The Fairest of Them by Heather Osborne
Once upon a time, there was a murder…
Rae Hatting returns in her first, full-length novel, “The Fairest of Them.”
Detective Luke Thompson is a hero cop, with a string of solved serial killer cases under his belt. He comes to California, thinking he can disappear quietly into the forests, isolated from the rest of the world. His expertise is called upon to help with a mysterious serial killer, dumping bodies dressed like fairy tale characters in the woods outside of Mendocino County. With the help of a profiler, Luke finally gets the break he needs, as well as finding romance for himself. Tragedy strikes, and Luke is left despondent, unable to carry on as a detective. Can a fiery redhead from the FBI help him out of the slump?
Determined to leave the life of solving unsolvable homicides behind, Special Agent Rae Hatting tries to settle into a normal life with her adopted daughter, Grace. However, her reputation precedes her, and Rae finds herself back in the fray, called upon to help solve a series of gruesome fairy tale style murders in California. Her only obstacle is Detective Luke Thompson. Broody, stubborn, and an all-around pain in the ass, the pair must work together before another victim ends up never finding their happily ever after.
Warning: count(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable in /home/102028-77823.cloudwaysapps.com/jqxysxqutc/public_html/wp-content/themes/megashopNEW/inc/theme-functions.php on line 1233
Description
Find more from this author on:
About the author:
Heather Osborne was born and raised in California. She has a Bachelor of Science in Criminology and Victimology, as well as coursework in Early Childhood Education. In 2009, she met her husband and moved to Scotland, very much a dream of hers since she was a small child. Heather has been writing short stories for as long as she can remember. She also has written and directed several plays. In her spare time, Heather enjoys reading, writing (of course!), theatre, as well as caring for her young son. She also reviews for Readers’ Favorite.
What inspired you to write your book?
I had always been interested in working on novels involving serial killers. I came up with the fairy tale killer idea some time ago, but after I published the first Rae Hatting Mystery, “Crushed Gardenias,” I decided to continue the series.
Here is a short sample from the book:
The trail led to a clearing surrounded by redwood trees. They provided shade from the harsh afternoon July sun, their shadows dancing on the ground. In the very center of the ring, a woman lay, her hands folded over her abdomen. Blonde ringlets framed her face and her vivid blue eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the abyss. The slender form was draped in a pink dress with lace accents at the sleeves. Over it, she wore a stark white pinafore. Hikers had stumbled on the eerily staged scene in MacKerricher State Park, and called in the authorities.
Yellow crime tape was wound around the statuesque trees. It was as if they were standing guard, tall and silent. Upon closer investigation, a slim book was discovered, poking out of the pocket of the starched pinafore. It was quickly bagged and tagged as evidence before the body, carefully sealed in a black bag, was transported to the coroner’s office. I remember turning my face upwards, gazing at the majestic trees and wishing they could talk. If they could, my job would have been infinitely easier.
I had come to the small town in Mendocino County, California, early in 2003 with no intentions of taking up another job on the force. My legacy was safely tucked away in Dallas, Texas, after I solved a series of prostitute rapes and mutilations. The newspapers lauded me as a hero. The whole situation made me feel completely sick, not good for a detective. We were meant to be impartial and I found myself blaming the working girls I had so often warned about the dangers of streetwalking.
The circumstances leading me to resuming a position as a detective with the sheriff’s department were not something I wished to discuss with anyone. I would simply change the topic when brought up in conversation. I supposed that it was some sort of calling, unable to let me rest until I helped as many people as possible.
I drove back to the station, radio off, the red-taped evidence bag taunting me on the passenger seat. I knew what it contained, but I was reluctant to confirm it. I turned the bag over to the technicians at the lab and returned to my office with an off-hand reminder to let me know what they found. The book would be swabbed, submitted to latent fingerprint testing, and returned to my desk with the same report as last time: no conclusive trace evidence found. As I predicted, it’s what happened. I retrieved the book, setting it down on my desk in the plastic covering.
Snapping on a pair of latex gloves, I ran my hand over the leather cover. It was a first edition, like the rest. I carefully cracked the cover and the black print stood out on the creamy ivory paper: Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Beneath it, penned in perfect cursive were the words: She should not have taken what did not belong to her. I slammed the book shut in frustration. The taunts were becoming more and more specific as time went on.
Throwing the gloves in my trashcan, I decided to take a walk and see if Dr. Sabine Lawson had found anything on the body. The glimmer of hope had long since faded that she actually would. The curvy, African-American coroner was meticulous in her reports, so I doubted she would be even down to the woman’s breasts at this point. I had to do something to settle my nerves, though, or I would snap.
