Publisher: Inked Publishing
Publication Date: April 9, 2024
Page count: 280 pages
SYNOPSIS:
“Hold up,” a graveled voice called through the door. A lock tumbled with a scrape and the door flew open. “What?”
Craig stood in the doorway wearing a faded Van Halen T-shirt and sweatpants with air-conditioning holes at the knees and hip. Eyes half-closed. Scruff lining his face. If she didn’t know better, she’d swear he was homeless. He took one look at Kennedy and the door flew toward her.
Kennedy’s arm blocked it from hitting her in the face. “Can we talk?”
“Why?”
“Your brother was murdered.”
Craig’s normally stoic face morphed into sadness. This was a man in mourning. “Can I come in?”
He looked behind him and shook his head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why? I just have a few questions.” When he didn’t budge, she kept going. “I want to find out who did this. Don’t you want that?”
He squinted at her. “Of course, I do. He was my only family.”
“You have Darcy and the kids.”
“They don’t like me very much.”
“Maybe they just don’t know you. If you want me to tell them the truth, I’ll listen.” And she would. She needed to get to the truth by any means necessary. Even listening to a jilted brother.
Craig opened the door a smidge, barely letting Kennedy in. She turned her body to squeak by. Inside, plastic covered every inch of, well, everything. Tinfoil lined the windows. This was not the residence of a playboy with hooker tendencies.
Craig twisted the lock closed and open, closed and open, closed and open. Then he stopped on closed. He motioned to a pleather couch covered by a plastic sofa cover. “Have a seat.”
The seat crinkled and popped when she sat on the shiny material.
“I didn’t kill my brother.”
“I didn’t think you did.” She couldn’t say that with conviction. There was something not right here. But Craig seemed to buy it. He sat in a chair across the room and relaxed. Kennedy leaned forward. “If you didn’t kill him, who did?”
“You won’t believe me. No one does.” He ran a hand through the scruff on his chin.
“Try me.”
“The aliens have been watching me for years.”
Ummm… Kennedy wasn’t sure what she expected to happen. But she could honestly say aliens weren’t anywhere near the top of her list.
An intriguing plot with a fresh, professional female detective.
DEADLY. SET. VEGAS. is the first book in author Vanessa M. Knight's new series, Vegas Victory FC, set in Las Vegas, Nevada, and featuring off-her-assigned patch Chicago cop, Kennedy Romero. Don't let the fabulous but cutesy cover fool you! With its stand-out professional sleuth as the main character and a surprisingly angry and violent murder scene, this book falls into the traditional mystery or crime fiction genre more than the perhaps anticipated cozy.
The main character, Kennedy Romero, is in Las Vegas to visit her best friend since college and maybe escape the mess her work situation has devolved into. She's a bit different from the norm of female police detectives having a backstory often used with male gumshoes. A wild party girl during her college days, a relapse with alcohol while working a homicide in Chicago had landed her in a desk job and out of CID. She agrees to investigate her best friend's husband's murder because she feels she owes it to Darcy (and to get both of them off the suspect list.) She's not perfect, but she's good at what she does and honest with herself and others when she does misstep.
The plot takes off immediately, with the murder occurring before the book's opening. The crime scene is gruesome, and Darcy, who found her husband's body, remains covered in his blood for the entirety of the initial phases of the investigation, creating quite a visceral atmosphere from the start. As the story unfolded, red herrings and twists in the plot that kept me highly engaged.
The relationship between the two besties felt realistic and current, and their banter was often humorous; everyone deals with grief differently. Some of the talk and discussion among characters got a bit raw: just another clue that this wasn't a cozy mystery.
I recommend DEADLY. SET. VEGAS. to mystery and crime fiction
readers.
I write contemporary romantic suspense.
I live in Chicagoland with my family and menagerie of four-legged friends. In my mind, these lovely animals do everything as they should. I’m the alpha, keeping peace and harmony amongst my humble servants. In real life, they own me. I’m the maid, here for their feeding pleasure. Well, that and to clean up their messes.
When not catering to the needs of adorably-furry faces, I slug through the nine to five grind and head home so I can write. Of course, that’s after I make dinner and clean the house and all the other tasks that go into family life. So really, I work, cater to animals and my family… and then, if I don’t fall face first into bed, I write. I love putting my characters into crazy situations and watching how they react. I hope you love reading about them.
I love to hear from fans. I can be found on Facebook at VanessaMKnight and at www.vanessamknight.com.
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