Today, I'm shouting out fellow Wench, Vonnie Hughes. This isn't one of Vonnie's Musa books, but it's still important to share the love....
LETHAL REFUGE, a
spine-tingling suspense book by Vonnie Hughes, is set in New Zealand.
I managed to pick this up at ARRC and have Vonnie sign it for me. How cool is that?!
LETHAL REFUGE
Vonnie Hughes
Print ISBN 1-60154-996-2
The Wild Rose Press
Available in both paperback and e-book
from:
Who can you trust if you can’t
trust your own mother? Through the clammy fog, Celie Francis hears the chilling
message. “I know who you are, Celie. I know where you live.” And in the
terrifying aftermath she reconnects with her dysfunctional family in ways she
had never imagined.
BLURB:
Abused and abandoned as a child, Célie
Francis knows better than to trust anyone. But after she witnesses a murder,
she's placed in the Unit "New Zealand's witness protection program"
where she's expected to trust strangers with her life.
It's psychologist Brand Turner's job to
ease witnesses into their new identities, not to protect them, but Célie stirs
feelings in him that are far from professional. When it appears someone is leaking
critical information that could endanger Célie, Brand will do anything to
protect her. But first he has to convince her to trust him.
Adrift in a frightening world, Célie would
like to believe the handsome psychologist is everything he seems, but as witnesses
are murdered and danger swirls around them, Célie must decide "can she
trust Brand with her life?
EXCERPT:
Célie Francis ran faster than she ever had
in her life. Fingers of fog rolling in from the sea grabbed at her as her feet
alternately flew and stuttered over the uneven pavement of the ocean road.
Where was he? How much time did she have?
The wash of the sea was a calm counterpoint
to her harsh, frantic breathing. Above the sound of her thudding feet, the
shriek of a bird pierced the air.
No, not a bird. Something was squeaking.
Occy’s old bicycle.
He had found her.
Faster, Célie, faster, shouted the little
man on the treadmill in her mind.
I can’t, she sobbed.
Fancy the consequences?
No God, no!
Then run faster.
But her aching legs could not obey. And on
the roadway the relentless squeak, squeak kept pace with her.
Frantically she zigzagged, seeking a haven
in the fog. It was barely dawn on the lonely North Auckland cliffs above the
Pacific Ocean. No help anywhere.
Have to hide. Have to hide. Her shoes
slapped a rhythm.
Salty sweat stung her eyes. Ignore it.
The slap of her running shoes echoed then
died in the mist. Died...
Her brain, tumbling in an endless whirl of
fear and futile questions asked—-why Occy? Why had he killed a man this
time?
Up ahead loomed a deep grey cloud of mist.
Thank you, God. She blasted into
the fog bank and the squeaking receded behind her. This is your chance, the
little man said.
Veering off the sidewalk, she streaked
across a pristine lawn and crouched behind a lavender bush. Her chest heaving,
she struggled to gulp another breath of sodden air.
Squeeeak. He was back. This was it. Eyes
streaming, she curled into a ball on the cold ground and waited.
Something yellow zinged past her face and
tickled her arm. A needle-sharp sting pierced her elbow, then another. Bees,
irritated by her invasion, were trying to drive her out. No you won’t. What’s out there is a lot worse than
what you can do, bees. As the pinpricks tingled and burned, she pressed her
lips together so hard that the muscles on the side of her face ached.
Louder now, the squeaking advanced and
receded. He was casting up and
down, looking for her. Please, please...
A sibilant whisper reached her through the
clammy fog. “I know who you are,
Célie. I know where you live.”
Available in both paperback and e-book
from:
~yia~
8 comments:
This is too funny! I'm hosting Ms. Hughes on my blog this week too! I still can't picture this sweet woman writing suspense thrillers, yet Vonnie lets her dark side out to play for this book! Kudos, Wench! Wishing you all the best in both your chosen genres!
Love the excerpt, Vonnie!
Read the excerpt and just had to have it, Vonnie.
Terrific, Vonnie. Lethal Refuge is a MUST read.
This is on my TBR list (stop looking at me like that...I'll find time to read one of these dayse!). Can't wait to get to it, Vonnie!
Gripping excerpt Vonnie. Sounds like a terrific read.
Thanks for having me here Helen! And hi all you wenchy peeps! Yup, my dark side pops up more often nowadays than the sweet, Sharon. Almost completed another one, less vicious but still...PEOPLE DIE!
Thanks Wenches.
And Vonnie looking forward to reading Lethal Refuge.
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