Showing posts with label T.L. Haddix. Show all posts
Showing posts with label T.L. Haddix. Show all posts

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Virtual Book Tour ~ Deception In The Shadows by T.L. Haddix ~ Review & Excerpt





Deception In The Shadows
by T.L Haddix

Romantic Suspense
Date Published: TBD - Late April 2014




When all the lies that have been hidden come to light, nothing will be the same.

From the time she came to live with her uncle Ron after the tragic deaths
of her parents when she was a young girl, Carrie Greer never had reason to doubt she was wanted. Now a dispatcher with the county, she’s a grown woman building a life of her own. But after a trip to Florida, her uncle’s attitude changes… and not for the better. While struggling to come to terms with this shift in their relationship and all the collateral damage it causes, another tragedy strikes. Ron Smith is murdered. And the only person with an obvious reason to want him dead… is Carrie.

Robbie Bailey is finally free to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a
teacher. But instead of attending classes, he ends up having to return to
Leroy and to Carrie, the girl he’s been in love with since he was a
teenager. He finds himself in the position of having to convince her of
the depth of his feelings while protecting her from a vengeful killer bent
on keeping long-buried secrets hidden. And he isn’t sure he can succeed at
either task.

Deception in the Shadows is the sixth installment in the Shadows/Leroy’s
Sins Collection, a series of Romantic Suspense novels by author T. L.
Haddix. Other titles include Secrets in the Shadows, Under the Moon’s
Shadow, Shadows from the Grave, Hidden in the Shadows, and In the Heart’s
Shadow.

5 out of 5 stars

Holy Cow! Deception in the Shadows is by far one of the best Romantic Suspense stories I have read this year!  With an intricate plot and a cast of complex characters, this book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it.  It was definitely hard to put down and I could not stop reading until I read the very last page.  Unlike other books I have read this year, I was still guessing ‘who done it?’ until the very last.  The epilogue ended in a complete cliff hanger which demands answers, and I can only hope the next installment of this series comes out SOON…..like NOW!  Ms. Haddix has completely outdone herself in creating this awesome masterpiece.  With just the right amount of mystery, romance and suspense all rolled up in this well-written novel made for an effortless and engrossing read.   I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good romantic suspense that will keep you enthralled throughout.

What are you waiting for? Don't wait.....go buy it NOW!  You will not be disappointed!  And in case you need a little taste of what awaits you, here is an excerpt of the intrigue this book offers to entice you.




The tastefully appointed den was quiet, save the sounds of the antique clock ticking on the mantel and the occasional popping of the logs that burned sedately in the fireplace. The room’s two occupants were holding an entire conversation with their eyes, as the woman seated behind the ornate mahogany desk turned an envelope corner to corner to corner. The socially polite smile she usually wore was absent, a cold harshness in its place that would have surprised most who knew her.
That harshness was no surprise to the man seated in the comfortable leather chair in front of the desk. Trey London shifted, moving so that he could set the cut-glass tumbler he held on a strategically placed coaster on the table beside him.
“How do you want to handle this?” he finally asked. His voice was quiet, even though they were alone in the big house and being overheard wasn’t a concern. Most things he did, he did quietly. People found his calm demeanor reassuring for the most part, with only a handful seeing that predatory watchfulness for what it truly was.
She sat forward, stunningly elegant even though she was attired in a simple blouse and skirt. Her fingers ran across the top of the envelope where she’d slit it with the pearl-handled letter opener earlier that day. “The same way we handled all Hatcher’s other little… indiscretions. Quickly and without blinking. Making those go away was fairly simple, and I see no reason this has to be different. You’ll take care of it?”
He nodded. “Of course. You know this will have to be dealt with in a more severe fashion than the rest. We can’t pay him off or scare him off.”
An arched eyebrow lifted as she gave a little shake of her head. “I’m aware. And I don’t care. He’s not worth my concern. Do you have a problem doing it?”
“You know I don’t. I’ve not spent the last fifteen years protecting your interests only to balk now. When?”
“Soon. The sooner, the better.” She lifted her own glass and took a sip of the amber liquid it contained. In the firelight and the warm glow of the Tiffany lamp perched on the edge of her desk, he saw her lips lift into a tiny smirk. “I worked too hard to get where I am to let someone traipse in and take it all from me with this kind of drivel. Hatcher and I never saw eye-to-eye about how these matters should be handled. Apparently, he’s been paying through the nose to keep this quiet. Well, this bitch doesn’t pay.”
That was the God’s honest truth, he knew. Oh, she compensated him well, very well, to act as clean-up man for whatever needed to be swept under the rug, but that was part of their understanding. He made problems go away; that was his job. And he was good at it. In the grand scheme of things, removing this newest problem wasn’t even the vilest act he’d ever performed to keep her safe. But it would be the first time he’d ever killed for her.
“I’ll see that it’s done.” He stood and straightened his sweater before leaving. 
She stopped him as he reached the door.
“If you could make it look like an accident, that would probably be best. And we’ll need to find out what he has written down or stashed away, and make sure it disappears as well. Because you know he’ll have something. They always do.”
“Of course they do. I’ll take care of it. You know I will.” 
“Why else would I keep you around?” Her eyes dropped to his crotch, and he shut the door of the den back with a quiet snick.
Watching her smile was like looking into the eyes of a shark, and despite the emptiness, he felt an odd sexual thrill run up his spine as she traced the edge of her glass with a blood-red fingernail.
“Why else, indeed?” He went to her, knowing better than to wait for her to come to him while she was in this sort of mood, and stood at the corner of her desk as he waited for instructions. His arousal grew as she slowly unbuttoned her shirt and stood, only to kneel before him. Of all the perks of his job, he thought, closing his eyes as her mouth found its way to him and started working skillfully, this was his favorite. The thrill of the danger of knowing she could have him killed, or that he’d be imprisoned for the rest of his life if the crimes he had committed on her behalf came to light, just added to his pleasure.




