LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS ~ Free today and tomorrow~

[joanhallhovey]

NOWHERE TO HIDE  
SHE DARED TO CHALLENGE A MERCILESS KILLER

EPPIE WINNER~BEST THRILLER

Raised in an atmosphere of violence and unpredictability, Ellen and Gail Morgan have banded together, survivors of a booze-fertilized battleground, forming a fierce united front against an often cold and uncaring world. When their parents are killed in a car crash, Ellen becomes the mother figure for Gail.

When fifteen years later Gail is brutally raped and murdered in her shabby New York basement apartment, practically on the eve of her big breakthrough as a singer, Ellen is inconsolable. Rage at her younger sister's murder has nearly consumed her. So when her work as a psychologist wins her an appearance on the evening news, Ellen seizes the moment. Staring straight into the camera, she challenges the killer to come out of hiding: "Why don't you come after me? I'll be waiting for you."

Phone calls flood the station, but all leads go nowhere. The police investigation seems doomed to failure. Then it happens: a note, written in red ink, slipped under the windshield wipers of her car, 'YOU'RE IT.' Ellen has stirred the monster in his lair … and the hunter has become the hunted!

"If you are looking for the suspense thriller of the year-look no further…you will find it in Nowhere To Hide..."Jewel Dartt Midnight Scribe Reviews

Link here: http://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-to-Hide-ebook/dp/B0045Y2F4G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1331991647&sr=1-1

[Ann in Arlington]

Welcome to KindleBoards, Joan, and congratulations on your book.

(If you've gotten this welcome before, it's just as a matter of housekeeping. We like to put a copy of the "welcome letter" in each book thread.  It doesn't mean you've done anything wrong, it just helps us know that you know the rules.)

A brief recap of our rules follows:

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--You are encouraged to respond to member comments and questions, but remember that you may only bump your thread (back-to-back posts by you) once every seven days.  Once you've responded to a member, that resets the clock to zero and you must wait seven days to post, unless another member posts before then.

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All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum.  Be sure to check it from time to time for the current guidelines and rules.

Oh, and one more thing:  be sure to check out the index threads at the top of the Book Bazaar. . . .there are details there about how you can be listed so that our readers can find you.

Thanks for being part of KindleBoards!  Feel free to send us a PM if you have any questions.

Betsy & Ann
Book Bazaar Moderators

[joanhallhovey]

Welcome to KindleBoards, Joan, and congratulations on your book.

(If you've gotten this welcome before, it's just as a matter of housekeeping. We like to put a copy of the "welcome letter" in each book thread.  It doesn't mean you've done anything wrong, it just helps us know that you know the rules.)

A brief recap of our rules follows:

--We invite you to use your book cover as your avatar and have links to your book and website in your signature. Instructions are posted here.

--Please bookmark this thread (using your browser's bookmark/favorite function) so you can update it as we ask that authors have only one thread per book and add to it when there is more information.  You may start a separate thread for each book (or you may have one thread per series of books, or one thread for all of your books, it's your choice).

--You are encouraged to respond to member comments and questions, but remember that you may only bump your thread (back-to-back posts by you) once every seven days.  Once you've responded to a member, that resets the clock to zero and you must wait seven days to post, unless another member posts before then.

--We ask that Amazon reviews not be repeated here as they are easy to find at your book link.  Also, full reviews from other sites should not be posted here, but you may post a short blurb and a link to the full review instead.

--Although self-promotion is limited to the Book Bazaar, our most successful authors have found the best way to promote their books is to be as active throughout KindleBoards as time allows.  This is your target audience--book lovers with Kindles!  Please note that putting link information in the body of your posts constitutes self promotion; please leave your links for your profile signature that will automatically appear on each post.

All this, and more, is included in our Forum Decorum.  Be sure to check it from time to time for the current guidelines and rules.

Oh, and one more thing:  be sure to check out the index threads at the top of the Book Bazaar. . . .there are details there about how you can be listed so that our readers can find you.

Thanks for being part of KindleBoards!  Feel free to send us a PM if you have any questions.

Betsy & Ann
Book Bazaar Moderators

[joanhallhovey]

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS

SOMEONE WAS STALKING HER. NOW HE'S FOUND HER...

When artist Katie Summers emerged from a four-day coma, she remembered all too vividly the horror of that night - the terrifying dead eyes that had stared back at her in the rear view mirror, causing her to crash her car. But nobody believed her. Even the enigmatic and disturbingly attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea, implied that she had made the whole thing up. Or dreamed it.

Released from the hospital, still weak from her ordeal, Katie took a taxi to her remote farmhouse on Black Lake. Darkness had already fallen. There was only the wind in the trees to greet her...and the cold and empty house.

But the house was not quite empty. Something awaited her, upstairs in her bedroom. Something with cold, dead eyes...

