Excerpt from Murder at Magic Lake

To celebrate the release of Murder at Magic Lake today, I'm going to share a short excerpt with you. This is about a third of the way through the book and shows the main character, Abigail, properly meeting her sidekick, Sherlock:

* * *

Grandma preferred to visit other people instead of inviting them over. As I scanned her living room, I could see why. This apartment appeared larger than Sandy’s, but it was cluttered. Stacks of magazines filled the chairs. Suits and dresses that had been fashionable before I was born hung on a stand on wheels. Bins of yarn balls in all sorts of colors surrounded her recliner. Scattered about were various handmade blankets, hats, and even tiny creatures like bears and dogs. While there was plenty of cover for an intruder to hide behind, I couldn’t see how anyone could squeeze behind Grandma’s things in the first place.

“Hello?” I called. Smart one, Abigail. Let the murderer know you’re here. Maybe the call for help I’d heard earlier was a trap. The murderer could be hiding in the kitchen or bedroom, waiting for me to come closer.

“Over here!” the voice called. It sounded like it was coming from the area around the recliner.

I looked around for something I could use as a weapon. The best thing I could find was an umbrella. Good for both jabbing someone and whacking him or her over the head. Was that bad luck?

Holding the umbrella above my head, I advanced on the recliner. The empty recliner. Maybe I’d just heard the TV. I checked it, but it was off.

The yipping came from under the TV remote, which had pinned a little fox made from yarn. Grandma kept it on a high shelf on the other side of the room; how had it gotten down here? The detail on the fox was exquisite. He had tiny beads for eyes and threads for whiskers. His ears were tipped with black, and his tiny white paws had claws stitched in the same color. White accented his muzzle and the tip of his tail. It couldn’t have been a more perfect rendition of a fox if someone had taken a live creature and shrunk it down.

It waved its paws, trying to free itself.

I let out a cry and dropped the umbrella. The fox froze, its paws stuck at odd angles. Then it slowly turned to stare at me. 

 

* * *

 

Murder at Magic Lake will be available at a special introductory price of  $0.99 through September 22nd. It's available in eBook and paper from Amazon and eBook on Google Play, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and Apple.