The squeak of the metal swinging doors signaled my entry into the disinfectant-scented room. I grinned at the sight of Sabine in her element. She wore her hair in narrow braids, pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail. Her skin was the color of coffee with cream. There were many days I lusted after Sabine, but she made it clear to me from day one she was committed to her job. There was no room for “torrid affairs with wild cowboys,” as she put it.
“Whatcha got for me, Doc?” I went through the motions of putting on another pair of gloves to avoid Sabine’s scowl.
“Nothing yet and you know it. You’re restless, cher.” The drawl of her New Orleans accent came out like liquid silk.
I leaned against the counter and watched her work. “Damn straight. I can’t wrap my head around this guy. He was sticking to the classics and now this jump. Why Goldilocks?”
Sabine was used to listening to my ramblings and offering her interpretations. “Perhaps, she merely fit the profile of that character.”
“He’s not like that though. He plans this all to the letter. Every detail. Stalks these women for weeks!” I jiggled my leg anxiously. The change in the killer’s modus operandi rattled me more than it should.
“Calm yourself.” She began to speak into a microphone positioned above her work station.
“Female victim appears roughly 20 to 25 years of age based on bone development and pelvic placement. She has never given birth. There are signs of sexual trauma, but no ligature marks on her wrists or ankles. A small needle mark indicates that the victim may have been drugged. Sending a sample of blood and urine to the lab for further analysis.”
I interrupted her. “No trace of semen, I take it?”
She frowned at me. “No, like the others.” Sabine carefully made her opening incision in the abdomen of the victim and drew back the flesh. She busied herself with the remainder of her work, and I knew I was dismissed without her saying so. Pinging the gloves into a bin by the door, I walked out
Related products
-
DESTROY ME. (The Obsession Series Books 1-3 Complete.) by Laura Bailey
How can someone save you when they threaten to break you in two? My captor, My enemy, My everything. He promises to save me. He tells me to leave while I can. A man as menacing as he is seductive, a man whose touch scorches me, a man whose moments of devotion are more heartbreaking than his callousness. From the moment his eyes held mine I had no choice but to surrender to everything he was; his dark desires, his passion, his strength. A powerful obsession and forbidden needs consume us both. Bound to his dark sexuality, we embark on a battle of wills. He pushes me to the edge. He seeks release in me, momentary escape from the pain and loneliness that fills him. He carries the scars of the haunting legacy of dark secrets. His desires are undeniable, our obsession inevitable, but he doesn’t trust me. Whatever it takes, he says he will protect me… but he will never let me in. He promises to save me. He tells me to let go. We can’t be together. Enemies are like ghosts and what he does for me will either bind us closer…or destroy us completely. (With strong scenes of an explicit sexual nature, this is suitable only for those eighteen and over) An erotic haunting powerful love story, with strong scenes of sexual acts. The Complete ‘Obsession Series,’ featuring ‘Surrender to Me’, ‘Break Me,’ and Part Three, ‘Destroy Me.’
Hello, My Love by Evy Journey
What would Elizabeth Bennet be like if she had been born today? What things would she have to cope with? In this modern-day tale inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, bright, beautiful law student Elise Halverson looks forward to a promising career. The last thing she needs is to fall in love with well-known playboy Greg Thorpe. Besides, he’s engaged to be married.
Greg finds Elise so unlike the women he used to date and he’s deeply intrigued. But distrusting the image she has of him, Elise tries to keep away.
Elise’s parents invite Greg to their frequent dinner parties. There, Greg and Elise butt heads. She’s surprised to find that, behind his rich playboy persona, he’s intelligent and engaging. They can’t help feeling drawn to each other.
The night before his wedding, they give in to their mutual attraction. Although Elise expects nothing more from that night, Greg is in for trouble. His jilted fiancée strikes back, intent on revenge.
Two years later Greg and Elise get a second chance but they find that the way to their happy-ever-after is not so easy. For one, Greg is in for a surprise. Then, his former fiancée comes back and trouble returns to haunt Greg and Elise again.
At the core of this women’s fiction is a literary and realistic romance spiced with a twist of mystery. Hello My Love is Book 1 in the series Between Two Worlds, a family saga about three strong women. In three tales of loss, love, second chances, and finding one’s way, they cope with issues contemporary women face.
Mediums Guild by Lee Fishman
Real estate agent Margo Fellshur can’t catch a break in a slow housing market. And her hopes of financial stability grow dimmer by the minute. For extra cash, the single mother works weekends as a psychic, reading cards and palms at parties – and she’s good at it. Too bad she can’t resolve her own issues. As a kid, Margo took her gifts for granted. Couldn’t everyone see auras and hear the thoughts of their friends? When a chance encounter connects Margo with a young pilot, he asks for her help in finding his sister who disappeared months before. Margo recruits fellow psychics but they come up short until a dream changes everything.
