Read Blast from the Past (A Mac Faraday Mystery) Online
Authors: Lauren Carr
Blast from the Past (A Mac Faraday Mystery) (20 page)
While helping himself to a handful of peanuts from the middle of the table, Hector laughed at Jeff’s glare. “Oh, do you mean the castle?”
Mac’s and Archie’s mouths dropped open. “Did you say ‘castle’?” Mac asked.
Hector nodded his head. Jeff rubbed his face.
“As in moat and alligators and drawbridge … castle?” Mac leaned across the table at him.
“Well,” Hector drawled, “this one doesn’t have any moat or alligators or drawbridge, but it is an honest to goodness castle.”
“Castles are kind of big,” Archie said. “Why can’t we see it from the lake?”
“Because it’s on the other side of the mountaintop facing the valley to the south,” Hector said. “Used to be—back in the old days—that you could see it from the valley below. After about a decade of no one going near it, it’s all overgrown and everyone has forgotten about it. In the winter, when all the leaves are down, if you know it’s there, you can see from the valley floor if you look for it. It’s made of stone. So, if you don’t know about it, with the trees and rocks, you could miss it.”
“Why don’t I know about it?” Mac asked. “I got a list of my holdings and property that I inherited from my mother and I don’t recall seeing any castle on that list. I would have noticed if I owned a castle.”
Jeff answered, “Because it was listed as a vacation rental property under the Spencer Inn. It’s identified as a luxury mountaintop vacation cabin.”
“There’s a big difference between a castle and a cabin,” Archie said.
“Why has everyone been keeping this castle a secret from me?” Mac asked. “Why all the secrecy? Even David refused to go out there this afternoon.”
“He had a bad experience out there,” Hector said with a wave of his hand. “We used to have a devil of a time keeping kids looking for ghosts and scaring each other out of there.”
“There was that boy who disappeared out there,” Jeff said with all seriousness. “David knew him.”
“The Adams kid,” Hector said with a nod of his head. “David was there the night he disappeared.”
“What happened?” Archie asked.
“It was back in 2000,” Hector recalled. “A bunch of young people, David and some of his friends, wanted to have a Halloween party out at the castle. David had just gotten out of college and was going into officer training with the Marines. It was vacant at the time—”
“We were using it as a vacation rental,” Jeff interjected.
“David said there were between twenty to thirty people—all in costume,” Hector said. “We’re not talking high school kids that were out of control. They were responsible young people. After the party, one of his guests was missing. He never made it home.”
“Maybe something happened to him after he left the castle,” Mac said.
Jeff and Hector shook their heads in unison. “No one saw him leave,” Jeff said.
“It wasn’t an open party,” Hector said. “David knew everyone who was there. None of them did anything to him.”
“He disappeared in that castle?” Mac asked.
“Riley Adams,” Jeff recalled the name. “The whole state was looking for him.”
“He was dressed in a werewolf costume,” Hector recalled. “A lot of the guests believed that he was killed or captured by a ghost and we had no trouble keeping kids out after that. He was never found, but unofficially, it was believed that he got drunk or was on something—witnesses said he was acting very strange that night—and wandered off into the woods or fell off the cliff—died—and his body was never found. If he had fallen off the cliff, his body could have been caught in some deep crevices of the rocks where searchers couldn’t find it.”
“I think the ghosts got him,” Jeff said.
“Ghosts?” Mac laughed. “Seriously?”
“Seriously,” Jeff responded without humor. “Look it up. The Astaire Castle is one of the ten most haunted houses in America.”
Excited, Archie tapped Mac’s arm. “I’ve heard of Astaire Castle. I knew it was in Maryland, but I never knew it was here.” She grasped Mac’s arm and squealed. “And you
own
it!” She dug into her bag to extract her computer tablet to look it up on the Internet. “This is totally wicked!”
Jeff uttered a hollow laugh. “Yeah, congratulations,” he said with heavy sarcasm.
“It’s haunted?” Mac still laughed.
“Not a week goes by that some paranormal expert wants to come film it,” Jeff said. “The answer is always the same. No. After the last murders, Robin ordered the place boarded up and to never let anyone inside it ever again.”
His attention piqued, Mac sat up straight in his seat. “The last murders?”
Hector locked his gaze on Mac and said in a sinister tone, “The last of several.”
Please note:
Changes may be made to the excerpt that you have just read during the editing stage of publishing
The Murders at Astaire Castle.
About the Author
Lauren Carr
Lauren Carr fell in love with mysteries when her mother read Perry Mason to her at bedtime. The first installment in the Joshua Thornton mysteries,
A Small Case of Murder
was a finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Award.
Lauren is also the author of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, which takes place in Deep Creek Lake, Maryland.
It’s Murder, My Son
,
Old Loves Die Hard, and Shades of Murder,
have all been getting rave reviews from readers and reviewers.
Blast from the Past
is the fourth installment in the Mac Faraday Mystery series.
Released September 1012,
Dead on Ice
introduces a new series entitled Lovers in Crime, which features prosecutor Joshua Thornton with homicide detective Cameron Gates. The second book in this series,
Real Murder
will be released Spring 2013.
The owner of Acorn Book Services, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, editor, cover and layout designer, and marketing agent for independent authors. This spring, two books written by independent authors will be released through the management of Acorn Book Services.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She also passes on what she has learned in her years of writing and publishing by conducting workshops and teaching in community education classes.
She lives with her husband, son, and two dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Visit Lauren’s websites and blog at:
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Website:
http://acornbookservices.com/
Blog: Literary Wealth:
http://literarywealth.wordpress.com/
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/lauren.carr.984991
Gnarly’s Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/GnarlyofMacFaradayMysteries
Lovers in Crime Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/LoversInCrimeMysteries?ref=ts&fref=ts
Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/900970.Lauren_Carr
Twitter: @TheMysteryLadie
Other
Lauren Carr Mysteries!
Check Out These Other Highly-Acclaimed Mysteries
The Mac Faraday Mysteries
The story takes hold immediately and the reader quickly identifies with Mac. The plot is well done without being overplotted. There are just enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. The climatic confrontation with the killer is good and the wrap up leaves you laughing and feeling good. The writing style is easy and draws the reader in effortlessly. I am looking forward to the next installment!
Reviewer: Ariel Heart, Mystery and My Musings Review
What started out as the worst day of Mac Faraday’s life, would end up being a completely new beginning. After a messy divorce hearing, the last person that Mac wanted to see is another lawyer. Yet, this lawyer looked very unlawyer-like, wearing the expression of a child about to reveal a guarded secret. This secret would reveal Mac as heir to undreamed of fortunes and lead him to Spencer, Maryland, the birthplace of America’s Queen of Mystery, with her millions and an investigation that unfolds like one of her famous mystery novels.
It’s Murder, My Son
is Author Lauren Carr’s third mystery novel. Carr’s first novel A Small Case of Murder was named finalist for the Independent Publisher Book Awards. She resides in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where she lives with her husband and son on a mountaintop. “I love a good mystery,” said Author Lauren Carr. “Growing up in a small community an argument at the corner store can become a murder by dinner. Making the story a reality on paper is a real thrill.”
Behind the gated community in Spencer, Maryland, multi-millionaire Katrina Singleton learns that life in an exclusive community is not all good. She thought her good looks and charm made her untouchable; but, for reasons unknown, a strange man calling himself “Pay Back” begins terrorizing her and her home. When Katrina was found strangled in her lake house, all evidence points to her terrorist, who is nowhere to be found. Three months later the file on Katrina’s murder was still open with only vague speculations from the local police department.
In walks Mac Faraday, sole heir to his unknown birth mother’s home and fortune. Little does he know as he drives his new Dodge Viper up to Spencer Manor that he is driving into a closed gate community that is hiding more suspicious deaths than his DC workload as a homicide detective. With the help of his late mother’s journals and two newfound companions, this recently retired cop puts all his detective skills to work to pick up where the local police have left off to following clues to Katrina’s killer.
The fast-paced complex plot brings surprising twists into a storyline that leads Mac and his friends into grave danger. Readers are drawn into Mac’s past, meet his children, and experience the troubling relationships of his former in-laws. New fans will surely look forward to the next installment in this great new series.
Reviewer: Edie Dykeman
Bellaonline Mystery Books Editor
Old Loves Die Hard
…and in the worst places.
Retired homicide detective Mac Faraday, heir of the late mystery writer Robin Spencer, is settling nicely into his new life at Spencer Manor when his ex-wife Christine shows up—and she wants him back! Before Mac can send her packing, Christine and her estranged lover are murdered in Mac’s private penthouse suite at the Spencer Inn, the five-star resort built by his ancestors.
The investigation leads to the discovery of cases files for some of Mac’s murder cases in the room of the man responsible for destroying his marriage. Why would his ex-wife’s lover come to Spencer to dig into Mac’s old cases?
With the help of his new friends on Deep Creek Lake, Mac must use all of his detective skills to clear his name and the Spencer Inn’s reputation, before its five-stars—and more bodies—start dropping!
Click here to view book trailer.
Lauren Carr could give Agatha Christie a run for her money! This hypnotic page-turner is a whirlwind of romance, murder, and espionage. Lots of creativity went into the unforeseen twists, and culminated in a climactic ending that tied the multi-faceted story into a nice little package. I also appreciated the special attention paid to the animal characters, which were every bit as developed as their human counterparts. This was an absolutely delightful read that is sure to be a hit with mystery readers. I look forward to reading her other books, as I am now a fan!
Reviewer: Charlene Mabie-Gamble, Literary R&R
In
Shades of Murder
, Mac Faraday is once again the heir to an unbelievable fortune. This time the benefactor is a stolen art collector. But this isn’t just any stolen work-of-art—it’s a masterpiece with a murder attached to it.
Ilysa Ramsay was in the midst of taking the art world by storm. Hours after unveiling her latest masterpiece—she is found dead in her Deep Creek Lake studio—and her painting is nowhere to be found. Almost a decade later, the long lost Ilysa Ramsay masterpiece has found its way into Mac Faraday’s hands and he can’t resist the urge to delve into the case.
In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, former JAG lawyer Joshua Thornton agrees to do a favor for the last person he would ever expect to do a favor—a convicted serial killer. The Favor: Solve the one murder wrongly attributed to him.
In
Shades of Murder
, author Lauren Carr tackles the task of penning two mysteries with two detectives in two different settings and bringing them together to find one killer. “What can I say?” Carr says. “I love mysteries and mystery writing. Two cases are twice the fun.”
In her fifth mystery, Lauren Car brings back her first literary detective while introducing a new one. In Shades of Murder, Joshua Thornton teams up with Cameron Gates, a spunky detective who has reason to believe the young woman listed as the victim of a serial killer was murdered by a copycat. Together, Joshua and Cameron set out to light a flame under the cold case only to find that someone behind the scenes wants the case to remain cold, and is willing to kill to
keep it that way.
Click here to download Shades of Murder, the third installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, today!
Click Here to View Book Trailer
Carr is a very gifted novelist. Her mystery novels, both the Mac Faraday and Lovers in Crime Series, are phenomenal. Her ability to keep the reader guessing, as well as her plotlines that flow so effortlessly as they work up to the big reveal, always make her novels a fun endeavor, and I look forward to even more of her work as this year unfolds.
Reviewer: Shana Benedict, ABookVacation
In
Blast from the Past
, Mac Faraday finds himself up to his eyeballs in mobsters and federal agents.
After an attempted hit ends badly with two of his men dead, mobster Tommy Cruze arrives in Spencer, Maryland, to personally supervise the execution of the witness responsible for putting him behind bars—Archie Monday!
Mac Faraday believes he has his work cut out for him in protecting his lady love from one of the most dangerous leaders in organized crime; but when bodies start dropping in his lakeshore resort town of Spencer, Maryland, things may be hotter than even he can handle.
In this fourth installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries, readers learn more about Archie Monday’s past in a flash—as in a gun fight when the syndicate comes to town. “Readers love to be surprised,” mystery author Lauren Carr says. “In Blast from the Past, they are going to be surprised to discover the secret of Archie Monday’s past, which threatens her and Mac’s future.”
Blast from the Past also takes the Mac Faraday Mysteries to a new level as his relationship with Archie Monday moves onto a whole new level. “I do listen to readers,” Carr explains. “They have been clamoring for Mac and Archie to get together for three books.”
What about Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s canine inheritance? The only German shepherd to be dishonorably discharged from the United States Army? “It’s not a Mac Faraday Mystery without Gnarly,” Carr promises. “Let’s just say Gnarly kicks things up a notch in his own way.”
Click Here to start
Blast from the Past
, the fourth installment in the Mac Faraday Mysteries today!
Click Here to View Book Trailer
This book is filled with murder, deaths, twists, and romance! This was such an easy and quick read and the expectation I had with this book was definitely met! Lauren is an amazing author and I can’t wait to read more stories that she will write!
Reviewer: Debbie Hill, Miss Book Lovers
Another story I could not put down, The Murders at Astaire Castle: A Mac Faraday Mystery was a rollicking adventure that revealed more with each page, while also tossing out new puzzle pieces, red herrings, and lots of comedy and romance.
Reviewer: Laurel Rain-Snow, Rainy Days & Mondays
Never tell Mac Faraday not to do something.
Spencer’s police chief, David O’Callaghan, learns this lesson the hard way when he orders Mac Faraday to stay away from the south end of Spencer’s mountaintop—even though he owns the property. It doesn’t take long for Mac to find out what lies on the other side of the stone wall and locked gate, on which hangs a sign warning visitors to Keep Out!
Topping the list of the ten most haunted places in America, Astaire Castle is associated with two suicides, three mysterious disappearances, and four murders since it was built almost a century ago—and Mac Faraday owns it!
In spite of David’s warning, Mac can’t resist unlocking the gate to see the castle that supposedly hasn’t seen a living soul since his late mother had ordered it closed up after the double homicide and disappearance of Damian Wagner, a world-famous master of horror novels.
What starts out as a quick tour of a dusty old castle turns into another Mac Faraday adventure when Astaire Castle becomes the scene of even more murders. Mac is going to need to put all of his investigative talents to work to sort out this case that involves the strangest characters he has run into yet—including a wolf man. No, we’re not talking about Gnarly.
Click Here to View Book Trailer
Mac Faraday’s Sixth Mystery!
Fame comes at a price. Some pay with their privacy. Khloe Everest paid with her life.
Determined to get her pretty face in front of the cameras, Khloe Everest fakes an abduction only to make a grand entrance in the midst of a press conference held by Spencer’s Police Chief David O’Callaghan.
Three years later, after failing to catapult her notoriety into long-lasting celebrity, Khloe Everest returns to Spencer upon her mother’s sudden death, where she plans to make another bid for fame.
Unfortunately, someone kills her before she can make her grand entrance.
In Lauren Carr’s sixth Mac Faraday Mystery, Mac and his friends come up against reality stars, politicians, has-beens, and wannabees. Mac also finds himself face-to-face with an old foe from his past who had managed to escape arrest during their last encounter. Now, Mac sees that his adversary has only become more dangerous and powerful with the passage of time.
Intent not to let this killer escape again, Mac and his friends need to put all of their talents together to put a stop to a cold blooded lady killer.
Click here to download The Lady Who Cried Murder Today!
Lead investigator in the case was Cameron Gates, whose love interest is Joshua Thornton, a prosecuting attorney; the pairing of these two adds just the right romantic interest to “Dead on Ice: A Lovers In Crime Mystery,” the first in a new series featuring them. I can’t wait for the next book! Five stars, and recommended for all those who enjoy romantic suspense, as well as for fans of Lauren Carr.
Reviewer: Laurel-Rain Snow
Dead on Ice
is the first installment of Lauren Carr’s new series (Lovers in Crime). It features Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Thornton and his new love, Pennsylvania State Police homicide detective Cameron Gates.
In this Lovers in Crime Mystery, spunky Pennsylvania State Homicide Detective Cameron Gates is tasked with solving the murder of Cherry Pickens, a legendary star of pornographic films, when her body turns up in an abandoned freezer. The case has a personal connection to Cameron’s lover, Joshua Thornton, because the freezer was found in his cousin’s basement. It doesn’t take long for their investigation to reveal that the risqué star’s roots were buried in their rural Ohio Valley community, something that Cherry had kept off her show business bio. She should have kept her hometown off her road map, too—because when this starlet came running home from the mob, it proved to be a fatal homecoming.
In her new series, Lauren Car teams up her first literary detective with a new and exciting partner. Homicide Detective Cameron Gates has a spunky personality that’s a perfect complement to Joshua Thornton’s logical and responsible nature.
“Readers of my first series kept asking when I would bring back Joshua Thornton,” Carr explained. “However, they are going to find that single father Joshua Thornton is not in the same place since we left him in A Reunion to Die For. His children are grown. He’s more independent, and he’s ready for some romance and adventure. That’s where Cameron Gates comes in.”
With that, Joshua Thornton and Cameron Gates strike out to explore the mysteries of both murder and love!
Click here to get started on the Lovers in Crime Mysteries today!
Coming Spring 2013!
Real Murder
A Lovers in Crime Mystery