In the 1950s, Oscar Hammerstein is asked to write the lyrics to a musical based on the life of a woman named Maria von Trapp. He’s intrigued to learn that she was once a novice who hoped to live quietly as an Austrian nun before her abbey sent her away to teach a widowed baron’s sickly child. What should have been a ten-month assignment, however, unexpectedly turned into a marriage proposal. And when the family was forced to flee their home to escape the Nazis, it was Maria who instructed them on how to survive using nothing but the power of their voices.
It’s an inspirational story, to be sure, and as half of the famous Rodgers & Hammerstein duo, Hammerstein knows it has big Broadway potential. Yet much of Maria’s life will have to be reinvented for the stage, and with the horrors of war still fresh in people’s minds, Hammerstein can’t let audiences see just how close the von Trapp’s came to losing their lives.
But when Maria sees the script that is supposedly based on her life, she becomes so incensed that she sets off to confront Hammerstein in person. Told that he’s busy, she is asked to express her concerns to his secretary, Fran, instead. The pair strike up an unlikely friendship as Maria tells Fran about her life, contradicting much of what will eventually appear in The Sound of Music.
A tale of love, loss, and the difficult choices that we are often forced to make, Maria is a powerful reminder that the truth is usually more complicated—and certainly more compelling—than the stories immortalized by Hollywood.
MARIA: A Novel of Maria von Trapp by Michelle Moran is an engaging biographical historical fiction novel that takes the reader on a journey into the real life of Maria von Trapp compared to the Maria von Trapp portrayed in The Sound of Music. It is a story that is fictionalized and yet still is able to demonstrate the truth of a life is usually more complicated.
Oscar Hammerstein is asked to compose the music for a Broadway play based on the life of Maria von Trapp and her singing family. While it is an inspirational story, it must be condensed for the stage and when Maria sees the script, she is very angry and wants to confront Hammerstein. Hammerstein sends his secretary, Fran, to meet with Maria and find out what she objects to in the musical.
Fran is excited to meet Maria and as she listens to Maria’s life story they become unlikely friends over the week of conversations, but she knows it is too late to change the musical and worries that Maria could cause problems with the press. She begins to understand why Maria is upset, so she writes her report hoping Mr. Hammerstein can do something.
This story is one that you will want to curl up on the couch with and read in one sitting. The differences between the real Maria and the Maria of The Sound of Music are fascinating. She was not an easy woman by any means after a difficult childhood and yet it was her ambition, resilience, and grit that got the family through many difficult times. Families are complicated. I also found the snippets of Oscar Hammerstein’s life interesting. I know that whenever I watch the movie again, I will still love it for what it is, a fun musical movie, but it is not what the real-life von Trapp’s experienced, and their lives were much more complicated than what you see on the screen.
I highly recommend this compelling biographical historical fiction novel!
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About the Author
Michelle Moran is the international bestselling author of seven historical novels. A native of southern California, she attended Pomona College, then earned a Masters Degree from the Claremont Graduate University. During her six years as a public high school teacher she used her summers to travel around the world, and it was her experiences as a volunteer on archaeological digs that inspired her to write historical fiction.
In 2012 Michelle was married in India, inspiring her seventh book, Rebel Queen, which is set in the East. Her hobbies include hiking, traveling, and archaeology. She is also fascinated by archaeogenetics, particularly since her children’s heritages are so mixed. But above all these things Michelle is passionate about reading and can often be found with her nose in a good book. A frequent traveler, she currently resides with her husband, son, and daughter in the US. Her books have been translated into more than twenty languages.
In Murder at the Elmsone of the wealthy families, the Berwinds, invite those high in society to view their newly completed Bellevue Avenue estate. It is a modern mansion, that has been wired for electricity, generated by coal from Berwinds own mines. Yet, days before the party the servants go on strike, hoping to negotiate better working conditions since they work seven days a week with no time off. They are all fired and replaced with new staff. At the party there is fine dining and music but the evening ends tragically when a chambermaid is found dead in the coal tunnel and a guest’s diamond necklace is missing. Because Emma and Derrick were there, they are asked by the police to help in uncovering who is the murderer and what is the connection between the necklace and the murder.
