Showing posts with label missing child. Show all posts
Showing posts with label missing child. Show all posts

Friday, April 1, 2022

A mother's worst nightmare

“In this third in her Malone mystery series, Gligor ramps up the suspense and offers a host of suspects to keep the reader flipping pages to see what will happen next.”

J.R. Lindermuth, author of the Sticks Hetrick mystery series

“The worst possible thing anyone could image, happened to Ann Kern, the protagonist in Desperate Deeds, the third in the Malone Mystery series. Her child went missing. Ms. Gligor kept me reading well into the night to find out what happened. Her character development is so true to life that I could feel everything Ann did as she searched for her son. The suspense kept me tense and guessing throughout the novel, until I finally let out a breath at the end.”

Evelyn Culletauthor of the Charlotte Ross mystery series


https://tinyurl.com/ydbvjzq5

As Ann Kern starts her new business as an interior decorator, the temperatures have risen, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and there’s a feeling of endless possibilities in the air. She has no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down.

When Janis Riley, a woman for whom money is no object, contacts Ann to redecorate her house, she is elated. But the initial visit with her first client leaves her with mixed emotions. Why did Janis react so strangely to seeing a photo of Davey, Ann’s six-year-old son?

 But Ann has bigger problems. Her husband, David, a recovering alcoholic, has lost both his mother and his job and Ann worries that he’ll start drinking again. To add to her concerns, their next-door-neighbor, Dorothy Baker, is severely depressed but Ann’s efforts to help her are rebuffed.

Ann is terrified when she wakes up the day before Easter to find Davey gone. Another child, Kelly Kramer, has been missing since December. Where are the children? And what, if anything, can Ann do to get her son back?


Sunday, March 28, 2021

An Easter mystery

https://tinyurl.com/ydbvjzq5

As Ann Kern starts her new business as an interior decorator, the temperatures have risen, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and there’s a feeling of endless possibilities in the air. 

She has no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down.

Ann is terrified when she wakes up the day before Easter to find her young son, Davey, gone. Another local child, Kelly Kramer, has been missing since December. Where are the children? And what, if anything, can Ann do to get her son back?


Thursday, March 19, 2020

Where are the Children?


As Ann Kern starts her new business as an interior decorator, the temperatures have risen, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and there’s a feeling of endless possibilities in the air. She has no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down.

When Janis Riley, a woman for whom money is no object, contacts her to redecorate her house, Ann is elated. But the initial visit with her first client leaves her with mixed emotions. Why did Janis react so strangely to seeing a photo of Davey, Ann’s six-year-old son?

But Ann has bigger problems. Her husband, David, a recovering alcoholic, has lost both his mother and his job and Ann worries that he’ll start drinking again. To add to her concerns, their next-door-neighbor, Dorothy Baker, is severely depressed but Ann’s efforts to help her are rebuffed.

Ann is terrified when she wakes up the day before Easter to find Davey gone. Another child, Kelly Kramer, has been missing since December. Where are the children? And what, if anything, can Ann do to get her son back?




Sunday, April 5, 2015

Step into Springtime and a Mystery


As Ann Kern starts her new business as an interior decorator, the temperatures have risen, tulips and daffodils are in bloom and there’s a feeling of endless possibilities in the air. She has no idea that her world is about to be turned upside down.

When Janis Riley, a woman for whom money is no object, contacts Ann to redecorate her house, she is elated. But the initial visit with her first client leaves her with mixed emotions. Why did Janis react so strangely to seeing a photo of Davey, Ann’s six-year-old son?

But Ann has bigger problems. Her husband, David, a recovering alcoholic, has lost both his mother and his job and Ann worries that he’ll start drinking again. To add to her concerns, their next-door-neighbor, Dorothy Baker, is severely depressed but Ann’s efforts to help her are rebuffed.

Ann is terrified when she wakes up the day before Easter to find Davey gone. Another child, Kelly Kramer, has been missing since December. Where are the children? And what, if anything, can Ann do to get her son back?

Excerpt: 

“Ann wasn’t sure how much more she could take. So many questions. Policemen, plain clothes detectives, all traipsing through their apartment, asking her the same things over and over again. The faces and the questions were all starting to blur together. Her head throbbed and her whole body ached.
She couldn’t stop the thoughts that rushed through her head. There were so many sick, demented people in the world today, people who used and abused children. Pedophiles. Child pornographers. Child traffickers. What if one of them had her son? If I have to lose Davey, God, please let it be to someone who will love and take care of him. Not to someone who will harm him.
Her own questions kept playing on and on in her head too, haunting her. Where could Davey be? Did someone climb into his window and abduct him? The window she had left open all night. How could she have been so careless? So stupid? I want my little boy back!
 
