Excerpt

Excerpt: PIRATE COVE by Richard D. Bailey (Bancroft Press)

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BaileyRD-PirateCoveUSHCWe have something a little bit different, today: an excerpt from a biography about corporate intrigue and deception, and the dark side of finance: Robert D. Bailey‘s Pirate Cove. Due to be published by Bancroft Press on November 7th, the lovely people at Kaye Publicity have provided us with an excerpt from early on in the book. First, here’s the synopsis:

When Richard Bailey, a successful yet jobless businessman, receives a call from his old friend Jeff, he’s lured back into the high-stakes world of finance. Jeff, a charismatic corporate veteran, is now the number three guy at Southport Lane, a fledgling private equity firm. His boss invites Richard to inspect a pharmaceutical venture that reeks of mismanagement and financial disaster.

Bailey quickly finds himself navigating a sea of corruption as he attempts to rescue a floundering vineyard, Lieb Cellars, while unraveling a complex web of deceit at the heart of the corporate operations at Southport Lane.

Bailey provides an insider’s chronicle of a white-collar crime whose headline-grabbing elements first appeared on the front pages of The Wall Street Journal. It’s the true, unvarnished, previously untold, and fascinating story of how one honest man helped unravel the massive Southport Lane fraud perpetrated by the author’s former employer, 26-year-old, self-proclaimed financial prodigy Alexander Chatfield Burns.

A friend of the author once asked Burns how he got control of four state-regulated insurance companies. With a Cheshire cat grin, Burns cryptically responded, “Jesus with a telescope on Mars couldn’t figure out how I did this.”

But Bailey eventually did.

Now, read on for the excerpt, about the author’s early encounters with Burns…

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Excerpt: THE MURDER OF ANDREW JOHNSON by Burt Solomon (Forge)

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SolomonB-MurderOfAndrewJohnsonUSHCEarlier this month, Forge Books published the third novel in Burt Solomon‘s John Hay Mysteries series, The Murder of Andrew Johnson. To celebrate, the publisher has provided CR with the first chapter to share with readers. First, though, here’s the synopsis:

Andrew Johnson was called The Great Commoner, appealing to the masses, loathing the establishment and anyone he deemed elitist. Once Johnson made an enemy, you became his enemy for life. He saw insults where none were intended and personal loyalty meant everything…and his devoted fans would follow him into the depths of Hell. He was also the first U.S. president to be impeached.

Time however waits for no man and even the Famous (or Infamous) must leave this world eventually. But when a man has as many enemies as the Devil, what death could really be a natural one? From political opponents to most of his own family, the suspects are endless, and the truth not really wanted. John Hay, lawyer, sometimes governmental bureaucrat, and now journeyman investigative reporter, is set on finding that truth. And it may wind up killing him.

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Guest Post: THE CORSET & THE JELLYFISH by Nick Bantock (Tachyon)

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BantockN-CorsetAndTheJellyfishUSHCWhen the publishers and I were working out which of my drabbles to include in the upcoming, The Corset and the Jellyfish, there were a few stories that the editorial team felt had issues, or due to being unable to be squeezed down, was eventually deemed a reject.

Sometimes it’s virtually impossible to convey time and place (beginning, middle, end) of a 100-word story.

Now, liberated from constraint, you can find five of those drabbles available as a guest post at the Civilian Reader.

Please enjoy!

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Excerpt: A LIGHT MOST HATEFUL by Hailey Piper (Titan Books)

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PiperH-ALightMostHatefulNext week, Titan Books are due to publish A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper, a new horror mystery sure to appeal to fans of the genre. To celebrate the upcoming release, the publisher has provided us with an excerpt to whet your appetite for the book. First, though, here’s the synopsis:

Three years after running away from home, Olivia is stuck with a dead-end job in nowhere town Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania. At least she has her best friend, Sunflower.

Olivia figures she’ll die in Chapel Hill, if not from boredom, then the summer night storm which crashes into town with a mind-bending monster in tow.