T.L. Haddix

T.L. Haddix was born in Hazard, Kentucky, a small town in the center of the Appalachian coal fields. Taught to read by her grandmother, T.L. has had a life-long love affair with books, devouring whatever she could get her hands on. From childhood favorites such as the Trixie Belden series and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books, to her current favorites from authors like Tami Hoag, Alex Kava, J.A. Jance and Lisa Kleypas (among many others), T.L. still finds refuge in the written word.

“Growing up, I wanted to be everything – astronaut, police officer, doctor, teacher, reporter, psychologist – there was no clear choice for me. I wanted to do it all. Becoming a writer has allowed me to do just that, because I can live vicariously through my characters.”

A resident of eastern Kentucky, T.L. is hard at work on her next book, when she isn’t chasing after her three cat-children with her husband.

Website: www.tlhaddix.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tlhaddix
Twitter: @tlhaddix
Blog: http://tlhaddix.com/chat-n-chew/

~Buy Link~
Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Deception-Shadows-Collection-T-Haddix-ebook/dp/B00JTBY0UW/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1398044446&sr=8-15&keywords=deception+in+the+shadows




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Saturday, March 29, 2014

PROMO Blitz ~ Firefly Hollow by T.L. Haddix ~ EXCERPT!



Firefly Hollow - WEEK BLITZ
By T. L. Haddix
Romance w/ Light Paranormal Elements
Date Published: 9/23/2012

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The mysterious recluse…

Owen Campbell holds himself apart from other people. Badly scarred from emotional wounds that have never healed, he doesn’t expect to find true love or happiness. He remains isolated in a prison of his own making, determined to not let anyone close enough to hurt him again. But his willpower is shaken to the core when Sarah Browning enters his world.

The girl next door…

Sarah Jane Browning is three years into her college degree when a call from home changes everything. Back at the family homestead in the heart of Appalachia, she’s forced to reevaluate her hopes and dreams for the future.

Distraction from her heartache comes in the form of her parents’ neighbor. Whispers about “odd Owen Campbell” abound in their small community, and Sarah’s curiosity is aroused. When she breaks the rules and trespasses onto his land, what she finds is beyond her wildest imaginings.

As Sarah struggles to overcome tragedy and loss, her burgeoning relationship with Owen is sorely tested. Will love conquer all, or will the secrets from Owen’s past tear them apart forever?

EXCERPT

Checking back over her shoulder after a few steps, Sarah frowned when the deer continued to mimic her path. Dismissing the incident as the curiosity of a wild young deer that hadn’t yet learned humans were the enemy, she let her mind drift. Before long, she heard the sound of water trickling rapidly over rocks, and as she rounded a curve, she saw a small stream curving through the mountainside. The branch of water cut into a shallow hollow, one side protected by a higher ledge of earth that was full of mountain laurel.

Sarah stopped to take in the sight and drew in a cleansing breath. As she looked around, she realized the deer had followed her and stopped a short distance away. The bench of land it stood on converged with the deer path alongside the stream.

If Sarah hadn’t known better, she would have sworn the deer wore a look of consternation. The animal bent its head to nibble at some greenery on the ground, but kept its eyes on her. It almost seemed to glance between her and the water, as though weighing the danger of coming closer for a drink.

