Wednesday, November 13, 2013

My Review Of Murder In Middleton By Charlotte Gerber


I give Murder In Middletona five star review. Haunting, ghostly, mystery. It takes a strong person to deal with the unknown. Shannon is such a strong character. She doesn't give up in solving this mystery. Good twists. Thanks, Charlotte for a good read.


Blurb:

Shannon O’Reilly is a teenager with a problem - she can see her ancestors’ ghosts, and they want her to solve their 100-year old murder mystery. Annabelle and Lily Edmonson have been waiting a long time for someone to see them so that they can tell their story of betrayal, and finally reveal their true killer.

When Shannon begins researching the murders at the local library, someone takes notice. She begins receiving threatening notes and photographs taken of her without her knowledge. An explosion at her home takes away what she holds most dear - her parents.

A secret society steps in and offers to help Shannon fine tune her psychic abilities and to assist in protecting her from those bent on eliminating her. Someone is willing to pay any price to keep the truth, as well as her ancestors, dead and buried.

 

Goodreads Direct Link to the Book:



Excerpt:

Shannon held her breath for a moment and waited for her mother to join her. A loud explosion erupted from the rear of her house.  She started to run around to the side of the house, but huge flames were shooting outwards and upwards from the area where her back porch had been. 

“Mom, Dad!” she screamed into the night. 

Shannon couldn't see anything in the wreckage and she almost caught herself on fire trying to get back into the house when a man's arms grabbed her from behind. 

“Stop!” he yelled in her ear.  “The fire truck will be here any minute!” 

Shannon tried to wrestle her way out of the man's arms, but he held on to her tight and pulled her backwards away from the house.                                                                          

A crowd started to form near the Opportunity Shop and the sound of sirens could be heard from where Shannon stood.  They whined louder and louder until they appeared on the street before her house.  It seemed like total chaos had broken out as the firemen raced with their hoses to the rear of the house. 

Another fireman ran to the front of the neighbor's house and attached the hose to the fire hydrant.  In a few moments the men had a large fountain of water pointed at her back porch and they wrestled the snake of a hose in an effort to control the blaze.                                                             

The sheriff wasn't very far behind and he arrived with the lights on the top of his car flashing.  Thankfully, he had his siren off and the growing crowd moved to allow him to park his car close to the house. 

“Where's the O'Reillys?” he yelled to the fire chief above the chaos. 

Shannon stared at him and knew he would be turning to face her any moment. 

“I don't know where the other two are," and he nodded towards Shannon. 

She knew the two men were talking about her parents.  Her mind started to race and she thought it just wasn't possible that they were actually in that fire.  It wasn't possible to have this many bad things happen in rapid succession. 

The chief pointed at Shannon and the sheriff made eye contact with her.  He purposefully strode up to her and the man who was now holding her close. 

“I'll take it from here Fred,” the Sheriff said.

The man who had been holding her was their next-door neighbor, Mr. Bickham.  He slowly let go of her and turned away with tears filling his eyes.  Shannon was left standing alone in the side yard of her house staring at the blaze as if in a trance.                                                                                                                 

“Shannon, what happened here?” the fire chief demanded, not quite believing himself that their house had exploded. 

Shannon could only manage to shake her head.  Tears slowly began to roll down her bright pink cheeks.  The sheriff got down on one knee and took her hands in his. 

“I’ll find someone to help, it’ll be okay,” he said unconvincingly. 

A woman forced her way through the crowd and said boldly, “I’ll see to her.” 

Shannon didn’t even bother looking up to see who her champion was. Nothing mattered anymore; she felt completely alone.

Myrtle Green helped Shannon to her car and buckled her into the front passenger seat.  She knew not to ask Shannon any questions; there would be plenty of time for that later.  They  drove back to her house having not said a word. 

Myrtle got out of the car and then went around to Shannon's side and unbuckled her from the seat like a small child.  She held out her hand and helped her out of the car.  Shannon stared ahead blankly and allowed herself to be led through the now familiar gate and walkway up to the house.

The smell of cookies and chocolate still hung in the air when they opened the front door.  Tears started rolling down Shannon's face again when she realized it had only been a little while since she had left a happy little party in this house with her mother.  Now her parents were gone and they weren't going to come back.  Ever.              







About the Author:

Charlotte Gerber began her writing career after becoming disabled in 2004.  Since then she has been a writer and editor for LoveToKnow.com, and most recently covering disability issues for the New York Times on their About.com website.

Murder in Middleton, the story of a psychic teenager trying to solve a century’s old murder mystery, was her first book.  A holiday novella, A Very Merry Middleton Christmas, is scheduled for release during the holiday season this year.  I Dream of Zombies, the story of Rose Lee, a zombie social worker, will be released on Halloween this year.

A third book, Curiosity Killed the Cat, is scheduled for release in early 2014.


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