Blurb Blitz & Giveaway: Proven Innocence by Mary J. Rocco

 Proven Innocence

by

Mary J. Rocco

Suspense / Murder

Independently Published

Publication Date: May 1, 2024

Page count: 285 pages

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SYNOPSIS:

Cynthia Evans wakes up in the trunk of a car, no idea how she got there, only to discover she’s wanted for the murder of her husband and children. With no memory of life prior, Cynthia is sure she did not commit the crime.

 

Only problem is-how does she convince anyone she’s not a murderer when she is not sure who she is?

 

With the help of a downtrodden diner waitress, Gabrielle, Cynthia fights to prove her innocence.

 

One thing is clear: Rick Evans is dead. But who is the real killer?

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READ AN EXCERPT:

My eyes are open, but there is no sight to see. Darkness remains. It is black—pitch black. I squint and shut my eyes to adjust to the darkness faster, but it does not help. No shadows lurk in the night for me to redirect my corneas upon. The darkness encloses me, encasing my body in its depth. My body is not upright. It is stretched horizontally across the ground. I am lying down. I try to stand, but my weak body forbids me. My left hand falls upon the surface I am lying on. The ground feels furry, almost carpet-like. I am not outside.

 

Where am I? 

My best deduction indicates I am trapped in a restrictive box. My head has only four inches to move before hitting the top, and my legs are bent at the knees with my toes resting upon the opposite wall from my head. I look up and find a wall of darkness just inches above—pure darkness with no stars or moonlight. 

Am I buried alive? 

Every human’s worst nightmare is to be mistaken for dead and lowered six feet underground where no one can hear the perilous cries for help. I try to scream, but no sound escapes from my vocal cords. Thoughts of Edgar Allen Poe’s Tell-Tale Heart filter into my brain. 

What if the people walking above can hear the faint beating of my heart from the depths below? 

Get a hold of yourself! 

I raise my right hand slowly to dislodge the top of my coffin. My arm shakes as it rises off the ground above my head. I am limp and exhausted. A sharp pain pulsates throughout my entire right side as I try to move. Electric shock waves run from my toes to the left side of my brain. It is not a comforting sensation, and I would rather not move ever again in my life than experience such agony once more. The only options are, however, shift my body to experience discomfort for a slight moment or lay still awaiting death. 

My head is pounding from an obtrusive headache. It is as if a jackhammer is chiseling through the right side of my outer cranium. I wince in pain as I raise my hand to the right side of my head. An overbearing shockwave shoots out of my brain when I touch that area. The hair follicles are mushy, raw, and tender where they meet my skull. The hair is matted to my brain. A huge, painful lump has started to protrude underneath the skin. I am not sure how it got there. I am not sure how I got into the situation I am in at the present moment. 

My fingers are sticky from whatever substance has glued my hair to my head. I try to smell them by placing my fingers underneath my nose, but I cannot ascertain the odor. I bring my index finger to my mouth to utilize one of my other senses. It is the last one available to unveil the mysterious substance. My saliva moistens my tongue to activate my taste buds. I recognize a fluid taste mixed with a hint of salt. It is blood––my own blood. 

Why am I bleeding? How did this happen?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Mary J. Rocco has dreamed of being an author since the age of ten. She has been writing and crafting stories for the last twenty years, however, Proven Innocence is her first published novel, mostly because other life experiences got in the way. After finishing law school, graduate school, travelling the world, getting married and starting a family Mary figured now was the time. 

She was born and raised on Long Island, New York and spent ten years in her early adulthood living carefree in New York City. Mary currently resides with her husband and two beautiful children in the western suburbs of Chicago, Illinois, where she is a practicing attorney. 

It is her hope to continue to publish many more novels that entertain and thrill readers.

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