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American
Specter
Rasheedah
Prioleau
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Date of Publication: Feb, 2014
ISBN: 978-0692226582
ASIN: B00IOWGVZY
Number of pages: 248
Word Count: 72,000
Cover Artist: Roger Raymond
Book Description:
FBI Agent Audra Wheeler has been
haunted for the last thirteen years by a paranormal attack that left her
sister, Kendra, in a coma. Mentored by FBI Assistant Director Jonathan Cordero
to investigate crimes committed by specters, Audra believes she is on the trail
of a ‘serial killer’ specter with a MO very similar to her sister’s attacker.
The investigation takes her to a
small town of Specter, Georgia; a haven for ghosts who exist among the living.
Book
Trailer: http://youtu.be/i6m6vTxw-Yg
Available at Amazon
Excerpt:
CHAPTER ONE
It was half past
noon on Monday when Special Agent Audra Wheeler of the FBI stepped into the
apartment of Gwyneth Miller. She’d been in Savannah the prior week but, as a
native New Yorker, she was sure that she would never get used to the stifling
Georgia heat. She noted that the air conditioner was not on as she walked
across the living room, listening to the muffled sounds of country cops
inevitably messing up Gwyneth’s room that was now an official FBI crime scene.
Gwyneth Miller was
the fifth victim of a suspected serial killer of the specter variety, who had a
thing for dark haired, dark eyed women sleeping alone. As she stepped into the
crime scene, Audra activated the specter shield she wore around her left wrist
to block any specters from getting within five feet of her.
She’d spent nearly
four years on special assignments with the FBI investigating specter crimes and
bringing them to justice. The biggest problem with catching a criminal specter
was that they never left any physical evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints, no
calling card, no expository note, and no obvious motive.
In this particular
case, all of the hunches that Audra had to go off of were of a personal nature
that she was still not entirely comfortable sharing. To her knowledge, this
would be the first and only specter that had crossed the line into murder and
then into serial killing. This particular specter had taken her from Boston to
New Jersey, then Charlotte, Savannah, and finally the small town of Specter,
Georgia.
She walked into
Gwyneth Miller’s bedroom and immediately noted the scent of candles and
perfume. Audra suspected that maybe this woman had, in fact, had a visitor the
night before and, perhaps, this would not fit the profile of her four previous
cases.
She quickly
scanned the room and made note of the cheap, feminine décor. Audra cringed,
turning her attention to the body of the victim. Gwyneth was lying in bed, on
her side with her hands near her throat, which was singed with strange burn
marks. Her fingernails had scratched at her throat as well, peeling away some
of the skin. These were the telltale signs of the specter that she was
following but, most disturbingly, this victim, like all the others, looked a
lot like her sister.
“Shit,” Audra
said. She looked over at the side table and took in a large purple candle.
“What is this?” She leaned in close.
“A candle from the
Daylight Candle Shop.”
Hearing his voice,
Audra took a shallow breath before quickly letting it out. She turned as he
strolled through Gwyneth Miller’s bedroom door and walked towards her. He wore
laid back local Southern clothes; faded jeans with a slightly tattered t-shirt
and baseball cap, but there was no mistaking the city attitude in his walk.
When Audra had
received the initial fax of a possible fifth victim, she’d read Ethan Cole’s
name on top of the report file with disbelief. Now, in front of her, she was
wary. His New York City swagger was enough to make a nun forget her vows just
long enough to break them four or five times. Audra quickly contemplated the
precious few times she’d crossed the line with her ex-partner before he’d been
transferred to the American South.
He was six-foot
two and maybe two hundred pounds of muscle. Audra remembered the feel of his
baby-smooth chocolate skin and the taste of his beautifully full lips. He was
six years older than her twenty-seven, but it looked good on him.
She turned her
attention away from his large hazel eyes back to the candle and examined the
tiny instruction card next to it.
“May love’s
embrace meet me at dawn’s face.” She snorted as she became painfully aware of
how close Ethan was standing next to her. She had to mentally and physically
resist the draw of his cologne as it invited her to lean into him. “The
Daylight Candle Shop,” she confirmed.
She had already
known there would be no evidence of the killer at the scene, but she’d asked
for nothing to be touched, not even the body, before she arrived and took a
look around. Audra listened to the coroner’s report; the victim had died of
asphyxiation from a suspected crushed esophagus, somewhere near dawn of the
previous day, Sunday. She said a prayer for Gwyneth and then left without
another word to anyone.
Ethan followed her
out of the apartment building.
“Hey, Audra. Wait
up.”
She turned as she
stepped outside, and he closed the space between them. She ignored the
oppressive heat for a moment to address him.
“I’m going to go
over to the library and question the people she worked with.”
“I already did
that,” he said.
“Well, I’m going
to do it as well,” she said, making it clear that the investigation was now
hers to control.
“Okay, but listen.
This town is full of – ”
“Specters? Yeah, I
know.” Audra rolled her eyes at the thought of an entire town, in southern
America of all places, which was home to people who had passed away. Ethan
placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to walk to her car, pulling away from
his touch in the process, shutting out the wave of feelings that screamed for
her attention.
“Don’t worry, I
won’t go around zapping your ghostly citizens.” Her specter zapper was safely
tucked away in her gun belt, just to the rear of her handgun. “But, you might
want to warn the Daylight Candle Shop that they’re next on my list.”
About
the Author:
Rasheedah Prioleau is a southern
African American writer with an eclectic range of writing and ghostwriting
credits. After a few years in the corporate world she started over from the
bottom as an unpaid intern for a literary manager and never looked back.
"I love to write because there
are no limits. All it takes is a finite space of time and I can create a story
from infinite possibilities."
Writers who have influenced her
include: Judy Bloom, Jude Deveraux, V.C. Andrews, Octavia Butler, Stephanie
Meyer, Charlaine Harris, Joss Whedon, William Nicholson, Shonda Rhimes, Quentin
Tarantino, Tyler Perry, Mike Kelley, and J.J. Abrams... just to name a few.
Website: www.rasheedahprioleau
Twitter: @prioleaura
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