This page was last updated on: 6/3/2011
KILLER IN THE WOODS
by R. Barri Flowers
In the town of Bluffs Bay, Washington, a serial killer dubbed by the press as “The Woods Strangler” is killing beautiful women in the affluent neighborhood of The Woods.
In an effort to bring the community together to fight this terror, Selene Herrera, director of a local battered women’s shelter, helps establish a neighborhood crime watch group.
She is newly married to her second husband, Quinn, who is named the director of The Woods Citizens Against Crime group. A best-selling mystery novelist and nonfiction writer, he too is on a second marriage, having lost his first wife to violence.
The Herreras’ life together is threatened when Selene’s abusive ex-husband, Michel Giovanni, shows up in town under the guise of seeking the reward money offered for information leading to the killer. But he soon begins to stalk Selene, wanting her back and determined to have her any way he can.
Selene starts to receive calls from an anonymous caller implicating Quinn as The Woods Strangler. Though she tries to dismiss it, the chilling calls and continued murders unnerve Selene and threaten to undermine her marriage.
Quinn fights the allegations as best as possible, while keeping secrets that he fears could destroy his life with Selene.
She is also faced with the demands of running a battered women’s shelter, including trying to help a battered policewoman and dealing with a fire at the shelter caused by an arsonist.
Selene tries to keep her head above water as the killer prowls the neighborhood and sets his sights on her to join his growing list of victims.
DEAD IN THE ROSE CITY
(A Dean Drake Mystery)
by R. Barri Flowers
A cross between Body Heat and Mike Hammer, Dead in the Rose City is a taut, hard-boiled detective novel where nothing is quite what it seems.
Dean Jeremy Drake, nicknamed D.J., is a Jamaican-Italian private investigator and ex-homicide detective for the Portland Police Bureau. He is six-five, hip, tough, armed with a .40 caliber Glock, and courts danger and romance with equal abandon. These qualities are put to the test when Drake is framed for murder in the midst of two seemingly unrelated cases. The more he investigates, the more he realizes they are intricately and dangerously connected.
It literally becomes a life and death issue as Drake has to use all his detective skills, and then some, to fit all the pieces together in a deadly, high stakes whodunit and why.
REVIEW
“Rose City is an interesting blend of classic film noir and rough, modern black cinema. . . . Quick action and tight dialogue make it a jolting thriller, but it’s also got the psychological tightness of a good mystery puzzle. The clues are there . . . giving you a shot at your own observations. . . . Good book to put on some slow jazz with and relax, letting your brain work on some problems that are nothing like your own.” — Robert A. Sloan, author of Raven Dance
DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL
(A Jack The Ripper Mystery)
by R. Barri Flowers
This is a heart-pounding historical thriller about the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper.
In 1888 in New York City, the search for a killer of prostitutes comes to an end with the capture of Doctor Jack Lewiston, a respected surgeon and a madman. But before he can go to trial, Jack escapes from custody and flees the country to London, England.
Brought out of retirement to track him down is ex-NYC homicide detective-criminologist, Henry Marboro. In charge of the original investigation in the "Ripper Murders," Henry lost his objectivity when his younger sister was one of Jack's victims. Ultimately his obsession to find the killer costs him just about everything dear to him.
Now Henry must find Jack Lewiston and bring him back to Americadead or alivebefore more prostitutes become the victims of the multiple sexual murderer.
In the process, Henry develops an attraction for a mysterious and beautiful American nurse, Loraine Broderick, who is living in London. Unfortunately, Jack also sets his sights on her as a target of his madnessin addition to the streetwalkers in London's East End.
MURDER IN MAUI:
(A Leila Kahana Mystery)
by R. Barri Flowers
This is an original police procedural eBook mystery novel set in the lush, deceptively idyllic tropical paradise of Hawaii.
Maui County homicide detective and composite sketch artist Leila Kahana is the protagonist. A Hawaiian native, Leila follows in the footsteps of her grandfather who was the County of Maui police chief. She is tough, smart, sexy, and outspoken.
Leila’s partner is Detective Sergeant Blake Seymour, separated from his wife and pushing to make lieutenant.
Leila and Seymour investigate the execution-style murder of two prominent doctors in an upscale condominium. Larry Nagasaka and Elizabeth Racine are found lying naked in bed in a pool of their own blood. It is learned that they are married, but not to each other, and that the doctors belong to a prestigious medical association.
Assisting the detectives in the case are fellow members of the homicide squad, Detectives Trent Ferguson and Rachel Lancaster, run by Lieutenant Paul Ortega who is contemplating retirement. As they interview suspects and collect evidence, more doctors belonging to the medical association are murdered, making it clear to all that they have a ruthless and determined serial killer on their hands.
Leila, attempting to step out of the shadow of her grandfather and prove her worth to a skeptical Polynesian mother, is determined to solve this case, made more difficult as all the victims have skeletons in their closets.
Leila’s romantic involvement with Seymour--in spite of her conservative upbringing and the fact that he still pines for his soon-to-be ex-wife--complicates matters.
What sets this series apart--aside from the lush setting of Maui and its distinct areas that are prominent in the book such as Wailuku, Lahaina, Kihei, and Napili--are the colorful, main characters as they painstakingly go through the process of stopping a ruthless killer, with everyone a suspect.
