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Murder
in Plain Sight
in Plain Sight
Summer
McCloud Book 1
McCloud Book 1
by
Nikki Broadwell
Nikki Broadwell
Genre:
Paranormal Mystery
Paranormal Mystery
Like
Stephanie Plum?
Stephanie Plum?
Just
add ghosts and stir!
add ghosts and stir!
Summer
is an amateur sleuth with the hots for a cop on the local policeforce. And Jerry is on her trail, but not because he wants her
body.
is an amateur sleuth with the hots for a cop on the local policeforce. And Jerry is on her trail, but not because he wants her
body.
Summer
is a suspect in a murder investigation.
is a suspect in a murder investigation.
When
Summer dons a wig and sunglasses and disappears, her best friend,
Agnes, is worried–will Summer end up being another
victim?
Summer dons a wig and sunglasses and disappears, her best friend,
Agnes, is worried–will Summer end up being another
victim?
Meanwhile
Jerry is seen on the news asking her to turn herself in.
Jerry is seen on the news asking her to turn herself in.
Will
she heed his warning?
she heed his warning?
Find
out in this fast-paced sexy and humorous thriller by picking up a
copy now.
out in this fast-paced sexy and humorous thriller by picking up a
copy now.
Note
to readers: If you are a stickler for police procedures or read a lot
of hard-boiled murder mysteries, this might not be the book for you!
to readers: If you are a stickler for police procedures or read a lot
of hard-boiled murder mysteries, this might not be the book for you!
Saffron
and Seaweed
and Seaweed
Summer
McCloud book 2
McCloud book 2
Summer
and Jerry’s romantic weekend takes a dark turn when they discover
the body of a young woman in the surf.
and Jerry’s romantic weekend takes a dark turn when they discover
the body of a young woman in the surf.
When
the local police deny the crime and the newspaper prints nothing,
Jerry and Summer realize they are on their own. But they have no idea
how deep they will have to dig to find out the truth. The murder is
only a thread in a web of lies that extends to the furthest reaches
of political office.
the local police deny the crime and the newspaper prints nothing,
Jerry and Summer realize they are on their own. But they have no idea
how deep they will have to dig to find out the truth. The murder is
only a thread in a web of lies that extends to the furthest reaches
of political office.
Are
Summer’s visions to be the only clues? Jerry doesn’t think so,
his focus on good old-fashioned detective work, but when he doubts
her psychic abilities the trust between them begins to crumble.
Summer’s visions to be the only clues? Jerry doesn’t think so,
his focus on good old-fashioned detective work, but when he doubts
her psychic abilities the trust between them begins to crumble.
As
the days pass, Jerry and Summer come to understand that not only
their relationship, but their very lives are in jeopardy.
the days pass, Jerry and Summer come to understand that not only
their relationship, but their very lives are in jeopardy.
Black
and White and Red All Over
and White and Red All Over
Summer
McCloud Book 3
McCloud Book 3
A
terrible school shooting has the entire sleepy town of Ames in an
uproar. Who would do such a thing, and why can’t the witnesses
remember any details about the shooter?
terrible school shooting has the entire sleepy town of Ames in an
uproar. Who would do such a thing, and why can’t the witnesses
remember any details about the shooter?
When
Summer has a visit from a ghost she’s left wondering…could
someone long dead actually heft an assault rifle?
Summer has a visit from a ghost she’s left wondering…could
someone long dead actually heft an assault rifle?
Along
with the furor over the murders, Summer is falling for Jerry again,
despite his obvious deranged state of mind. Add to that the upcoming
wedding between Sam and Agnes, and include a smattering of ghosts and
possible psychopaths to the guest list, and you have a recipe for
disaster.
with the furor over the murders, Summer is falling for Jerry again,
despite his obvious deranged state of mind. Add to that the upcoming
wedding between Sam and Agnes, and include a smattering of ghosts and
possible psychopaths to the guest list, and you have a recipe for
disaster.
Finlay’s
Folly
Folly
Summer
McCloud Book 4
McCloud Book 4
Summer
is in Scotland doing an errand for a ghost. But when she comes face
to face with her distant past her world turns upside down.
is in Scotland doing an errand for a ghost. But when she comes face
to face with her distant past her world turns upside down.
Finlay
Ross McCloud, a ghost in the Ames graveyard, has sent her on this
fool’s errand, his facts confused. And when Summer discovers the
truth she’s already in over her head.
Ross McCloud, a ghost in the Ames graveyard, has sent her on this
fool’s errand, his facts confused. And when Summer discovers the
truth she’s already in over her head.
