Cut Short
by Leigh Russell
on Tour Nov 25 - Dec 31, 2013
Published by: HarperCollinsBook Details:
Genre: Mystery & Detective; Women Sleuths
Publication Date: Nov 26, 2013
Number of Pages: 300
ISBN: 9780062325594
Purchase Links:
Synopsis:
The park - a place where children play, friends sit and gossip and people walk their dogs. But in the shadows, a predator watches, waits - and chooses his first victim. But someone has seen the killer and come forward as a witness - someone who the killer must stop at all costs. For detective Geraldine Steele it is a race against time to find the killer as two more bodies are found. A gripping psychological thriller introducing Geraldine Steel, a woman whose past is threatening to collide with her future.Read an excerpt:
He scrabbled at brittle leaves with clumsy gloved fingers then, crouching low, wriggled through the bushes. He glanced around to make sure no one was watching before he trudged away along the path. He'd been clever, careful to leave no clues. No one would find her in the park. It was his secret, his and hers, and she wouldn't tell. He had no idea who she was, and that was clever too. It meant she didn't know who he was.
He hadn't chosen her because she was pretty. He hadn't chosen her at all. She was just there. But she was pretty and he liked that. No woman had looked at him since school; she had stared into his eyes. She only said one word, 'No!' but she was speaking to him and he knew this was intimacy, just the two of them. It was a pity he wouldn't see her again, but there would be others. It was raining hard. He sang softly, because you never knew who was listening.
'Sweet the rain's new fall, sunlit from heaven, like the first dew fall, on the first grass, praise for the sweetness of the wet garden...'
The rain would wash her clean.
Author Bio:
Leigh Russell studied at the University of Kent, gaining a Masters degree in English. For many years a secondary school English teacher, she is a creative writing tutor for adults. She is married, has two daughters, and lives in North West London. Her first novel, Cut Short, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award in 2010. This was followed by Road Closed, Dead End, Death Bed, Stop Dead and Fatal Act, in the Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel series. Cold Sacrifice is the first title in a spin off series featuring Geraldine Steel's sergeant, Ian Peterson.
"I grew up in rural Derbyshire, but my adult life has been spent mostly in London, with long intervals in Norfolk and Deal, all inspiring places. I was educated mostly in convent schools; then studied English and went on to qualify as a solicitor, working for what is now the Crown Prosecution Service, thus learning a bit about murder at second hand. Years later, writing became the real vocation, although the law and its ramifications still haunt me and inform many of my novels.
I’m a novelist, short story writer for magazines and radio, sometime Radio 4 contributor, (Front Row, Quote Unquote, Night Waves,) and presenter of Tales from the Stave. When I’m not working (which is as often as possible), I can be found in the nearest junk/charity shop or auction, looking for the kind of paintings which enhance my life. Otherwise, with a bit of luck, I’m relaxing by the sea with a bottle of wine and a friend or two."-Frances Fyfield
