Red Bride’s Noose by Alexandra Swistak
Being a girl in a Sikh family can be a real killer.
Camille Hayer should be preparing for a job interview—not ordered to pack her bags for a
cousin’s wedding in rural Orissa. India is the last place on earth she would go to willingly; it’s where her sister disappeared thirteen years ago.
On arrival, Camille’s bag is brutally snatched and her family is more concerned about catching a train. No ticket, no passport, and adapting to third world conditions is the least of her worries when a body is found in the sugar cane stalks.
Without forensic specialists, Inspector Chandra Bhan accepts the monumental task of finding a calculating killer. In the midst of a poisonous agenda, Camille breaks the ban of silence about Samara and a gruesome truth leads her to question everything she knew about her family.
Against this backdrop, Chandra grapples for a motive, but this is a crazy marriage obsessed society and the murder of a stranger is hardly a worthy curiosity. While she treads carefully through ancient rituals, scorching daylight blurs into the night and nothing is as it seems. A second body is discovered, sinister lies unfold and Camille’s father becomes prime suspect.
Then Camille makes a connection, but is she too late to escape the red bride’s noose?
Description
Find more from this author on:
About the author:
She has degrees in education and art history, specializing in Early Renaissance paintings. A dream job move to Asia triggered a career change by the time she returned to Canada. She brings art, travel and an interest in the supernatural to her writing.
What inspired you to write your book?
I have not found many books about women from other cultures who manage to turn oppression and violence into opportunity. So I chose to write about a very closed culture and explore a different kind of outcome for Camille.
Here is a short sample from the book:
Grandmother said, “There is absolutely no such thing as a Sikh homosexual, transsexual, pedophile, or serial killer. Sikhs are advanced and these are low-class things. I would know; I was born in the Punjab!”
“You are so lucky to have been born to us because we are an extremely intellectual family, Camille. You could have been stuck with an ugly Sikh name, but you were given a beautiful Western name. We had to be forward-thinking people to give you a nice name that you can carry with pride,” explained Grandmother.
Camille’s nose began to protrude and her lips curled back as her teeth grew large and sharp. Her spine, arms, and legs began to crack, curve, and elongate. She slowly stretched in her new form as ruptured skin quickly healed over reshaped muscles and bones. In her mind, she painlessly morphed into a fierce werewolf. It would have been a cinch to swallow Grandmother in one big mouthful, but the woman’s flesh was decades past its expiration date. Her shriveled old heart was encapsulated in a protective body as hard as petrified wood, which crossed out mauling, dismemberment and strangulation to shut her up. Grandmother was indestructible, but Camille was creative. She thought of impaling the old woman and tossing her corpse on a rocket ship while gently caressing the imaginary thick hair on her right arm. The idea was so delightful that Camille howled with pleasure. A stick, a ship, and bye-bye Granny.
Related products
-
Paradise Flawed by Jacob Morris
All Mike Hanson wants is a relaxing family vacation in the mountains of New Mexico; time away from his stressful Midland, Texas career and a chance to refocus on family. But the explosion of a gasoline tanker truck and subsequent forest fire not only change vacation plans but his entire life, sending Mike and other survivors on a dash for their lives. Its no accident. He is targeted to be eliminated.
Crucifix Jigsaw Trilogy – Book One by D.N. Leo
Despite her dark past, Madeline finally had her life under control. She was a successful New York journalist. That was until her best friend was kidnapped for ransom.
She thought she could outmaneuver the kidnapper. After all, she was an investigative journalist, top of her field. She could find out almost any information that she wanted. Madeline considered searching for the true identity of a kidnapping computer avatar a task she was more than capable of. She thought she could set her friend free.
That was until she discovered that she was dealing with one of the most mysterious and powerful families on Earth.Ciaran LeBlanc was considered a revolutionary in the pharmaceuticals field. He was powerful, viciously ambitious, and he trusted no one. Unfortunately, for Madeline, Ciaran held the key to information she so desperately needed.Earning Ciaran’s trust was one challenge but the greater challenge lay ahead.It was not a computer avatar she that she had to contend with. It was a hologame war. It was not a identity she had to expose, it was a five-century-old-secret. A secret that was the key to the past, and the future of humankind.
Within the secrets, greed, and hatred, Madeline also discovered love; that she was capable of loving. But this came at a cost – one Madeline never had imagined.
At Their Own Game by Frank Scalise
Jake Stankovic has been flying below the radar for years, dealing safely in stolen property crime with his two-man crew. But times are tough, so he decides to step up to the big money with a drug deal. Everything that can go wrong, does. The deal goes bad, a vengeful detective sets his sights on Jake, one of his crew might be a turncoat, and a woman from a long past affair suddenly reappears. All of this would be complicated enough on it’s own, but for Jake, it’s even worse.
The woman is the detective’s ex-wife.
And Jake Stankovic used to be a cop.
Now Jake must face new problems and old vendettas in an all-in proposition with lives on the line. He has to find a way to get his money back, keep the girl, and beat everyone involved…At Their Own Game.
