Recently a friend of mine, award-winning author Kim Cresswell,
told me about her upcoming release 'Lethal Journey,' and I quickly
volunteered to do a feature on her and her book. Kim is a lovely person
and her writing is of a quality and standard worthy of praise, so it is
without hesitation that I present her and her latest work to you.
Kim lives in Ontario, Canada and has
been a story-teller all her life. After working in
legal and adult education for most of her adult life she has thankfully returned to her first love, writing.
Her
debut thriller, REFLECTION, has won
numerous awards, including the UP Authors Fiction Challenge Winner (2013), Silicon Valley's
Romance Writers of America (RWA) "Gotcha!" Romantic Suspense Winner
(2004) and an Honourable Mention in Calgary's (RWA) The Writer's Voice Contest
(2006).
LETHAL JOURNEY was a finalist in From the Heart Romance
Writers (FTHRW) Golden Gate Contest (2003).
Her
action-packed thrillers have been highly praised by reviewers and readers
worldwide. As one reviewer said, "Buckle up, Hang on tight!"
Kim
also recently entered the True Crime arena. Her latest story about accused
Canadian killer, Cody Legebokoff, will be featured in Serial Killer
Quarterly, a new e-magazine published by Grinning Man Press which
debuts in December 2013. Her short story collection, Real Life
Evil - A True Crime Quickie will release in January 2014.
LETHAL JOURNEY
Lethal Journey is a novella inspired by Kim's fascination with the Mafia and her love of action-packed thrillers.
A killer lurks in the shadows of Hyde Park, New
York…waiting.
Manhattan
District Attorney, Lauren Taylor, is about to take on the most important case
of her career, prosecuting Gino Valdina, acting mob boss of New York’s most
influential crime syndicate.
For
three decades, Gino Valdina has led New York’s Valdina crime family. Since his
recent indictment for murder, the leadership of the family is in turmoil,
appalled by the death of one of their own, Gino’s wife, Madelina. Without the
support of the family behind him, Valdina will do anything to save himself.
But
Lauren soon discovers, things aren’t always as they seem when she’s tossed into
a mystery, a deadly conspiracy that reaches far beyond the criminal underworld
and a journey into the past makes her a target…and anyone she’s ever loved.
Holiday Special! On Sale for a limited time for $0.99!
Purchase a copy now!
Praise
“An entertaining and complex novella with some solid twists at the end.” — Cheryl Kaye Tardif, international bestselling author of SUBMERGED
“High tension, high intrigue, and an angry mob boss put young
Assistant DA Lauren Taylor on the defensive as she prepares for the
biggest courtroom case of her life. All she has to do is stay alive long
enough to put the head of one of New York’s biggest crime families
behind bars, and the jury is out on whether she can pull that off. Her
greatest ally is a man she knew and loved long ago, who shredded her
heart as his own demons of guilt tried to drown him in an alcohol
induced haze.
Lethal Journey by Kim Cresswell hits the
ground running and does not stop! Are people as they seem or is there
more to them? As the attempts on her life escalate and people close to
her go missing, Lauren doesn’t have many options on who to trust. Enter
the one man who broke her heart, Eric, a homicide detective who has also
felt the burn of getting too close to the mob. Can Lauren trust him?
Does she have a choice? It would be so much easier if her heart would
stay out of it, wouldn’t it?
Kim Cresswell’s talent shines through again! With a talent for
setting the stage, bringing in the characters and cuing the action, she
held me from page one. She is not afraid to write a tale that is real,
where the good guys do not go unscathed and they are not perfect. There
is grit in her style, and when she says you are in a warehouse with a
stench, you smell it. The romantic tension runs high, and using
character flashbacks to the past not only builds on the development of
each character as a flesh and blood entity, but serve to eventually
bring everything full circle with an ending that you will NOT see
coming!” —Tome Tender’s Book Blog
“Lethal Journey, a fast-paced novella hits all the points of a romantic
murder mystery. The protagonist is Lauren Taylor, the prosecutor in the
trial of a Mafia crime boss who once before slid out from under the
punishment he so deserves. Her father is the district attorney, both
enmeshed in a tragic family history they can’t leave behind. Eric
Brennan is the tough police detective, who moves in and out of Lauren’s
life as their sometimes love connection flourishes and then falls apart.
