Broken Boys, 2nd in The Extractor Series, by L. J. Sellers!

Note: The videos here are presented via the Doctors program on Television.

I therefore felt they were credible to share them. The final one is a compilation plus discussion

so you can get detailed or overview by choosing...

There may be many Wilderness Camps that are legitimate...

This book is about those that are not...

Be Aware!

Sunday, June 25, 2:30 a.m., Portland, OR 
Josh opened his eyes, half awake. What was that sound? A door opening? Not likely. His mom was the only other person in the home and she didn’t go out late. He glanced at his cell phone on the nightstand. It was still the middle of the night. He rolled over and closed his eyes again. A moment later, heavy footsteps sounded in the hall outside his bedroom. Josh bolted upright. Someone was in their house!
The door burst open and two huge guys rushed in. His heart missed a beat. Dark clothes and buzzed heads, they looked like military. What the hell was this? He opened his mouth to scream, but the intruders came at him so quickly he never had a chance. A callused hand pressed something sticky against his mouth and a cloth bag came down over his head. Oh f___! This was bad. 
Josh swung wildly, but powerful hands caught his arms and pulled them together. Even knowing it was useless, he tried to kick his way off the bed. The strong hands grabbed his feet and shoved his legs up against his chest. The ripping sound of tape coming off a roll made his stomach heave. 
With terrifying speed and precision, the thugs bound his hands and feet together and wrapped him in his own sweaty sheet. They carried him down the hall, swinging like a trussed animal. 
Josh called out to his mother, but the words went nowhere. Heart hammering, he scrambled to make sense of what was happening. Some kind of drug-deal payback? His oxy action was small-time and covered only a few friends—all white, middle-class high school juniors just like him—so that didn’t make much sense. Whatever was going on was out of control! 
Please let it be a mistake. 
They hauled him through the living room and out the open front door. Cool, middle-of-the night air enveloped him. Josh’s panic escalated, and he couldn’t catch his breath. He moved his mouth around, trying to work the tape loose, but got nowhere. His abductors jogged him across the lawn toward the sidewalk. His visual world was black, but his gut told him a van was parked on the quiet, dead-end street. Waiting. 
Frantic, Josh wiggled his jaws, the only move he could make. As the kidnappers’ footsteps hit the concrete of the sidewalk, the left side of the tape slipped off his mouth. He sucked in a quick breath and yelled for help. A fist slammed into his face and pain exploded in his brain. He heard the metal click of a vehicle door sliding open, then they tossed him onto a hard floor. 
A moment later, the vehicle’s engine started, and they rolled forward. No! They were taking him somewhere to kill him, and he had no idea why. He would never see his mother again—and the last thing he’d said to her had been pretty crappy. Hot tears pooled in Josh’s eyes.

!!!

Broken Boys
The Extractor Series

By L. J. Sellers

He had been kidnapped right out of his bed! How could his mother not hear everything that was happening? Josh had no power to get away from the two men who had taped him and wrapped him in his sheet to carry him out. He yelled for help, but was knocked out...

Why had he been taken to this place? All he knew was that he had been told his parents sent him here and that he would be staying...until whenever...

But he had been told one lie...only his mother had signed the papers to send him... Now his father was enraged, looking for his son... He had come to The Extractor...

