JOIN OUR MAILING LIST

Thursday 29 January 2015

Blurb Blitz & Giveaway - Silk by Chris Karlsen



Silk
by Chris Karlsen
Genre: Mystery / Suspense

Book Description:
What would you do to stay young: Lie, Manipulate..kill?

London-Fall, 1888

The city is in a panic as Jack the Ripper continues his murderous spree. While the Whitechapel police struggle to find him, Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone and his partner are working feverishly to find their own serial killer. The British Museum's beautiful gardens have become a killing ground for young women strangled as they stroll through.

Their investigation has them brushing up against Viscount Everhard, a powerful member of the House of Lords, and a friend to Queen Victoria. When the circumstantial evidence  points to him as a suspect, Rudyard must deal with the political blowback, and knows if they are going to go after the viscount, they'd better be right and have proof.

As the body count grows and the public clamor for the detectives to do more, inter-department rivalries complicate the already difficult case.

Silk on the skin—luxurious, luscious..lethal.


Buy Links:





Excerpt

Events of the day and the potential satisfaction of giving Napier a bloody nose dwindled. Questions about the murder crept back into Ruddy's thoughts. Morris joined him at his table in the rear of the pub with a Guinness, the popular beer of choice in hand. “You’ve got the look of a man whose thoughts are a long distance from London.”

“No, sadly my thoughts are fixed here in the city. I’m trying to figure out a clue. Ellis’s roommate said she’d sometimes meet with a well-dressed man, a man of means the victim indicated. They’d meet up at the fountain by the British Museum.”

“Don’t know the spot but then the museum isn’t my cup of tea.”

“Not the point. I’m saying it’s odd. What member of the upper class chooses to stroll through a public garden other than Hyde or Regents, where they can see and be seen by one of their own?”

“I agree the wealthy prefer the parks filled with others of their kind but it doesn’t mean a man can’t enjoy someplace different.”

“We interviewed the guard again. The one that discovered the body walks that half of the building. He told us the majority of their male patrons are natty dressers, but he never saw a man like that loitering by the fountain.”

“My guess is: the man is married and can’t afford to run the risk of being seen by a friend of his wife’s. Or, he might live or work in the area and the spot is convenient.”

“Or, he’s a murderer who’s noticed the victim walking through the park on a regular basis, saw it as an opportunity and cozied up to her.”

Ruddy took another swallow of his ale, mentally debating the merit of each theory. “I don’t think he lives in the area. If so, he’d have cut through the park more and been seen by the guards. Not sure about the married man having a tryst idea."

To Ruddy's way of thinking, if the man was married and looking for a tumble, he’d have met her someplace other than the gardens and at a better hour.

Instinct drew him back to his original sense of the culprit and crime. “I feel like this was a crime of opportunity. I’ve thought it all along and can’t shake the sense.”

“If he was just seeking a victim, then why haven’t you had more murders like this?” Morris asked.


Ruddy downed the rest of his beer and put his tankard on the edge of the table where June would refill it. “Everyone has to start somewhere. She might be number one.”











About the Author
I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.

My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write two different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is, Dangerous Waters.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband, four rescue dogs and a rescue horse.


Author Links:
Goodreads ¦ Twitter ¦ Facebook ¦ Website ¦ Amazon ¦ B&N


***GIVEAWAY***

$20 Amazon/B&N Gift Card.


Blog Tour Organised by:

18 comments:

  1. Enjoyed reading the excerpt today and watching that trailer. Very intense. Have you seen the BBC TV program titled Ripper Street? They've had 2 seasons and I believe they are going for a third. Your book reminds me of that program.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Karen,
      Thank you for visiting with me again. I worked closely with the lady who put the trailer together for me. I like to work have a good amount of input on all my trailers. The same woman did the Knights in Time boxed set of mine. I have seen Ripper Street and love it. I understand there will be a third season. There almost wasn't a season two. The ratings weren't as good for it in Britain in the first season as it was up against some reality show. BBC discovered Ripper Street had a substantial cult following and proceeded with production. Yea!!
      Chris

      Delete
  2. Hi Everyone,
    I want to thank CBY Book Club for this opportunity to showcase Silk. I look forward to talking books with your readers.
    Chris Karlsen

    ReplyDelete
  3. Silk sounds like a great book, i liked the excerpt and would like to read more. Thank you

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Linda,
      This was a departure from my historical romances so I'm thrilled to see readers are interested in the story. I am anxious to make this a series as I really like writing the detective/hero.
      Chris

      Delete
  4. Thank you for the excerpt. Sounds like a compelling read.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Rita,

      You can see the book board I did for Silk and all my other books on my Pinterest page: http://www.pinterest.com/chriskarlsen/ I am able to use my "dream cast" for the characters.
      Chris

      Delete
  5. I have enjoyed learning about the book. Thanks for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Patrick,

      Thank you for coming by to comment. I haven't posted my newest "History Factoids" on my website but will be soon. I change the facts out every three months: www.chriskarlsen.com.
      Chris

      Delete
  6. I like the hero's name of Rudyard and the nickname of Ruddy. I don't think I've read any stories with the main character with this name. On another blog, I was not able to comment due to not belonging to Wordpress. You commented on covers. No wonder the covers don't match the story if the authors don't have more control over them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Jess,

      You'd be surprised how many really well known authors don't have creative say in or they have very limited say in their covers. I'm with a small, indie publisher who allows me great creative freedom. I use the same designer for all but one. She's super as she just "gets" my vision when we're working on a new release.

      Ruddy is named in honor of one of my favorite authors: Rudyard Kipling. I chose Bloodstone because it sounded cool to me:)
      Chris

      Delete
  7. The review was great, loved the notes about the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HI Judy,
      Thank you for taking time to read about Silk and for the nice words regarding my bio. I'm lucky to have done a lot of what I hoped to do when I was young.
      Chris

      Delete
  8. Thanks for stopping by. Loved the excerpt. The whole mystery of Jack the Ripper is really interesting. I'm looking forward to reading your spin on it.

    ReplyDelete