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Book Description
Murder At Vinland is the most recent book in the series. Vinland is the Viking themed home of Florence Vanderbilt Twombly. There she is having a fundraiser for the local Audubon Society attended by the wife of Theodore Roosevelt and Harriet Hemingway. The following morning one of the guests is found to have been poisoned. However, more poisoned desserts are sent to socially prominent women who had attended the luncheon, and tension increases even as the dangerous toxin used is identified. Asked her to help to find the person sending the poisons is Emma’s good friend, police detective James Whyte. Emma and Jesse must sort through possible motives because now more than the birds are in danger.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Each ofMurder at the Elms and Murder at Vinland by Alyssa Maxwell intertwines a mystery within an historical novel. The setting is the turn of the century Newport where during the Gilded Age there is vast income and a power disparity. The main character, Emma Cross, is the “poor Vanderbilt” having inherited some money from the famous family. But she is an anomaly because she is independent and a working journalist who owns the newspaper The Newport Messenger along with her wealthy husband, Derrick.
Maxwell brings turn-of-the-century Newport to life by taking readers into the mansions and how the wealthy lived. Combining mystery with real-life personalities and events from the Gilded Age makes for an entertaining and informative read.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: What about the TV series?
Alyssa Maxwell: It is not a TV series. Hallmark Mystery made the first book, Murder at the Breakers into a movie. We do not know if any new ones will be made. They do tend to move a little slowly. I have no say in anything.
EC: Why make your heroine, Emma, a woman journalist in the early 1900s?
AM: She is independent. It is unusual, not the norm, but not out of the question. There were other female journalists at that time and other women in other occupations. They did have their own business and made their own money. I always refer to Nellie Bly as the inspiration for Emma, a Gilded Age journalist who took a lot of risks. At the beginning of the series as a society journalist she was able to get into the balls and the wealthy activities in Newport. Now she is more of an investigative reporter. Jesse, her detective friend, relies on her insight because she knows the wealthy and the ordinary Newport people.
EC: Has Emma changed since she married?
AM: She has come to see there is still strength in depending on others. In the beginning she tended to be a lone wolf, that in accepting help there might be strings. With her husband, Derrick, she realizes it is possible to be a team. She is more confidant in herself and her relationships.
EC: Since Emma is pregnant will that jump the shark?
AM: Emma needed to settle into her married life and in the early 1900s that would include having a child. Nanny and Katie will help in looking after the baby as well as having her work from home. I think it is a natural progression of her life.
EC: Will Jesse ever get a love interest?
AM: I have hinted in an earlier book that Jesse and one of the maids of a mansion had met and were striking up a friendship. I need to get back to it, but have not since I have been so focused on Emma and Derrick’s relationship
EC: What would you say is the historical part of Murder at The Elms?
AM: The mystery and the historical wrap around each other in all my books. I do take some historical events and wrap them around the mystery. There was some backstabbing, with societal climbing but there was also female friendships and relationships that I explore. There is also yellow journalism with the sensationalism and embellishment. One of the journalists, Brown, uses it. He did not care how his reporting might affect someone. He did not have a lot of scruples as evidenced when he covered the striking of the servants. At that time there actually was a service strike at the Elms where everyone was fired.
EC: In Murder at Vinland how did you get the idea for the story?
AM: This house has a Nordic and Viking design, which led me into thinking of nature. The archived newspapers of the period showed how Audubon Societies were springing up.
EC: How would you describe The Ladies of the 400?
AM: Many were smart, savvy women who if allowed would have been CEOs of companies. They were frustrated in their lack of choices. This is why being on the top of society was so important to them, being like their business. They could be set in their ways because their choices were limited, so they felt other women’s choices should be limited as well. They can be good and bad. They were involved in altruistic projects and are philanthropists. They helped their communities but at the same time there was rivalry about who would be considered the most important one in society.
EC: What was the role of Jennie?