Just a Fling (Billionaires on the Beach Book 1) by Olivia Noble
Sweet and hardworking Eva has just graduated from college. Her sexually adventurous best friend, Nicole, has convinced her to take an island vacation to let off some steam and relax. Eva does not expect to meet a handsome man with a rock-hard body that reminds her of a Greek god, on her first night on the beach.
What results is a night of passion that will change her life… This is the first part of a serialized contemporary romance, with a length of about 14,000 words. It contains strong sexual content and is not intended for readers under 18.
Family Of Strangers by Barbara Willis
What would you do if someone you loved disappeared? What would you do if you were told they’d never existed? This most awful of nightmares comes true for Eva when her closest friend, Annie, vanishes. Even Annie’s parents deny her existence.
The uncertainty of the early months of 1939 has been eclipsed. Eva’s comfortable, normal small town life becomes despairing and desperate, until a friendly hand reaches out to her. The elderly and eccentric Lola shows no surprise at Eva’s tale. Neither does Gabe; young, handsome and distant. They have answers that lead to more questions, and information that leads to confusion. The pair guide Eva through a new and frightening world towards her beloved Annie. Eva is sure that her search has absorbed every part of her, until she realises how close she’s becoming to the mysterious but tender Gabe.
As Eva learns more about the hidden world now exposed to her, the depth of which seems infinite, she finds that people can be lost and all memory of them forsaken. Gabe and Lola are lost, just like Annie; but unlike Annie, no-one is looking for them to guide them home. Eva, now attached to Lola and deeply tied to Gabe, struggles to believe that nothing can be done to help them.
Eva’s search is littered with many things – doubt, discovery, love, belonging and a myriad of scary jigsaw pieces; lost friends, the giving of gifts, a library of books, a troubled conscience and a brilliant pianist. Can Eva piece it all together to see the picture or has she missed something? Does Eva find Annie? Will Gabe reveal his story and are his and Lola’s other lost friends a help or a hindrance?
And is there something crucially important that not one of them is telling Eva?
Passion Patrol 2 by Emma Calin
A sexy aristocrat. A wild-child inner city cop. A crime wave of passion.
An erotic romance introducing Shannon Aguerri – a sassy police officer heroine who locks up criminals and always gets her man.
Moved out from the city after one-too-many maverick missions, Shannon discovers there’s more going on in the sleepy country village than meets the eye. The son of a local aristocrat arouses suspicion of drug crime activity… but his widower father arouses more animal instincts!
Could she really mix with the British royal family? Can she risk her heart and career on yet another high risk unauthorised investigation? Can she get justice for an innocent boy? Dare a kid from the gutter dream of being a countess?
Another stand-alone story in the Passion Patrol Series of British detective mysteries featuring female sleuths, romantic adventures, thrilling suspense and a touch of humor.
Please note: This is a sexy romance and contains explicit joyful erotic sex between adults in a consenting relationship as well as strong language in high-stress confrontations with criminals.
Prescribed by D.D. Parker
Emma Wells thought she had it all figured out. She went to college wanting a brand new lease on life, thinking she was going to become a doctor and make her mom proud. She just wasn’t planning on passing out her first day of volunteering at the hospital because she couldn’t handle the sight of blood.
After banging her head on the floor, she’s taken care of by Dr. Ryan Matthews, an unfairly hot specimen of a man. Even after waking up in a cloudy, post-concussion daze, she can’t take her eyes off of him and their chemistry is becoming undeniable.
Strong. Handsome. Charming.
Even that couldn’t encompass everything Ryan had to offer. There was just one problem; Emma already had a boyfriend.
One that would never let her go.
Ever.
Will Dr. Matthews still be able to prescribe Emma just what she needs or will Emma’s own demons come to threaten more than just their relationship?
**Recommended for 18+ due to sexually graphic scenes and adult language.
This is Book One in The White Coat Series (New Adult Romantic Suspense). It can be read as a stand-alone story without a cliffhanger.
Reverb by J. Cafesin
James Whren is brilliant, beautiful, rich, and taken—with his genius for creating music. Desired by many, he commits to no one but his muse. On the eve of his brother’s funeral his father shatters his life, and James is left abandoned in hell with no one real to save him.
Until Elisabeth, and her son, Cameron.
Reverb is a love story, a psychological thriller paced with romantic suspense. Spun from The Magus (John Fowles), also about a man who learns to love someone other than himself, and way beyond 50 Shades of Gray (E.L. James), Reverb is told like Crime and Punishment, modern, tight, dark, edgy verging on sharp. It’s like nothing you’ve read, guaranteed.
5/5 Stars / Top Pick! “This is one of those stories that pulls you in immediately and has you frantically turning the pages to see what happens next.”–Diana Coyle, Night Owl Reviews
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.