THE BOOKER
Kevin R. Doyle
GENRE: Mystery
BLURB:
Sam Quinton hadn't thought much about the entertainment business for several years. His days as a minor celebrity were part of his past, which was fine with him. But when a Hollywood producer walks through the doors of his gym and offers to create a TV show around his life, Sam doesn't say no right away.
Then the producer's partner ends up dead in her hotel room, and Sam has to put on his private detective hat to straighten things out. It doesn't take long to realize the TV offer may not have been exactly what it was cracked up to be. Suddenly, a whole lot of seemingly bad folks are gunning for Sam. Forget his budding Hollywood career. He has to do everything possible to keep himself and his client alive.
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Excerpt:
I’d only made it three steps inside before they both looked over at the same time. Nichols waved me over.
I’d barely known Wendy Truell, but the faintness of our acquaintance didn’t matter. It’s still a shock to see someone seemingly in the prime of life with a bullet hole in their face.
She had on a silk crimson robe with black piping and, as far as could be told, nothing else. She was slumped so her head rested on the pillow at the end of the couch. Except for the blood and gore around her, she could have stretched out to take a nap.
Far as I could tell, it was a single shot. The front of her face wasn’t too messed up, except for the entry wound, with most of the damage apparent from where the slug or slugs exited the back of her head.
A highball glass containing some sort of mixed drink sat on the coffee table next to an open laptop with a blank screen.
The originally green couch pillow was drenched in red.
“Jesus,” I said.
“Nichols tells me you knew the woman,” Santiago said by way of greeting.
“More like met. I probably spent a grand total of forty-five minutes with her, if that.”
Santiago jerked his head, and the three of us walked back out into the hallway and down a ways to talk in private.
My Review:
A Hollywood TV producer, John Carson, arrives in town with plans to create a reality TV show about Sam Quinton’s life. Sam is unsure about participating but listens to Carson’s pitch while considering the idea.
Carson wants to produce a reality show, but his proposed ideas
are quickly turning it into a scripted drama that he intends to pass
off as reality. I don’t think his business partner, Wendy Truell,
likes this idea very much, but she stays silent in front of Sam.
The
following day, Wendy is found murdered in her motel room. John Carson
becomes the main suspect, especially since he can’t be located.
Later, Carson reaches out to Sam, asking for his help. Carson insists
he did not kill Wendy.
I was immediately suspicious of
Carson because some of his statements didn’t add up, making me
question everything he was saying. I wondered if he could be the killer.
He knew information that hadn’t been made public. If he didn’t
commit the crime, then how did he know details about the crime scene
that only the killer would have known?
The mystery and
suspense were intense, leaving me with many questions—what was
really going on, and if Carson might be telling the truth after all,
then who killed Wendy and why?
I love reading about Sam
Quinton and the numerous cases he solves. I can’t wait to read the
next installment in the Sam Quinton series.
I highly recommend The Booker to all mystery
fans! Grab a copy today! And while you’re at it, check out all of
the Sam Quinton books!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
A retired high-school teacher and former college instructor, Kevin R. Doyle is the author of five novels in the Sam Quinton mystery series, all published by Camel Press. He’s also written four crime thrillers, including And the Devil Walks Away and The Anchor, and one horror novel, The Litter, along with numerous short horror stories published in small magazines over the years. The first Quinton book, Squatter’s Rights, was nominated for the 2021 Shamus award for Best First PI Novel. A lifelong Midwesterner, Doyle currently resides in Missouri and has loosely based the city of Providence in the Quinton books on Columbia.
Connect with Kevin R. Doyle
4 comments:
Thank you for hosting THE BOOKER today!
Thank you for taking the time to read and review my book, "The Booker". I appreciate it!
This sounds like a great read and I like the cover.
This looks like a thrilling read. Thanks for sharing.
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