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Evil Lives in the Night by @DeeSKnight is a Beach Reads Event pick #beachread #historicalsuspense



Title:

Evil Lives in the Night


Author:

Jan Selbourne and Anne Krist


Genre:

Historical suspense


Book Blurb:



In Jan Selbourne’s The Next Stop is Dead, a woman boards a city train one night and finds herself alone in the car with four strangers, all men. When she discovers one of them is dead, she has to find a way to exit the train and get help. Will she escape, or will the next stop be her final one?


In Anne Krist’s Missing, sisters Audra and Daina communicate using “twin language.” But how much difference will that make when Daina disappears? Can Audra find her sister before her abductor ends Daina’s life? Even with the help of an over-protective detective, saving her missing twin might not happen in time.


Excerpts:


From The Next Stop Is Dead:


Alison buttoned her coat against the cold wind blowing along the platform. Melbourne might be dull and staid, but we hosted the 1956 Olympic Games, we are known for our theatres and culture and Flinders Street Station was once the busiest in the world. Something the bragging Sydneysiders hadn’t achieved.


She looked at the ticket in her hand and up at the train timetable. The next train would go express from Richmond to Caulfield then stopping all stations to Dandenong. You can’t sit here all night.


Wheels on the tracks and the train pulled into the platform. Not one of the new blue trains but an old red rattler that should have been pensioned off years ago. Three young, laughing women wearing Footscray Tennis Club jackets got out of the end carriage and hurried down the exit ramp. Feeling miserable, Alison got in hoping she’d be on her own. Empty except for three men sitting together on the last row of seats. She walked to the other end of the carriage and sat down. The whistle blew and the train moved away from the platform and into the tunnel.


The train increased its pace through Jolimont Yard and without meaning to, Alison glanced at the three men at the other end of the carriage. They hadn’t moved, just sitting there reading newspapers without speaking. The man next to the window looked at her, lit a cigarette and after blowing a cloud of smoke into the air lifted his newspaper closer to his face. She turned to the window again as they passed the huge Melbourne Cricket Ground, holy ground for cricket fanatics and home of Australian Rules Football. Watching grass grow was more interesting than watching cricket.


The train was slowing down to stop at Richmond station. The door opened and she looked up as a man with a newspaper tucked under his arm got in. He walked past her and took a seat on the other side of the aisle. The train began to move out of the station.


Four men and one woman and they’d express through the next five stations before stopping at Caulfield. Feeling very uncomfortable she held her overnight bag closer and gazed through the window as the train gathered speed. Except for the clattering train wheels it was quiet, creepy quiet. They’d just passed South Yarra station and the reflection in the grimy window moved. That man was looking at her. Oh hell, he was standing up. Her chest thumped when he crossed the aisle and sat beside her.


A wide smile. “What are you like with crossword puzzles?”


Alison felt the blood drain from her face. Should she get up and go closer to the three men? It struck her then they hadn’t spoken or moved since she got on the train.


He lifted his newspaper. “The crossword is very hard today. Can you help me?”


Her throat went dry. “Pardon?”


“Two heads are better than one,” he said brightly and pointed to the top of the page.

For a few seconds her eyes refused to absorb the words in thick capital letters. DO NOT LOOK UP. GET OUT AT THE NEXT STOP. THE MAN IN THE MIDDLE IS DEAD.


From Missing:


Something woke her. She moved and the magazine fell to the floor. Groggy, she scraped her hair back from her face and then rubbed her eyes. She didn’t need to look to see that Daina’s bed remained empty—she’d feel her sister if she were there.


The room was dark, the door closed. But she’d left the light on in the living room and the bedroom door open. Hadn’t she?


She’d forgotten to wind the alarm clock and it had stopped at two-oh-five. She clicked on the lamp on the table between their beds and got up to check her watch on the dresser. Three o’clock. Her heart raced and her mouth dried. Where in the world was her sister?


Suddenly, the front door closing sounded like a shot. She slid into her slippers and tightened the sash on her robe. “Daina!” She threw open the bedroom door and rushed to the apartment door.


Automatically grabbing her key from the dish by the door, she rushed out into the hallway and down the stairs. She hadn’t reached the bottom step when she saw a man halfway out the door. He turned to look at her and she gasped. His face was rough. Stubble made it dark. A jagged, angry scar ran from his left temple to his jaw line. There was no smile, no lightening of expression. With a scowl, he pulled a black, flat cap low and then left.


The door hardly made a sound but his presence in her building set off an explosion in Audra’s mind. Who was he? How had he gained entrance? What was he doing at three o’clock in the morning skulking around her building?


Fear gave way to panic. Her knees nearly gave out when the thought occurred that he might have been in their apartment, that it had been he who she heard closing their front door. Then the thought that screamed in her mind. Did he have anything to do with Daina’s disappearance?


On shaky legs, she climbed the stairs. She’d make a pot of coffee and then wait until daylight made it safe to walk to the bus stop to start the trek downtown to the police department. She’d think later about calling her parents but first thing this morning she’d have to file a missing person report for her sister. Her twin. The other half of her soul.


Buy Link:




What makes your featured book a must-read?


Jan and I both feature mysteries set in the 1950s but on different sides of the world, which adds a different twist. When I used to go to the beach and wanted a good book to bring along, I always went for the mysteries—something fast paced and engrossing. I think you will find those qualities in Evil Lives in the Night. Be sure to read it in the daylight!


Reader and Reviewer comments:

I enjoyed these stories. They fit together despite being half a world apart. There's an innocence to the stories you don't find in the crime drama of today. ~ Eileen, 4 Stars


Giveaway –


Enter to win a $25 Amazon US or Amazon Canada gift card



Open Internationally. You must have an active Amazon US or CA account to win.


Runs July 18 – July 26, 2022.


Winner will be drawn on July 27, 2022.


Author Biography:


A few years ago, Dee S. Knight began writing, making getting up in the morning fun. During the day, her characters killed people, fell in love, became drunk with power, or sober with responsibility. And they had sex, lots of sex.


After a while, Dee split her personality into thirds. She writes as Anne Krist for sweeter romances, and Jenna Stewart for ménage and shifter stories. All three of her personas are found on the Nomad Authors website (www.nomadauthors.com). Fortunately, Dee’s high school sweetheart is the love of her life and husband to all three ladies! Once a month, look for Dee’s Charity Sunday blog posts, where your comment can support a selected charity.


Author Jan Selbourne:


Jan Selbourne was born and educated in Melbourne, Australia and her love of literature and history began as soon as she learned to read and hold a pen. After graduating from a Melbourne Business College her career began in the dusty world of ledgers and accounting, working in Victoria, Queensland and the United Kingdom. On the point of retiring, she changed course to work as secretary of a large NSW historical society. Now retired Jan is enjoying her love of travelling and literature. She has two children, a stray live in cat and lives near Maitland, New South Wales.


Social Media Links:


Where to find Anne:

Sweet ‘n Sassy Divas https://bit.ly/1ChWN3K


Where to find Jan

4 Kommentare


Unknown member
21. Juli 2022

Eeep. They both sound a bit scary! But delicious :) and the perfect length for an evening's read. Thanks for sharing.

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Unknown member
21. Juli 2022
Antwort an

Thanks so much! They're not too scary. ;)

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N. N. Light
N. N. Light
21. Juli 2022

Thank you, ladies, for sharing your book in our Beach Reads Bookish Event!

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Unknown member
21. Juli 2022
Antwort an

Thank you for hosting us. Much appreciated!

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