Blurb—Unholy
Alliance
A decade ago, Tori
Rourke, and her cousin, Vivienne, ran from the Irish mob after witnessing a
brutal murder. Tori was framed by the mob, and while she served time in prison,
she worried that the killer, Seamus McGinn, had kidnapped her missing cousin.
Attorney Grady D. Fletcher, defender of the
wrongly condemned, appeals Tori’s case and wins her release. Now, going by
Victoria Morningstar, she runs a food truck from a seedy waterfront
neighborhood, hoping to find her cousin's kidnapper.
When Grady agrees to defend a new client, Samuel
Peterson, who’s been accused of beating to death the wife of a noted professor,
the evidence mounts. The professor is missing, as well as his laptop that
contains data dangerous to national security.
And Seamus McGinn is back, and rumors of a
massive annihilation is about to begin. As they race to assist the FBI, the
bonds between Grady and Tori are about to be tested. It becomes clear Grady and
Tori are falling fast for each other, but what to do about it is a different
story. He’s a divorced dad who wants more time with his kid. She brings danger
to his front door.
Grady has questions of his own; Is Vivienne at
the center of the mob’s operation? How much will it cost Tori before she learns
the truth? All Grady knows is the biggest danger is the one standing right
behind you.
Excerpt—
“Don’t let the anxiety of freedom consume you.” Attorney Grady Donahue Fletcher clenched his
teeth and rehearsed what he’d say to his client, Victoria Morningstar. He’d won
her appeal and drove to pick her up at Gladstone Penitentiary. “At least you
won’t be placed in solitary.” That was worse.
Six months earlier Grady had phoned a reporter at the Los Angeles Globe. "Drew Barker.
Grady Fletcher here.”
“Ah, the lawyer. Calling about a tip?”
“I am. Here's something you can investigate. Tori Morningstar, did she
murder Irene Brennan?"
"I wrote that story many years back," the journalist had said.
“I assume you have new discoveries.”
"Fraud, illegal testimony. Do you want the story first?" A
second passed. "Otherwise, I'll call the Orange County Guardian."
"Okay, okay. We want it."
Three days later Grady had a hand in writing the first article in Drew
Barker’s column. "The public labeled Tori Morningstar as an undesirable.
Not black and poor, but disfavored, accused, incarcerated, and wrongly
condemned. Her cellphone has been recovered. Her call to 911 identified her
voice and substantiated screams of the victim in the background. Could she have
beaten someone while speaking to dispatch at the same time?"
The reporter had written the second article. "People who get their
ideas about criminal lawyers from TV probably would be disappointed in Grady
Fletcher. He lacks flash but stands up straight, his posture neither ramrod nor
slouched. He doesn't smoke, doesn't wear thousand dollar suits. His voice is
soft and low, one of his assets. He speaks truth with a voice inviting
confidences."
As nice as that was, Grady’s stomach cramped over pressure and strain
from Drew Barker’s final article with the headline, Tori Morningstar, Released Today. Picked up by the online service,
Newser, KTLA, and CBS Los Angeles, they planned to broadcast his arrival to
escort his client from Gladstone.
Tori’s decade-long prison sentence ended today but with a sobering fear
over tomorrow.
When was a July morning this hot? Grady balanced her release papers on
his lap as he rolled up one sleeve then the other while gripping the damp
steering wheel. Sweat blossomed on his throbbing forehead, wrapped like a
python’s grip. He adjusted the dial for the AC and embraced the challenge of
helping another client get back on track. Embrace and conquer. Or at least
sound like it.
Pre-order 0.99 price is available on Amazon and Smashwords—find all
lines here:
A little about Kathleen Rowland—
Book Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland is
devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with a sizzling
love story sure to melt their hearts.
Writing a romantic suspense Irish American series for Tirgearr
Publishing, Deadly Alliance is
followed by Unholy Alliance with a release
date of March 29, 2017. Keep an icy
drink handy while reading these hot stories.
Other books are sweet new adult such as Lily’s Pad and the Intervenus Series: A Brand New Address and Betrayal at Crater’s Edge.
Kathleen used to write computer programs but now
writes novels. She grew up in Iowa
where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake
Okoboji. Now she wears flip-flops and
sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport Harbor but wishes there were
lightning bugs in California.
Kathleen exists happily with her witty CPA husband,
Gerry, in their 70’s poolside retreat in Southern California where she adores
time spent with visiting grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy
neighbors. While proud of their five
children who’ve flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to write. If you’d enjoy news, sign up for Kathleen’s newsletter at http://www.kathleenrowland.com/
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