Murder by Misdirection by Debra Snow releases on June 21, 2019
Book Blurb: A magician booked for murder. His detective daughter on the case. Are his cries of innocence all smoke and mirrors? Prophecy “Pro” Thompson is a NYPD homicide detective investigating a murder at a magic store. At the crime scene is a suspect: Max Martin aka Max Marvell, Las Vegas magician and Pro’s biological father, who walked out years earlier. Things become tricky for Pro, when Max uses his prestidigitation to involve himself in the case as well as romance his ex-wife, Pro’s mother. She also meets security officer, Luther Ardoin who makes her wonder if he could be ‘the one’ to fill her lonely life? With the clock ticking and the body count rising, can Pro pull back the curtains to unmask the killer? If you enjoy a strong female protagonist, and a story mixed with crime, romance and comedy, you will love Debra Snow’s first novel.
Book Excerpt: “That’s Albert Floss, the owner,” Pro stated sadly. “You know him?” Chu frowned. “Yes, that case about a year ago? He was one of the magicians at that magic club we busted.” “Right, Magic Over Manhattan. I remember,” Chu replied, then turned to the uniformed officer. “Tillie, is forensics called in?” “Yes, sir. They’re coming from another scene. Going to be delayed.” “All right,” Chu said and walked around the corner of the glass cabinet to crouch low near the body. Pro leaned in. “Ligature around the neck,” she noted. Chu carefully opened the collar of the man’s shirt to look at the line of red skin around his neck, and picked up a two-foot-long red rope that lay on top of the man’s open vest. “Here’s our murder weapon.” “Let me see,” Pro said and took the end of the twisted braid in her hand. “No, this isn’t it.” “Huh?” Chu replied. “It’s a rope, and the marks suggest a rope was the murder weapon.” “Yes, but this is magicians soft-cut rope,” Pro explained. “It would be much easier to strangle him with a real rope from a hardware store. This looks nice, but it is basically foam rubber wrapped with a cloth tube.” “We’ll let forensics figure it out,” Chu said and rose. “Tillie, have you verified the ID?” “Yes, sir, it’s the owner, like Detective Thompson said,” she replied “Al Floss,” Pro noted and shook her head as she stood. “He’s been running this place for years.” “Anyone else work here?” “Not from what I can tell, sir,” Tillie answered and looked around the tight quarters. “And I doubt there would be room for two people.” “Where’s the perp?" “He’s there in the back room, which is not much bigger than this one. My partner is watching him, and he’s restrained.” “Good work, Tillie,” Chu said. “Let’s see him.” There was a battered, old red theater curtain in the doorway that possessed a faded glory. Tillie took the detectives to it and pulled it aside. There was a male officer standing and a man in a chair with his hands fastened behind his back. The man had carefully coifed silver hair that had some black still mixed in at the top. He had a mustache with a small beard, commonly called a “van dyke.” He wore black pants and a black shirt with an open collar, and a beautiful black velvet sports coat that suggested a tuxedo. He raised his blue eyes to the detectives. Pro gasped and Chu glanced at her, surprised by her reaction. The man slowly rose from the chair to his full height of six foot two. He brought his hands from behind his back as a pair of manacles clattered noisily to the ground behind him. “Pumpkin!” the strange man stated joyfully, as he opened his arms and took Pro into a bear hug, which alarmed Chu enough that he released his service weapon from his holster. “D-Dad?” Detective Pro Thompson stammered, as the two officers and her partner stared in disbelief. ~