THE UNDERTAKER'S HILL

by Michael R. McGuire

Jake Fitzpatrick's life is a mess.  He's middle aged, divorced, friendless and working in a job he doesn't like.  Even his own mother doesn't like him very much. It can't get any worse; or can it?

When his Uncle Henry passes away and leaves him a large piece of land, it's a total surprise to Jake.  But the land comes with a catch; he has also inherited his late uncle's job as an undertaker, burying bodies on the land he just inherited.

Although the pay for his new job is substantial, Jake suddenly finds himself in a shadowy Kafkaesque world.  He doesn't know who he's working for, where the bodies are coming from, or why these people are dying.  Just as he's adjusting to his new found wealth and the horrors of his new job, he discovers that one of the bodies isn't technically a body at all; the woman he's supposed to bury isn't dead.  While he's agreed to take on the role of undertaker, Jake's not a murderer, and he finds himself on the run as he tries to stay one step ahead of the people he's been working for as well as trying to stay alive.

THE UNDERTAKER'S HILL is an intriguing and fascinating debut novel.

Author Bio:  THE UNDERTAKER'S HILL is Michael R. McGuire's first mystery novel and is available at Amazon.com as well as Lulu.com.  He has been an active playwright for twenty years and his plays have been produced throughout Connecticut, New York and the rest of  the country.  He is a 2005 CT Artist Fellowship recipient for his play THE NEW GIRL, and his play for young actors, PERSEPHONE RULES! is published by Brooklyn Publishers.  Mr. McGuire's current production THE DRAFTS: WHEN HALF THE SPHERE IS VISIBLE, a four playwright collaboration by Horse Trade Theater at The Red Room in New York City is running through May 26, 2012.  Don't be surprised to find Michael as part of the waitstaff at a local Stonington Borough restaurant....he's the one who bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Stephen King.

Pub. Date:  February 2012
199 pages
eBook and Paperback

HYPOTHERMIA An Icelandic Thriller

by Arnaldur Indridason - available in hardcover

Inspector Erlunder is a sad and solitary man.  He's haunted by the ghosts of unsolved crimes as well as the long ago disappearance of his brother and his failed marriage.  He's hounded by his troubled daughter and son to try to rekindle a relationship with his ex-wife, something neither of them wants.

Amidst all of his personal angst, he's currently investigating the suspected suicide of a young woman while still puzzling over two young people who went missing over 30 years ago.  Slowly and methodically, Erlunder unfolds a sinister plot surrounding the young woman's death, as well as fitting together the pieces of the puzzle of the thirty year disappearance.

HYPOTHERMIA is a quiet mystery.  Without pages filled with blood and gore, the focus is on Indridason's characters and Indridason intricately weaves Erlunder's own story into the cases he's trying to solve in this chilly Icelandic suspense novel.

THE POISON TREE

by Erin Kelly - to be released January 2010

It's 1990s London and Karen Clarke is a straight A college student with a long summer and bright future ahead of her when she meets aspiring actress Biba Capel at Queen Charlotte's College. This chance meeting changes Karen's life forever. Her middle class upbringing and dedication to her studies are swiftly swept away as she becomes enamored with Biba and her bohemian lifestyle. She soon joins Biba and Biba's brother Rex in their crumbling family home amid the emotional turmoil of their lives; lives filled with drugs, alcohol and lost days that can only end in tragedy in this psychological thriller.

As Ms. Kelly deftly weaves the past and present, we fast forward ten years as THE POISON TREE begins; Karen and her nine-year-old daughter arrive to pick up Rex from prison where he's spent the last decade for murder. The author never drops the ball as the suspense and tension build in this well written novel, right up to the dramatic ending.

Ms. Kelly's writing has been compared to that of Donna Tartt, but while reading THE POISON TREE I also found it reminiscent of BOYS AND GIRLS TOGETHER, a coming of age novel from the '60s by William Goldman.  This is a wondeful first novel and I highly recommend this psychological thriller!

LAW OF ATTRACTION

by Allison Leotta - to be released in October 2010

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Curtis works domestic violence in Washington, D.C. She's trying to convince her newest client, Laprea Johnson, to finally make the abuse charges stick against her boyfriend. Anna is shocked to learn that her own boyfriend, Public Defender Nick Wagner, is representing D'Marco Davis, the accused.

When Laprea lies on the stand to protect D'Marco and then turns up dead, D'Marco is arrested for her murder despite his pleas of innocence. Curtis is determined to find out what really happened.

Throw in a jailbreak, sexual attraction and intrigue and Ms. Leotta's debut novel is fun reading. The only problem is that the plot is a little too far fetched and way too early on you can see where it's going.