Will
she succumb to the charms of the handsome highlander she can picture
running across the moors in a kilt, or will she pull herself away
before it’s too late?
she succumb to the charms of the handsome highlander she can picture
running across the moors in a kilt, or will she pull herself away
before it’s too late?
Find
out in this fast-paced romantic tale of love and loss.
out in this fast-paced romantic tale of love and loss.
The
Night of the Jaguar
Night of the Jaguar
SummerMcCloud Book 5
A
honeymoon without a husband is not so fun.
honeymoon without a husband is not so fun.
Akumal
is beautiful, but without Jerry, Summer’s hopes of sunbathing,
margaritas, and rolling around in bed together, are ruined.
is beautiful, but without Jerry, Summer’s hopes of sunbathing,
margaritas, and rolling around in bed together, are ruined.
But
it’s the dead body in the cenote that clinches it. Jerry is working
on a case that he never mentioned, and Summer is left out– that is
until she decides to do a little sleuthing herself.
it’s the dead body in the cenote that clinches it. Jerry is working
on a case that he never mentioned, and Summer is left out– that is
until she decides to do a little sleuthing herself.
Even
with the help from ghosts and a jaguar Summer is out of her depth.
And when her life is put in in danger it is up to Jerry to save her.
Will he make it in time?
with the help from ghosts and a jaguar Summer is out of her depth.
And when her life is put in in danger it is up to Jerry to save her.
Will he make it in time?
Find
out by reading this fast-paced supernatural thriller.
out by reading this fast-paced supernatural thriller.
I
graduated with a BA in art and English from Sonoma State University
in California. I’ve been an avid reader since I first learned how and
a writer from my early teenage years on. I’ve had several art related
businesses, including greeting cards and more recently a silk
painting business. When I began to write in earnest I put aside the
art, concentrating only on the writing.
graduated with a BA in art and English from Sonoma State University
in California. I’ve been an avid reader since I first learned how and
a writer from my early teenage years on. I’ve had several art related
businesses, including greeting cards and more recently a silk
painting business. When I began to write in earnest I put aside the
art, concentrating only on the writing.
I’ve
traveled a lot over the years, finding inspiration wherever I go.
Scotland holds a special place in my heart, hence the setting for
“The Moonstone”. I had to make a 4th trip there to do
research as I was putting the book together!
traveled a lot over the years, finding inspiration wherever I go.
Scotland holds a special place in my heart, hence the setting for
“The Moonstone”. I had to make a 4th trip there to do
research as I was putting the book together!
Black, White, and Red All Over Excerpt:
This wedding had been the main focus of both our lives for months now and
I was ready for it to be over. The ballroom in the old age home had finally been
remodeled and that’s where the ceremony and the reception would take place.
The turn-of-the-century Victorian building had been a project of Agnes’s since
the fall and now it was nearly completed. I was pleased that all the ghosts
wandering around town could finally settle into their new/old digs. Douglas, a
ghost and also Agnes’s father, had remarked to me earlier today how glad he
was. “The place is just the way it was nearly one hundred years ago,” he’d told
me when he came into Tarot and Tea. He would know, I’d thought to myself,
trying to suppress a giggle.
In truth, I had no idea how old the man was, only that I liked him very much
and that he had an elegant and old-fashioned way about him. He and Agnes’s
mother, a woman who’d been murdered here in Ames two years ago, had
reconnected just before her death. Agnes still spoke about Serena Weatherby
in
hushed tones, gasping over the enormous inheritance Serena had left her. I
figured she and Sam would buy some mansion to live in once they were
married.
I only hoped they would stay in Ames and not move to some swank section of
New York too far away for me to visit. But then again I had a hard time
imagining Sam quitting the police force. Being a detective was his life.
Douglas and Serena, Agnes’s parents, had loved each other and apparently
conceived a child after Douglas left the land of the living. Even with my own
burgeoning psychic abilities I found this revelation disturbing. I wondered why
Serena had never appeared to any of us after her demise. I had yet to ask
Douglas if he ever saw her.
A hundred guests were coming to the wedding, Sam’s friends and family
who made up a cast of thousands, as well as Agnes’s college friends she’d lost
touch with who were now married with children. She told me she was hoping to
reconnect now that she was about to join them in the respectable institution of
matrimony.
Agnes had always been a free spirit and that’s why we’d become such good
friends. This new side of her, that seemed to think that getting married placed
her
in an entirely different social stratum, bothered me greatly. She was my best
friend and I relied on her to continue in that regard. We still went to our monthly
coven meetings on the full moon, and I hoped we would continue to do so after
her marriage.