"...a work so accomplished, so fluid and so suspenseful it is difficult to believe it really is a first novel!"-Felix Griffin - Rave Reviews, NY


"Written with the finesse and grace of a master ... a powerful new voice in the world of suspense and mystery..."Cindy Penn -Wordweaving.com

"Have you ever read a book that grabs your attention by the first sentence and never lets go? LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS is exciting, tensed, with elements of mystery, fear, and courage so masterfully woven in one masterpiece that I can't believe this is the author's debut! Grab a copy now, or you'll be missing a great read..."Defelah Morgan - Reviewer's Choice Award

[joanhallhovey]

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS

SOMEONE WAS STALKING HER. NOW HE'S FOUND HER...

When artist Katie Summers emerged from a four-day coma, she remembered all too vividly the horror of that night - the terrifying dead eyes that had stared back at her in the rear view mirror, causing her to crash her car. But nobody believed her. Even the enigmatic and disturbingly attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea, implied that she had made the whole thing up. Or dreamed it.

Released from the hospital, still weak from her ordeal, Katie took a taxi to her remote farmhouse on Black Lake. Darkness had already fallen. There was only the wind in the trees to greet her...and the cold and empty house.

But the house was not quite empty. Something awaited her, upstairs in her bedroom. Something with cold, dead eyes...

[lisarusczyk]

Oooh, sounds so good and creepy. I love creepy. And the cover is awesome!

[joanhallhovey]

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS




Prologue

Beneath his attic room, the house slept.

Stealthily, he made his way along the darkened hallway, stopping at a door with peeling green paint. He fitted the key into the lock, turned it, and heard the familiar scraping of wood on linoleum as the door opened inward. His calloused, blunt fingers then groped along the inside wall to his left, found the switch and flicked it on. Instantly, the cramped space was washed in harsh light from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, revealing a few pieces of scarred, make-do furniture, including a single cot covered by a worn-thin, grey army blanket, drawn so smooth and taut he could have bounced a quarter from its center.

Though shabby, the room was painstakingly neat.

Wearing an air of contained excitement, he strode across the room to where the calendar hung from the wall like a window-blind and advertised A & R Realty in black lettering. He peeled back the months of September and October. Then, taking the pen clipped to his shirt pocket, he drew a red circle around the "5" in the month of November. He saw that the fifth fell on a Sunday. Not that it mattered. He regarded the carefully drawn circle for a few seconds, then dropped the pages, letting them whisper back into place. He moved to the table with its rickety legs that managed to support his double hotplate and serve as his dining table. He opened the table's single drawer, and from beneath a red plastic flatware tray that held only a steak-knife, fork, spoon, can-opener and a butcher-knife, he withdrew a soiled and yellowing envelope. As he shook the photograph from the envelope, his hand trembled.

As he had for many months now, with almost religious dedication, he studied her features, let his gaze travel over her long, shapely body. She was wearing shorts and a halter-top. Her long brown hair blew in the breeze. She smiled out at him in open invitation, her almond-shaped eyes crinkling a little at the corners. Her feet were bare.

The wait was over. Finally. Triumph raced through him, settled like molten lava in his loins. He welcomed the almost painful arousal.

Katie Summers. His patience would be rewarded at last. The debt would be collected.

On November fifth. The day he would kill her.

His eyes lowered to the butcher-knife in the drawer, and he reached in and picked it up. He gripped the black wooden handle, liking the feel - the heft of it. Slowly, thoughtfully, he ran the thumb and forefinger of his left hand over the flat of the blade. Up and down, up and down. Stroking, stroking, until gradually a dull film began to slip over his eyes. Abruptly, the rhythmic movement of his hand stopped. His eyes cleared. He tossed the knife back into the drawer where it clattered to silence.

No. That was not the way he would do it. It felt wrong. And everything must be exactly right. He'd waited a long time.

As his gaze returned to the girl in the photograph, inspiration flashed in his mind. Yes, there was a much better way. A perfect way. A slow smile spread across his features - one that entirely missed his pale, cold eyes.

Ah, yes, Katie Summers, he thought. You will most definitely be worth the wait.


***



multiple threads and new post merged into one.

[joanhallhovey]

My publisher has made one of my early suspense novels 'Listen to the Shadows' free via the Kindle Select Program.  Just click on the cover image below.  I hope you'll check it out and have a look at my other novels as well.  Thanks and have a very happy holiday and a great year in 2012!

Joan

NOTE: There's still time to give the perfect present--ebook gift certificates from a amazon.com


new post again merged with existing thread

[joanhallhovey]

LISTEN TO THE SHADOWS

SOMEONE WAS STALKING HER. NOW HE'S FOUND HER...