AM: She wanted to start up an Audubon Society. She was passionate about the protection of birds. At the time women were wearing hats adorned with feathers. She gets angry with these women and because of this Emma suspects her. By the 1920s, feathers on hats were out because of the efforts of the consciousness and education, but at the time of the story this was in the beginning. I put in two historical figures, Harriet Hemingway who established the Massachusetts Audubon Society and Edith Roosevelt because of her husband’s activism in preserving the environment. I thought they would be likely figures to attend a luncheon on the dangers to birds.
EC: Next books?
AM: In the book that I am finishing now, the next Newport mystery there are fewer suspects than this book. The book is titled Murder at Arleigh, coming out this time next year. A societal couple believed to be madly in love has a wrench thrown when the wife comes to Emma and tells her she thinks her husband is trying to kill her. The couple is real, Harry and Elizabeth Lehr. Two Weddings and a Murder will be my next book in the “A Lady & Lady’s Maid” series. It begins with a marriage and that same day the chief inspector is murdered, coming out in February.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Novella 0.5: Into the Fire Book 1: You’ll Never Find Me
Book Description – Into the Fire (Angelhart Investigations Book #0.5)
Margo Angelhart was recently certified as a private investigator, but she isn’t convinced that it’s her calling. All of her cases have been minor, mostly for family and haven’t paid the bills. She’s more than happy to keep bartending and figure out her post-military career later. That is, until prosecutor Andy Flannigan walks into her bar and offers her a case she can’t turn down…
Nineteen-year-old Sergio Diaz has confessed to murder—except Andy doesn’t buy it. With his own job on the line, Andy asks Margo to work the case discreetly. The more she digs, the more she’s convinced an innocent kid is going to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Now she just needs to figure out why he’d confess. Can Margo prove Sergio’s innocence and help Andy find the real killer before anyone else dies?
INTO THE FIRE (Angelhart Investigations Book #0.5) by Allison Brennan is an introductory novella to a new P.I. series from a favorite author. Margo Angelhart is from a large extended family and is bartending after returning from the Army while getting her P.I. license on the side. This is a quick novella that introduces Margo a few years before the start of the series and demonstrates her tenacity and thinking outside of the box on her first case as a P.I.
Prosecutor Andy Flannigan is a regular customer and stops into the bar while Margo Angelhart is bartending. He has a case with a young man, Sergio Diaz, who has confessed to murder, but Andy does not believe him. Margo is willing to help and take a second look. The more she investigates, the more Margo believes in Sergio innocence, and she must discover why he is willing to go to prison for a crime he did not commit.
I enjoyed getting to know Margo and her family. Ms. Brennan’s writing brings all the characters to life and makes them believable. The crime plot is interesting even in this shorter novella format. I feel the main purpose of this novella, besides being an introduction to the characters, is to show Margo finally believing in herself and her path as a private investigator. I am looking forward to starting the first full length book in this series!
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Book Description – You’ll Never Find Me (Angelhart Investigations Book #1)
Working alone as a private investigator is tough. Estranged from her PI family, Margo Angelhart does what she must to get by—including taking on sordid cases that pay the bills, even if she’d rather be helping those the justice system has failed.
That is, until a cheating husband case she’s working intersects with her siblings’ corporate espionage investigation, forcing Margo to cooperate with the Angelhart firm. Now, as the siblings compare notes, it’s clear they need to work together before a white-collar crime escalates to murder.
With far more questions than answers and a key suspect on the run, they’ll need the whole family to pitch in. But as they investigate the ever-twisting mystery, Margo isn’t sharing everything. Can she learn to trust her family and heal their once-close relationship before her secrets put those she loves most in danger?
YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME (Angelhart Investigations Book #1) by Allison Brennan is an exciting and action packed P.I. crime thriller and a great start to this new series. Margo is a relatable protagonist from a large extended family in Phoenix, Arizona and a smart P.I. Besides introducing us to the main characters, there are two crime plots intersecting throughout the story.
P.I. Margo Angelhart is estranged from her family and working on her own and not with Angelhart Investigations. She helps an abused wife and mother of two disappear and to help pay for this pro-bono work she takes on a case to find proof of a cheating spouse. The cheating spouse case intersects with a corporate espionage investigation her family is working on. Her brother talks her into working together and the case soon escalates to attempted murder. At the same time, Margo has the husband of the family she helped disappear on her tail and threatening those she loves for information on the location of his missing family.
