Genres: Psychological Thriller
Tour Promo: This book will be $.99 during the tour!
Blurb:
‘I slit someone’s throat,’ the man told the woman on the 4.20 from Waterloo to Portsmouth.’
Two strangers. One shared interest. Murder. Ben slit a man’s throat. Sandra’s son, Carl witnessed a murder.
With Carl on a Witness Protection Programme, Sandra fled London to
live anonymously in a remote village on the Isle of Wight where she
becomes increasingly isolated and vulnerable. Terrorised by an unknown
stalker, the police are unable to help and she turns to Ben. What makes a
respectable, middle-aged woman want to sleep with a killer? More
importantly, can the relationship give her the love she craves and help
Ben find redemption?
Hate, fear and lies boil over in a page-turner with love at its black heart.
Excerpt:
Locking the door
and flicking on the radio, she relaxed as the DJ’s silky smooth voice
seemed to single her out from his millions of listeners and speak to her
alone. It was an old broadcasting trick but she didn’t care. The
mindless chatter was soothing and suited her just fine.
‘Do
you ever get that?’ asked the DJ. ‘You’re walking along the street and
someone says ‘Hi ya, mate. How’s it going?’ And you’re thinking ‘Do I
know you? Or are you just some weirdo?’ Ha, ha. If that’s happened to
you, tell us. Text the word, ‘stranger’ to …’
She
quickly turned it off, her mind jolting back to the man on the train.
What if he came back? What if he was here, hiding inside the cottage?
Sandra froze, her heart pounding against her ribs.
‘Dove Cottage, Shorwell, PO30 5AB,’ she could hear herself saying on the train. ‘‘B’ for bravo. ‘B’ for bravo.’
‘‘More like ‘S’ for ‘stupid’,’ she thought bitterly.
Cautiously,
she crept upstairs and flung open her bedroom door causing the handle
to bang against the wall. From the doorway, she could see the whole of
the room, even under the bed. Nothing. Her wardrobe was on the landing.
She pulled the door and it swung open. Her scant collection of clothes
hung like husks on the rail.
As
she approached the bathroom a wild face greeted her. She leapt back
terrified before realising she was looking at her own reflection.
Breathing heavily, she headed back downstairs and into the kitchen.
She
sat at the table and told herself to calm down, there was nothing to
worry about, the man had played his sick little joke, game over.
Gradually, her heartbeat slowed.
She
decided a cup of tea would soothe her nerves and she reached into the
fridge for the milk. Spotting half a loaf of bread, she put two slices
into the toaster before opening the cupboard where she kept her special
plate.
Carl
had spotted it in a junk shop in Brighton on one of their many
excursions and had asked to have his pocket money early so he could buy
it. It was one of the few gifts he had given her over the years and she
treasured it.
It
was not in its usual place but it was always in the cupboard above the
sink, behind the casserole dish. She glanced across at the shelves and
work surfaces. No sign of it. Frantically, she tried to recall when she
had last used it. It had been just before she had left for London. Her
cheese sandwich had tasted all the better for being eaten off such
precious crockery. She remembered using the last of the washing-up
liquid to wash it up. She checked the bin. Sure enough, there was the
empty bottle.
As
she turned back she saw it in the sink. She went over and picked it up.
It was covered in crumbs and smeared with a dark, sticky substance. She
sniffed it suspiciously. Marmite. She had bought a new jar recently but
not used it. She opened the cupboard, found the pot and unscrewed the
lid. Sure enough, the seal had been broken.
She
clung to the edge of sink. He had been back to her house and this time
he had been inside. He must have wanted her to know; just like before he
made no attempt to cover his tracks.
How
the hell had he got in? She was always so careful to lock up. She felt
the vomit rise in her throat. She bolted upstairs and into the bathroom
where she flung herself over the toilet. Looking down into the porcelain
bowl, she was repulsed and shocked to see it was full of dark, foamy
urine.
She knew it couldn’t possibly be hers. She had not used the lavatory that morning; she had peed in the shower.
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About the Author:
Advertising copywriter, comedy writer, performer, lecturer – Joan
Ellis has been them all. With a full-time job in a top London
advertising agency and a new baby, she did what any right-minded woman
would’ve done and set up a comedy club. She even appeared on the same
bill as Jo Brand. Once.
A career highlight was casting a black and white moggie as Humphrey
Bogart for her award-winning cat food commercial. Other great performers
who brought her words to life include Penelope Keith and Harry Enfield.
As a lecturer, Joan taught comedian Noel Fielding all he knows about
advertising before encouraging him to showcase his creative talents on a
wider stage.
Working for The Press Association, she tutored Wordsworth’s
great-grandson in the art of copywriting: Buy a host of golden daffodils and get a blue one, free!
Suffering from swine flu and sweating like a pig, she moved from
London to the Isle of Wight where she lives on cream teas with her
beloved husband, daughter and two cats.
She recently launched her books at The Ventnor Fringe and the Isle of Wight Literary Festival.
Connect With The Author:
Giveaway:
Win an ebook copy of The Killing of Mummy’s Boy (ten winners, open
worldwide) or a print & autographed copy of the book (one winner, UK
residents only). This giveaway will run 12/10/14 – 1/7/15. Enter through Rafflecopter.
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