I LOVE detective novels and am always on the lookout for new books in the genre. Author Robert Germaux has just released his fifth book, "One by One", and, judging from the Chapter One book excerpt below, it promises to be a thrilling read.
This isn't the first detective novel Germaux has written. I read and LOVED "Small Talk", Germaux's previous super sleuth story, so I have high hopes for One by One. Perhaps a book review is on the horizon? In the meantime, scroll down to the Chapter One book excerpt to get a glimpse of what's between the pages of One by One!
Print Length: 342 pages
Publisher: Robert Germaux (May
26, 2017)
Publication Date: May 26, 2017
Sold by: Amazon Digital
Services LLC
ASIN: B071PBX39B
ABOUT
THE BOOK:
The victims
appear to have had nothing in common, other than the fact that, as one officer
put it, somebody wanted them dead. And that somebody left a “clue” at each
crime scene, but as those clues began to accumulate, Detective Daniel Hayes and
his hand-picked squad soon discovered that the clues appeared to have even less
in common than did the victims.
In order to catch his prey, Daniel realizes he
has to change his focus and concentrate on an entirely different aspect of the
case by following a twisting trail that eventually leads to a face-to-face
encounter with the killer.
ABOUT ROBERT GERMAUX:
Both my parents
were readers. I'm talking stacks-of-books-on-their-nightstands readers. So it's
no surprise that an early age, I, too, became an avid reader. Everything from
sports books (especially baseball) to Nancy Drew to the Hardy Boys to almost
anything about distant and exotic places. And although I've always enjoyed
putting words on paper, the writer in me didn't fully emerge until I retired
after three decades of teaching high school English. I quickly wrote two books
aimed at middle school readers, at which point my wife urged me to try a novel
for adults. As is usually the case, Cynthia's idea was a good one. Over the
next few years, I wrote several books about Pittsburgh private eye Jeremy
Barnes, including "Hard Court." Along the way, I took a brief hiatus
from the detective genre to write "The Backup Husband," the plot line
of which came to me one day when I was playing the What-if game. On that
particular day, the question that occurred to me was, What if a woman suddenly
realized she might be in love with two wonderful men? After "The Backup
Husband," I wrote "Small Talk," my first novel about Pittsburgh
police detective Daniel Hayes. I then switched gears again with "Grammar
Sex (and other stuff)," a book of humorous essays. Now I’m back with
"One by One," the second Daniel Hayes mystery, which will be released
on June 1st. You can find all of my books on my Amazon Author Page.
In our spare time, Cynthia and I enjoy reading (of course), seeing Broadway plays and musicals, watching reruns of our favorite TV shows, such as "Sports Night" and "The Gilmore Girls," and traveling to some of those distant and exotic places I used to read about as a child. So far, we've been fortunate enough to walk in the sands of Waikiki, swim in the warm waters of the South Pacific and enjoy a romantic dinner in Paris.
I love interacting with my readers and getting their input on my stories and characters. Please feel free to contact me on my website.
In our spare time, Cynthia and I enjoy reading (of course), seeing Broadway plays and musicals, watching reruns of our favorite TV shows, such as "Sports Night" and "The Gilmore Girls," and traveling to some of those distant and exotic places I used to read about as a child. So far, we've been fortunate enough to walk in the sands of Waikiki, swim in the warm waters of the South Pacific and enjoy a romantic dinner in Paris.
I love interacting with my readers and getting their input on my stories and characters. Please feel free to contact me on my website.
~CHAPTER ONE~
Ellen Tishler was killed in her home in Hampton Township,
about twelve miles north of Pittsburgh, but still within Allegheny County. My
team works out of Zone 3 in the city, so in the normal course of events, we wouldn’t
have had anything to do with the case. We were called in because the chief of
police in Hampton
thought it might be something SAS should be handling.
The chief’s name was Benjamin Roberts. He was a shade under
six feet, with dark hair cut very short and the beginnings of a little
potbelly, but still in good shape for a guy chasing sixty. His uniform was neat
and clean, his tie perfectly knotted, his shoes spit-shined. Ex-military, I was
guessing. Roberts had a reputation for being old school all the way. He even
conducted inspections at the start of most shifts. He also had a reputation as
one of the sharpest cops in the county.
It was three o’clock on a sunny September afternoon when
Henry and I arrived at the two-story brick colonial on Edgerton Drive in the upper-middle class
neighborhood. The chief greeted us at the door.
“Ben Roberts,” he said, shaking my hand. “Thanks for coming,
Detective Hayes.”
“It’s Daniel,” I told him. “And this is my partner, Henry
Reynolds.”
Roberts nodded at Henry, then motioned for us to enter the
house.
“I appreciate you gentlemen driving out here,” he said. “I
hope I’m not wasting your time.”
“You’re not,” I said. The three of us were standing in a
small foyer. I could hear people talking and moving around in what I assumed
was the living room, down the short hallway and to the left.
“When you called,” I said, “you indicated you thought this
might be a case for the Special Assignments Squad.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Crime scene’s got kind of a weird look to
it. My department doesn’t handle many major crimes, but I’m pretty sure this
isn’t your run-of-the-mill homicide. Anyway, c’mon in and have a look.” He led
us down the hall and around the corner, and Henry and I got our first look at
Ellen.
If it wasn’t for the small hole in the middle of her
forehead, it would have been easy to assume that she had simply dozed off while
reading that month’s issue of Beautiful
Homes, which was lying on the floor next to the large floral-patterned
wingchair. Ellen was slumped in the chair, her head tilted to one side, her
right hand dangling over the armrest. Her eyes were closed, and there was no
noticeable blood.
“Small caliber,” I said. “Maybe a twenty-two.”
Roberts nodded and said, “That’s what I was thinking.
Probably a revolver.”
“So no shell casings,” I said.
“And no exit wound,” said Roberts. “Bullet must have bounced
around in her head a bit. We’ll find what’s left of it at autopsy.” He
shrugged. “Might not be enough to identify or match. We’ll see.”
Henry and I stood for a minute to take in the scene. Ellen
appeared to be in her mid-to-late seventies. She was wearing an
expensive-looking dark green pants suit, with low-heeled brown shoes. Her white
hair was nicely coiffed, as though she’d recently been to a salon, and there
was a string of pearls around her neck. I doubted if this was how she dressed
for an afternoon at home.
“Who found the body?” I said.
“Next door neighbor, woman named Alice Cloakley. She and the
deceased were supposed to go out for lunch today. Ms. Cloakley came over around
noon , found the front door
ajar, came in and discovered the body.”
“Ms. Cloakley still around?” asked Henry.
Roberts nodded towards the back of the house.
“She’s on the patio. I figured you’d want to talk to her.”
He paused, shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “There’s something
else. It’s the main reason I contacted you.”
He’d been carrying a large plastic evidence bag, and now he
held it up for Henry and me to see.
“We found this on the body.
“We found this on the body.