Margo is not sure how much she is willing to trust her family and keeps certain facts to herself, but this could put those she loves in danger. Is she willing to heal the family rift and become a part of her once close-knit family and the family firm again?
This is going to be a fabulous series! Margo is a fully developed protagonist. She is independent, brash and stubborn to a fault, but also extremely kindhearted to the underdog. The interactions with her various family members felt realistic and believable. The P.I. investigations were intriguing with plenty of twists and surprises. Everything together kept me turning the pages.
I highly recommend this first captivating book in this new Angelhart Investigations series!
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About the Author
Allison Brennan is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author of more than forty thrillers and numerous short stories. She was nominated for Best Paperback Original Thriller by International Thriller Writers, had multiple nominations and two Daphne du Maurier Awards, and is a five-time RITA finalist for Best Romantic Suspense. Allison believes life is too short to be bored, so she had five kids and writes three books a year. Originally from northern California, in 2019 she and her husband relocated to Arizona where they enjoy baseball Spring Training, hiking, and spending time with their kids, grandson, and assorted pets.
Six experienced saturation divers are locked inside a hyperbaric chamber. Calm and professional, they know that rapid decompression would be fatal and so they work in shifts, breathing helium, and surviving in hot, close quarters.
Then one of them is found dead in his bunk.
With four days of decompression to go before the locked hatch to the chamber can be safely opened, the group must watch one another’s backs at all times. And when another diver is discovered unresponsive, everyone is on edge. What…or who…is taking them out one by one? And will any of them still be alive by the time the four days is up or will paranoia, exhaustion, suspicion, and pressure destroy them all?
THE CHAMBER by Will Dean is a psychological crime thriller/mystery with the ultimate locked room. Six experienced saturation divers begin to die, one-by-one, in their place of work, a hyperbaric chamber. If you are claustrophobic, this may not be the book for you, but you will be missing out on an amazing who-dun-it thriller that leaves you questioning your assumptions all the way to the last page.
Locked in a hyperbaric chamber is a tight and hot environment in which to live as six professional saturation divers work in shifts on deep sea oil rigs. They all depend on each other for their lives and know there is no exit until after decompression. After only one dive shift, one of the divers is discovered dead in his bunk and then it happens again. The divers can find no reason for these deaths and do not know who to trust. Now, as the company calls a halt to the month-long job, the divers must wait through four days of decompression as they continue to die one-by-one.
The story is told by Ellen Brooke, one of few female saturation divers, and she is in the chamber with five other experienced divers. Ellen is a wife and mother who does not know if she will return home. As the clock ticks down the time of decompression, the dead bodies increase and so does the level of suspicion and conspiracy theories. I always thought I was slightly claustrophobic until I read this book and now, I know I am much more claustrophobic than I believed. This is definitely not a job for the feint of heart.
I loved this book! I learned about a career I knew nothing about and would never attempt but found fascinating. I changed my mind so many times as to who or what was killing the divers. This mystery/thriller is fast paced, even with the explanations of sat diving and the countdown to the end builds to a heart pounding climax. No spoilers here, but make sure you read to the very last page.
I highly recommend this psychological crime thriller/mystery!
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About the Author
Will Dean grew up in the East Midlands of the United Kingdom. After studying law at the London School of Economics and working in London, he settled in rural Sweden where he built a wooden house in a vast forest, and it’s from this base that he compulsively reads and writes. His debut novel, Dark Pines, was selected for Zoe Ball’s book club on ITV, shortlisted for the National Book Award (UK), TheGuardian’s Not the Booker prize, and was named a Telegraph book of the year. He is also the author of The Last One, First Born, The Last Thing to Burn, which was shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and The Chamber.
London: 1968. Liz Houghton is languishing as an obituary writer at a London newspaper when a young girl’s disappearance captivates the city. If Liz can break the story, it’s her way into the newsroom. She already has a scoop: her best friend, Marisa, is a police officer assigned to the case.
