Guest Post: Excerpt from Something Deadly on Desert Drive: The Accidental Detective Mystery Series by Kris Bock

Please welcome author Kris Bock to the blog today with an excerpt from her new mystery, Something Deadly on Desert Drive: The Accidental Detective Mystery Series. This is the second book of the series. Back in April, author Kris Bock shared at excerpt from the first book, Something Shady Sunshine Haven: The Accidental Detective Mystery Series here. Published by Tule Publishing, this book is scheduled to be released on Tuesday in eBook format.

 

After an injury disrupts her journalism career, Kate Tessler has to start over at 50, figuring out how to get work, make friends, and live in the heart of her loving but interfering family. Now she and her quirky gang of sidekicks have new problems to solve.

Kate's father and his coffee group are worried. Their friend Larry married a younger woman who now claims he has dementia and won't let anyone see him. They think his wife and her lazy adult children are keeping him isolated so they can steal his money. They're determined to save Larry, and they need Kate’s help to prove what’s happening.

Before they can dig out the truth, a murder raises the stakes, and Kate's father is among the suspects. To save him and Larry, she must reveal the real murderer – but her investigation could put all their lives at risk.

 

Excerpt from Something Deadly on Desert Drive

 

“Looks like we’re the last ones to arrive.” Dad raised his hand to acknowledge his friend’s wave.

I followed Dad to the diner table where his friends sat. They greeted me warmly. This was only the second time I’d joined Dad’s twice-weekly coffee group in the month I’d been home. They were nice guys, but since I was living with my father again, I wanted to ensure he had a social life apart from me. This time, however, they had specifically requested my presence.

Which meant they wanted something.

I couldn’t wait to find out what.

I’d gotten through my first week back home, after decades of traveling the world as a war correspondent, by solving a mystery at my mother’s Alzheimer’s care unit and putting away a killer. The next month had been filled with writing articles about those events. I was ready for a new mental challenge.

I already had enough of a physical one with PT and getting used to walking with a cane.

“Thanks for coming, Kate. We need your expert advice.” Joe Washington and his wife had helped with the nursing home investigation. Joe wore his white hair trimmed close to his head, forming a handsome contrast to his dark skin.

“Glad to help,” I said. “What’s up?”

The four men looked at each other. Dad nodded to one of them. “You start, Clarence. You were the first to notice something wrong.”

“We’re worried about our friend, Larry,” Clarence said. “His wife died last year, and he remarried in the spring. We have concerns about his new wife. She is very young, maybe your age.”

While I chuckled at the thought of being “very young” at 49, I had no desire to get involved in someone’s marriage, especially if his friends’ disapproval was only due to the age difference or loyalty to the old wife.

“At first, Larry seemed happy after he married Pamela,” Clarence said. “They went on a month-long honeymoon that must have cost a fortune. After they returned, I reminded Larry to revise his will if he wanted to make sure his children got some of his money. He agreed he would. That was the last time he seemed happy.”

The other men nodded.

“He hasn’t joined our coffee group in over two months,” Dad said. “Pamela says he’s getting dementia. She won’t let him leave the house.”

I could understand being protective of an ill spouse. As a younger wife, she might be embarrassed by her elderly husband’s infirmity. But when someone was old and sick, keeping him away from his friends wasn’t helpful. Was she overprotective and perhaps making bad decisions, or was something more serious happening?

“I’m glad to help if I can,” I said, “but I’m not sure how. You need to know if Larry is really suffering from memory problems, and if so, if he’s getting the right treatments.”

Joe leaned forward. “When you were investigating Sunshine Haven, you pretended to be writing a story so you could talk to the family members.”

 

 

Kris Bock ©2022 

Kris Bock writes novels of mystery, suspense, and romance, many with Southwestern landscapes. Sign up for her newsletter and get a free Accidental Detective short story plus a free sweet romance set in the world of the Furrever Friends cat café. Kris also writes with her brother, Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the movie Sweet Home Alabama. Sign up for their romantic comedy newsletter and get the short story Felony Melanie Destroys the Moonshiner’s Cabin. Find the Felony Melanie books on Amazon US or All E-book retailers