Rox is questioning whether her
neurological treatments are
making her too...different...
~~~

Josh was 15 and living with his mother, who was involved with somebody else. His father, though, did have equal custody, which was important, and it was he who had suggested to Rox that he might have been sent to a Wilderness Camp...

Rox and Marty knew this extraction was going to be more difficult. During their investigation, they had learned that a separate group would kidnap the child and deliver them to where the camp was located. However, as a new camp started, the group would camp and move from place to place as the leaders kept the boys moving further away from where they originally had been dropped. Rox knew they had to be prepared for anything and going into a wilderness that was not familiar to them would take much planning in order to be able to locate one boy among a group and escape...

Of course, they had no idea that Josh was being cruelly treated on a regular basis. One of the leaders pinched him hard continuously as just one physical abuse, while they were given little to eat and forced to keep moving... It had become so bad for Josh that he had attempted to escape...or commit suicide, whichever worked!

While the extraction for Josh drove the story, the complexity and breadth of the criminal activities were mounting, including what was being done via a group, Community Fellowship, that appeared to be a church of some sort. And before Rox got deeply into the job, she was contacted about another child to be found... And by accepting this one, got deeper and deeper into trouble...

This story is harder to read than the first one... those girls had joined the group and participated willingly in the work, supposedly to relieve the guilt they felt. This time, however, the children were normally sent by a parent, but, agreed to have the child kidnapped so they didn't have to face their own child. Most of the story moves between what is happening to those at the camp, to what trail is being followed by Rox, Marty and other investigators who could, first, find the possible location, and then face an unknown number of captors who actively abused the children on the supposition that they had to change...or else...

And during the actual extraction, one boy who told Rox where Josh was, hurriedly chased after, asking for them to take him too. But that wasn't the end...soon somebody was following Rox, who realized that her cover had been blown...But how, since she was only talking to those who needed help? And by whom? As the danger grows, she sees the face of that individual...Sadly...

There's no need to compare the books. Each stands alone and is an excellent story in itself. But I do recommend you start with the first and work your way through the series. The main characters are stepdaughter and stepfather who lost a relative to a cult. Readers see flashbacks for each as they remember what they had lost in their lives. And that pain and anger drives them into taking greater risks to prevent the death of other children...

Sellers has a writing style that is easy to escape into the story, almost immediately. We are caught in the devastating "potential" of what has and can happen in real life. I became vested in finding and saving each of those children who have been caught, sometimes just because a parent doesn't want to deal with a difficult child. Sometimes it may be necessary, but the reputation of those who take your child must be paramount in any decision. Evil people will do anything and everything to make money...and even enjoy abusing children. This is fiction, but Sellers does an excellent job in revealing just what that might mean...in...true...crime...

And you won't even believe the next book while it is happening! 

A great series, highly recommended. Watch for my review of The Other next...



GABixlerReviews

A Special thanks to L.J. Sellers for creating fictional novels that have spotlighted this situation... And, no, I did not know about "Wilderness Camps..." A realistic, researched fiction novel can really help us know about the reality...You can enjoy a thriller...because the good always wins! Not so in reality... Think about it!

Lauren Carr Guest Post - Meet the Geezer Squad! Latest, Winter Frost, Out Today!

Meet the Geezer Squad

By Lauren Carr

The second installment in the much-loved Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, Winter Frost is scheduled for release January 28--Today! It is now available for preorder! Readers and reviewers have immediately fallen in love with the protagonist Chris Matheson and his allies, The Geezer Squad. Below, learn about how Lauren Carr conceived this motley crew and who she’d envision playing them on the big or little screen.

Doing new stuff is always exciting. 

Granted, as the author of three mystery series, I have enjoyed diving into my series characters, exploring their psyches, and watching them grow. It’s very much like being a parent. Since I average three mysteries a year, I considered my plate full with a new release for each series every year.

Truthfully, I was not looking for inspiration for a new series when Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad came crashing into my life.

