Teaser Tuesday 122: A Deadly Cliché

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few “teaser” sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!


This week I am reading A Deadly Cliché by Ellery Adams (AKA JB Stanley), which is book two in the "Books by the Bay" mystery series. The mystery in this one takes place during a hurricane, which—naturally—takes on a persona all its own. The first teaser is from early on in the book, while the second is from about the midpoint, where I am right now.

Death saturated the air, tainting the salt-laden wind. The decay was incongruent with the cloudless blue sky and sparkling sea and yet it was almost possible to imagine tendrils of stench, gray and puckered as octopus tentacles, creeping out from beneath the bucket.

(pg 17)


And for those who prefer something a bit more positive, and which I think anyone who has lived through a major storm can appreciate…


"It's the same after every storm. People focus on the simple things. Me, I think it's a blessing when all our gadgets and computers get shut down against our will. Folks gotta play cards and tell stories like they did in the old days. It slows us down, reminds us who our neighbors are and how damned fine it feels to take a hot shower."

(pg 128)

BACK COVER BLURB:
Note: This book is part of the "Books by the Bay" mystery series.

Book 1: A Killer Plot
Book 2: A Deadly Cliché
Book 3: The Last Word

While walking her poodle, Olivia Limoges discovers a dead body buried in the sand. Could it be connected to the bizarre burglaries plaguing Oyster bay, North Carolina? The Bayside Book Writers prick up their ears and pick up their pens to get the story. . .

The thieves have a distinct MO. At every crime scene, they set up odd tableaus: a stick of butter with a knife through it, dolls with silver spoons in their mouths, a deck of cards with a missing queen. Olivia realizes each setup represents a cliché.

Who better to decode the cliché clues than the Bayside Book Writers group, especially since their newest member is Police Chief Rawlings? As the investigation proceeds, Olivia is surprised to find herself falling for the widowed policeman. But an even greater surprise is in store. Her father—lost at sea thirty years ago—may still be alive. . .