A big welcome to Jean Rabe as part of her tour with Psst Promotions for The Dead of Sled Run.
But more than chestnuts are roasting.
A raging fire sweeps through the decorated landscape of Sled Run, destroying the home of Chief Deputy Oren Rosenberg and killing two.
An accident? Or did something toxic fuel the flames?
Sheriff Piper Blackwell and Detective Basil Meredith believe Oren was targeted and are tasked with finding motive and means before more than the holiday burns bright.
With many clues reduced to ashes, can Piper and Basil catch the culprits before they strike again? Or is this blaze just the start of the most murder-filled time of the year?
Publisher: Boone Street Press (November 13, 2023)
Publication date: November 13, 2023
Language: English
Print length: 316 pages
Buy link: https://mybook.to/DeadSledRun
Excerpt
The antiseptic smell clung heavy in Millie’s nostrils. She hated it. She also hated the polished floors—looked like terrazzo—that gleamed dully, and the lighted monitors near the bed, and the tube that delivered oxygen from the wall, and the other thin tubes that dangled from a stand and dripped some sort of liquids into her grandfather Oren Rosenberg.
Or, rather, she hated the circumstances that had landed him in this ICU burn unit.
She hated all the bandages, too, that obscured almost everything but his mouth and closed eyes. The only thing she didn’t hate was that the doctors said he’d survive this … “but it would be a challenging road to recovery.”
They’d only just let her in to see him, probably tired of watching her pace in front of the nurses’ station in her deputy’s uniform. She knew she’d made a few of them nervous.
Millie had to don a disposable white jumpsuit that looked like something out of an old sci-fi movie. PPE they called it, Personal Protective Equipment, intended to shield her grandfather from any contagion she might bring in.
She’d called Sheriff Blackwell a few minutes ago to relay the guarded good news, and to tell her “no flowers.” Those weren’t permitted in his room. Balloons were okay. Piper had told her to take the next week off with Oren, that her shift would be covered. Millie had spotted a small motel two blocks away and would book a room. Across the street from the hospital was a place called Vintage Threads, which looked to be an upscale secondhand shop; she’d stop there for a few changes of clothes. She’d get toiletries and aspirin—to fight her killer headache—from the little pharmacy on the first floor. Maybe they had Coke or Pepsi. Cold caffeine soon would be a seriously good idea.
Millie plopped in an uncomfortable high-backed green vinyl chair near the foot of the bed and set her breathing in time with Oren’s, studying the rise and fall of his chest. The most important person in her life, it made her throat painfully tight seeing him like this. Sixty-six, her grandfather was a hale, powerfully-built soul, so full of life and purpose that he’d probably remain with the sheriff’s department until his last breath. She shivered at that thought. He looked weak now, a few steps above death.
Liquid continued to drip down the tubes. The whisper-hiss that she heard was probably the oxygen flowing into his nose.
Millie’s mother had issues with alcohol and reckless behavior. Her estranged father was a chaotic free spirit fishing somewhere in Alaska. Oren had raised her and paid for most of her college education. She’d joined the Spencer County Sheriff’s Department shortly after gaining her Master’s in the spring because law enforcement intrigued her and she thought it might help pay Oren back. He encouraged her to pursue a law degree, which she had put a dent in by taking online courses in her spare time.
But Millie liked being a deputy, didn’t know if she remained serious about practicing law. Twenty-five, she had years to settle on something.
“Get better fast, Pops,” she whispered. “Please.”
The Dead of Sled Run is book five of the Piper Blackwell Series. Want to read the series in order? Check it out on Amazon.
Prefer audio? The Piper Blackwell series is in audio, read by Catherine Wenglowski. Start with book one of the series, The Dead of Winter
Love the Piper Blackwell Series and want to keep up with Jean’s latest works? Sign-up for her newsletter here and follow her on Amazon or Bookbub.
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About the Author:
USA Today best-seller, Jean Rabe’s impressive writing career spans decades, starting as a newspaper reporter and bureau chief.
From there she went on to become the director of RPGA, a co-editor with Martin H. Greenberg for DAW books, and, most notably, Rabe is an award-winning author of more than forty science fiction/fantasy and murder mystery thrillers.
She writes mysteries and fantasies, because life is too short to be limited to one genre–and she does it with dogs tangled at her feet, because life is too short not to be covered in fur.
Find out more about her at www.jeanrabe.com
Drops of Ink 
My favorite small town mystery is The Secret of Willow Inn by Pat Nichols.
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Kinsey Millhone is my favorite Female Crime Fighter.
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