EXCERPT and GIVEAWAY
Skeletons in the Attic
(A Marketville Mystery Book 1)
(A Marketville Mystery Book 1)
by Judy Penz Sheluk
Skeletons in the Attic by Judy Penz Sheluk is ON SALE for only $0.99 (save $4) to 15 December. This book blast and giveaway is brought to you by Goddess Fish Promotions. Please be sure to visit the other participating blogs as well.
Description
What goes on behind closed doors doesn’t always stay there ...
Calamity (Callie) Barnstable isn’t surprised to learn she’s the sole beneficiary of her late father’s estate, though she is shocked to discover she has inherited a house in the town of Marketville - a house she didn’t know existed. However, there are conditions attached to Callie’s inheritance: she must move to Marketville, live in the house, and solve her mother’s murder.
Callie’s not keen on dredging up a thirty-year-old mystery, but if she doesn’t do it, there’s a scheming psychic named Misty Rivers who is more than happy to expose the Barnstable family secrets. Determined to thwart Misty and fulfill her father’s wishes, Callie accepts the challenge. But is she ready to face the skeletons hidden in the attic?
Excerpt
Leith let out a theatrical courtroom sigh, well practiced but over the top for his audience of one. “You haven’t really been listening, have you, Calamity?”
I was forced to admit I had not, although he now had my undivided attention. Marketville was a commuter community about an hour north of Toronto, the sort of town where families with two kids, a collie, and a cat moved to looking for a bigger house, a better school, and soccer fields. It didn’t sound much like me, or my father.
“You’re saying my father owned a house in Marketville? I don’t understand. Why didn’t he live there?”
Leith shrugged. “It seems he couldn’t bear to part with it, and he couldn’t stand living in it. He’s been renting it out since 1986.”
The year my mother had left. I’d been six. I tried to remember a house in Marketville. Nothing came to mind. Even my memories of my mother were vague.
“The house has gone through some hard times, what with tenants coming and going over the years,” Leith continued. “I’ve done my best to manage the property for a modest monthly maintenance fee, but not living nearby…” He colored slightly and I wondered just how modest that fee had been. I glanced back at the photo of his vibrant young family and suspected such treasures did not come cheap. There was probably alimony for the other trophy wives as well. I decided to let it go. My father had trusted him. That had to be enough.
[Want more? Click below to read a longer excerpt.]
Praise for the Book
"Skeletons in the Attic is a thought-provoking, haunting tale of decades-old deception. In this first-of-a-new series, Judy Penz Sheluk reveals herself to be a masterful storyteller, weaving a page-turner that hooked me from the start and kept me intrigued until the stunning finale." ~ Annette Dashofy, USA Today bestselling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series
"Mystery readers will find Callie a compelling protagonist, the plot a fine, winding investigative piece that redefines the concept of 'dirty laundry' and whether or not it should be aired in public or secreted forever, and the story of how family connections, wealth, and truth can take on lives of their own a vivid production that translates to thoroughly engrossing reading right up to a completely unexpected, thought-provoking surprise conclusion." ~ Diane Donovan, Midwest Book Review
"With Skeletons in the Attic, Judy Penz Sheluk delivers a complex plot, an extremely likeable protagonist, and a bombshell ending you never saw coming. A delightful and heartwarming mystery!" ~ Diane Vallere, bestselling author of the Costume Shop Mysteries
"Sheluk has created a memorable and powerful character that lingers long after the final page, while giving Callie Barnstable a caustic wit, tenacity and a penchant for unraveling mysteries. By the last page, she’ll need all that and more. Relentless as it moves forward, Skeletons in the Attic takes the reader on a quest for a decades-old truth." ~ Jeff Buick, author of Bloodline
"Skeletons in the Attic is a beautifully crafted page-turner, whose heroine, Callie Barnstable, gives Sue Grafton’s Kinsey Milhone a run for her money. S is for Skeletons in the Attic!" ~ Ellen Byron, author of Plantation Shudders
"Skeletons in the Attic is a delight. Callie’s plight grabs the reader from the get-go and, as the plot twists and twists again, you follow her with heart in mouth. Is there any way for this to end well? Yes, there is, and you won't see it coming! I’m already looking forward to book 2." ~ Catriona McPherson, author of The Child Garden
About the Author
An Amazon International Bestselling Author, Judy Penz Sheluk’s debut mystery novel, The Hanged Man’s Noose, was published in July 2015. Skeletons in the Attic, the first book in her Marketville Mystery series, was published in August 2016.
Judy’s short crime fiction appears in World Enough and Crime, The Whole She-Bang 2, The Whole She-Bang 3, Flash and Bang, and Live Free or Tri.
Judy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Crime Writers of Canada, International Thriller Writers, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society.
Giveaway
Enter the blast-wide giveaway for a chance to win a $10 Amazon or B$N gift card.
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