Books Inc. Campbell proudly welcomes three mystery writers from the Coastal Cruisers chapter of Sisters in Crime to discuss their novels and the joys of reading thrillers!
Victoria Kazarian – Swift Horses Racing
A murder. A victim. A cop.None are what they seem to be.
Aeronautics legend Karl Schuler is murdered on a quiet expressway in the early hours of New Year's Day, in what looks like a gang hit. Detective James Ruiz and his wife Reyna witness the shooting, and James Ruiz hears the man's strange dying words. San Jose Homicide detective Mario Flores interviews the couple and begins the search for the man's killer.It soon becomes clear that Schuler was not who he seemed to be. The murder itself is not exactly what it appears to be. What happens after the truth is discovered? When the unthinkable happens? In Swift Horses Racing, the past reaches into the present with devastating results.
Despite a deadline, an atmospheric river and a painful personal betrayal, Detectives Ruiz and Flores must work together to find a killer who has everything to lose--and is ready to kill again.
Victoria Kazarian debuted her first two mystery novels in 2021: Swift Horses Racing and Across the Red Sky, featuring Detective James Ruiz and rookie detective Dani Grasso of the Monte Verde Police Department. She is also author of the cozy series, The Laughing Loaf Bakery mysteries. She lives and writes in San Jose, California, heart of the Silicon Valley. She writes about the driven people who have come here from all over the world to create tech--and about the people not working in tech, who are very much affected by it. Victoria is a former Silicon Valley marketing professional and high school English teacher.
Sharon Cathcart – Pompeii Fire
AD 79
Drusilla was the woman of his dreams. Suetonius swore his eternal devotion to the merchant's daughter.
A gladiator's word is his bond.
Present Day
Classics professor Damiano De Luca feels ridiculous in the gladiator costume he wears after losing a bet, and seeing Stephanie Marlowe waiting in line outside the Pompeii Archaeological Park makes him feel even worse. She's gorgeous ... and looks so familiar. Without thinking, the handsome Italian addresses Stephanie in the old tongue: "Salve, Drusilla."
Her reply? "Salve, Thraex."
Through untold disaster in the recesses of time and up to the present day, Dom and Stephanie must discover the truth about Pompeii Fire.
Award-winning author Sharon E. Cathcart (she/her) writes heart-warming romance and historical fiction with a twist!
A former journalist and newspaper editor, Sharon has been writing for as long as she can remember and always has at least one work in progress. She is a member of the Archaeological Conservancy, Archaeological Institute of America, Bay Area Romance Writers, Historical Novel Society, and Sisters in Crime.
Sharon lives in the Silicon Valley, California, with her very patient husband and several rescue cats.
T.E. MacArthur – Skin Thief
Agent Tessa Lancing believed she knew all about death - until she met Death itself.
Tessa has one last chance to prove herself to her employer, a disavowed secretive agency, or face literal termination, and she's desperate to do what she must to succeed. When assigned to a doomed mission already littered with lost lives, she drags Jack, an accused traitor who's also her old partner and unrequited love, out of his self-made tomb and back into the field. By teaming up with Jack, she expects to make quick work of the situation.
She's wrong.
In addition to a mission gone sideways, they face potential assassins, a modern-day corrupt sheriff, and an ancient unspeakable terror. They're up against something more powerful than they could imagine and far more sadistic than they could have guessed.
With ghosts and Death itself after them, can they survive their last mission together?
The Skin Thief is an enthralling paranormal thriller set in the haunted canyons of Southwest Colorado. If you like ancient secrets, terrifying ghosts, and nail-biting action, then you'll love T.E. MacArthur's gripping novel of thrills, betrayal, and hopeless desires.
From the charmingly deranged mind of author T.E. MacArthur, creator of the steampunk Volcano Lady and Gaslight Adventures of Tom Turner series, and The Lou Tanner Mystery: A Place of Fog and Murder.
"A cinematic paranormal adventure filled with ancient secrets, terrifying ghosts, and nail-biting action..." The Prairies Book Review
"The author's writing style ... is exceptional. It captivated me from the opening line ... an entertaining paranormal thriller that will keep readers hooked until the end. With moments of suspense and romance, there is something in this gripping novel for everyone." Literary Titan Review
T. E. MacArthur, author, artist, historian, amateur cat whisperer, and parapsychologist wannabe lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her cat, Miss Callie Murdermittens. She wrote the standout Steampunk series, The Volcano Lady, and the classic, one-shilling serial, The Gaslight Adventures of Tom Turner. She's even written for several specialized publications, anthologies, and was an accidental sports reporter for Reuters News.A Place of Fog and Murder is her Noir-Punk mystery, bringing a fantasy sci-fi 1930s San Francisco to life with her tough-as-nails femme-fatale-detective, Lou Tanner P.I., through exciting car chases and Chandleresque witty repartee.Her storytelling dramatically shifted direction recently to embrace the paranormal, her lifelong obsession, with the creation of her newest novel, The Skin Thief, set in the Four Corners region of Colorado, not too far from where she grew up.You can find her on Facebook, Goodreads, or at www.TEMacArthur.com.
