St. Claire’s Blues by Ili Mais
In St. Claire, a small quiet town in the mountains of Pennsylvania, old millionaire McKennen is found dead in his mansion under suspicious circumstances. The investigation starts, and the incident sets in motion a chain of events that turn the town upside down. Peaceful St. Claire is not what it first seems.
A cleaning lady in possession of an expensive antique from McKennen’s house. A corrupt lawyer who is trying to profit from the millionaire’s death. An out-of-towner who breaks into the mansion to make a quick buck. A businessman-turned-preacher who performs an exorcism at McKennen’s on the night of the old man’s death. Obnoxious hunters, bullies, drug dealers, and a greedy bear roaming the town seeking revenge—everyone is at war with life and themselves. The characters’ lives get intertwined in the most peculiar way. And the town waits for the answers: what happened to the millionaire and who will inherit the fortune?
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AmazonAbout the author:
Born and raised in Eastern Europe, at the age of 20 Ili Mais packed a suitcase, bought a one-way ticket to the US and flew across the ocean. Since then she has lived in India, hiked the Himalayas and all around Asia, climbed some of the highest dunes of the Namib Desert in Africa, traveled and worked with a carnival and lived with a group of friends on a marijuana farm.
Today Ili Mais lives in a small town in the mountains of Pennsylvania, making art and writing.
What inspired you to write your book?
When you find yourself in strange places, surrounded by unusual people, get to know it all better, and realize that life is stranger than fiction—you just have to share the stories with others.
Here is a short sample from the book:
Her name was Maya.
He kept looking at her, already turning around, walking towards the door, and still turning back to catch a glimpse of her. He often looked for that spark. All the parties he had been to, he would look at girls and think that maybe that would be the one. But he would never expect that the spark would hit on a random Sunday, at three in the afternoon, in a small town in the middle of nowhere.
He didn’t know it yet but that afternoon marked the beginning of his obsession.
Lushan left the Coffee Shop, confused, baffled, walked down the streets, fighting the wind and rain drizzle, but not feeling the cold. His thoughts went back to the coffee shop, entangled in those chestnut waves, those deep dark eyes that pierced his soul in some strange uneasy way.
For a minute he forgot all about that stormy night in McKennen’s house.
For a minute he didn’t think he lived in a dump, with no friends, zero prospects.
For a minute he got confused with where he was going.
But he knew he would be back at Coffee Shop to see that girl again.
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