One evening, I was looking for a good mystery to watch on Netflix when I happened upon a true crime series entitled The Keepers, which explored the unsolved 1969 murder of Sister Cathy Cesnik in Baltimore, Maryland. As fascinating as this series is (and I do recommend it to any mystery lover), as a writer, I was drawn to the “detectives” investigating this cold case. They were former students of the victim. Now, decades later, retired, they were each using their individual skills to solve this case that keeps them up at night. 

For example, the outgoing former student would meet and talk to potential witnesses. The bookish one would scour the newspaper archives in the library. 

I couldn’t get the concept out of my mind. The writer in me twisted and turned the idea. In a matter of days, the Geezer Squad—a group of law enforcement retirees who work those cold cases that keeps them up at night barged into my imagination. This pushy group of retirees practically upended my current work-in-progress. Surprisingly, I discovered during my research that some police departments actually have Geezer Squads working on contract—retirees tasked with working cold cases.

You will notice that I have named my new series The Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. A retired FBI agent, my protagonist is a young retiree. Chris is in his mid-forties and the single father of three little girls. His wife died in a terrorist attack in Nice, France (more about that in Winter Frost). After the sudden death of his father, a retired state police captain, Chris returns home to the family farm to live with his mother, a library director.

At his mother’s insistence, Chris agrees to attend a book club meeting at the library with Elliott, one of his late father’s friends. Since the club is made up of law enforcement retirees, his mother, Doris believes he would make some new friends.

As you can see from this excerpt from Ice (the first installment in this series), she had no idea!

Excerpt:

Chris watched Helen hurry out into the cold. A gust of wind ruffled her hair while she yanked open the door and climbed into the car.

“Why didn’t you ask her out?” Jacqui called over to break the memories of adolescent romance flowing through Chris’s mind.

“Why is it that every time a man admires a hot woman, people think they should immediately slip between the sheets?” Elliott asked.

Meanwhile, Bruce was pouring red wine into a goblet. His muscular frame and sun kissed face indicated long days working in his vineyard. Peering at Chris with green eyes, he held out the glass to him. “Taste and tell me what you think, Christopher.”

While Chris tested the wine, Jacqui waved her arm to indicate the work room behind Doris’s office. “I didn’t ask why he didn’t take her into the back room and hook up with her here and now. I asked why he didn’t ask her out. I was thinking about lunch. Your mind went straight to sex.”

Disregarding his colleagues’ conversation, Bruce stared at Chris. “Well?”

“It’s good.” He picked up a cracker which he covered with a slice of cheese from the tray.

“Maybe he didn’t want to be pushy.” Elliott handed a paper plate to Chris. “It isn’t like he doesn’t know where to find her. Her daughter works here.” 

Chris set his copy of the book down on the table to fill his plate with Swedish meatballs, and cheese and crackers. 

“Good?” Bruce’s expression was similar to that of a man who had just lost his job, home, and family. “He said it was… good?”

Cursing under her breath, Jacqui struggled in setting up the computer and monitor for the remote hook up. Ray snapped instructions to her from a speaker phone.

Sitting down to eat, Chris noticed that he was the only one who had a copy of the book that Elliott had said they were covering that evening. Everyone else had folders and binders. 

Must be some heavy-duty reading group.

“Screw it, Jacqui!” Ray said. “Where’s Francine?”

“I’m right here, Ray.” A short woman dressed in a thick winter coat with a furry hat pulled down over her ears ran in from the side entrance. She dumped a book bag thick with folders and notebooks into a chair. “Sorry I’m late!”

With a sigh of relief, Jacqui backed away from the equipment. She moved on to fill a plate with cheese and crackers. 

  “The internet went out at home just as I was leaving,” — Francine checked the settings and pressed buttons on the keyboard — “and my grandson promptly became mildly hysterical. Luckily, all I had to do was reboot the system.”

Jacqui took a sip of white wine from a goblet. With a grin, she held up the glass in a toast. “This Sauvignon Blanc is lovely, Bruce. Delicate but strong. Its sweet taste compliments the hearty boldness of the cheese. Yet, it’s not a wimpy wine either.”

“So you don’t think it’s good?” Bruce shot a glance in Chris’s direction.

Elliott took the seat between Chris and the vineyard owner. “Now, Bruce, not all of us are wine enthusiasts.”

“I said it was good,” Chris said, “which is a compliment.”

“Yeah,” Jacqui said, “he could have said it was bad.” 

The face of a man with a gray beard and thick eyeglasses filled the computer monitor.

“Hey, Ray!” the members of the book group called out almost in unison.

“Nice to see you guys, too.” Ray saluted them. Abruptly, his smile dropped. “Who’s the kid?” 

Francine spun around to notice Chris on the other side of the table. A broad grin crossed her wide face. “Well, it’s about time we got a touch of class.”

“Kind of young if you ask me,” Ray said with a grumble.  

“This is Kirk’s boy, Chris,” Elliott said. “He’s retired FBI.”

“He’s forty-five,” Jacqui said.

“Forty-six,” Chris corrected her.

“Still not even fifty.”

“I’ve got underwear older than he is,” Ray said.

“And he doesn’t know anything about wine,” Bruce said.

