
Title Ventures, Vengeance & Murder
Author Christa Nardi
Genre Cozy Mystery
Book Blurb
A prominent child advocate’s death is only the beginning…
When a prominent doctor and outspoken advocate for child abuse victims is murdered, trauma counselor and amateur sleuth Stacie Maroni can’t help but wonder if there’s more to the tragedy than meets the eye. At the same time, whispers of financial misappropriation in programs meant to aid victims have surfaced. Both the good doctor and the suspect agencies shared interest in child welfare - could the two be connected, or is it just a coincidence?
Stacie doesn’t believe in coincidence and neither does Detective O’Hare. As Stacie extends her support to the doctor’s fiancée, Megan, she uncovers hints that more is afoot than meets the eye. When anonymous threats escalate into real danger, Stacie realizes she’s stumbled onto something totally unexpected. With her own life on the line, and potentially, Megan’s, Stacie must untangle the truth before there are more victims.
Excerpt
I jumped when my phone rang, then smiled. Detective Michael O’Hare and I were a couple, although his job had kept him busy the last few nights. Besides, dealing with a grumpy sick person didn’t translate to romantic evenings. He did stop and bring me chicken soup though.
“Hi, Michael. How are you?”
He groaned. “Busy. You sound better. I hoped to stop by, but I may not make it.” He grunted. “We got an anonymous call directing us to Old Country Road. When Lahomes and Marina got there, they found a man, dead. Still trying to figure out who he is.”
“Oh, my.”
“I’ll catch up with you later.”
A quick check to see if anything popped up on alerts yielded no information, and I groaned when I opened my email. After being out sick both Friday and Monday with the flu, there were too many messages and each one required a response of some sort. Part of my grumpiness I blamed on allergies and a sinus infection. The rest was the day to day tedium of my job as HR Specialist at Foster’s Insurance.
I felt better, but not up to par. I scanned my email to see which would be simple and quick. My eyebrows rose when I spotted one from Lionel Smythe. He served as the chair, the overseer, and attorney for a foundation for women who were victims of domestic violence.
Set up by my late husband, Ted Noth, the foundation focused on education, services, and prevention related to domestic violence. I served as the co-chair as stipulated in Ted’s will, along with J. Colton Stewart. Ted had been Colton’s attorney dealing with theft of intellectual property at Colton’s technology corporation.
Lionel had also included Colton in this too short email. “Need to call a meeting. Let me know your availability.” That was followed by a scheduler app with dates and times for the next week.
I left the app up and replied all. “What is the purpose of the meeting, Lionel?”
Once I hit send, I studied the scheduler. Not a morning person, I confirmed late afternoon ones. I could do morning yoga, not morning people. Done, I hit submit and moved on.
My phone pinged. It was Lionel.
“Stacie, we have a problem. Can you meet me some place? Starbucks?”
The man knew my weakness for skinny mocha latte. “Lunch? What’s up?”
“Noon. The one on Main Street. I’ll explain it when I see you.” He disconnected.
I stared at my phone like it had the answers to all my questions. A glance at the clock, and I quickly let my friends know I had other plans for lunch. Most days, Jillian, Trina, Ronnie, and I ate at the table in my office, avoiding the noisy cafeteria.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub)
Preorder your copy today!
Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DQVG24PX
Author Biography
Christa Nardi is an avid reader with her love of mysteries beginning with Nancy Drew and other teen mysteries. She’s shifted to more contemporary mystery, crime, and cozy mysteries over time. She has been a long time writer from poetry and short stories to mystery series. Christa is a member of Sisters in Crime. When not reading or writing, Christa enjoys traveling and playing with her dogs and granddaughters. She also supports animal rescue and other efforts to help others.
Social Media Links
https://bit.ly/ChristaNardi (website)