There are other great characters in this drama who deftly fill in the
blanks as the plot of murder, deception and tenuous connections twist
into a knot that defies the reader to solve the mystery and unearth the
true antagonist. Be prepared for a surprise ending that will blow you
away. It’s a quick read that will keep your attention. Kudos to Kim
Cresswell for a job well done.” - Review by Fran Orenstein, Sunwriter
Need more convincing? Here's an excerpt from Lethal Journey
"Eric
slowed the Mustang to a crawl and searched the street for his informant, Jimmy
Flame. This part of Brooklyn had it all — garbage, graffiti and gangs — a snake pit
where debts were paid in blood. As it turned out, he spotted the lanky
twenty-something-drug-dealer strolling up the sidewalk.
Eric
didn’t trust the scar-faced kid dressed in clothes three sizes too big, but
Jimmy knew the streets and somehow stayed clear of the gangs. A real miracle.
He also knew Jimmy would be discreet, if he knew what was good for him.
Eric
pulled the car over and stopped. Jimmy looked him square in the eye, turned,
and kept walking. Eric
jumped out of the car and snatched the back of Jimmy’s shirt. “We need to
talk.” He whirled him around.
“Hey,
you promised you’d only come around at night.” Jimmy scanned up and down the
street clearly worried someone might see him with a cop.
“It’s
important. Get in.”
Jimmy
hopped into the car and scrunched down low in the passenger seat. Eric
started the engine and glanced at Jimmy’s low riding jeans. “How the hell can
you wear those baggy ass pants? They should be outlawed.”
“What
man? You don’t like my gear? These pants are cool.” Jimmy ran his hand over his
knee. “What’s so important?”
“Heard
anything about prosecutor Stephen Taylor or the new district attorney?” Jimmy
kept one hand clutched on the door handle.
Convinced
the kid might bolt if he had the chance, Eric sped up.
“I
ain’t heard nothing on the DA, but—”
“If
you know something, spit it out. I’m not in the mood for games.” Eric looked at
him.
Jimmy’s shaved head glistened with sweat in the early morning sun.
“Man
you’re gonna get me killed.” Jimmy sank back into the seat, his fingers
tightened around the handle of the door. “Some dude was looking for someone to
put the scare into Taylor and the DA. I never saw him, but one of my boys told
the guy to hit the road. The deal didn’t smell right. Something was way off.”
“How
did Paul Cassico end up dead?”
Jimmy
lit a cigarette and took an extra-long drag. “Cassico is a small-time bookie,
you know, neighborhood shit, horse races and fights. Valdina learned the guy
would be cooperating with the feds so Valdina had one of his crew take him
out.”
“Did
Cassico ever mention who killed my father?”
“The
stupid
shit went around flappin’ his gums. Said he knew who shot the cop in
the warehouse drug deal. He also said he’d make a large stash when he
went to the
cops.”
Eric’s
heart pounded. “Did he give a name, Jimmy?”
“Nope.”
“Shit.
I need to find the shooter.”
“I
don’t wanna get involved with Valdina’s crew. You’re talking Mafia.” Jimmy
shook his head. “Man. I’m too young to die.”
Eric
could tell by the quiver in the kid’s voice, he was scared. Something he’d
never seen before. “Has someone threatened you?”
“Not
yet. They will as soon as I start asking questions.”
“You’re
smart. You’ll find a way to get the info. Besides, if you piss me off, I’ll
drag your drug-pedalling ass off to jail. You understand?”
Jimmy
remained silent for a moment. “Man, you’re a hard-ass.”
“Find
out what you can.” Eric steered the car into an empty parking lot and tossed
fifty bucks at him. “I’ll be back in a couple of days and watch your back.”
As
Eric pulled away, he heard Jimmy call him an asshole. Okay, he deserved that. And
yeah, he was tough on the kid when he needed to be. It was all part of the job.
He liked Jimmy, but he’d never admit it. From what he just witnessed, Jimmy was
scared shitless and that worried Eric even more."
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