“I said it was good. Look, I had no idea this book club was so selective about new members.” Chris started to stand up.

With a hand on his shoulder, Francine, who had rushed to move her seat next to his, shoved him back into his chair. “Elliott says he’s retired FBI. That’s good enough for me.” She leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I’ll do the talking, sweet cheeks. You just keep sitting there looking handsome.” With a salacious grin, she admired his attractive features and let out a moan of pleasure. 

“Chris is Kirk’s son,” Elliott said. “Doris suggested that I invite him to—”

“That explains everything,” Jacqui said with a heavy sigh.

“What explains everything?” Chris asked.

“Doris,” Jacqui said. “Elliott can’t say no to Doris Matheson.”

“I can so say no to her,” Elliott said. “As a matter of a fact I said no to her just today.”

“In reference to what?” Francine asked.

“She asked if I’d gotten a haircut.” Elliott raised his voice to be heard over their laughter. “But that’s not important. Point is, Kirk was our founder, which means Chris here has a right to be a member of our group. Our primary rule for membership is retired law enforcement. Chris is retired FBI. If that doesn’t allow him in, then what does?”

“His retirement is basically only a technicality,” Jacqui said. “He’s too young. Some agency or contractor will make him an offer and he’ll be back out there talking about the Geezer Squad.”

“I’ve said nothing to him about the Geezer Squad,” Elliott said with a crooked grin. 

“What’s the Geezer Squad?” Chris asked.

“Hey!” Bruce sat up straight in his seat. “What’s the number one rule about the Geezer Squad?”

“Never talk about the Geezer Squad,” the group, including Ray on the monitor, said in unison.

One interview question that befuddled me is, “What actors do you envision playing your characters?” Truthfully, when I write a book, I don’t see celebrities playing any of the characters. They come to life as unique personalities all their own. For this reason, I’m stumped.

However, for this guest post, I have done some “casting calls” and found some celebrities who I can see playing the Geezers. 

Christopher Matheson (Chris): Played by Mark Walhberg. Chris Matheson made his career in the FBI working undercover in a variety of covers. From what I have seen, Mark Walhberg is a very versatile actor who has played a wide variety of roles. I’ve seen Walhberg playing roles from sophisticate businessman to oil rig operator. A retired FBI agent, Chris takes care of his family farm, and I have no problem seeing Mark Walhberg cleaning a horse stall. 

Francine Duncan: (Played by Bernadette Peters) Francine is a retired investigative journalist from the Associated Press. Divorced children and grandchildren living with her. Fast talking, she’s a scrappy character who isn’t easily intimidated. In Ice, when Chris leaves the library to follow up on a lead, she jumps up and follows without being invited. Short, she wears big sweaters and hats that she pulls down to cover her ears. She is not a clothes horse. Also, as you see in this excerpt, she has a great appreciation for attractive men. I can see Bernadette Peters with all of her curly hair flying out from under her hat while checking out Chris’s buns as he walks away. Bernadette can easily deliver Francine’s fast-talking lines with great comic timing.

Jacqui Guilfoyle (played by Jamie Lee Curtis): Retired medical examiner from Pennsylvania. Widowed with no children. Lives alone in an elegant home on a mountaintop overlooking Shenandoah Valley. Jacqui is demure and classy. She is described in the Geezer Squad as having long blond hair and being very attractive. Yes, Jamie Lee Curtis has short gray hair, but the more important trait about Jacqui is her intellect and sophistication. Jamie Lee Curtis carries these traits off so well. 

 Bruce Harris (played by Patrick Stewart): Retired attorney general from Virginia. Owns a winery in Purcellville, Virginia. His wife is an architect with her own firm in Leesburg. Has son in college. When I developed Bruce, I envisioned him having hair. I was actually torn between Patrick Stewart and Sean Connery, but have decided on Sean Connery for Elliott, as I’ll explain later. Bruce Harris is the self-described devil’s advocate of the Geezer Squad. He figures the legal angles of their cases. Unofficially, he is the leader because he is a retired state attorney general. He tells them what they need to uncover to bring the perpetrator to justice. Also, as they close in the killer, Bruce thinks ahead to what loop holes the murderer may use to get off. Bruce’s character drips with elegance and breeding. He’s spent his life surrounded by wealth and power, which he knows very well—including the slimy underbelly. It’s a good thing he’s one of the good guys because he uses that knowledge to help the Geezers. Having played this role in Star Trek and the Mutants, Patrick Stewart is a natural. 

 Ray Nolan: Played by Wallace Shawn: This Geezer established the cyberwarfare task force after 9/11. He was shot in the back by a homegrown terrorist and is now wheelchair bound. He lives with his daughter (who shot and killed the terrorist in a Chuck E. Cheese parking lot) and her family. His daughter is one soccer mom you never want to mess with. Many of you may not know Wallace Shawn, the actor I have chosen for this part. But I bet when you see his picture you will know him. Wallace Shawn is one of those faces that you recognize but not the name. He’s got a distinctive voice and terrific comic timing, which is Ray’s strong suit.

