The Wedding Crasher + Giveaway
The Wedding Crasher
by Nikki Stern
on Tour June 1-30, 2019
Synopsis:
A brunette in a bridal gown turns up in Pickett County, Tennessee, throat slit and ring finger missing. She’s the latest victim of the Wedding Crasher, a serial killer who murders women just weeks before their weddings.Samantha Tate is Picket County’s yoga-loving, poker-playing new sheriff, a former Nashville homicide detective who struggles with her inner demons. To catch the meticulous murderer, Sam will have to follow her instincts and ignore her worst impulses. Can she stop the Wedding Crasher before another bride-to-be dies?
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery
Published by: Ruthenia Press
Publication Date: May 8, 2019
Number of Pages: 340
ISBN: 978-0-9995487-3-8
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
My Review
This is the first book I have read from this author. I enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were great and the storyline was good.
Samantha has many layers. I like that she was "damaged". It showed that she was not "perfect" and human. She was relatable. It is because of her past that I believe it helps her with her job. Then there is Terry. He is the love interest to Sam. I like that the storyline was light on the romance. For this story, it works better that the romance was light and not heavy with it as to distract from the overall vibe of the storyline.
The pacing of the story was very good. It kept moving along at a steady pace with no downtime. Also, can I just take a moment to talk about the ending. It is where the intensity ramped up again. It ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the next book and see how Sam and Terry's relationship is progressing as well as see Sam in action again. The only "crashing" happening is when you finish this book after pulling an all nightery reading it!
This is the first book I have read from this author. I enjoyed this book a lot. The characters were great and the storyline was good.
Samantha has many layers. I like that she was "damaged". It showed that she was not "perfect" and human. She was relatable. It is because of her past that I believe it helps her with her job. Then there is Terry. He is the love interest to Sam. I like that the storyline was light on the romance. For this story, it works better that the romance was light and not heavy with it as to distract from the overall vibe of the storyline.
The pacing of the story was very good. It kept moving along at a steady pace with no downtime. Also, can I just take a moment to talk about the ending. It is where the intensity ramped up again. It ends with a bit of a cliffhanger. I can't wait to read the next book and see how Sam and Terry's relationship is progressing as well as see Sam in action again. The only "crashing" happening is when you finish this book after pulling an all nightery reading it!
Read an excerpt:
The dead woman lay in the clearing like a macabre version of Sleeping Beauty. She was dressed in a long-sleeved, high-necked ivory gown, set off by luminescent pearl drop earrings and a matching necklace that almost hid the dried blood around her throat. Her head rested on a satin pillow, her silky walnut hair spread behind her like a fan. The right hand held a bouquet of wilted flowers and rested on her chest underneath the left, absent the fourth finger. The ring finger.
Sheriff Sam Tate stood to one side of the grim tableau, arms folded, and took it all in: the victim; the tall white-haired man who knelt by the body; the deputy who walked the scene in throwaway boots, snapping pictures; the pale young man in running gear sitting on a rock, head almost to his knees; the uniformed officer who squatted beside him.
Sam had dressed in her standard uniform of pressed black slacks and a spotless white shirt. A shaft of early-morning sun bounced off the polished badge at her left breast pocket. On her right wrist, she wore a utilitarian watch. Three small studs twinkled along one earlobe, her single visible concession to a rebellious streak. She’d pulled her unruly dark locks into a tight braid. Ray-Bans shielded her green eyes, though not the line that formed between her brows.
One of the victim’s low-heeled white pumps had dropped off to reveal a slim ankle in hosiery. Stockings, not pantyhose, held up by an old-fashioned garter. Sam didn’t need to look.
He’s back, she thought, adding a curse for good measure.
***
Excerpt from The Wedding Crasher by Nikki Stern. Copyright 2019 by Nikki Stern. Reproduced with permission from Nikki Stern. All rights reserved.
Sheriff Sam Tate stood to one side of the grim tableau, arms folded, and took it all in: the victim; the tall white-haired man who knelt by the body; the deputy who walked the scene in throwaway boots, snapping pictures; the pale young man in running gear sitting on a rock, head almost to his knees; the uniformed officer who squatted beside him.
Sam had dressed in her standard uniform of pressed black slacks and a spotless white shirt. A shaft of early-morning sun bounced off the polished badge at her left breast pocket. On her right wrist, she wore a utilitarian watch. Three small studs twinkled along one earlobe, her single visible concession to a rebellious streak. She’d pulled her unruly dark locks into a tight braid. Ray-Bans shielded her green eyes, though not the line that formed between her brows.
One of the victim’s low-heeled white pumps had dropped off to reveal a slim ankle in hosiery. Stockings, not pantyhose, held up by an old-fashioned garter. Sam didn’t need to look.
He’s back, she thought, adding a curse for good measure.
***
Excerpt from The Wedding Crasher by Nikki Stern. Copyright 2019 by Nikki Stern. Reproduced with permission from Nikki Stern. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Nikki Stern is the author of the inspirational HOPE IN SMALL DOSES, a 2015 Eric Hoffer Montaigne Medal finalist, and the thriller THE FORMER ASSASSIN, a 2018 Kindle Book Review category finalist. Her essays are included in three anthologies and she co-authored the interactive Café Noir murder mystery series, published by Samuel French. Eight of her short stories have been published in various online journals and she was a Mark Twain Royal Nonesuch finalist for her short story “Long Away and Far Ago.” Nikki is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.
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