AVAILABLE NOW!
Purchase at Wings Press
Synopsis of Legacy of Lies:
How would you feel if you received a letter from your estranged father and when you go to see him you learn he has already died? This is exactly what Katelynn Dobbs faces when she returns to her old home town of Comstock, Utah. She begins searching for the truth and puts herself in danger by uncovering secrets from the past.
Returning to town means facing Walt Jefferies who crushed her heart in high school. Walt is desperately trying to bring new business to the dying town of Comstock and Katelynn's appearance causes him trouble not only with the town but with his heart.
Excerpt from Legacy of Lies:
The jolt of the car knocked the wind out of Walt Jeffries’ lungs and laid him flat against the cold pavement. The blow to his forehead left his vision reeling. He closed his eyes. Something warm trickled down his tingling arm.
Damn. He and his two brothers had only been back in town twenty minutes after being out on the desert for two weeks. Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. But he had to be back to meet with Recyclon in the morning. It had to be about the most important meeting the town would ever have. Opportunities like this didn’t come along every day. Recyclon would either buy up the Jefffries’ mine slag to recycle into cement and concrete, or turn to the Tintic District. And God knew Comstock would surely die if that happened. The whole town was depending on him to get a contract and bring some life back to the dying little town. He had to be at that meeting in the morning, regardless. He tried to catch his breath, but he couldn’t even open his eyes.
A frightened woman yelled for someone to get an ambulance.
"There ain’t any in Comstock, lady. No law neither," somebody said with a laugh.
Walt tried to place faces with voices, but he couldn’t. What’s the matter with me? He knew everyone in town. He had to do something. He couldn’t let Taylor and Adam think their older brother was an idiot for stepping in front of a moving car. But when he’d seen Mary Thompson’s lamb run out into the road, he didn’t know what else to do. Why didn’t Mary keep her silly pets off the street? This wasn’t the first time the little woolly bugger, or one of Mary’s other pets, had caused an accident. But despite his attempt at saving it, he didn’t think he had.
He felt the woman’s soft, shaky fingers lift his wrist and feel for his pulse.
Dammit, are you going to let them cart you off to the hospital like some limp pile of horseturds?
The woman’s hair brushed against his cheek, and he opened one eye slightly. He knew he looked and smelled bad. He hadn’t had so much as a spit bath since he left for the desert. Her lips came down close to his, and he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a big full kiss on the mouth.
The woman gasped, jumped to her feet, and stared at him in shock. His brothers bellowed with laughter as they helped him to his feet. His legs were like rubber bands, but he wasn’t about to act hurt in front of Taylor and Adam, or the rest of the townsfolk who were now gathering. For some damn reason he’d ended up with everyone in town counting on him, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.
"Are you okay, big brother? Your arm’s pretty bloody." Taylor pulled at Walt’s shirt sleeve.
"I’m just fine." The dead lamb caught Walt’s whirling vision, and his stomach lurched into his throat. He wondered how he would break the news to Mary. At her age, something like this could bring on a heart attack. He took a few unsteady steps.
"What a horrible, awful trick." Katelynn stomped off toward her car.
"Wait a minute, lady." He felt like a big, stupid jerk, but his mind seemed to reel, and he couldn’t get his bearings. He limped over and reached for the woman’s arm, trying to apologize. She whirled around, her strawberry-blonde hair bouncing.
The minute he looked into her green eyes, he recognized Katelynn Randle. The realization knocked the breath out of him harder than the car had done. What the hell is she doing here? < xml="true" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" prefix="o" namespace="">
Reviews:
Book Review done by:
Alan Christopher Williams
The Book Reviewers
This novel by Cindy A. Christiansen is a book of non stop action that will surely be a page turner. With characters that entice and interest the reader and a plot that will keep you hooked until the last sentence, this is a must read book.
I was privileged to have the chance to read it before it was actually printed and I am pleased that I was able to be one of the first readers. This book is definitely worth the read and will leave you excited for books to come.
This book is enjoyable because of the characters actually being real to life, not the romantic hero that everything falls into place for. Katelynn the main character is a character that proves herself page after page, especially in the face of opposition brought forth by other characters like Walt and Millie, people purported to be her friends and family.
This book follows the journey of Katelynn as she tries to discover and reconcile her past with her father. To her dismay she finds that he is no longer alive and that she was blocked from all contact with him. For her this shocking discovery is only the beginning of new problems she must face to discover the reality of her past and live to see her future.
What did I really enjoy about this book? I really like the characters that grew and developed throughout the book. I liked the fact that they faced trials and problems like real people, and that they actually had weaknesses like real people. On a personal note I really enjoyed the small town setting that was masterfully represented giving the novel an even more realistic structure. Also the length of this book is just right. The author didn’t need to write an encyclopedia length book to give a great story.
Things that I didn’t like would actually end up as being a part of the enjoyable aspects of the book. I hated characters that were so hard headed. I wished that they would just grow up and realize what the real problem they faced was.
In a word this book is good. Overall well written and the start of a promising career for Cindy A. Christiansen.
I give it a rating of 4 out of 5. It is worth the read, especially for readers who don’t usually delve into the Romantic Suspense category.
~ * ~
Five out of Five Pawprints
A romantic suspense mired in the bog of deceit. A true chronicling of the damage done by lies. The author shows the pain and suffering inflicted by people who fail to realize keeping secrets causes damage, both to the liar and to the lied to. A young woman with a uniformed past tries to find the father she believed abandoned her when she was a child. Katelynn Dobbs returns to the town of Comstock expecting to find her father. What she finds is a love she thought not returned and a web of lies that entraps everyone in the little backwater town.
In Legacy of Lies Ms. Christiansen sustains the sexual and suspense tension throughout the book to the very last line. Fans of both mystery and romance will enjoy this tale.
A. Dee Carey
Foxpaw Reviews
Awards:
Romance Writers of America, Heart of the West, Honorable Mention, Speculative Fiction/Suspense
Romance Writers of America, Golden Pen, Honorable Mention
Buy it at Wings ePress, Inc.:
Legacy of Lies
A Romantic Suspense
ISBN: 978-1-59705-291-7 (e-book)
ISBN: 978-1-59705-739-4 (paperback)