By M.
S. Spencer (Guest Blogger)
Thanks
for having Rachel and Griffin and all the folks from Penhallow on
your blog, Lisabet! I’d like to present a copy of The
Penhallow Train Incident
to a reader who comments on the excerpt. Readers, please be sure to
leave your email address in the comment for a chance to win.
The
Penhallow Train Incident,
my new mystery romance, is set on the coast of Maine in the fictional
town of Penhallow. Midcoast Maine sits right about where the state
begins to change from heading due north to “down East.” The land
is quite different from the southern beaches or the North Woods.
Fronting Penobscot Bay, it is a region of lakes, farms, small
villages, and lobstermen. Most people have lived there for
generations, and refer to anyone who moves to Maine from elsewhere as
“from away.” Our heroine Rachel Tinker and her hero Griffin Tate
are both from away, but when a series of murders roils their adopted
town, they spring into action.
Like
many states, Maine is crisscrossed with old railroad beds. The
Penhallow Train Incident
refers to the fictional Penhallow and Moosehead Railroad. Much like
other railways, its heyday came during the 19th century, when it
ferried goods, mail, and passengers to many small towns in central
Maine. As the story opens, several tourists are enjoying an
excursion, complete with a reenactment of a train robbery, when the
corpse of a mysterious foreign man is discovered.
Preoccupied
with leads relating to the dead man’s presence in Penhallow, our
heroine Rachel Tinker is confronted with a new clue. What she doesn’t
know is whether it is connected to the victim or to some other,
completely different mystery.
M.
S. Spencer
75,450
words (260 pp)
Sweet
Cravings Publishing (June 23, 2015)
Romantic
Suspense/Mystery, M/F, 2 flames
Blurb
In
the sleepy coastal Maine town of Penhallow, a stranger dies on a
train, drawing Rachel Tinker, director of the Penhallow Historical
Society, and Griffin Tate, curmudgeonly retired professor, into a
spider’s web of archaeological obsession and greed. The victim’s
rival confesses that they were both after a map to the Queen of
Sheba’s tomb, and with his help they set out to find it. Their
plans are stymied, however, when a tug of war erupts between the
sheriff and a state police detective who want to arrest the same
man—one for murder and one for bank robbery. It falls to Rachel to
solve both crimes…and two more murders, if she is to unlock the
soft heart that beats under Griffin’s hard crust.
In this new excerpt, the plot thickens…
Excerpt:
The Clue
Feeling
restless, Rachel decided to go back to work. She let herself into the
historical society, turned the sign over to OPEN, and went to her
office. Immersed in a treatise on the Scottish roots of Penhallow,
she didn’t hear the entrance bell ring below. She looked up from
her desk to find the woman from the photo standing in her door, her
purse clutched to her bosom, staring at her. “Are you Rachel
Tinker?”
“Yes.
Can I help you?” Rachel thought frantically. How do I call Toby
without spooking her?
“You’re
the town historian?”
“Yes.”
The
front door dinged again. The woman glanced over her shoulder. Then,
eyes wide with fear, she tossed the purse at Rachel and ran. Rachel
picked it up and, without hesitating, hid it in the file cabinet.
Then she went out to the hallway and walked down the spiral iron
stairs to the ground floor. The woman stood near the door pretending
to examine an exhibit on Main Street businesses. Beside her, the man
from the photo whispered rapidly in her ear, his hands balled into
fists at his side. She cringed a bit but stood her ground.
Something
told Rachel not to mention the purse. “Hello there—can I help you
two?”
The
man turned. His face was no longer bland. In fact, the rage sluicing
from him forced Rachel to take a step backward. He spat out, “Who
are you?”
Excuse
me? “I am the director of the Penhallow Historical Society. Who
are you?”
This
seemed to throw him. The woman touched his arm. “Dad, this lady
simply showed me where the ladies’ room is. There’s no need to be
rude.”
Rachel
made a quick calculation. “That’s right. No trouble finding it, I
hope?”
“None
at all. Thank you.” She took her father’s arm. “This looks like
a very interesting museum. It’s too bad we don’t have time to
look around right now. Thanks for your help.” She walked out,
accompanied by a now rather subdued parent.
Rachel
stood in the middle of the hall. What the hell was that all about?
Finally she flipped the sign to CLOSED, locked the front
door, and stumped back up the stairs to her office. She moved
deliberately to the cabinet and pulled the purse out. For a short
minute she considered taking it straight to Toby. Then she opened it.
The handbag!
In
the main compartment, she found a packet of tissues, a pen, a
ten-dollar bill, a comb, and a piece of yellowed paper, folded in
half. She unfolded it. It was a deposit slip from the Penhallow Bank
and Trust made out for $233.68, dated August 2, 2005.
Buy
Links
B&N:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-penhallow-train-incident-ms-spencer/1122175522?ean=2940152200393
About
the Author
Although
M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five continents, the last 30
years were spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian,
Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, editor, birdwatcher,
kayaker, policy wonk, non-profit director, and parent. She has two
fabulous grown children, and currently divides her time between the
Gulf coast of Florida and a tiny village in Maine.
Contacts
Twitter:
www.twitter.com/msspencerauthor
GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/msspencer
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/
GoodReads:http://www.goodreads.com/msspencer
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/msspencerauthor/
About.me:
http://about.me/msspencerauthor
Tsu.co
: http://www.tsu.co/msspencerauthor
Linked
in: www.linkedin.com/in/msspencerauthor
Author Pages
Secret
Cravings Publishing:
http://store.secretcravingspublishing.com/index.php?main_page=products_all&filter_author=56
Romance
Books 4 Us:
http://romancebooks4us.com/Romance%20Author%20M.%20S.%20Spencer.html
OR
Amazon
Author Page:
Other Books by M.S. Spencer
Romantic
suspense and mystery, they are available in ebook and print from
Secret Cravings Publishing and all fine on-line book stores. For more
information, visit
5 comments:
Thanks for having me, Lisabet. I hope your readers enjoy the excerpt and leave many comments! M. S.
Welcome, M.S.!
Sorry I wasn't around sooner to say hello -- the day was crazy!
The Maine coast is one of my favorite places. I've set a few stories there myself. (I lived in Massachusetts for many years).
I'm about to go announce this post to my readers. Apologies for my tardiness.
interesting book info
bn100candg at hotmail dot com
This sounds exciting. Thank you for the read through.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I don't think I've read a mystery romance yet. My dad drove trains for over 30 years so anything to do with trains interests me. Thanks for sharing the excerpt.
lringel(at)comcast(dot)net
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