Title: Shadows in the Fog
Author: Greg Messel
Publisher: Sunbreaks Publishing
Pages: 353
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Format: Paperback/Kindle
The story begins on a stormy morning in February of
1959. The front page of the morning paper is dominated by news of the plane
crash which killed rock ’n roll stars Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie
Valens.
Private Eye Sam Slater is hired to perform what he
thinks is a routine two-day job as a favor for a friend. However, it all goes
terribly wrong when a young San
Francisco policeman is gunned down while sitting in a
parked car with Sam.
The murder sets off a chain of events which will
pull Sam and his wife and partner, Amelia, into a dangerous web of intrigue in
the dark, shadowy alleys and back rooms of San Francisco’s Chinatown.
In the winter of 1959, Amelia resigns as a TWA
stewardess and is now Sam’s full time partner in the private eye
business.
Sam and Amelia inadvertently come in conflict with
the San Francisco
mob boss after helping a crusading newspaper reporter who is working to expose
corruption in Chinatown. Now a mysterious dark
car follows the Slaters every where they go. Sam and Amelia discover a hidden
world of corrupt cops, gambling parlors, brothels and human trafficking exists
right under their noses.
At the same time, a rising California politician hires Sam and Amelia
to find his daughter who disappeared without a trace three years earlier. The
search is prompted by the sudden appearance of a letter from the woman, who was
presumed dead.
As Sam and Amelia pursue these cases, they discover
that all the clues lead them back to Chinatown.
The Slaters want to avoid taking on the San
Francisco crime lords head-on. However, when Amelia is
kidnapped in an alley during the Chinese New Year’s celebration, Sam plunges
himself into danger desperately searching Chinatown
to find her before it’s too late.
The reader will be drawn into fast moving events
which culminate in a harrowing conclusion as Sam Slater races against the clock
on a foggy night in Chinatown.
“Shadows In The Fog” is the fifth book in the the
award winning Sam Slater Mysteries Series but is a stand-alone thriller in the
tradition of great whodunits.
Book Excerpt:
The heavy blanket of clouds that had hung on the
city all day was especially thick in the Ocean Beach
area near Playland. It felt like rain.
When Amelia arrived at her car, which she had
parked in a side lot by the Funhouse, she opened the door before removing her
trench coat and tossing it on the front seat. She had been overdressed in
Cassandra’s parlor, leaving on her coat over her gray wool dress.
As she stood by her car, a slow moving large blue
car caught her eye. She froze. There were two lines of parked cars in the
lot. Amelia noticed that the driver of the car seemed to be watching her
as he slowly drove through the parking lot.
She watched the man suspiciously and wondered if he
might be looking for a parking spot. Maybe the man in the blue car was waiting
for her to vacate her spot. Amelia continue to watch him and thought if he
tried something she could always turn and run into the Funhouse.
The large blue car then stopped as it entered the
row where Amelia was parked.
Amelia leaned in to place her purse on the seat and
thought of taking the handgun out of her purse. It was then that the blue car
suddenly accelerated and then slammed on it’s brakes with a screech right
behind Amelia’s car.
Amelia had been concentrating on the slow-moving
car and never saw the second man rapidly approaching her from behind. The
assailant put a black hood over Amelia’s head and grabbed her arm, painfully
twisting it behind her before pushing her into the back seat of the blue car.
The swiftness of the attack was so unexpected that Amelia had no chance to cry
out before she felt herself being held down on the back seat by the large
powerful man.
She heard the car door slam. “Let’s get outta
here!” the man said to his partner and the car began to drive away.
My Review:
Just a statement before I start my review. I have not read any of the other Sam Slater books, so if I say anything "off" it may be because of that. Although, I did not have a problem getting into this book. I think it is possible to read this without the rest, but I have a feeling that I would get the whole experience if I had read them.
With that said, I start my review. Wow! This really did start off with a bang and kept right on being awesome. I loved the story and how fast paced everything was. The writing is pretty tight. The characters are vivid and interesting too! I am slowly getting into the whole crime/mystery genre, and this is a great installment in my opinion. The action rocks. The writing is amazeballs and fun. I just had a big ole good time reading this book, and I do think I'll check into the previous books.
I could actually see this being turned into a weekly tv show. I would watch!
About the Author:
Greg Messel has spent most of his adult life interested in
writing, including a career in the newspaper business. He won a Wyoming Press
Association Award as a columnist and has contributed articles to various
magazines. Greg retired from the corporate world and now lives in South Jordan, Utah
with his wife of over 40 years, Carol Madsen Messel. They have three adult
children who are married and have 11 grandchildren.
Greg has written eight novels. His latest is "Shadows
In The Fog" which is the fifth in a series of mysteries set in 1959 San Francisco. "Fog City
Strangler," "San Francisco Secrets," "Deadly Plunge"
are sequels to the first book in the series "Last of the Seals." His
other three novels are "Sunbreaks," "Expiation" and
"The Illusion of Certainty."
Greg is currently working on his ninth novel--the sixth in the
mystery series--"Cable Car Mystery"--which will be published in late
2015.
For
More Information
Book
Trailer:
Greg Messel is giving away a $25
Amazon Gift Card!
Terms & Conditions:
- By entering
the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.
- One winner
will be chosen via Rafflecopter.
- This
giveaway begins December 1 and ends February 13.
- Winner will
be contacted via email on Monday, February 1i6.
- Winner has
48 hours to reply.
Good luck everyone!
ENTER TO WIN!
