The Purloined Skull

by Velda Brotherton

Velda Brotherton uncovers the cancer of one town’s deepest secrets in the Twist of Poe Mystery that started it all…

Buried skeletons don’t often turn up in sleepy little Cedarton, Arkansas—especially not the headless kind. Reporter Jessie West is assigned the story, but she has some skeletons of her own she’s hoping not to unearth. Her journalistic instincts, however, are impossible to ignore, and she’s soon hot on the trail of a possible suspect. Her investigation drives her headlong into newly-hired Deputy Sheriff Dallas Starr, a sexy Cherokee lawman with the ability to read the emotional echoes left at the scene of a violent crime. Dal’s seen firsthand how nosy reporters are willing to ruin lives and reputations for a big scoop, and he wants nothing to do with Jessie or her amateur detective act. Passions flare inside the bedroom and out as they collide in the midst of the biggest thing to happen in Grace County in decades.

When Jessie receives a series of bizarre threats on her life, she has to decide if she’s close to exposing the killer, or if her past has finally caught up with her. Will she and Dal find the answer in time, or will the secret of the purloined skull destroy them all? (324 pages)

Published:
Publisher: Lagan
Genres:
Mystery, Romance

Tags:
romantic mystery books

Excerpt:

About the Author

Velda Brotherton has a long career in historical writing, both fiction and nonfiction. Her love of history and the west is responsible for the publication of 25 books and novels since 1994.

But she’s not about ready to stop there. When the mid-list crisis hit big city publishers, she turned first to writing regional nonfiction, then began to look at the growing popularity of small presses as a source for the books that continue to flow from her busy mind. Those voices simply won’t shut up, and so she finds them a home.

First she obtained a conversion of rights for her out-of-print historical romances and published all six to Kindle. Within a matter of months, she placed a western historical romance, Stone Heart’s Woman, with The Wild Rose Press, an award winning publisher of both print and E books; then a mainstream paranormal, Wolf Song, was accepted by SynergE Books.

Not satisfied that her career might level off, she produced an audio book of Montana Promises along with Jeff Justus. The Montana series is also available as a boxed set. A novella, The Legend of the Rose, based on the true story of Cimarron Rose, is available on Kindle. Stone Heart’s woman is also available in audio.

While Wild Rose Press continues to publish her western romances, including Wilda’s Outlaw: The Victorians, and the second in the series, Rowena’s Hellion, in a change of pace, the press published her Vintage love story, Once There Were Sad Songs. The most thrilling experience in her writing career came when Oghma Creative Media contracted her book, Beyond the Moon, a story she has treasured since its first writing in 1985, and signed her to a four-book contract. One is to reprint the Ozark cookbook containing recipes from her mother’s collection and stories of growing up in Arkansas during the depression,

The most fun she’s had came when owner/designer of Oghma Creative Media, Casey Cowan, suggested a new brand. Sexy Dark and Gritty so well fits her writing style that it was quickly adopted.

This busy writer who has co-chaired a large weekly critique group since 1988, also gives two yearly all-day workshops and mentors promising young writers, plus teaches at conferences in a four-state area. She isn’t sure what will come next. With all those voices in her head, she’s bound to let some of them out to play before long.

Website: veldabrotherton.com


Andre Guirard