Liz follows Marisa to Dorset, where they make another disturbing discovery. Over two decades earlier, three girls disappeared while evacuating from London. One was found murdered in the woods near a train line. The other two were never seen again.
As Liz digs deeper, she finds herself drawn to the village of Tydeham, which was requisitioned by the military during the war and left in ruins. After all these years, what could possibly link the missing girls to this abandoned village? And why does a place Liz has never seen before seem so strangely familiar?
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Rose Arbor by Rhys Bowen is more of a suspenseful novel that a historical one. There is a mystery, but also a dose of romance along with the serious topic of memory loss.
The book opens in London 1968 where Liz Houghton has been demoted to obituary writer for a London newspaper. After a young girl has disappeared, Liz decides to investigate, hoping for a scoop. Helping her is her best friend and roommate Marisa who happens to be a police detective.
They venture to Tydeham where during WWII the Army had all the residents relocated because they needed the area for military operations. Now it is a ghost town. But through her investigation Liz discovers that there were three girls who disappeared during WWII while evacuating London for the countryside. One was found murdered in the woods and the other two were never seen again. Helping with her desire to get to the bottom of what happened is James, someone who grew up in Tydeham and is now back trying to salvage some of his parents’ items.
The multiple interrelated story lines raise questions that will keep people engrossed.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Rhys Bowen: I read an article on a real abandoned village on which the story is based. The army had come and said to the people who lived there for generations, that they had three weeks to get out. Then the army took it. The community was given government housing. Many people thought they could come back after the war. But the army had destroyed it completely after they trained for the invasion there. This village was army property since WWII. There are still live ammunitions so no one can go there. This is sad. After I saw this, I wanted to write about it.
EC: What would you say the book is about?
RB: The past is not exactly what people think it was and the different types of mothers.
EC: How would you describe Liz?
RB: She is in her late 20’s. Her father thought it would be a waste of time to educate a girl, so she was sent to a secretarial course. She has been overprotected all her life, being the only child of older parents. She has lacked confidence all her life. She is ambitious and wants to make her way in the world. She now has a job as a newspaper reporter. She jumps at the story where a little girl has vanished from London. She sees this as a way to redeem herself with her employer. Her parents are controlling and manipulative. She is curious, angry at times, and would like to be more daring than she is. She does feel that her parents are smothering.
EC: What role did Marisa play in the story?
RB: Marisa is a detective and Liz’s roommate. She is the opposite of Liz who had a privileged upbringing. Marisa has come from a working-class family. Liz envies her because Marisa’s family is very close. Liz would like to be Marisa.
EC: How would you describe James?
RB: He, like Liz, has been wounded by his upbringing. He lost his mother early on, but she was a woman who made it quite clear she did not love him. He lost his two siblings. Now he is trying to be the support for his father. He and Liz both feel responsible for their parents as they get older. He is a nice and caring person.
EC: What about the relationship?
RB: They click immediately because they both come from similar backgrounds. They bond early on. They take it slowly.
EC: Why the dementia type illness of Liz’s mother?
RB: It plays into the plot because her mother does not remember something terrible that happened. But Liz’s discovery triggers something that has terrible consequences. It helps me plant the clues for the reader that things are not exactly as we thought they were. Liz feels very guilty that her mom is slipping away more and more. It is very hard to take for Liz.
EC: Next books?
RB: It will be in the Royal Spyness series titled We Three Queens coming out in November. King Edward announced he wants to marry Mrs. Simpson causing a huge Constitutional crisis.
The next Molly comes out in March. It is about the early days of the movie industry. Most of the people in the book are real characters. It is titled Silent as The Grave.
My next big stand-alone is a historical novel about a woman who has the perfect wife. One day he announces he wants a divorce. She drives to the South of France and creates a whole new life for herself. The working title is Mrs. Endicott’s Excellent Adventure. It takes place from 1938 to 1947. It will be out in August of next year.
THANK YOU!!
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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for IN THE PALE LIGHT by Wesley Smith on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Kingsumo giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Description
When Clay Graham and his family are found slain in the parking lot of his struggling business, the police suspect Clay’s troublemaker brother, Terry. Terry claims he was drunk the night of the murders and passed out at home. With little evidence against Terry to make an arrest, the case soon goes cold.
