Dear Diary,
My
name is Sennie Lacefield. My family owns the Lacefield Mountain
Lodge.
Photo Courtesy of architecturaldesigns.com
|
My
favorite place is the swing on the front porch. It’s the only place
where I can have time to myself. Time to think.
I
need that time, especially since my best friend, Reatha Alcoker
disappeared.
One
minute we were watching fireworks, and the next minute she was gone.
Another
girl went missing. Two boys found her floating in Craneneck Slough, a
swampy, snake infested area.
I
didn’t want to believe it. Why would anyone want to kill someone as
sweet as Sue Stimes?
What
does this mean for Reatha?
Milo
Durham called me. He is Reatha’s boyfriend. He wants to team up,
track down the person who took Reatha, and bring her home.
There
is nothing I want more.
I’ve
searched the town of Mayrose. I made a list of suspects. If Reatha is
still alive, we WILL find her.
There
are some people that I don’t trust . . . could never trust.
#1
is Rex Cackley. His father is the sheriff of Mayrose, making him
think that he is above the law.
His
best friend is Ottis Ferris. That boy is so disgusting. He has a long
face with rotten horse teeth. He leers at me as if he could eat me
alive.
I
wouldn’t put anything past those two.
There
are others that I don’t trust.
#2
Sheriff Cackley
He
might be the sheriff, but he’s so lazy and uncaring that Sue’s
death and Reatha’s disappearance were just a couple of
inconveniences for him.
Whenever
I meet him on the street, he licks his fat lips and practically
drools. No, Sheriff Cackley cannot be trusted.
There
are others in town on the suspect list.
#3
Fred Heller
Fred
and his wife run the cafĂ©. He’s got a temper, making him
questionable.
#4
Dr. Phillips, the town dentist.
Anyone
who enjoys yanking out people’s teeth as much as Dr. Phillips does
has got a few screws loose.
#5
The three McKillips’ brothers
Gus,
Ralph, and Kerry work at the gas station. Kerry is wild. He flirts
with all the girls.
#6
The Kaplans
They
work at the lumberyard and spend their time whistling and shouting
lewd things at the girls on the school tennis courts.
Any
one of these people could have taken Reatha.
I
miss her so much.
I’ve
had too much loss in my life lately. Patrick Devon, the boy I loved,
was killed in a car accident while he was away at college.
His
brother, Lonnie, has grown reclusive. I tried to reach out to him,
but we got into a fight at Patrick’s funeral, and he hasn’t
really spoken to me since.
Miss
Pearleen Alcoker, Reatha’s grandmother, and I have bonded over our
loss. She bakes me cookies, and we talk about Reatha. We are never
going to give up hope.
She
even gave me the recipe of her famous Cocoa Chocolate cookies.
3
tablespoons Cocoa
¾
cup sugar
¾
cup brown sugar
2
¼ cups flour
½
cup oatmeal – ground in a food processor
2
teaspoons vanilla
1
½ teaspoons baking soda
1
teaspoon lemon juice
2
eggs
½
teaspoon salt
3
cups semisweet chocolate chips
1
cup butter – softened
½
teaspoon cinnamon
Mix
it together. Bake at 350 degrees for 17 minutes.
When
I find Reatha, we’ll bake a batch of these.
That
day can’t come soon enough.
A Killing Among Friends by Toni Morrow Wyatt
Published by: Limitless PublishingPublication date: August 10th 2015
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Young Adult
Sennie Lacefield has always felt safe at her family’s peaceful mountain lodge . . .
The only break in her tranquil life was the death of her boyfriend Patrick Devon, which left her heartbroken and unable to understand Patrick’s sullen, withdrawn brother Lonnie. But when her best friend Reatha Alcoker disappears, her sense of security is shattered. With the help of Reatha’s boyfriend Milo Durham, she launches a search for her friend.
More girls disappear, and bodies begin turning up . . .
When one of the missing girls is found dead in a swamp with a symbol burned into her forehead, Sennie focuses on her growing list of suspects. She can’t count on help from the lazy, lecherous Sheriff Warford Cackley. She also has suspicions the sheriff’s son Rex and his nasty friend Ottis know more than they’re willing to share.
Someone is watching Sennie’s every move . . .
Refusing to believe Reatha is dead, Sennie and Milo continue their frantic search, and Sennie is plagued with threatening messages. When another girl’s body is discovered, she and Milo visit the site and find evidence that Reatha has also been there. Some aerial photographs might hold a vital clue . . . if they can find them in time.
As Sennie unravels a tangled web of secrets, arson, burglary, and murder, could it be that a desire to help Sennie has warped the mind of a murderer?
Giveaway:
a Rafflecopter giveawayAuthor Bio:
As a child, Toni Morrow Wyatt's family spent nearly every summer visiting relatives in a small, rural community in Arkansas. Finding magic in this place, it is the setting for many of her novels. Her love for southern fiction led to the writing of her upcoming novel, A Killing Among Friends, and also, Return to Rocky Gap. Her work has appeared in From the Depths Literary Journal and Belle Reve Literary Journal. She writes an eclectic blog titled, A Pinch of Me, on Tumblr. She was previously an independent bookseller, owning and operating Kindred Books for seven years.
Author links:
No comments:
Post a Comment