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Happy Easter!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

A Mother's Love


 A mother's love can come from our own mother or, as in this excerpt from Desperate Deeds, it can come from someone who may not be our natural mother but who is always there for us.
     
          Olivia felt so helpless. It wasn’t often that she was at a loss for words but this was one of those rare times. She didn’t know what she could say to Ann to help to ease her pain. What could you say to a woman whose child was missing? That was a parent’s worst nightmare! She hoped her being there would be enough to comfort the woman she’d come to think of as her daughter. Ann’s been through so much. Why did this have to happen?
     “Ann, would you like a cup of tea? It might help you to relax.” The second the words were out of Olivia’s mouth, she realized how ridiculous they sounded. Relax? There was no way Ann would relax until she held her little boy in her arms again.
     Ann looked at her through red-rimmed eyes. “No, Liv. Thank you. I . . . . I can’t right now.”
     “Well, tell me if you change your mind or if there’s anything else I can get you.”
     “I will.”
     Olivia saw that Ann was shivering. She reached behind Ann and pulled the afghan from the back of the sofa. “Here, Ann, put this around your shoulders.”
     Ann gave her a weak smile as she wrapped the afghan around herself and pulled it up to her chin. “I love this afghan. Nana gave this to me when I was a little girl. She said it was for my hope chest. I remember I had to ask her what a ‘hope chest’ was.”
     “Well, it’s beautiful.” Olivia ran her fingers along the edge of the afghan. “It’s so soft and I love the color. Sage green, isn’t it?”
     “It is. Actually, I used this color as the inspiration for decorating the whole room.”
     Olivia smiled. “Well, you did a great job. It matches the green in your sofa perfectly. Did your grandmother make it herself?”
     “Yes. She could knit, crochet, sew and she taught me how to do all of that.”
     “She must have been a great teacher because I’ve seen some of the things you’ve made and they’re incredible. All your own curtains and bedding, the kids’ Halloween costumes. Amazing!”
     Ann nodded. “I owe all of that to Nana.”
     An idea suddenly occurred to Olivia. What if she could get Ann to keep talking about her grandmother? That might help to take her mind off of the immediate situation. “From what you’ve told me, I gather your grandmother was quite a woman. I mean, besides her sewing skills.”
     “Oh, she was! She was a strong and determined woman. I don’t know what would’ve happened to Marnie and me after our parents died if it hadn’t been for Nana. We didn’t have any other family. I guess we would’ve had to go into foster care and we might even have been separated. That would’ve been awful.”
     “Sounds like you were lucky to have her.”
     “Oh, we were. I don’t know if I ever told you this but, after my mother and father were killed in the car crash, Nana sold her house in Dayton and moved in with us. She gave up her friends, all of her church and social activities, everything, to take care of us. She made a wonderful home for Marnie and me. She always put us first. That’s the kind of person she was.” She cleared her throat. “I still miss her every day.”
     Ann began to sob. “Oh, Olivia, I didn’t think it was possible to miss anyone more than I miss Nana. But I miss my little boy more!”
      Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, my stepmother, Helen, and my ex mother-in-law, Marion!

Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Big Day Arrived Early


Well, I was all set to announce that today is the Big Day but it came two days earlier than I expected! Desperate Deeds, the third novel in my Malone mystery series (which can be read as a standalone), was just released. 
          As every author knows, the publication of a new book comes with a lot of mixed emotions. Excitement! My book is out! Relief! All the work, blood, sweat and tears have finally produced a book I can actually hold in my hands! And, apprehension. Will my book sell well? Will people like it? Will they write good reviews? Will they recommend it to their friends? So many emotions!
The first step is to get the word out about my book. If nobody knows about it, how can they order it? To do that, I’ll be posting on various online sites, I’ll tell everyone I know (hope you will too), I’ve set up a local book launch event in April where I’ll be selling and signing copies of my book and I’ve scheduled a one week long blog tour. Here’s the list with links to the blogs of the six authors who have so kindly agreed to help me promote my book.

Monday, March 31 – Marja McGraw
“Writing a Mystery Series”

Tuesday, April 1 - Marilyn Meredith
“Why I Write What I Write”

Wednesday, April 2 – Anne K. Albert
“Hooking Readers”

Thursday, April 3 - Evelyn Cullet
       “Using the Weather to Create Suspense”

Friday, April 4 – Madeline Gornell
http://wp.me/pyLFm-xh
       “The Easiest Part of Being a Writer”

Saturday, April 5 – Marilyn Levinson
       www.marilynlevinson.com/blog
       “When a Child Goes Missing”

I hope you'll stop by to visit with me.
My publisher has temporarily reduced the ebook price of all three Malone mysteries to $2.99 each.
Links to purchase: