Blurb for Crooked House
Someone
is trying to kill Liz Johnson and it’s up to quirky private investigator, Erica
Coleman, to find out who. Erica is
no stranger to murder and mystery, which is why her best friend’s daughter,
Megan, turns to her when unaccountable and potentially fatal “accidents”
threaten her roommate’s life.
Once Erica arrives at the ramshackle old
mansion known as Crooked House, matters go from disturbing to deadly as it
becomes clear someone is trying to kill Liz.
As Erica begins to unearth secrets, she
discovers a twisted web of love, money, greed, and deception. Although the
police and friends sometimes find Erica’s OCD annoying, its those very traits that
help her sift through evidence and see clues that others miss. Erica must draw
upon her all her investigative prowess to keep Liz safe and unmask the killer
before he can accomplish his deadly objective.
With a
dash of romance and surprising twists, this thrilling mystery will keep you on
the edge of your seat until the very last page. As with all Erica Coleman
mysteries, ten delicious recipes are included.
Excerpt from Crooked House
“I’m scared.”
Erica’s heart turned over when she heard
the quaver in her young friend’s voice on the phone.
Then Megan asked, “Can you come?”
“Of
course.” Erica’s reply was automatic. She would do anything she could to help.
Although she often received emotionally-laden phone calls in her job as a
private investigator, there was a difference when the call came from the teen-aged
daughter of her best friend. The very fact that Megan—who was usually so calm
and composed—sounded frightened out of her wits, put Erica on high alert.
“I think someone’s trying to kill my
roommate, Liz,” Megan said.
“What makes you think that?” Erica asked. “Has someone threatened her?”
“No, but Liz has had a couple of serious accidents
lately—at least she says they’re
accidents, but either one of them could have killed her.”
Erica made an effort to reel in her
skepticism. “Tell me about them.”
“First, someone tampered with her car. The
brakes went out and Liz ended up driving across someone’s yard and hitting a
tree. Fortunately, she was okay. The second one happened downtown. Liz was on
the sidewalk waiting for the bus when someone shoved her. She fell into the
road. A truck was coming and if a guy hadn’t pulled her back, Liz could have
been killed.”
Still, they could have been accidents,
Erica thought, at least until the third one occurred—this time at Crooked House.
Crooked House and the first two books in the Erica Coleman Mystery Series are available at these retailers, as well as Deseret Book and Seagull bookstores.
Author Biography
Marlene Bateman
was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, and graduated from the University of Utah
with a BA in English. She is married to Kelly R. Sullivan. Her hobbies include gardening, camping,
reading, and enjoying her four cats and three dogs.
Marlene’s first
novel was the best-selling Light on Fire
Island. Her next novel was Motive for
Murder—the first in a mystery series that features Erica Coleman, a quirky
private eye with OCD. The next book in
that line, (they do not have to be
read in order) is A Death in the Family.
Marlene has also
written a number of LDS non-fiction books under the name Marlene Bateman Sullivan.
Those books include: Gaze Into Heaven; Near-death Experiences in
Early Church History, which is a fascinating collection of over 50
documented near-death experiences from the lives of early latter-day Saints, Heroes of Faith, and Latter-day Saint Heroes and Heroines. Marlene also wrote three books about
documented accounts in early LDS church history when a person either saw or
heard an angel; Visit’s From Beyond the
Veil, And There Were Angels Among Them, and By the Ministering of Angels.
