Inspired By Murder by Audrey J. Cole (spotlight, excerpt, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

Inspired By Murder

by Audrey J. Cole

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GENRE:   Thriller

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BLURB:

To write the perfect story, he needs to commit the perfect crime.

Disillusioned with his day job, psychiatrist Eric Leroy yearns to fulfill his true destiny of becoming a New York Times bestselling author. But there is one thing he lacks to create an enthralling murder mystery: real-life inspiration.

The nation is shocked when a famous Seattle resident and his wife are found dead in their upscale Madison Park neighborhood. It looks like murder-suicide, but Detective Blake Stephenson isn’t convinced. Stephenson begins to suspect the doctor when more people connected to Dr. Leroy turn up dead.

As Stephenson investigates Dr. Leroy, he uncovers a dark, twisted past filled with secrets. Meanwhile, the headlines are reeling with a killer on the loose in Seattle. As the death toll rises, Stephenson struggles to find enough evidence to arrest the doctor—before he kills again.

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EXCERPT

  

No sooner had he started typing when he heard the familiar sound of his neighbor's drums pulsating through the wall. He tried to tune it out, but the beat grew louder, faster. He couldn't think straight.

He needed total silence when he wrote. He found any noise, even classical music, a total distraction that blocked his creative pathways. While he would've loved to get lost in his favorite AC/DC album while he crafted his novel, that is exactly what his novel would be if he did: lost.

In his book, On Writing, Stephen King tells how he cranks head-banging hard metal while he pens his manuscripts. Eric was in awe of this. For him, that would be utterly impossible. His genius was best unleashed in the quiet.

His neighbor never drummed this late. At least, he never did until Eric asked him not to. The throb of the drums felt like it was coming from inside Eric’s head. He couldn't take it anymore. He jumped out of his chair and marched down the hall to his door. He banged twice. Then again. But the drums didn't stop. He banged again, but his neighbor probably couldn't hear it over his obnoxious drumming.

Eric took a deep breath and tried to calm down. But his anger about Dwayne's arrest, his new dud of a secretary, and his neighbor's relentless drumming was an overwhelming force he could no longer contain.

He had tried to be nice. If his neighbor had answered the door, he would've politely asked him to stop. But now he had forced his hand. There was only one thing left to do. Eric turned back for his apartment to retrieve his gloves, lock-picking kit, and something he could use to strangle the drummer.

 Amazon link

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Audrey J. Cole is a registered nurse and a writer of thrillers set in Seattle. After living in Australia for the last five years, Audrey now resides in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and two children.

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My review:

3.5 out of 5 stars

“Inspired by Murder” by Audrey J. Cole is part of the ‘Emerald City Thriller’ series and is a suspense thriller set around a psychiatrist, Dr. Eric Leroy. An aspiring writer, Dr. Leroy decides to conduct in-depth research on his chosen genre…and gets carried away.

This dark story starts slow and a bit ponderous but it builds in momentum with intriguing twists and surprising revelations. The doctor is not a personable guy, but he does provide an interesting slant on the premise of getting tired of one’s job and needing a change. I think the author did a good job of allowing the reader to see the slippery slope of becoming immersed in one’s research but some of the doctor’s actions strained my credulity a bit and his separation from reality was chilling, especially with the full-circle nature of his transgressions. Those who are squeamish should be advised that this is a somewhat violent story…but it is a thriller, after all.

A copy of this story was provided to me for review