My traditional mystery, Gone Astray, now with my publisher, will be available in early spring 2021. While I wait for the official release date, let me introduce you to the protagonist, Detective Rory Naysmith. In this novel, Rory takes the new detective position in Winterset, Nebraska, population ten thousand. Having spent the first twenty-five years on a big-city police force, the seasoned, decorated, go-getter detective is confident he can pick up his career after recuperating from a heart attack. But the citizens are leery; after all, he is an outsider. Throw in the fact the police chief brought Rory in from the outside, and you can understand his fellow officers’ resentment. Right from the beginning, things go astray.
Here is an excerpt:
There it was. One of the things that bugged the heck out of Rory. Everything, everybody, every place had a nickname. AAA Liquor was Triple-A. The Benevolent Order of Elk’s meeting hall was the Lodge. Everyone had two jobs, usually not related. No one, it seemed, was willing to clue him in. It was as if the whole town spoke in code.
Rory is determined to win the town over. It is not that they don’t want the charming yet curmudgeonly detective. It is that they have no idea what a man of Rory’s caliber will bring in his wake. As six-foot-tall, handsome Esther Mullins muses, “… they’d met the new detective—older than she’d expected, shorter than she liked. Hopefully, the rumors were true. Winterset could use a good man.” Unfortunately, a crime wave, an early season blizzard, and suspicion descended shortly after his arrival.
Here is the book blurb:
A heart attack sends detective Rory Naysmith reeling. Too young to retire, he accepts a position in small-town Winterset, Nebraska. Handed an unsolved truck hijacking case, with the assistance of a rookie, Rory sets out to prove he is still able to go toe-to-toe with younger men. When the body of a Vietnam veteran turns up, he dons his fedora and spit-shines his shoes. But before he can solve the murder, an older woman disappears, followed closely by a second hijacking. He doggedly works the cases, following a thread that ties the two crimes together. But can Rory find the mental and physical strength to up his game and bring the criminals to justice before disaster strikes?
In my master writing plan, Rory will appear in at least three novels. Gone Astray is the first. The next book Blood & Lies, is drafted, and awaits edits after the first of the year. The third book, The Last Codicil, served as my 2020 NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) project. It is not yet complete, but I suspect Rory’s adventures will change him, Esther, and Winterset for the better. I hope you will be around for all three novels.
For now, I am looking forward to offering Gone Astray for your reading pleasure. When I receive notice of its release date, you will be the first to know.
