IN THE WOODS Murder In The North East Kingdom by Zguta

Book Release Today!

I am happy to announce that my novel

IN THE WOODS Murder In The North East Kingdom is now available in eBook format. #MurderMystery #thriller 

I worked on this story for years, it actually started out as a blog post which I abandoned, and later I was inspired to change the location and develop the character into the novel it is today.

The main protagonist is a strong female role model, no fancy fighting and far from perfect, but she does do battle within herself while she investigates a death.

A role-playing game staged in the remote woods of the North East Kingdom, turns into a deadly pastime when a killer uses the game as a means to seize his victims. 

A dead body is discovered in the woods by Samantha Tremblay, a Forest Ranger who works at Maidstone Lake. The locals call her Sam. She swears to bring the killer to justice for the victim but soon finds herself in over her head, as she works alongside New Hampshire Trooper Zachary Gerard assigned to the case. More bodies turn up and motivation to solve the crimes mount. 

Old secrets get in Sam’s way, and she isolates herself from others. Haunted by unanswered questions about the past, she lives with cracked relationships—between herself and her father—her friends. Mourning her mother, Samantha feels a pull toward her heritage, the Abenaki tribe, but is afraid to open that doorway. Could the tribe help discover the answers to her quest for the truth?

Pulled emotionally from all directions, Samantha Tremblay searches for answers to find a killer, and to discover herself.

I hope you grab a Kindle copy HERE and enjoy the book. 

Also available here at Smashwords. For those who prefer a more physical reading experience ⤍ the paperback will be available soon.

Help me spread the word and Thank you for sharing my news! 

Keep Reading - Keep Writing!

Series Review of Beck Casey Thrillers: Fallout, Final Epidemic and more-by author Earl Merkel

Wonder what makes a series successful?

Me too, so I read as many series as possible. Here's a great political spy series - Beck Casey Thrillers!



Fans of the TV show 24  you'll love Beck Casey! 

Check out my review and visit Amazon if you think you'll enjoy the thrills too.

Fallout (A Beck Casey Thriller)

Kindle Edition

by Earl Merkel (Author)

Always on the move. . .

Another great Beck Casey story that pivots in various directions, until multiple strings meet and intertwine for an explosive conclusion. Followers of the series would expect nothing less. The story melds many political threads, foes and allies. The reader will get a close look at the threats and motivations of the characters as the plot pushes forward. Never a dull moment, from assassinations, buildings blown up, to computer viral threats. Even though a genre spy story, there are some unique characters in this book, using friends to fill in the ranks needed to pull off this complex story; like mine, a bomb tech, shows up in chapter 63! The plot uses all forces, from CIA, FBI, Mossad, MI6 and more . . . Definitely an insane political ride with surprises at every step. A great political thriller for the serious reader.

My Review of:

Fire of the Prophet

Swept Away! Suspenseful Story

Fire of the Prophet: A Beck Casey Thriller Kindle Edition

Pow! The opening chapter is a shocker, and you are immediately swept into a scenario that keeps the reader wanting to know more. Vivid scenes, like in an action film, take you into the story that is relevant to current topics of today.

Earl Merkel brings the reader close to the action, of what could be real life situations, and your worst nightmare come true! He uses his words to paint realism into the story, a candid and raw picture, entirely human.

The characters are developed with great insights into the daily life and business of journalism, politics and the military. Tense, suspenseful, nerving, and nail biting action, fill the pages. The author uses powerful words, and visual symmetry, while keeping the story timeline organized and easy to follow along, with multiple viewpoints and plots that are all part of the bigger picture. The flow from place to place, person to person, is done well.

Merkel brings unique flavor when he writes about the military side of the equation. A clear picture of the trauma and urgency, the men and women in active duty must endure every day, brought a new appreciation for our brave soldiers. Touching scenes of families reaching out to each other are emotional and heartfelt.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes action, spy plots and a good look at the humanity (or lack of by terrorists) behind the scenes. I thank you Earl Merkel for writing this wonderful tale. This book will surely be a story you will remember.

Also look at the rest of the series:

Final Epidemic  
(A Beck Casey Thriller) 
(Volume 1)  by Earl Merkel 

 This is how the world ends...

An invisible killer has returned. The last time it raged, upward of forty million died—in a matter of months. Now it's back, released to prey on an unsuspecting, unprotected world.

