Celebrate spring with The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel by @msspencerauthor #myster
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  • N. N. Light
    • Apr 14, 2019
    • 4 min read

Celebrate spring with The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel by @msspencerauthor #myster


Title: The Pit and the Passion: Murder at the Ghost Hotel

Author: M. S. Spencer

Genre: Mystery, Humorous/Romantic Comedy, Contemporary, Suspense

Book Blurb:

At midnight, in the darkness of a deserted hotel, comes a scream and a splash. Eighty-five years later workmen uncover a skeleton. Who does it belong to, and how did it get to the bottom of an old elevator shaft? To find out, Charity Snow, ace reporter for the Longboat Key Planet, must team up with Rancor Bass, best-selling author. Although his arrogance nearly exceeds his talent, she is surprised to discover a warm heart beating under his handsome exterior.

While dealing with a drop-dead gorgeous editor who may or may not be the villain and a publisher with a dark family secret, they unearth an unexpected link to the most famous circus family in the world.

Excerpt

The Milky Way spread a swath of cream overhead. One small cloud trundled across the sky. Behind it peeped a gibbous moon. The beach was wide here, sweeping south in a twelve-mile-long arc but ending only a few yards north of her at a severely eroded cliff.

Not a soul stirred on the sand, except for a couple of willets picking their way along the edge of the water. She turned and headed toward the cliff.

Someone had left a beach chair out. She sat and watched the waves, listening to the chittering of the sandpipers and the putt-putt of a trawler far out. She assumed the rustle behind her was a ghost crab and kept quiet, hoping to catch a glimpse of it. She loved the way they would stop, half in and half out of their holes, their eyestalks waving. They’re so sure they’re invisible.

Charity?”

She jumped straight up, knocking the chair backward.

“What th—?” Her heart pounding, she turned. At that moment, the cloud shrouded the moon, and in the sudden darkness she could only make out a form.

“Who…who’s there?”

“It’s me. Rancor. Rancor Bass.”

She held out a hand and encountered a broad chest, lightly furred. She pulled it back quickly. “Are you…are you…”

He snickered. “Naked? As a matter of fact, yes.”

She backed up. A splash told her that her brand-new sandals were likely ruined. She vaulted out of the water and landed between two bare arms.

“Easy there, Charity. I hardly know you.”

“Stop it, Mr. Bass. And let me go. If I were you I’d drop that conceited tone. I wouldn’t be caught dead in your arms.”

His voice came low, laughter licking at its edges. “You don’t feel dead to me. In fact”—she tensed at the touch of a finger on the inside of her elbow—“you feel very much alive. And quite…fresh. Call me Rancor.”

“Rancor Bass, you leave me alone.” She tried to walk around the shadow, but an arm snaked out and caught her. She opened her mouth to scream and found two lips smothering hers. She stood quite still, fear and…something else…oh my God, desire?…taking over her senses.

He let her go. “Couldn’t resist. Wanted to see if those defensive walls could be breached.” He sat down in the chair. The moon came out from behind the cloud and cast a pale glow on his hair. “You’re a tough cookie, Charity.”

She wanted to deny it, to tell him how vulnerable she could be, but knew that would be very stupid. She wanted to kiss him again but knew that would be even more stupid. So she settled for a grunt and walked away.

He didn’t follow, and as she reached the dunes, she felt an unexpected twinge of disappointment. Could this man be the one? Nah. Still, preoccupied by this novel notion, she decided to skip the police station and go straight home. As she turned into her condominium parking lot, the obvious question finally occurred to her. What the hell is Rancor Bass doing naked on the beach in the middle of the night?

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If money were no object, where would you go for a Spring Break vacation and why?

Well, I would have said a cruise through Scandinavia, but in light of the recent plight of the Norwegian cruise passengers I’m rethinking my plans. My bucket list includes the Galapagos and Prague. Hmm. Okay, okay. A river cruise down the Danube to Budapest. That’s the ticket. Or maybe…Vienna is so beautiful in the spring. As is my bestie city, Paris. Then there’s…<blows whistle to stop play>.

What’s your favorite thing about Spring and why?

The flowers. I spent many years in the DC area, where spring is the best (and really only the good) season. The azaleas, tulips, daffodils run riot—there’s even a “floral laboratory” near the Tidal Basin that showcases tulips. Now I live in Florida, and I love the weather that’s warm enough to go to the beach, but the humidity has not yet hit fatal levels.

Spring Break Bookapalooza Giveaway:

Enter to win a $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $25 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $15 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Enter to win a $10 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

Open internationally

Runs April 1 – 30

Drawing will be held on May 1.

Author Biography:

Although M. S. Spencer has lived or traveled in five of the seven continents, the last thirty years were spent mostly in Washington, D.C. as a librarian, Congressional staff assistant, speechwriter, policy wonk, non-profit director, and parent. After many years in academia, she worked for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. Department of the Interior, in several library systems, both public and academic, and at the Torpedo Factory Art Center. She has two grown children and a perfect granddaughter. Ms. Spencer has published twelve mystery/romantic suspense novels, and currently divides her time between Florida and Maine.

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