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Deadly Reckoning blog tour has a full schedule of events at the end of this post. My stop includes an exclusive excerpt from the book. Leave your thoughts for the author, share on social, and subscribe to Sarandipity’s.
Book Details
Deadly Reckoning
A DEADLY DISCOVERY
Enjoying a rare day off, DS Jazzy Solanki’s peaceful spring walk is interrupted when a body is discovered along her path. Instinct tells her it’s not a coincidence.
A HIDDEN THREAT
Could Jazzy’s estranged, vengeful stepsister – consumed by grief over their brother’s death – be sending her a deadly message?
A RACE AGAINST TIME
Then a child goes missing. The crimes appear unrelated, but Jazzy’s gut insists there’s a sinister connection, one that points straight at her. With time running out, Jazzy and her team must uncover the truth before the killer finds them.
Extract 3
Author Note: This extract shows the first appearance of the Jazz Queens in Deadly Reckoning and is from Chapter 7. I think this really shows the dynamics of the team off to a T and also shows that there are some underlying tensions at play
As Jazzy whipped off her crime scene suit and inhaled huge lungfuls of fresh air, a yell from the edge of the inner perimeter attracted her attention. Queenie.
‘Hey, JayZee, you’ll be needing the Jazz Queens with you, will you no’?’
She hadn’t realised how tense she was until the sound of her partner’s gruff voice reached her ears – backup in the form of one small, rotund, feisty, foul-mouthed woman in her mid-forties and two mismatched blokes in their twenties. Relief surged through her body and the tightness in her gut loosened. The familiarity of her team’s dynamics was good for her soul and she laughed out loud at the horrified expressions on the faces of DCs Fenton Heggie and Geordie McBurnie at being publicly outed as the Jazz Queens. Nearby CSIs also snorted behind their masks, probably relieved to have something to break the tension of the horrific crime scene. Everyone knew of the ongoing battle that raged between Queenie and the younger detectives, over her insistence on naming their team the Jazz Queens and right then Queenie’s harmless insensitivity was just what she needed. Although, with her friend in bossy mode, she wasn’t entirely sure how she was going to tell her that they’d been shunted off the investigation before they’d even started.
Despite her brusque exterior, Queenie was all gooey mush inside and over the months that she’d known her, Jazzy’s respect for the woman had deepened. Queenie had lost her twenty-year-old daughter and only child to a supposed drug overdose – which Queenie was convinced was murder. She and her husband Craig hadn’t got over it fully, although unless you knew them you probably wouldn’t guess at the pain they carried with them daily. When Billi had died, she’d left behind her nine-month-old daughter and with the biological father out of the picture, Queenie and Craig hadn’t hesitated to step up and take on Ruby’s care. Now a two-and-a-half-year-old, Ruby was the light of their lives. Although Queenie was a grandmother and old enough to be Jazzy’s mum, their relationship had blossomed into a rich friendship.
Queenie bustled up to the cordon tape, her face reminiscent of a terrifying tumshie at Halloween as she glared at the younger detectives. ‘Aye, you two, get your fingers oot and get yourselves signed in. Then we’ll see what his nibs has to tell us. Come on now. Don’t hang about like a pair of weasels in the headlights.’ As Queenie strode across full of beans and all set to muck in, Jazzy repeated her eye-roll at Fenton and Geordie. ‘Someone’s had too many red Smarties this morning, I’m guessing.’
Geordie spluttered and winked. ‘Aye, you could say that, boss, but she’s been worse.’
Jazzy grinned at the understatement. They’d all seen Queenie in an even more abrasive mood, but Fenton was the one who stood up for her. ‘Aw, she’s not that bad today. She bought us a coffee, didn’t she?’
But when Queenie’s strident: ‘Come on, Haggis, son. What are you doing? Powdering your nose?’ crashed through the sea breeze, he grimaced.
‘Spoke too soon.’
Their presence lifted the burden from her shoulders a tad. Jazzy tossed her soiled crime suit into the bin provided, and exhaled, wondering how to frame her news.
‘Eh, guys. Sorry and all that, but no point in signing in. We’ve been bounced. We’re . . .’
Before she could finish her sentence, a voice from behind her stopped her in her tracks.
‘Forgotten something, have you, DS Solanki? Something minor? Maybe the fact that I’m leading on this and D team’s input won’t be necessary. Please sign out and leave.’
Was that a sneer on the ‘D’? Really? Straightening, Jazzy whirled to face Elliot, her eyes flashing as a stab of anger pierced her heart. How bloody dare he pull rank on her like that in front of her team? She already knew she was being sidelined; still, that was her name on that envelope. He didn’t have to be such a pillock. At the last moment, a wave of exhaustion rolled over her and, with a single nod, she chose not to rise to his taunting tone. ‘How could I possibly forget?’
However, the astonished looks on her team’s faces gave her a jolt of adrenalin and, as a red-hot spark sent shock waves through her body, her anger got the better of her. The weariness of just seconds earlier vanished as she continued to walk backwards away from him. ‘You best not grip too tightly onto this one either, Elliot. We both know Operation Birchtree will prise this from your mitts as soon as they hear about that envelope with my name on it – especially with the new DCI heading up the operation now. They won’t want to make the same mistakes their predecessor did and we won’t be the only ones left on our arses, will we?’
Satisfied when Elliot’s lips tightened, she spun round and marched off with a final: ‘Let me know when you have the victim’s ID and the contents of that envelope.’
Purchase Link – https://amzn.eu/d/6k7vIVf
Author Bio
Her latest work, The Solanki and McQueen crime series is set around West Lothian, where she uses the distinctive landscape, historic heritage and Scottish culture as a backdrop to her gritty yet often humorous stories.
Struggling with clinical depression and anxiety for many years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits her MA in Creative Writing from Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. The synergy been creative and academic writing led Liz to complete a doctorate in creative writing researching the importance of representation of marginalised groups within the genre she loves.
Her husband, three children and huge extended British Indian family are a constant support to her. In her spare time, Liz loves visiting the varied Scottish and Yorkshire landscape, travelling, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her website blog, The Crime Warp.
Liz is represented by Lorella Belli literary agency. For rights enquiries contact lorella@lorellabelliagency.com
You can contact the agency at: info@lorellabelliagency.com
Social Media Links –
You can connect with Liz here:
Website: lizmistry.com/
X (Twitter): LizMistryAuthor
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Instagram: @liz.mistry
