In Book #4, A Thousand Tombs, Private Investigator Gen Delacourt and brand-new boyfriend Mack Hackett are about to walk into a restaurant when a teenage boy barrels down the sidewalk and into their lives. Luca Torello is circumspect about who he was running from and why, but the story slowly comes out. It involves an ancient coin, a pawn shop, and a group of Italians caught up in an intrigue as old as life itself. As Gen struggles to make sense of who is telling the truth, her budding relationship with Mack goes off the rails, her trust and loyalty are questioned, and she is thrown into the midst of a mystery that began with the dawn of time.
Here’s an excerpt:
Gen shoved her right hand into her bag and pulled the stun gun from its holster, then activated the switch and held the weapon clear of her side. Then she peeled the purse strap off her shoulder and stuffed it under the bushes where it couldn’t be seen. If something was going down, she didn’t need baggage in the way.
She tried the knob; the door was unlocked. When she opened it, the hinges creaked like a horror movie soundtrack. “Hello?” she called. “Sir, are you here?”
No answer. She stuck her head inside and scanned the space. It was a small mudroom that opened directly into the kitchen. Both rooms were empty. Two doors led out, one on either side.
She took a deep breath and stepped in, thinking it might be better to retrieve her bag and pull out her cell and call 911. But what would she tell the dispatcher, that she was breaking into someone’s house and the spooky hinges on the door made the hair on the back of her neck stand up?
Yeah, right.
“Anybody home?” she called again, with the same result. Perhaps the good man was at the local stationhouse right now, telling his story. If so, she’d give a lot to be a fly on the wall to hear what he had to say.
She was lowering the gun when she heard the sound.
Not a moan, not a sigh. Somewhere in between.
It came from the room on the left.
She adjusted her grip on the stun gun and tiptoed across the tiles, then pushed through a double-hinged door into a dining room.
The old man was there, with duct tape across his mouth.
He was bound to a heavy antique chair, the kind with a tall, carved back that weighs a ton. He looked like he was well past his seventy-fifth birthday and had the crow’s feet to prove it. Perspiration dampened his short, salt-and-pepper hair, and his wire-rimmed glasses were steamed up from the deep exhales blasting out his nose. His face was pasty, probably from the stress.
They’d trussed him up still wearing an old-fashioned black suit with a thin string tie. When he saw her, his eyes went wide and he began to shake his head back and forth, like the swinging door she’d just walked through.
Gen switched off the gun, then stuck it in her pocket and hurried over. She figured he was happy to be found and trying to express his eagerness to get loose. But when she heard a creak behind her, she cursed her naiveté.
Too late.
Before she could react or run or even scream, a pair of arms came around her and one huge, hammy hand covered her mouth. Even as she thrashed and tore at her assailant’s fingers, she knew it was as useless as a fly irritating a rhino.
She managed to scratch a trail of bloody scratches on the back of one wrist, and the guy muttered something in Italian. Apparently he’d had enough. He released her waist and rammed his fist into her left eye. The angle was awkward, but the impact still stunned her enough she saw stars. The blow would have knocked her flat if she hadn’t been clenched so tightly in his grasp.
Gen went limp. Awareness fluttered away. The only thought she could muster was an image of a scorpion tattoo, the one that was inked on the inside of the wrist that had struck her. Its stinger was raised, ready to strike.
Then the guy let her go, and she slid to the floor.
After that, it was lights out.
# # #
Purchase links: Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada
Reader reviews:
An Amazon customer says, “I broke down and bought this after enjoying “Paint Me Gone”. I was in a bummer of a mood, so wanted to fix it with a good book. This is a good book. Good story, good editing … It’s a good read.”
John A. Meyer says, “Molly Greene’s Gen Delacourt mystery series gets more entertaining with each new addition. This latest entry “A Thousand Tombs” is a well plotted non-murder mystery that is character driven featuring a group of misguided imperfect characters.”
Victoria Hudson says, “Another Gen Delacourt installment and Molly Greene has another page turner!”
Maria M says, “The writing is as always excellent. No-nonsense to push the story forward but also nuanced and layered to give the reader sufficient insight into the heroine’s psyche. A great installment in an excellent mystery series; this time with a stronger romantic suspense streak. Highly recommended!”