If Olivia’s going to escape Chapel Hill and someday reconcile with her parents, she’ll need to dodge residents enslaved by the storm’s otherworldly powers and find Sunflower.

But as the night strains friendships and reality itself, Olivia suspects the storm, and its monster, may have its eyes on Sunflower and everything she loves.

Including Olivia.

Now, on with the excerpt, which is taken from Chapter 2 of the novel…

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Excerpt: A STRANGER IN THE CITADEL by Tobias S. Buckell (Tachyon)

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BuckellTS-AStrangerInTheCitadelUSHCToday, we have an excerpt from A Stranger in the Citadel, the latest novel from Tobias S. Buckell — due out next month (October 17th) via Tachyon Publications. An intriguing-sounding novel, here’s the synopsis:

A complex novel of humanity’s passion for the written word. At the revolutionary crossroads of magic, betrayal, and long-forgotten truths, a naïve, compassionate royal and a determined, hunted librarian discover a dangerous world of mortal and ancient menaces.

The life of the youngest musketress of Ninetha has been one of hard training. But Lilith’s days have also contained many pleasures, the royal privileges of her family’s guardianship of the Cornucopia, a mystical source of limitless bounty. Lilith has never seen a book, and she never expects to encounter one within the safety of the citadel.

When Ishmael, an outcast librarian, shows up outside the Afriq Gate, Lilith saves him from immediate execution by her father’s second-in-command, the zealot Kira. As Lilith’s curiosity draws her to Ishmael, she lets slip her family’s most dangerous secret to Kira, sparking a deadly rebellion and an unexpected journey full of stunning revelations.

Now, on with the excerpt…!

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Excerpt: THE UNDETECTABLES by Courtney Smyth (Titan Books)

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SmythC-MD1-UndetectablesThe Undetectables, the first novel in Courtney Smyth‘s new Magical Detectives series, is due to be published next week by Titan Books. To give readers a taste of the novel, the publisher has provided us with this extract. Here’s the synopsis:

A magical serial killer is stalking the Occult town of Wrackton. Hypnotic whistling causes victims to chew their own tongues off, leading to the killer being dubbed the Whistler (original, right?).

Enter the Undetectables, a detective agency run by three witches and a ghost in a cat costume (don’t ask). They are hired to investigate the murders, but with their only case so far left unsolved, will they be up to the task?

Mallory, the forensic science expert, is struggling with pain and fatigue from her recently diagnosed fibromyalgia. Cornelia is suddenly stirring all sorts of feelings in Mallory. Diana is hitting up all her ex-girlfriends for information. And not forgetting ghostly Theodore: deceased, dramatic, and also the agency’s first – unsolved – murder case.

With bodies stacking up and the case leading them to mysteries at the very heart of magical society, can the Undetectables find the Whistler before they become the killer’s next victims?

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Excerpt: THE PLINKO BOUNCE by Martin Clark (Rare Bird Books)

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ClarkM-PlinkoBounceUSHCToday, we have an excerpt from The Plinko Bounce, the latest legal thriller/mystery by Martin Clark. I’m a relative newcomer to Clark’s work, having only started reading him with 2019’s The Substitution Order. Since then, though, I have read and enjoyed a number of his novels, and am very much looking forward to reading this latest. Due to be published by Rare Bird Books on September 12th, here’s the synopsis:

For seventeen years, small-town public defender Andy Hughes has been underpaid to look after the poor, the addicted, and the unfortunate souls who constantly cycle through the courts, charged with petty crimes. Then, in the summer of 2020, he’s assigned to a grotesque murder case that brings national media focus to rural Patrick County, Virginia — Alicia Benson, the wife of a wealthy businessman, is murdered in her home. The accused killer, Damian Bullins, is a cunning felon with a long history of violence, and he confesses to the police. He even admits his guilt to Andy. But a simple typographical error and a shocking discovery begin to complicate the state’s case, making it possible Bullins might escape punishment. Duty-bound to give his client a thorough defense, Andy — despite his misgivings — agrees to fight for a not-guilty verdict, a decision that will ultimately force him to make profound, life-and-death choices, both inside and outside the courtroom.