We had consumed half the bottle by the time Sam arrived, his expression
grim.
“What’s wrong?” Agnes asked, jumping up from the couch.
He rubbed a hand across his clean-shaven face. “There’s been an incident,”
he began, slanting a glance toward me. “There was a shooting a couple of
hours
ago at Riverview Elementary.”
My mouth dropped open in horror. These school shootings had beenhappening all over the country but I never thought they would occur in our
sleepy village of Ames, Connecticut. I clutched my glass and tried not to see
the
ravaged faces of the poor children.
“Five kids and three teachers were shot today,” he continued, slumping onto
the couch. “It was a bloodbath.”
Agnes’s pale face turned whiter than usual, tears welling in her eyes. She sat
next to Sam and turned toward me. “Summer, have you seen…?”
I knew what she was referring to and shook my head. Ghosts often talked to
me but I had had no visits, at least not yet. “What happened?” I asked Sam,
girding myself for what he would say.
“Some maniac came into the school with an assault rifle and just shot up the
building. We have no motive, no name, and no understanding of where the
shooter came from and or why he or she did what they did.”
“Which teachers?” Agnes asked in a small voice. We both knew several
teachers at the elementary school.
“Linda Moser and Gabby Cozens were killed—Maggie Johnson was shot but
survived.”
Agnes let out a wail. “I know them!”
“I do too,” I said, moving next to her. She turned to face me and then we
hugged, both of us in tears.
“None of the witnesses can remember what the shooter looked like or even if
it was a he or a she. I find that odd, especially since two other teachers and
Maggie witnessed the entire thing, not to mention the other twenty children who
were in the classroom. The only thing they said was they thought the person
had
brown hair.”
“Well, that narrows it down,” I said.
Sam shot me a look. “It’s a start and we have a sketch artist working with the
witnesses.”
“Linda and Gabby were coming to the wedding,” Agnes said, pulling away
to look at Sam again. “Did they die quickly? Don’t tell me,” she said a second
later, holding up her hand. “Do you think we should postpone the wedding?”
“The wedding is over a month away, Agnes. I’m sure this will be wrapped up
by then. And even if it isn’t I don’t think we should.” Sam took hold of her hand,
twining his fingers through hers. “I’ve got to get back to the police station. Jerry
and I are leading the investigation.”
So he and Jerry were partners again. Last I’d heard Jerry wasn’t even back to
full duty. But then again it had been months since his mental collapse after the
last case we’d worked on together. I wondered if the chief had insisted he see a
therapist.
“And Summer, you may be called in.”
“Called in—why?”
“Your psychic skills. The chief mentioned you during our planning meeting.”
I shook my head. “Unless one of the ghosts contacts me I can do nothing. It
isn’t like I go into a trance and know what happened.”“Sorry to hear that,” he said, regarding me with a somber expression. He
kissed Agnes before he stood and headed for the door. “But please let me
know
if you dream anything or one of them visits you. We could really use some help
on this one.” He opened the door and closed it behind him. I heard the squad
car
start up and then the squeal of one of the belts as he put it in gear and headed
away.
I felt ill as I pictured Linda and Gabby lying on the classroom floor in a pool
of blood. They were both my age, late twenties. It suddenly occurred to me that
I
was turning thirty this year, a milestone I wasn’t looking forward to. But then I
thought of them again, their lives cut short, and I mentally reprimanded myself.
And Gabby had a little girl, Mary. Was her child one of the five victims? And
what about Maggie—did her boy survive? I raced to the door and flung it open,
but Sam was long gone.
I was ready for it to be over. The ballroom in the old age home had finally been
remodeled and that’s where the ceremony and the reception would take place.
The turn-of-the-century Victorian building had been a project of Agnes’s since
the fall and now it was nearly completed. I was pleased that all the ghosts
wandering around town could finally settle into their new/old digs. Douglas, a
ghost and also Agnes’s father, had remarked to me earlier today how glad he
was. “The place is just the way it was nearly one hundred years ago,” he’d told
me when he came into Tarot and Tea. He would know, I’d thought to myself,
trying to suppress a giggle.
In truth, I had no idea how old the man was, only that I liked him very much
and that he had an elegant and old-fashioned way about him. He and Agnes’s
mother, a woman who’d been murdered here in Ames two years ago, had
reconnected just before her death. Agnes still spoke about Serena Weatherby
in
hushed tones, gasping over the enormous inheritance Serena had left her. I
figured she and Sam would buy some mansion to live in once they were
married.
I only hoped they would stay in Ames and not move to some swank section of
New York too far away for me to visit. But then again I had a hard time
imagining Sam quitting the police force. Being a detective was his life.
