NOT YOUR USUAL SUSPECTS

A group blog featuring an international array of killer mystery, suspense, and romantic suspense writers. With premises and story lines different from your run-of-the-mill whodunits, we tend to write outside the box. We blog several times a week on all topics relating to romantic suspense and mystery, our writing, and our readers. We welcome all comments and often have guest bloggers. All our authors can be contacted separately, too, using their own social media links.

We find our genre delightfully, dangerously, and deliciously exciting - join us here, if you do too!

NOTE: the blog is currently dormant but please enjoy the posts we're keeping online.


Julie Moffet . Cathy Perkins . Jean Harrington . Daryl Anderson . Nico Rosso . Maureen A Miller . Sandy Parks . Lisa Q Mathews . Sharon Calvin . Lynne Connolly . Janis Patterson . Vanessa Keir . Tonya Kappes . Julie Rowe . Joni M Fisher . Leslie Langtry

Thursday, September 8, 2011

The First Victim by JB Lynn

*At the end of the week we're giving away a stack of ebooks (possibly a couple of print books too) to one lucky commentator. The more times you comment, the more times you'll go into the 'hat'. See this post. We'll name the winner on the blog next Monday.*

In this excerpt, Emily Wright is returning to her hometown for the first time in years. To avoid hitting a deer, she crashes her car on a road outside of town. It's getting dark....

THE FIRST VICTIM

She didn’t get very far before she heard an automobile approaching from behind. Stumbling off the road, she hid behind the thick trunk of an oak tree, its rough bark scraping her palm as she leaned into it. The hammering of her heart almost drowned out the sound of the car as it pulled closer.

“Drive past. Drive past. Drive past.” Tightening her grip on the stone and stick, she whispered the wish, painfully aware of how vulnerable and alone she was.
The car’s headlights slashed through the night, reaching for her. She held her breath, as though that would make her invisible.

Suddenly the car slammed to a stop just past the spot where her car had gone off the road. A tall man, his face silhouetted in the darkness, leaped out of the front passenger seat. Almost instantly the thin ray of a flashlight cut through the trees, landing on her car.

She didn’t dare move, afraid that any sound she made would alert him to her presence. As though he somehow sensed she was there, the shadowy figure swung toward her, the beam of light arcing through the darkness like an arrow aimed at a bull’s-eye.

A jolt of fright turned her legs to mush, rooting her to the spot. He was so big. There was no way she could outrun him. Not here. Not now. Not again.




THE FIRST VICTIM

Fifteen years ago, Emily Wright barely escaped from a serial killer dubbed the Baby Doll Strangler. She wants nothing to do with the small town she grew up in, but when her father is hospitalized she reluctantly returns home to care for her teenage sister.
When a friend of her sister is killed and left in front of Emily’s house, Emily begins to relive the nightmare she endured long ago. Soon she realizes that her sister too is in danger from the killer – and the only person who can help is the man Emily left behind: Deputy Bailey O’Neil. Together, Emily and Bailey must discover the killer’s identity before he claims his next victim…

Find out more at www.jblynn.com

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the way this she hid behind the thick trunk of an oak tree, its rough bark scraping her palm as she leaned into it. adds texture. It really brought the excerpt alive. And wow, it sounds like a great read.

mickie said...

Okay another book added to my wish List. Great excerpt You could sense her fear.

Unknown said...

Love the excerpt, JB. Love the book. It's an awesome read!

JB Lynn said...

Chrissy -- Such a compliment to know that image worked for you -- thank you!

Mickie -- Thanks! It's so hard to pick an excerpt that communicates the tone of the story. So happy you could sense Emily's fear!

Shirley -- Thank you, Shirley! Your review was one of my faves!

Anonymous said...

Loved this excerpt! Intriguing and made me add it to my TBB list immediately!

hugs, Kari Thomas, www.authorkari.com

Maureen A. Miller said...

I read The First Victim. All I can say is that if you want top-notch suspense, you must read it too. :)

Jane said...

That definitely got me hooked. Can's wait to see what happens next.

JB Lynn said...

Kari -- Yay! I love being added to lists!

Maureen -- Thanks so much!

Jane -- wish I could cue some scary music, lol

Clare London said...

OMG, a true illustration of suspense...I'm scrolling on down to see what happens next :).

Thanks for the excerpt and for adding to my huge To Be Read list (that last bit was sarcasm with a smile :)).

Stevie Carroll said...

Another suitably suspense-filled excerpt. I'm loving this week so much.

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