 Elliott Prescott: Played by Sean Connery: Founding member of the Geezer Squad. He could tell you what he did before he retired, but then he’d have to kill you. Elliott Prescott’s past is a mystery. In Ice, he reveals a lot of knowledge about the drug trade and how they operate in the area. In Winter Frost, he tells a suspect that he’s with the U.S. Marshals. He’s mysterious and masculine. But he’s got a very soft spot for Doris, the widow of one of his best friends. In Ice, he shows up at a black-tie benefit to sweep Doris off her feet—so James Bond. So, it was only natural that a former James Bond would play him.

 Doris Matheson (played by Michelle Pfeiffer): Chris’s mother is not included in the excerpt above, but she plays a big role in the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and figures prominently in the Geezer Squad. Doris is a sixty-five-year-old ageless beauty—much like Michelle Pfeiffer. It is revealed in Ice that she is a former Miss West Virginia who purposely threw the Miss America pageant so that she could marry Chris’s father. (Chris was born six months later.) She’s

not your average beauty queen. Doris is independent, strong, and intelligent. A take charge type of woman, she starts snapping orders when a woman goes into early labor. When the woman assumes she’s a nurse, she replies that she isn’t, but she did read about how to deliver a baby in a book.

These actors listed are not who I was envisioning while writing the Geezer Squad books. So, when you pick up one of my Geezer Squad mysteries (and I hope you do!), or if you have already read Ice and can think of someone else playing your favorite Geezers, then let me know in the comments section of this blog. It will be fun knowing who you would like to see in a Geezer Squad movie!

Uvi Poznansky presents Virtually Lace - A Virtual Reality Mystery Solved! Cool!

Even before Michael spotted the body, the idea of creating a simulation of the scene occurred to him. At sunset, the panoramic view of Laguna Beach was awe-inspiring. He wondered if he could render it convincingly in his model, the virtual reality model which he had been developing in the back of his garage for months, until the recent acquisition of his software by a military ops company. Could beauty be taken apart without loss of emotional impact? Could its data be synthesized, somehow, into a lifelike experience? In short, could he apply his analytical skills to fool his own senses? 

For now, these were purely academic questions. They occupied his mind, which helped him forget his loneliness. Michael brought his car to a stop at the corner of Cliff Drive and let it maneuver by itself into a tight parking spot. 

In all probability, this evening would be uneventful, or so he thought. It was the end of April. He had nothing to do and no one to do it with. Sitting there awhile, lost in his thoughts, how was he to know that in the coming days he was going to revisit this place, starting at this particular intersection, to examine every possible angle, every conceivable point of view? The shadow of the lamppost grew longer. It prowled over to the pavement on the other side,  where it lost its sharpness. The evening breeze turned overhead with a shriek, only to fall into a whoosh. Michael imagined it whispering, of all things, of murder at dusk. What a crazy idea! Where did that come from?

...Why was he following her? Even if she were in some trouble, it was not his place to save her. This girl needed to be alone, or so she seemed. He should turn back now. He really should. Instead, Michael lowered himself to sit on a bench, and only then did he notice that it was covered with a pile of rags.  

Out of it came a sigh, a deep, heart-wrenching sigh. In the feeble light, Michael could somehow discern heavy eyebrows and a beard. The old man was lying on the bench. He was gazing out there, at the hazy horizon. If despair had a face, this would be it. 

Startled, Michael rose into his feet. It was at that moment that the girl came into view one last time, far below him. She lifted her chin to the moonlight. He imagined how a smile might look on those lips. She kicked off her high-heels. Then, barefoot in the sand, she swung about into the shadows.

...What was that, behind the rustle—farther out—somewhere out there in the darkness? There it was again, a sound so subtle he had to guess at it. Was it a sigh? A muffled cry? Compelled to find out what it was, he hurried down past the white sands, toward the waterline. The waves clashed ashore, their crests laced with foam. And over that pulsing, over the gusts of wind, there was that sound again, only louder this time. It sent a shiver down his spine. 

His shoes were soaked. Michael tossed them away, thinking he would retrieve them in a few minutes. Moving forward over the pebbles and into the shallow water, he had to grip the side of the rock, grip it tightly. 

Waves were coming at him, pushing. A jagged rock formation emerged from the surface just ahead of him. 

At its top was one smooth curve. A hip. Dragged in by a wave, he found himself within an arm’s reach from her. She lay there flat on her back, legs slightly separated. The head was bobbing in the water, half submerged. Greenish seaweed streamed down the dress, swerved into her cleavage, and washed down into her braid. At the tip of it, a brilliant drop of blood was beginning to form...