“Maybe if I turn away, you’ll feel bolder.” The deer path crossed the branch at a narrow point, and she decided to go a bit further. The water cascaded down a small waterfall above the narrow point, pooling in a shallow area that would be the perfect spot for a thirsty deer to get a cooling drink. Hopping across the water, Sarah followed the trail. To her surprise, the path didn’t continue to the flat bench on the other side of the small ridge, but climbed up and around the rocky outcropping. Curious, she climbed the incline. The sight took her breath away, and for a moment, she didn’t believe what was in front of her was real.

The rocky outcropping the water cascaded down was a sort of natural dam. On its other side, a large pool of water had collected. Fifteen feet across and nearly that wide again going in the opposite direction, the pool was surrounded by sloping granite on all sides except the front, where the water dropped over the edge. The water was blue-green, going from light aqua to deeper cobalt, and the banks of rock and earth protected it on all sides.

On the opposite side, a craggy granite cliff rose about ten feet out of the water, overhanging slightly to form a shallow cave. The mountain seemed to curve around the pool and, mesmerized, Sarah continued around, crossing the branch once more at a point above the pool. From there, she was able to climb on top of the granite boulder that created the cliff. Easing to the edge, she carefully sat down, her legs dangling over the side.

When the curious deer appeared at the edge of the pool below, Sarah laughed. The deer gave a small jerk at the sound, eyeing her warily.

“I’m sorry.” She felt utterly insane, carrying on a conversation with a deer, but it had followed her like a curious puppy. Sarah realized that keeping quiet would feel even more absurd. “It’s so beautiful here. I had no idea any place like this existed.” She looked around, noticing that the trees didn’t arch out over the pool the way she thought they would have.

“I’ll bet it’s really hot here in the summer, and that water feels so good and cool. Or does the pool dry up, I wonder?”

For a while, she just sat, braced back on her hands, her face lifted to the sky. The peace imbued in the place washed over her. When she felt ready, she let herself remember Kathy’s words to Paul, and their laughter. The memory made Sarah sad and still made her cringe with embarrassment, but she realized that she didn’t feel quite as angry about it as she had.

“Thank you, God, for letting me hear that today. At least I don’t have to face Paul until Monday,” she said to the sky. “And… and maybe, if that’s what he likes, then maybe he’s not as special as I thought he was. Let him have his buxom girls. At least I don’t look like a milk cow, unlike someone I could name.”

A snort came from below, and Sarah jumped. She’d forgotten the deer. Looking down, she saw that it had moved to the edge of the exposed granite and settled down on a soft patch of leaves.

“What are you snorting at?”

When the deer shook its head, Sarah laughed. Even though she knew it was probably batting away flies with its ears, the deer acted almost human.

She glanced down at her watch and was shocked when she saw the time. She was going to have to run in order to make it home in time for supper. With a muted curse that she’d heard her father say when he hit his thumb with the hammer, she scrambled to her feet and looked around. Another bench ran down from the side of the boulder opposite where she’d come up and fell naturally into the one the deer had been on when she’d first seen it.

“That saves me a little time.” With one last look at the deer, which had gotten to its feet when Sarah did, she headed down the bench. “I’ll come back someday,” she promised over her shoulder. “Try to not get shot or anything.”

For a day that had gone so badly, she thought as she ran, things had turned out to be okay.

* * *

For a long time after the girl had gone, Owen stood on the edge of the pool, looking after her. With his enhanced hearing, he could follow her progress down the trail and back onto Browning land.

He didn’t know what to think. He’d never encountered another human in all the time he’d been exploring the woods. His parents had seen to that over the years; no one dared come onto Campbell property without his father’s permission. Now that the property belonged to Owen, he guessed he was the one who’d have to do something about trespassers.

He bent his neck, taking another sip from the water. As the girl had guessed, it was cool and delightful.

Owen sighed, a sound that came out in deer form much as it did when he was human. The pool was one of his favorite places to roam, one of his safe places. If the girl came back as she promised, he didn’t know what it would mean for him. He couldn’t risk being caught, and he wasn’t willing to give up his solitude. If the girl threatened that… he hated the thought of having to go to her parents, but if it came to that, he’d do it.


T.L. Haddix

T.L. Haddix was born in Hazard, Kentucky, a small town in the center of the Appalachian coal fields. Taught to read by her grandmother, T.L. has had a life-long love affair with books, devouring whatever she could get her hands on. From childhood favorites such as the Trixie Belden series and Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “Little House” books, to her current favorites from authors like Tami Hoag, Alex Kava, J.A. Jance and Lisa Kleypas (among many others), T.L. still finds refuge in the written word.


“Growing up, I wanted to be everything – astronaut, police officer, doctor, teacher, reporter, psychologist – there was no clear choice for me. I wanted to do it all. Becoming a writer has allowed me to do just that, because I can live vicariously through my characters.”



A resident of eastern Kentucky, T.L. is hard at work on her next book, when she isn’t chasing after her three cat-children with her husband.

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