bullet graze,” Dave said.
“I know what it looks like,” Blaine muttered. Ten years ago, his life had changed forever when Kaylee had run off to Europe, cutting all ties to Thief Lake, including those to her father. “Someone reported gunshots, which is what brought me here in the first place.”
“You see that?” Dave asked as the medical examiner who was already assessing the scene. The medical examiner gently pushed up Rutherford’s shirt. “A bullet hole.”
Blaine swallowed and then took a few more pictures. “Didn’t search her,” he mumbled. Anyone who might benefit from a death usually looked guilty in the eyes of the public. If Rutherford changed his will, then Kaylee Mead stood to inherit one hefty sum.
“Let’s take a look around,” Dave said.
Blaine followed him down the hall and into the kitchen. Other than all the lights were on, everything looked normal. “She says she came in through the kitchen, got a drink, and then went looking for him.”
“How long?”
“Said fifteen minutes. I heard her scream as I came to the door.” Blaine snapped on his gloves and started looking for anything that could take the blame off Kaylee. She was a lot of things, but not a cold-blooded murderer. “Damn.”
“What is it?” Dave asked.
“A bullet.” Blaine knelt down next to the kitchen table. “Give me a bag.” First, he took a Polaroid while Dave sketched the dimensions on his pad. Then, using a pocketknife, Blaine dug the bullet out of the table and shoved it in the evidence bag.
“Doesn’t look like there was much of a struggle,” Dave commented.
“That’s puzzling, isn’t it?” Blaine said.
“Maybe he was having a conversation with someone he thought he could trust, like his
daughter?”
Blaine froze and gripped the chair. The overwhelming desire to protect and defend Kaylee
bubbled in his bloodstream. Regardless of the rift between father and daughter, and Kaylee’s inability to think beyond herself, she couldn’t kill someone. Could she? “Or, whoever it was cleaned up before they left.”
“I hope for her sake, you’re right,” Dave said.
Blaine circled the kitchen table. There had to be a clue. Something that would tell him Kaylee had just stumbled into a bad situation. Anything that could tell him who and why. No scuff marks on the floor. Nothing out of place. Everything seemed as it should be. Not even a dirty dish in the sink.
“Jonsey and Mac will be here shortly to take over,” Dave commented. “You can’t question her.”
“I know.” Blaine stuffed the camera in the bag as they made their way back to the foyer. “I’ll take her to the station and get someone else to take the official statement.”
“We have to treat her as a suspect.” Dave raised his brow.
“I was first on the scene. Nothing we can do about that. You need to take over here. Call ahead and have someone waiting for us. I won’t say five words on the way there.” Blaine didn’t like not being able to question her.
“Don’t screw up.” Dave shook his head. “So, what do you make of your ex-wife’s timely return?”
Blaine cringed. “I’d say it’s untimely.”
Dave stopped at the front door and turned. “I’m going to search her car.” He lowered his chin. “If I find a gun, or anything that gives me cause, I’m going to arrest her.”
“I get it.” Blaine ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair. No way would he be letting her out of his sight. If she didn’t kill her father, someone else did, and that someone might have seen her. And since he was probably going to be forced to stay in the background on this one, he’d make sure he’d stay up-close and personal with her. Untimely didn’t begin to describe his ex-wife’s return.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
REKINDLED - buy and be entered to win FREE SONY E-READER!
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Between January 15 and March 17, 2009 - purchase REKINDLED and you can enter to win a free SONY eReader from The Wild Rose Press. Its easy to enter: once you purchase the book email your order number to sonyreader@thewildrosepress.com. That's it. SONY recently announced that they will include $25 worth of free downloads from their site with every reader we give away.
Monday, February 2, 2009
REKINDLED - Available on February 13, 2009
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I'm proud to annouce that on February 13, 2009 REKINDLED will be available at The Wild Rose Press for download.
List price: 6.00$.
The Print Book will be available on May 8, 2009.
I will be RWA Nationals with the book! Yeah!
Enjoy!
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