~~~

Virtually Lace

By Uvi Poznansky

Poznansky grabbed this reader with two issues... There apparently was a murder and that the individual who saw the body was someone working on virtual reality, developing a new model...I have always been fascinated with futuristic advancements, and the idea of virtual reality is so intriguing...

While Michael was contemplating whether or not he could create Laguna Beach within a virtual reality setting, what actually came about was quite different. He had watched an attractive girl run by...and started following her. He didn't know why but before he could catch up with her, she was dead... But he recognized her--her name was Lace.

But he didn't stay or call the police... He struggled with his options, going over whether or not the killer might be watching him right now...or whether he had seen the killer. She was already dead--he had tried to save her. But it was too late... By the next morning he tried to convince himself that he had to forget the whole thing... But the secretary threw the newspaper onto his desk, with the headlines up for him to catch, while she told Michael that their boss wanted to 

see him right away.

https://chirb.it/wp/sKvh1D

(audible scene between Michael and Ash)

Michael was concerned about meeting--this company had been taken over. And Ashley, who was loved by Michael, was not there to meet... She had been personally assaulted but had not shared it with anyone at work. This time, he knew, the boss was going to take advantage of her being absent...and fired her. But it was more than that...they had both been happy and productive in virtual reality simulation, but that had been for games and similar uses...now the company would be using it to serve politics--war.

But seeing an envelop there addressed to Lace immediately caught his attention!  He quietly grabbed it and went on...

Ash was also not surprised she was fired...but she and Michael both agreed that they could go back to working in his garage, if necessary... But when Ash learned about what had happened to Michael, she also became involved in working to solve the crime... Wow, a cozy mystery where unprofessional people work to solve a crime! But with Virtual Reality--A Techno Thriller! Now, that is what I call very cool and extremely exciting to be a part of...

Michael started by developing the area around the crime scene...And entered into place all of the things, people, and action he could remember. Among what he remembered was that he had taken off his shoes when he went into the water to check the body! Soon Michael was back onsite--his shoes could easily have been found by the police...

Instead, they had been found by a homeless person...who was now wearing them and threatened Michael he was not giving them up! The police interceded. But it was easy to realize that Michael had become a person of interest who was now known. He knew he had to work fast and see if he could determine who had actually killed Lace...

As a reader, we actively become involved in building that virtual reality scene, and if we had paid attention as we read, we placed those things into the virtual space...don't panic, I missed quite a few but was reminded as, for instance, two divers who had come out of the water and passed Lace, was entered into the scene... As a fan of all things CSI, I just had to highlight what could now be done on scene to replace the tedious activities of crime scene investigators...

Poznansky builds a steady set of clues, while building a concurrent virtual scene. Each individual, including the villain, is slowly entered into the scene, based upon Michael's research...and the explosive letter he had taken earlier...

Still I was not prepared for whodunit. Who knew that pearls would provide a major clue...but also lead to danger for both Michael and Ash... This is a totally satisfying venture into the use of virtual reality within crime scene investigation. It is new, refreshing, and unique in mystery or police procedure novels and I'm certainly happy to have gained the experience from a writer of multiple genres who keeps surprising me with the scope and diversity of her books. Do search my blog under her name for the books I've been fortunate to read and review... This was the first of this genre for me; it was tense, detail-oriented and indeed gave a whole new perspective to crime solving in books. 

Highly recommended!