Douglas and Serena, Agnes’s parents, had loved each other and apparently
conceived a child after Douglas left the land of the living. Even with my own
burgeoning psychic abilities I found this revelation disturbing. I wondered why
Serena had never appeared to any of us after her demise. I had yet to ask
Douglas if he ever saw her.
A hundred guests were coming to the wedding, Sam’s friends and family
who made up a cast of thousands, as well as Agnes’s college friends she’d lost
touch with who were now married with children. She told me she was hoping to
reconnect now that she was about to join them in the respectable institution of
matrimony.
Agnes had always been a free spirit and that’s why we’d become such good
friends. This new side of her, that seemed to think that getting married placed
her
in an entirely different social stratum, bothered me greatly. She was my best
friend and I relied on her to continue in that regard. We still went to our monthly
coven meetings on the full moon, and I hoped we would continue to do so after
her marriage.
We had consumed half the bottle by the time Sam arrived, his expression
grim.
“What’s wrong?” Agnes asked, jumping up from the couch.
He rubbed a hand across his clean-shaven face. “There’s been an incident,”
he began, slanting a glance toward me. “There was a shooting a couple of
hours
ago at Riverview Elementary.”
My mouth dropped open in horror. These school shootings had beenhappening all over the country but I never thought they would occur in our
sleepy village of Ames, Connecticut. I clutched my glass and tried not to see
the
ravaged faces of the poor children.
“Five kids and three teachers were shot today,” he continued, slumping onto
the couch. “It was a bloodbath.”
Agnes’s pale face turned whiter than usual, tears welling in her eyes. She sat
next to Sam and turned toward me. “Summer, have you seen…?”
I knew what she was referring to and shook my head. Ghosts often talked to
me but I had had no visits, at least not yet. “What happened?” I asked Sam,
girding myself for what he would say.
“Some maniac came into the school with an assault rifle and just shot up the
building. We have no motive, no name, and no understanding of where the
shooter came from and or why he or she did what they did.”
“Which teachers?” Agnes asked in a small voice. We both knew several
teachers at the elementary school.
“Linda Moser and Gabby Cozens were killed—Maggie Johnson was shot but
survived.”
Agnes let out a wail. “I know them!”
“I do too,” I said, moving next to her. She turned to face me and then we
hugged, both of us in tears.
“None of the witnesses can remember what the shooter looked like or even if
it was a he or a she. I find that odd, especially since two other teachers and
Maggie witnessed the entire thing, not to mention the other twenty children who
were in the classroom. The only thing they said was they thought the person
had
brown hair.”
“Well, that narrows it down,” I said.
Sam shot me a look. “It’s a start and we have a sketch artist working with the
witnesses.”
“Linda and Gabby were coming to the wedding,” Agnes said, pulling away
to look at Sam again. “Did they die quickly? Don’t tell me,” she said a second
later, holding up her hand. “Do you think we should postpone the wedding?”
“The wedding is over a month away, Agnes. I’m sure this will be wrapped up
by then. And even if it isn’t I don’t think we should.” Sam took hold of her hand,
twining his fingers through hers. “I’ve got to get back to the police station. Jerry
and I are leading the investigation.”
So he and Jerry were partners again. Last I’d heard Jerry wasn’t even back to
full duty. But then again it had been months since his mental collapse after the
last case we’d worked on together. I wondered if the chief had insisted he see a
therapist.
“And Summer, you may be called in.”
“Called in—why?”
“Your psychic skills. The chief mentioned you during our planning meeting.”
I shook my head. “Unless one of the ghosts contacts me I can do nothing. It
isn’t like I go into a trance and know what happened.”“Sorry to hear that,” he said, regarding me with a somber expression. He
kissed Agnes before he stood and headed for the door. “But please let me
know
if you dream anything or one of them visits you. We could really use some help
on this one.” He opened the door and closed it behind him. I heard the squad
car
start up and then the squeal of one of the belts as he put it in gear and headed
away.
I felt ill as I pictured Linda and Gabby lying on the classroom floor in a pool
of blood. They were both my age, late twenties. It suddenly occurred to me that
I
was turning thirty this year, a milestone I wasn’t looking forward to. But then I
thought of them again, their lives cut short, and I mentally reprimanded myself.
And Gabby had a little girl, Mary. Was her child one of the five victims? And
what about Maggie—did her boy survive? I raced to the door and flung it open,
but Sam was long gone.
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Terrific writing on random topics. Im trying to currently
accomplish something similar to what you have here except
for on
a different topic totally. Many thanks for the inspiration to
write better content.