[Book Tour-Review] Scarlet at Crystal River by Randy Overbeck [GUEST POST] [GIVEAWAY] $20 Amazon or B/N GC

 

Scarlet At Crystal River

by Randy Overbeck

GENRE: Mystery

BLURB:

All Darrell Henshaw wanted was to enjoy his honeymoon with his beautiful wife, Erin, in the charming town of Crystal River on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida. Only a pair of ghosts decide to intrude on their celebration. And not just any ghosts, the spirits of two young Latino children. Unwilling at first to derail the honeymoon for yet another ghost hunt, Darrell finally concedes when a painting of the kids comes alive, weeping and pleading for his help.

When he and Erin track down the artist, they discover the children’s family were migrant workers the next county over. But when they travel there, their questions about the kids gets their car shot up and Erin hospitalized. Torn between fear and rage, Darrell must decide how far he will go to get justice for two young children he never even knew.

EXCERPT

Darrell started, “Like I said back there, it’s complicated. We—”

Erin’s side window exploded. The fractured glass shot slivers across the front seat. The sound of an explosion followed a beat behind. Erin screamed. Something stung Darrell’s right arm. He grabbed a cut on his skin and then looked across the seat. Damn. Erin’s arm was bleeding, bad.

He couldn’t breathe. “Erin?” He stared at her for a second and then jerked his gaze back to the road and straightened the car.

Something hit the rear window. Luis yelped. The glass shattered and a second later, another crack followed. Luis fell forward. Was he hit? Darrell’s gaze jumped from the road to Erin to the back seat. Luis had fallen to the floor. Darrell couldn’t see him.

“Luis?” Erin called.

No answer.

Dragging his eyes from the road, Darrell shot another glance at Erin. Her entire arm was now turning red, the edge of her short sleeve wicking up the scarlet. The fingers of her left hand gripped tight around her right arm, the knuckles turning white. The blood still seeped through.

Dragging his eyes from Erin for a second, he turned in his seat to try to look.

GUEST POST

Why set a Christmas mystery in sunny Florida, of all places?

This is one the first questions I’ve received from readers of my new ghost story/mystery, SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER. That is, after they share how much they love the two kids, and the romantic honeymoon, and Luis, and the manatees

And it’s a fair question. 

When you mention a Christmas mystery, images of snow-covered cabins and frosty mugs of hot cocoa spring to mind.

Of feet stomping the frozen ground and breaths expelling a white cloud while questioning suspects. Not swimming in the warm surf or lounging on the porch in only a shirt.

Before beginning the first draft of SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER, I’d read quite a number of Christmas mysteries, from Agatha Christie’s Hercule Parole’s Christmas to Mary Higgins Clark’s The Christmas Thief to Anne Perry’s A Christmas Escape. And all—well, almost all—have a frosted winterscape as their setting. I certainly could have gone that way.

For this third entry in my Haunted Shores Mysteries series, Darrell, my teacher, coach and reluctant ghost sensitive, is taking his wife on their honeymoon over the Christmas holidays. He could easily have chosen some beautiful, snow-covered getaway for their romantic vacation, say Maine or Nova Scotia. But as I pondered my story as I wanted to tell it, I decided I wanted to do something different. I thought it might be fun to explore the holidays in a warmer clime.

Oh, readers will find all the essential Christmas elements—the Christmas shopping and Christmas carols, Santa Claus and beautifully decorated Christmas trees and even a meticulous display of the perfect Lionel Christmas train.

  But, like the other books in my series, they will also encounter a cold case murder—a particularly heinous crime this time—wrapped inside a ghost story with a nice helping of romance and they will discover another beautiful resort location. My tale whisks readers to a quaint, small “old Florida” town on the sunny Gulf Coast they will fall in love with. With Darrell and Erin, they will discover the perfect Christmas presents, attend midnight Christmas eve service, and put donations into the big red kettle of the Salvation army. But they will also run a grueling, but gorgeous 5K through woods, across swamps and along the shoreline. Readers will get to follow Darrell and Erin as they swim with manatees, huge, magnificent, gentle creatures, and play in the gurgling surf on the white sand beach.

“Overbeck’s writing transports you into real-life landscapes and imagined locations with a seamlessness that makes it hard to tell one from the other. The beauties of the Florida Gulf coast, the swampy growth that borders the greenery of well-fertilized fields, the posh interior of an ag magnate’s two story, all create a land that is seen, heard, smelled and felt.”—KRL News and Reviews

Not to mention, readers will help Darrell unravel the mystery of the unspeakable deaths of two young children.

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, which calls for a snowy, blustery Christmas and beyond, we may all pine for a warm, sunny getaway this winter. That would make SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER the perfect Christmas treat.

*I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.*

Scarlet at Crystal Lake is the third book in the Haunted Shores Mystery series. While it can be read as part of the series, I read it as a standalone. There were references and subtle clues back to the first two books, but I found that this book was quite easily read as a standalone, which is great for those that just want to dive right into this book. That being said, I enjoyed this story so I will definitely have to check our the first two novels in the series! 

Scarlet at Crystal Creek is a mystery novel centered around Darrell's life. He can see and hear spirits and when he goes on his honeymoon to Crystal Creek, Florida he's approached by two child spirits that need his help. But, there's danger because someone does not want these two children's fate to be discovered. Needless to say, Darrell's honeymoon is more exciting than he ever would have imagined. 

This novel was filled with suspense, and I was constantly on my toes trying to find out what was to happen next. I blazed through this novel, because I was enraptured by the story and I just needed to know what would happen next. I also loved the added suspense of the ghosts. I wish their would have been more ghost time though, because the child ghosts were intriguing and I wanted to know more about their story. 

I really enjoyed the fact that the author included the plight of migrant workers in this novel. When getting my Masters in Public Health, we had to study migrant workers and their health disparities. Although this novel was based in 1999, the things that are described in the migrant worker settlement are unfortunately still true to this day. I was very grateful that the author decided to bring some of these conditions to light. 

Overall, I would recommend this novel to anyone that loves a good mystery. If you love paranormal mysteries then all the better. I really enjoyed this mystery novel!

Thank you to Goddess Fish Promotions for providing a copy of this book. These opinions are my own, and were not influenced in any way. I was not obligated to provide a review. 

 

Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for more than three decades in a range of roles captured in his novels, from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent. His thriller, Leave No Child Behind (2012) and his recent mysteries, the Amazon No. 1 Best Seller, Blood on the Chesapeake and Crimson at Cape May have earned five star reviews and garnered national awards including “Thriller of the Year--ReadersFavorite.com, “Gold Award”—Literary Titan, “Mystery of the Year”—ReadersView.com and “Crowned Heart of Excellence”—InD’Tale Magazine. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation “Things Still Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.

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Purchase Links 

https://www.amazon.com/Scarlet-Crystal-Haunted-Shores-Mysteries/dp/1509237879/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/scarlet-at-crystal-river-randy-overbeck/1139873947

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57841458-scarlet-at-crystal-river

https://www.bookbub.com/books/scarlet-at-crystal-river-by-randy-overbeck

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

Randy Overbeck will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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