Shunned from the community, harassed by the locals who believe he’s a murderer, and suffering from an undiagnosed illness, Terry lives alone on his farm, punishing himself for his past indiscretions.
Then Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Henry Miller, who has ties to the town and the Graham murders, shows up with newly discovered evidence that kick-starts the case all over again.
Now, before his illness kills him, Terry sets out, battling against small-town secrets and old grudges, racing against time to stay one step ahead of both the State Police and his own impending death, to finally find out what really happened to his family and hopefully prove himself and innocent man –if he is one.
Genre: Crime Thriller Published by: Watertower Hill Publishing Publication Date: August 13, 2024
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My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
IN THE PALE LIGHT by Westley Smith is an intense vigilante cold case crime thriller with a man accused of killing his brother’s family racing against his terminal illness and law enforcement to discover the truth. Make sure you set aside a block of time to read this race-against-time thriller because if you are like me, you will not be able to put it down until the final revelation.
Terry Graham is known around town as a drunkard and troublemaker with a terrible temper. When his brother, brother’s wife, and daughter are found shot to death outside their business, everyone believes Terry is responsible, but there is no proof. Shunned in his small hometown for nine years, the case has gone cold until a pair of detectives from the State Police Major Crimes Unit take over this investigation and begin asking questions again.
Pennsylvania State Trooper Henry Miller is back in town with newly discovered evidence to investigate the Graham case that he was the first patrol officer on the scene on the day of the murder. Miller has always had questions about this murder case and now he hopes to find the truth, but Terry seems to have discovered something also and is beating him to people he wants to question.
With Terry barely ahead of the detectives, he is racing against time to discover the truth behind the murders and prove himself innocent.
This book has a protagonist that is not lovable, and has a terrible temper, but you end up cheering him on to find the truth before he succumbs to his illness. Every new discovery had me rethinking the crime; not only who but why. The crime thriller plot is fast-paced and full of twists and surprises. The tension builds to a crescendo that had me reading well past my bedtime.
I highly recommend this engrossing vigilante cold case crime thriller!
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Excerpt
December 25th, 2015
The emergency lights from the Hickory Falls Sheriff’s Department Ford Interceptor flashed across the snow when it pulled into the Graham Video store parking lot. The sheet of white should have been untouched by tires at 6:45 a.m., and the snow-covered green Jetta, sitting in the far left-hand corner of the parking lot should not have been there. Two different sets of tire tracks cut through the pristine snow. One set belonged to the Jetta. The other set made a large circle in the snow before making its way back toward Main Street.
The officer brought the SUV to a stop about five feet from the Jetta; its headlights bathed the car in the frigid darkness. Unable to see past the Jetta’s frosted snow-covered windows, a building sense of unease began to crawl over him, tightening the flesh to his bones.
The officer’s shift had been easy that night. He had not responded to any emergency calls, nor had he had to pull anyone over. A Christmas miracle itself. But all that had changed fifteen minutes ago while he was patrolling Broke Run Road, when Sheriff Will Daniel’s voice came over the radio.
“Call just came in. We got a report of shots fired at the Graham Video store. Caller says they saw a man running across the parking lot, carrying what appeared to be a shotgun. The suspect reportedly got into the passenger side of a blue sedan before it took off with two others inside. Need you to check it out,” Daniel had said.
Why the hell is the sheriff in at this hour? the officer had wondered. Shouldn’t Susan be on the call desk? And what’s going on at the Graham Video store?
Now on scene, with the first cracks of gray sky beginning to materialize through the night horizon, he radioed back into the station.
“I’m at the Graham Video store. I’ve located a V-dub Jetta. It’s an early 2000s model. No sign of anyone else, including the reported blue sedan. Though there are two sets of tire tracks in the snow, indicating another vehicle was present.” He glanced at the video store’s entrance. There were no broken windows and no ajar door to indicate a robbery had occurred. The place appeared buttoned up tight. “No signs of a break-in, Sheriff. Getting out to inspect the vehicle.”
“Ten-four,” Sheriff Daniel’s voice came back over the line. “Proceed with caution.”
