"This thrilling mystery has surprising twists that keeps readers guessing until the very end." - Deseret News
Someone is trying to kill Liz Johnson
and it’s up to quirky private investigator, Erica Coleman, to find out who. Erica is no stranger to murder and mystery, which is why her best friend’s
daughter, Megan, turns to her when unaccountable and potentially fatal
“accidents” threaten her roommate’s life.
Once Erica arrives at the ramshackle
old mansion known as Crooked House, matters go from disturbing to deadly as it
becomes clear someone is trying to kill Liz. As
Erica begins to unearth secrets, she discovers a twisted web of love, money,
greed, and deception. Although the police and friends sometimes find Erica’s
OCD annoying, its those very traits that help her sift through evidence and see
clues that others miss. Erica must draw upon her all her investigative prowess
to keep Liz safe and unmask the killer before he can accomplish his deadly objective.
With
a dash of romance and surprising twists, this thrilling mystery will keep you
on the edge of your seat until the very last page. As with all Erica Coleman mysteries,
ten delicious recipes are included.
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Pages: 272
Category: LDS Fiction
ISBN
978-1621085218
Also available in Deseret and Seagull bookstores.
Praise for Crooked House
"I so ADORE the Erica Coleman
series! Delightfully FUN cases of mystery and intrigue!" —Shauna
Wheelwright, Amazon
reviewer
"Ms. Bateman is a bankable
mystery author who consistently delivers complicated whodunnits with crisp
humor and quirky characters." —Laurie
LC Lewis
Enjoy an Excerpt
“I’m scared.”
Erica’s heart
turned over when she heard the quaver in her young friend’s voice on the phone.
Then Megan
asked, “Can you come?”
“Of
course.” Erica’s reply was automatic. She would do anything she could to help.
Although she often received emotionally-laden phone calls in her job as a
private investigator, there was a difference when the call came from the
teen-aged daughter of her best friend. The very fact that Megan—who was usually
so calm and composed—sounded frightened out of her wits, put Erica on high
alert.
“I think
someone’s trying to kill my roommate, Liz,” Megan said.
“What makes
you think that?” Erica asked. “Has someone threatened her?”
“No, but Liz
has had a couple of serious accidents lately—at least she says they’re
accidents, but either one of them could have killed her.”
Erica made an
effort to reel in her skepticism. “Tell me about them.”
“First,
someone tampered with her car. The brakes went out and Liz ended up driving
across someone’s yard and hitting a tree. Fortunately, she was okay. The second
one happened downtown. Liz was on the sidewalk waiting for the bus when someone
shoved her. She fell into the road. A truck was coming and if a guy hadn’t
pulled her back, Liz could have been killed.”
Still, they could have been accidents, Erica thought, at least until the
third one occurred—this time at Crooked House.
Check out the other Erica Coleman Mysteries!
Meet the Author
Marlene Bateman was born in Salt Lake
City, Utah, and graduated from the University of Utah with a BA in English. She
is married to Kelly R. Sullivan. Her hobbies include gardening, camping,
reading, and enjoying her four cats and three dogs.
Marlene’s first novel was the
best-selling Light on Fire Island. Her next novel was Motive for
Murder—the first in a mystery series that features Erica Coleman, a quirky
private eye with OCD. The next book in that line, (they do not
have to be read in order) is A Death in the Family.
Marlene has also written a number of
LDS non-fiction books under the name Marlene Bateman Sullivan. Those books
include: Gaze Into Heaven; Near-death Experiences in Early Church
History, which is a fascinating collection of over 50 documented near-death
experiences from the lives of early latter-day Saints, Heroes of Faith,
and Latter-day Saint Heroes and Heroines. Marlene also wrote three
books about documented accounts in early LDS church history when a person
either saw or heard an angel; Visit’s From Beyond the Veil, And There Were
Angels Among Them, and By the Ministering of Angels.