On the Inside by James Kipling
Detective Hazel Hanson is one of the best in her field. Her headstrong and stubborn approach has proven itself in every solved murder case in New York City. But all of that changes when she is given the responsibility of solving The Slitter Case. Unaware of the true dangers that lie in wait for her, Detective Hanson attempts to find the man responsible for the brutal killings of several women in New York City. The scales begin to tip when FBI agents storm in to assist with the case. Among them is Special Agent Owen Jones, the only person Hazel has ever loved and whose sudden reappearance after five years threatens to jeopardize her sanity. As she battles with her own inner demons, the case and her life begin to spiral out of control. This young detective is unprepared for the hidden dangers that lie on the other side and unaware that her life now hangs in the balance.
Invasion of Privacy and Other Short Stories by Jim Liston
Invasion of Privacy
If you’re the person who murdered my wife and think you’ve gotten away with it, think again. I’m looking for you, and I’ll eventually find you.
Is it wrong for me to try and find the person who ruined my life, even at the expense of stealing a few moments of someone’s privacy? If I invade a person’s privacy without them knowing it, what’s the harm? I guess it all comes down to the question of whether I’m willing to risk the consequence of going to jail if I’m caught. I am. What do I have to lose?
The other stories included are:
The Tourist Attraction
I’m sick of it. Every day there’s a group of them tourists, standing by my fence watching us, pointing and whispering. I don’t know what started it, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna put up with it much longer.
A Novel Murder
“I’m going to kill her today,” he said, “I’ve had her tied up in the basement for three days; it’s time to end it.”
The Doctor’s Pet Fly
A fly only lives for about a month. It seems like a waste of time to train a fly and then have it die after only a month. Maybe he’s found a way to keep them alive longer. He is a doctor, after all.
The Show
Rita looked around at the crowd of smiling, excited faces, concentrating on every detail to commit it to memory; she didn’t want to forget any of it. She shouldn’t have worried; she would remember this for the rest of her life.
Carl and Tabitha
Carl hated his boss and was determined to find a way to get even with him.
Tag, You’re It!
We looked across the valley at a breathtaking scene of red lakes and forests of blue and orange that were alive with activity.
Before They Come Back
Running his claw-like hand along my spine while making an odd whistling noise that I surmised to be their way of communicating, I began to realize they were preparing to cut me open.
Justin’s Love
When Justin first saw Lucille, it was love at first sight. He knew that she was perfect for him. All of his friends and co-workers were envious; she was beautiful.
Ronnie and the Smoke Bomb.
I didn’t tell Ronnie the police had found him sitting on the curb near the car, crying. They said he was sitting there mumbling, “It’s only a smoke bomb.”
Return to Hillsville-John Twait Mystery Series by Tony Rehor
John and Sarah Twait are living the retirement life to its fullest. Escaping death just weeks before their last day at the Hillsville Police Department the aging couple now has a different lookout on life. Clambakes, and relaxing nights on the beach are penciled in for the couple’s foreseeable future. The aging retired couple have a do nothing life, where coffee and beer are in perpetual rotation. A relaxing atmosphere and an open afternoon make for a healthy relationship environment. The harmony is slowly rebuilding in their blistering relationship and finally the Twaits may be honorable.The burninghot Bermuda sun has changed the pale Nebraska raisedSarah Twait into a gorgeous golden goddess and John Twait is loving every minute of it. He would let nothing come between him and his cowgirl. John, softened by the constant beer intake and lack of an alarm clock, continues his lust for women. John and Sarah’s erotic wishes are on hold. They must take with them their rekindled love hoping the flame continues to burn in a cold Nebraskin winter. Mike Yeager, John’s replacement as Hillsville Chief of Police, is in trouble. The Twaits’ young friend is being held on the charge of first degree murder in the death of Rose Tiddle, John Twait’s former mistress.
Normal for Norfolk (The Thelonious T. Bear Chronicles) by Mitzi Szereto (co-authored with Teddy Tedaloo)
Pub landlords are being murdered in Norfolk!
Thelonious T. Bear, ursine photojournalist, leaves behind the big city life of London to take an assignment in the Norfolk countryside, where he hopes to find the real England. Instead he stumbles upon gastro-pubs, crazed Audi drivers and murder. As the hapless Thelonious keeps ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time, he attracts the attention of Detective Chief Inspector Horatio Sidebottom of Norfolk Constabulary CID, who’s determined to tie Thelonious to the crimes. Add in a pair of hoods from London’s East End, celebrity TV chef Paolo Louis Black, and plenty of oddball local characters and it all adds up to a madcap journey through England’s most quirky county, where everything is normal (for Norfolk)!
A Family Apart (Imposters Trilogy) by T.K. Crowtten
Arvin has spent his whole life doing everything possible to make his wife Sarah happy. Putting her in the lap of luxury and tending to her every need has not helped her to find peace with the loss of a son many years ago.Searching for their son over the years has worn on her… deep down she can’t live with the thought of her son being out there somewhere, where she can’t reach him. Or worse… dead in a ditch or unmarked grave, with no one to visit him.Tragedy has struck the Kendrick estate. Out of shadows help presents itself, can it be trusted?After all this hurt is it possible that a family apart can be brought back together with the return of the lost son? Could it really be him?
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.