GABixlerReviews

Uvi Poznansky is a USA TODAY bestselling, award-winning author, poet and artist. Her boxed set, A TOUCH OF PASSION, became the 2016 WINNER of The Romance Reviews Readers' Choice Awards. Her romantic suspense boxed set, Love Under Fire, reached #44 on the USA TODAY bestselling list.

“I paint with my pen,” she says, “and write with my paintbrush.” She received a Fellowship grant and a Teaching Assistantship from the Architecture department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she earned her M.A. in Architecture. Then, taking a sharp turn in her education, she earned her M.S. degree in Computer Science from the University of Michigan.

Uvi writes across a variety of genres: Coma Confidential and Virtually lace (suspense); Apart From Love and Apart from War (family saga); The White Piano (literary fiction), My Own Voice (women's fiction), The Music of Us (romance), Dancing with Air (romantic suspense), Marriage before Death (thriller), Rise to Power, A Peek at Bathsheba, and The Edge of Revolt (historical fiction with a modern twist), A Favorite Son (biblical fiction), Home (poetry), Twisted (horror), and Now I Am Paper and Jess and Wiggle (children’s books.)

Lauren Carr's Latest Book, Winter Frost, Left Me Breathless! Pre-Order Now Available!

I love being a first reader for best-selling author, Lauren Carr...Months ago I had shared my opinion that I believed she had reached a plateau that placed her along side major authors of today... Her latest, I am thrilled to say, has reached another plateau! What a Happy Dance Event! This book can easily be considered for a fantastic television movie that would showcase both her wonderful story but also a crazy bunch of characters that both drives the story as well as all play important parts in the plot! Including animals and a super computer named Nigel...

Yes, I'm talking about The Geezer Squad! And I can only say that a primary chase scene, with all involved, left me breathless in the magnitude of complexity as well as sheer close, tight maneuvering of the players in working to capture the villains!

Keeping Sterling at his side, Chris and Bruce climbed the stairs to the bank’s main floor. With a quick glance, Chris saw that the woman in the jean jacket was still checking out the brochure case. He put his hand in his jacket pocket to make sure the envelope was still there before they proceeded across the lobby. Chris sensed the woman turning to follow them. Bruce switched his briefcase from one hand to the other to open the door for him and Sterling. 

At the same time, Jacqui, dressed up in a suit, briefcase and all, swept in to grab the same door handle. 

“Thank you very much for your time,” she said over her shoulder while colliding into Bruce. Both briefcases fell to the floor. 

“Oh, I am so sorry! How clumsy of me,” Jacqui said loudly. “I really need to look where I’m going.” 

“No problem, ma’am.” Bruce picked up his briefcase and handed it to her. “Have a nice day.” 

Thanking them, Jacqui shot out the door. Bruce picked up the briefcase she had dropped, and they left the bank. The woman in the jacket rushed ahead of them to see Jacqui climb into the passenger seat of a dark blue Malibu sedan. 

The tires squealed when Doris hit the gas pedal to speed out of the parking lot. Not far behind them, Murphy raced out of the lot on the black motorcycle. Gesturing wildly at the sedan, the woman jumped into the passenger seat of a black SUV and they took off in hot pursuit. 

Burnett and his partner remained in their vehicle while watching the action. The roar of the motorcycle was still fresh in the air when Sterling jerked his leash out of Chris’s hand and galloped to where the woman in the fur coat was climbing into the back of the white limousine. 

An enormous man in a chauffeur's suit held the door open for her and Tristan, who had Spencer on a leash. Barking and yapping joyously, the two dogs circled each other until their leashes became entangled. Tristan fought to part the two dogs. 

“Can you please control your damn dog!” the woman called to Chris, who opened the door of his truck and whistled to the German shepherd from across the lot. “Sterling! Come!” 

Sterling spun around and raced toward the truck. Several feet away, he launched himself to become air-born and landed in the passenger seat. 

“That is no service dog!” the woman complained loudly. “Did he soil my dear princess?” she was asking Tristan when he joined her in the back seat. 

The chauffeur slipped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. He turned left to head for the toll road leading to Washington. 

In the truck, Chris noticed that Burnett and his partner remained in their vehicle—waiting for them to make their next move. 

“Looks like Burnett is sticking with us,” he said into his ear com while turning on the truck. “Tristan, tell me you got it?” Murphy asked over the roar of the motorcycle. 