When artist Katie Summers emerged from a four-day coma, she remembered all too vividly the horror of that night - the terrifying dead eyes that had stared back at her in the rear view mirror, causing her to crash her car. But nobody believed her. Even the enigmatic and disturbingly attractive psychiatrist, Dr. Jonathan Shea, implied that she had made the whole thing up. Or dreamed it.

Released from the hospital, still weak from her ordeal, Katie took a taxi to her remote farmhouse on Black Lake. Darkness had already fallen. There was only the wind in the trees to greet her...and the cold and empty house.

But the house was not quite empty. Something awaited her, upstairs in her bedroom. Something with cold, dead eyes...

EXCERPT:


Beneath his attic room, the house slept.

Stealthily, he made his way along the darkened hallway, stopping at a door with peeling green paint. He fitted the key into the lock, turned it, and heard the familiar scraping of wood on linoleum as the door opened inward. His calloused, blunt fingers then groped along the inside wall to his left, found the switch and flicked it on. Instantly, the cramped space was washed in harsh light from a single bulb hanging from the ceiling, revealing a few pieces of scarred, make-do furniture, including a single cot covered by a worn-thin, grey army blanket, drawn so smooth and taut he could have bounced a quarter from its center.

Though shabby, the room was painstakingly neat.

Wearing an air of contained excitement, he strode across the room to where the calendar hung from the wall like a window-blind and advertised A & R Realty in black lettering. He peeled back the months of September and October. Then, taking the pen clipped to his shirt pocket, he drew a red circle around the "5" in the month of November. He saw that the fifth fell on a Sunday. Not that it mattered. He regarded the carefully drawn circle for a few seconds, then dropped the pages, letting them whisper back into place. He moved to the table with its rickety legs that managed to support his double hotplate and serve as his dining table. He opened the table's single drawer, and from beneath a red plastic flatware tray that held only a steak-knife, fork, spoon, can-opener and a butcher-knife, he withdrew a soiled and yellowing envelope. As he shook the photograph from the envelope, his hand trembled.

As he had for many months now, with almost religious dedication, he studied her features, let his gaze travel over her long, shapely body. She was wearing shorts and a halter-top. Her long brown hair blew in the breeze. She smiled out at him in open invitation, her almond-shaped eyes crinkling a little at the corners. Her feet were bare.

The wait was over. Finally. Triumph raced through him, settled like molten lava in his loins. He welcomed the almost painful arousal.

Katie Summers. His patience would be rewarded at last. The debt would be collected.

On November fifth. The day he would kill her.

His eyes lowered to the butcher-knife in the drawer, and he reached in and picked it up. He gripped the black wooden handle, liking the feel - the heft of it. Slowly, thoughtfully, he ran the thumb and forefinger of his left hand over the flat of the blade. Up and down, up and down. Stroking, stroking, until gradually a dull film began to slip over his eyes. Abruptly, the rhythmic movement of his hand stopped. His eyes cleared. He tossed the knife back into the drawer where it clattered to silence.

No. That was not the way he would do it. It felt wrong. And everything must be exactly right. He'd waited a long time.

As his gaze returned to the girl in the photograph, inspiration flashed in his mind. Yes, there was a much better way. A perfect way. A slow smile spread across his features - one that entirely missed his pale, cold eyes.

Ah, yes, Katie Summers, he thought. You will most definitely be worth the wait.


***

[joanhallhovey]

NOWHERE TO HIDE Winner of the Eppie Award Joan Hall Hovey




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NOWHERE TO HIDE 
SHE DARED TO CHALLENGE A MERCILESS KILLER

EPPIE WINNER~BEST THRILLER

Raised in an atmosphere of violence and unpredictability, Ellen and Gail Morgan have banded together, survivors of a booze-fertilized battleground, forming a fierce united front against an often cold and uncaring world. When their parents are killed in a car crash, Ellen becomes the mother figure for Gail.

When fifteen years later Gail is brutally raped and murdered in her shabby New York basement apartment, practically on the eve of her big breakthrough as a singer, Ellen is inconsolable. Rage at her younger sister's murder has nearly consumed her. So when her work as a psychologist wins her an appearance on the evening news, Ellen seizes the moment. Staring straight into the camera, she challenges the killer to come out of hiding: "Why don't you come after me? I'll be waiting for you."

Phone calls flood the station, but all leads go nowhere. The police investigation seems doomed to failure. Then it happens: a note, written in red ink, slipped under the windshield wipers of her car, 'YOU'RE IT.' Ellen has stirred the monster in his lair … and the hunter has become the hunted!

"If you are looking for the suspense thriller of the year-look no further…you will find it in Nowhere To Hide..."Jewel Dartt Midnight Scribe Reviews

Link here: http://www.amazon.com/Nowhere-to-Hide-ebook/dp/B0045Y2F4G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1331991647&sr=1-1

[joanhallhovey]

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00466HZPC/?tag=kindleboards-20

Listen to the Shadows by Joan Hall Hovey