Also check out this detective book:

Dirty Fire: A Thriller Kindle Edition

by Earl Merkel (Author)

  

Police detective John Davey once had everything—until bribery charges destroyed his career, his marriage, and his life.

Now he's been given a second chance. Davey is pressured into joining an investigation into the baffling murder of a wealthy Chicago couple savagely murdered before their North Shore mansion was set ablaze. To the city, it's a scandal. To Davey, it's overkill.

In the charred ruins, Davey finds clues to something more sinister than deadly premediated arson: a criminal maze threading back through history, and a connection to billions of dollars in artwork that disappeared during the Holocaust. As more victims emerge, Davey begins to suspect the motives of those he is forced to trust, with betrayal layered on betrayal, until he has no one left to believe in but himself.

 

Check out the newest on Earl Merkel's bookshelf:

The Law Of Unintended Consequences: A Faulk Carpenter Thriller 

(The Faulk Carpenter Thriller Series Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Earl Merkel (Author)

 

I have this on my reader and will get to reviewing it soon. It's so exciting to read a first book in a new series.

Below is the blurp - 

Pick up a copy if it interests you and we can discuss the story as we read it!

 

A college student, missing for three decades. The scion of a Miami crime family, infuriated and sworn to bloody vengeance. A deep‐sea research vessel, blown to atoms by a dynamite bomb, placed by faceless persons who prefer the sea to keep its secrets forever.

And a visiting stranger, the unwilling nexus of this ever‐widening web of intrigue and violence, who arrives on the evening tides to seek out the resolution to long unanswered questions—that is, if he survives long enough to unravel it.

These are the elements that combine into a suspenseful narrative in The Law Of Unintended Consequences, and serve to proclaim an exciting new entry in the annals of today’s pantheon of reluctant heroes.

The Law Of Unintended Consequences is set in the scorching sun and sparkling shorelines of Northwest Florida’s Emerald Coast, where a tourist-playground façade scarcely conceals the ominous undercurrents of crime and violence both past and present.

For Faulk Carpenter, the quest for closure in Spanish Bay becomes its own odyssey: an often dark voyage that forces him to face his own demons, all the while he becomes prey to the law of unintended consequences throughout the obstacles, entanglements and dangers he encounters—both from others, and from himself.  

        

 

Keep reading - Keep writing!

 

 

Book Review of Catacomb by Jeremy Bates

New Book - A Thriller Loaded with Suspense

What can be scarier than wandering the catacombs under Paris in darkness? You will discover how horrific it can be below the city. The story plunges you underground with the four explorers, as they journey through the catacombs, pursuing a quest inspired by a mysterious video Pascal had found during a previous trip below.


Pascal and Daniele are both experienced cataphiles—the colloquial term for underground urban explorers of the catacombs. They guide Rob and Will through some treacherous terrain and tight conditions. The setting is described fully, and you will feel as if you are there in the tunnels as well, inching through every fissure crack. You want suspense and horror—look no further. The surprise will be not only whom they meet below, but also the shadows they each carry within themselves. As they trek, the characters naturally unfold their own stories.

The bizarre and shocking encounters underground trigger their reveries and innermost thoughts. The reader has a front row seat and glimpses into the past of Will, the main protagonist, as he reveals his nightmare while trying to come to terms with his own ghosts. The author does this with a smooth and compassionate brush.

This brings us right back to their horrendous situation that they are dealing with. We travel beside them, sharing their troubles; the deeper into the tunnels and the story, the bigger the shock becomes. Twists and turns are found not only through the catacombs, but the with each action decision the characters opt as well.

No more details told. I do not want to give anything away. Nevertheless, I have to disclose that I never expected the end as it unfolded. Not a fairytale ending but it is very much acceptable. Well done—suspenseful to the end!

This is book two in the series "A World's Scariest Places". The first “Suicide Forest” was also a great suspense thriller. For both of these stories, the series name is not enough to prepare you for what you will experience as a reader. You will learn new things about our world, and survive through our worst fears as well.

I have read both books in the series so far, and both are intense. These books have become my favorites, a modern writer surpassing King and Koontz. Jeremy Bates not only delivers maximum suspense and horror, but you are right there with the characters. The style of writing is honest, vivid, compelling and never a dull moment.

There will be no skipping parts—and no putting this book down until it has finished. I recommend this book.