“Got it,” Tristan said. “I’m going to upload the files to Nigel now.” 

“They never look at the service dog.” 

Bruce reached into the backseat to pat Sterling on the head. Chris was too focused on Burnett in the SUV across from them. 

The two men’s eyes seemed to meet. “He can’t let you go,” Bruce said in a low voice. “You know too much.” 

“Fasten your seat-belt, Bruce. We’re going for a ride.” Chris shifted the truck into drive.

~~~

Winter Frost:

A Chris Matheson Cold Case

By Lauren Carr

I had to give you a taste of the beginning of the chase scene which goes on and on... By the time you get to what is the most climatic scene of the book, readers know all of the characters and watch as each plays a different part in this crucial, and potential, deadly climatic scene...

But let's not get ahead of the story just because I am so excited about the book, LOL...

Chris and his wife, Blair had separated--well, Blair took a job overseas and left the family to continue her career. None of the remaining family were happy, but had begun to make adjustments, when they learned that she had been killed... Since then, Chris became involved with an earlier love and they are all happily living, with Chris and the girls living with his mother on their farm...

But Blair had not been killed. She had been given a memory card that needed to make its way to Washington. It would not be easy since there were powerful individuals who were after that card...Blair had been given new identification and living off the grid for quite some time. Now she was back...

And accidentally was seen by Chris at Pentagon City. He immediately had flashbacks of what had occurred as Blair had decided to go to Switzerland. Even though he was waiting for his mother and friend, he urgently started after her. He spotted a man, obviously undercover to his eyes, and asked him about seeing a blond...but quickly left after no response...Chris was soon on the train platform and saw a man, holding her close, with a gun held against her body... they were headed for the next train...

Chris could see the man's face and knew him! He panicked because he was very well known as an international assassin! He had to get to Blair... Was he only to learn that Blair was still alive, to see her murdered? Chris was separated as the train moved into the station and the crowd moved to enter.

Blair had seen Chris but now there was nothing she could do. Chris moved into position and pulled out the small handgun from his ankle holster and fired into the air to get the crowd out of the way. Blair had been pulled into the train as the crowd panicked and, for the moment, was separated from the assassin.

Mancini's gun had been thrown away as the crowd jostled him, but he didn't need it anymore. Chris had shot him in the head; he was dead... He looked for Blair who was on the train, and she cried out "Chris, I wish we had more time."

Readers, I have just shared about the first chapter...only... If you are saying, wow! You are right! WOW! This book is sensational. Even in that first chapter, you will have learned about villains, and government officials, who will be involved throughout the book...

But nothing interests me more than having The Geezer Squad go into action. For those who haven't previously read their entry into this series, this is a group of retired professionals, from various agencies, who have formed a "book club." Yes, they meet to study true crime...which are actually cold or, in this case, recent crimes. They are amazing as they use their professional skills, expertise, and contacts, to move each case forward to completion...

And then there is Tristan and Nigel, Nigel is a powerful networked computer that Tristan built. Nigel has visited far more "friendly" computers than any hacker...by friendly I mean that he enters other machines so carefully they don't mind (or don't realize) having Nigel visit... But was he good enough to save Tristan when their home was bombed?

From the first chapter to the end, the excitement, the scares, the surprises...and the wonderful characters, simply blew my mind...This is Carr's absolute best, in my opinion. Her move into espionage, terrorism, which reaches all the way into Congress, with one man having enough money to have bought many individual's support... And is willing to kill when needed...

Carr's creativity to expand beyond where she has been before and this book proves her continued growth, in already being a best-seller author. It's amazing to have watched and read her from her very first book, to the one she has coming out next week! I couldn't wait to share how great it is!

I highly recommend you pre-order right now. Fans of Carr will be as delighted as I was... And, if you haven't read her books yet...let me just say she writes multi-genre books that include suspense, action, thrills...and a whole lot of humor, including cute as well as trained professional animals,  that somehow fit in as complementary character activities that just makes her books so much more special. 

Obviously, she's a top favorite for me and this book has to be placed at the top of my personal favorites!

GABixlerReviews

Search "Lauren Carr" on my Blog to read reviews of many of her previous books/series! Surely, you can't afford not to take a chance and read one of her books! I'll even do the happy dance again! LOL