And now, on with the excerpt…

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Excerpt: LAMB by Matt Hill (Dead Ink Books)

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HillM-LambToday we have an excerpt from Matt Hill‘s new “visceral… moss-coated horror” novel, Lamb, which is due out next month. Due to be published by Dead Ink Books, here’s the synopsis:

‘It’s inside every parent to want to carry their child’s terror. It’s the thing they never tell you about. Watching your child grow up, watching your child learn to suffer…’

When lorry driver Dougie Alport carries out a deadly attack on his employer’s head office, the reverberations of his actions unleash a grief in his wife Maureen that threatens to reveal the secret she has spent years hiding from their son, Boyd. Moving north to start again is Maureen’s best response. But as the walls begin to throb with mould and his mother slips from his grasp, Boyd decides to flee, finding solace with a new friend at the landfill site on the edge of town. Here, a startling discovery upends Boyd’s new life and forces him into a reckoning with his mother, her past, and his future.

A visceral story of collective memory and moss-coated horror, Lamb asks us how far we’d go to protect those we love, and how intensely we are bound to those who have come before us.

And now, on with the excerpt…!

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Excerpt: THOSE PEOPLE NEXT DOOR by Kia Abdullah (HQ)

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AbdullahK-ThosePeopleNextDoorUKPBToday we have an excerpt from Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah. A “gripping thriller about nightmare neighbours”, the novel has been selected as Waterstones Thriller of the Month. Out now, published by HQ in the UK, here’s the synopsis:

You can choose your house. Not your neighbours.

WELCOME TO YOUR DREAM HOME…
Salma Khatun is extremely hopeful about Blenheim, the safe suburban development to which she, her husband and their son have just moved. Their family is in desperate need of a fresh start, and Blenheim feels like the place to make that happen.

MEET YOUR NEW NEIGHBOURS…
Not long after they move in, Salma spots her neighbour, Tom Hutton, ripping out the anti-racist banner her son put in their front garden. She chooses not to confront Tom because she wants to fit in. It’s a small thing, really. No need to make a fuss. So Salma takes the banner inside and puts it in her window instead. But the next morning she wakes up to find her window smeared with paint.

AND PREPARE FOR THE NIGHTMARE TO BEGIN…
This time she does confront Tom, and the battle lines between the two families are drawn. As things begin to escalate and the stakes become higher, it’s clear that a reckoning is coming… And someone is going to get hurt.

A gripping thriller about nightmare neighbours, Those People Next Door explores the loss of innocence and how far we’re prepared to go to defend ourselves and the people we love.

Read on for this short excerpt, taken from Chapter 1, in which Salma meets her new neighbour for the first time…

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Excerpt: SANDYMANCER by David Edison (Tor)

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EdisonD-SandymancerUSHCToday, we have an excerpt taken from David Edison‘s second novel: the fantasy-science fiction mash-up Sandymancer. Due to be published next month by Tor Books, let’s first check out the synopsis:

A wild girl with sand magic in her bones and a mad god who is trying to fix the world he broke come together in SANDYMANCER, a genre-warping mashup of weird fantasy and hard science fiction.

All Caralee Vinnet has ever known is dust. Her whole world is made up of the stuff; water is the most precious thing in the cosmos. A privileged few control what elements remain. But the world was not always a dust bowl and the green is not all lost.

Caralee has a secret — she has magic in her bones and can draw up power from the sand beneath her feet to do her bidding. But when she does she winds up summoning a monster: the former god-king who broke the world 800 years ago and has stolen the body of her best friend.

Caralee will risk the whole world to take back what she’s lost. If her new companion doesn’t kill her first.

Intrigued? Read on for the first chapter of Sandymancer…

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