Again, the officer thought it was strange that the sheriff was in at that hour, and on Christmas morning. Where was Susan Green? She usually worked the overnight shift; she should still have been at the station, working the dispatch desk. Still, the officer knew, she could have gone home for any number of reasons—the holiday, the storm, or maybe a family member had fallen –ill—and the sheriff had filled in for her. Pushing the thought from his mind, the officer returned to the pressing matter at hand.
Stay focused.Stay sharp.
Stepping from the SUV, the blowing snow and driving wind bit at the officer’s exposed skin, penetrated his clothes. Zipping his jacket up to his chin, he started toward the car, trudging through the shin-deep snow.
As he neared the Jetta, pelted with snow and ice so hard it stung, he noticed a set of footprints leading away from the passenger-side door toward the second set of tire tracks before vanishing. The tracks were nearly filled in with fresh powder, but it was unmistakable what they were. He assumed this was where the person had gotten into the second car—an old blue sedan. Looking back to the Jetta, he saw something smeared along the top of the passenger-side door. Whatever it was had frozen to a hard, ruby-colored substance.
He eased in for a closer look.
Blood!
Frozen blood.
A strange tightness gripped the base of the officer’s neck as if Death had wrapped a cold, boney hand around him and begun to squeeze. His heart rate quickened. He placed his right hand on his sidearm and identified himself.
“This is the Hickory Falls Sheriff’s Department. If there’s anyone inside the vehicle, would you please step out?”
There was no reply. The car was dead still. The only sound across the parking lot was the howling wind and the ice pebbles hitting the closest metal lamp post.
Not wanting to disturb what he believed to be blood on the passenger-side door, the officer lumbered through the deepening snow, around the front of the Jetta, to the driver’s side. Reaching down, he took hold of the handle and pulled.
The driver’s side door was locked.
He took a deep breath of cold air, sending what felt like ice daggers into his lungs as he tried to steel himself for what he might find inside. His teeth began to chatter, and an internal shudder tremored in his core and quickly expanded to the rest of his body.
“I’m asking anyone inside to identify themselves and step out.” He waited, but when no one replied, he said, “If you do not comply, I will be forced to inspect the vehicle. Last warning.”
Silence.
No movement came from within. The car’s stillness bothered him—like it was dead. But that was impossible. Cars could not be deceased like humans or animals. So why was he getting the dreaded feeling that death emanated from it?
Placing his gloved hand on the window, he brushed the light dusting of snow away and bent down to look inside.
The officer recoiled at what he saw or who he saw staring back at him. His feet slipped out from under him, and he went down onto his backside, hard. Snow kicked up when he hit the ground, and for a moment he was cocooned in falling white powder, protected from what he had seen.
But when the snow settled, the officer was again gazing at the driver’s-side door of the Jetta. There, he saw a man’s pale face pressed against the glass, the muscles twisted and tightened in agony. His eyes were open and locked directly on the officer with a vacant, lifeless stare, pleading with him, even in death, to save him.
Too late. I’m too late to save you.
The officer shot to his feet; snow fell off his uniform in large patchy clumps. And though the temperature was in the teens, he felt sweat break out across his back and forehead.
Moving gingerly toward the Jetta again, the officer realized he knew the dead man looking back at him.
Clay Graham—the owner of the Graham Video store.
He removed his Maglite from his belt and turned it on. Bending, he shone the beam through the ice-crusted driver’s-side window and began to scan the car’s interior.
That’s when he saw them.
He pressed a gloved hand over his lips, suppressing the scream that wanted to leap from his throat at the horrific sight of carnage and death inside the Jetta.
It wasn’t just Clay Graham dead inside the car but also his wife, Claire, and their teenage daughter, Sidney.
***
Author Bio
Westley Smith had his first short story, Off to War, published when he was just sixteen.
He is, more recently, the author of two horror novels, Along Came the Tricksters and All Hallows Eve, as well as the thriller Some Kind of Truth. His short fiction has been published in various magazines and websites. Wes lives with his wife and two dogs in the beautiful woodlands of southern Pennsylvania–the perfect place to hide a body.
