The book is Crimes Past by Lauren Carr (A Mac Faraday Mystery Volume 13) a Murder Mystery

Synopsis

It’s a bittersweet reunion for Mac Faraday when members of his former homicide squad arrive at the Spencer Inn. While it is sweet to attend the wedding of a former colleague’s daughter, it is a bitter reminder that the mother of the bride had been the victim of a double homicide on her own wedding night.

The brutal slaying weighing heavy on his mind, Mac is anxious to explore every possibility for a break in the cold case—even a suggestion from disgraced former detective Louis Gannon that one of their former friends was the killer.

When the investigator is brutally slain, Mac Faraday rips open the cold case with a ruthless determination to reveal which of his friends was a cold-blooded murderer.

 

 

To read reviews, please visit Lauren Carr’s page on iRead Book Tours.

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Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Thorny Rose Mysteries—over twenty titles across three fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!

Now, Lauren has added one more hit series to her list with the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries. Set in the quaint West Virginia town of Harpers Ferry, Ice introduces Chris Matheson, a retired FBI agent, who joins forces with other law enforcement retirees to heat up those cold cases that keep them up at night.

Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr’s seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.

Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions. She lives with her husband, and three dogs on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.

I giving the mic to Lauren now, so we can know her a bit better.

Before You Say “Unbelievable” … By Lauren Carr

Have you ever wondered what authors talk about when they get together? I have found that there are certain subjects that just naturally creep up.

When do you write? Are you a plotter or a pantser? How do you find time to write three books a year when you have two spoiled rotten German shepherds who demand constant attention? Where do you get your ideas? Are you in therapy? Have you ever considered therapy? Maybe you should. How do you like your publisher, editor, book tour coordinator? How were your latest reviews?

Which then leads to the most annoying things readers have said about your books.

One claim that I have seen made about some authors’ books, and occasionally, though not regularly, about mine, is that they are “unbelievable.” Some of the elements in the plotlines are just not realistic. They would never happen like that.

A few years ago, a friend published her first book, which was a romantic suspense. At one point in the storyline, a homicidal maniac walks out of the mental hospital and goes on a murder spree.

While the book received wonderful reviews and decent sales, some readers have declared it unbelievable—claiming that it is impossible for a mental patient with a murderous history to simply walk out of a mental hospital the way the author wrote it.

However … this author had the last laugh (though it was a tragic last laugh) when less than an hour from where she lived, a patient with a murderous history simply walked out of the mental hospital where he was locked up and went on a murder spree—in the same manner that she had written in her book five years earlier!

When this happens, there is something deep down in the writer that makes her want to say, “Told you so!” Of course, that would be childish and unprofessional and I am above all that.

Yeah. Right.

In January 2015, when Three Days to Foreverwas released, a few readers, not reviewers, but readers, declared that certain aspects of the plot and storyline were too fantastic.

One reviewer, and a reader or two (plus my own late mother), could not believe the love at first sight storyline involving Jessica Faraday (Mac’s daughter) and Murphy Thornton (Joshua’s son.) who went on to become the protagonists in my Thorny Rose Mystery series. While it was a nice fantasy, readers claimed it would never happen.

However, there have been cases of love at first sight. In an article published by the Wall Street Journalon April 20, 2015 (four months afterthe release of Three Days to Forever), some 41% of men, versus 29% of women, say they have experienced love at first sight.

As a matter of fact, my mother told me that when she was scoffing at the love at first sight aspect of Three Days to Forever, one of her friends became quite offended, saying, “How dare you! I fell in love with my husband at first sight! We’ve been happily married for sixty years!”

My mother, who calls herself a realist, went on another tangent when she learned the plot for the twelfth installment in the Mac Faraday mystery series, Candidate for Murder.

Based on the presidential election of 2016, the town of Spencer has two unsavory nominees running for mayor. Police Chief David O’Callaghan decides to make a political statement by nominating Gnarly, Mac Faraday’s German shepherd, to run for mayor!  What starts out as a joke turns into a disaster when overnight Gnarly becomes the front runner.

Spoiler alert! In the latest installment of the Mac Faraday Mysteries, Gnarly is the mayor of Spencer.

A German shepherd? Mayor? Never!I’ve heard.

But, before you say “Unbelievable!” consider this:

According to The Bark.com,“Bosco Ramos, Sunol, Calif.: Bosco, a handsome Rottweiler-Labrador Retriever mix, was elected honorary mayor of Sunol in 1981. He got on the ballot as a joke (not registered with any party), and wound up beating two human opponents for the mayorship. As part of his duties, Bosco appeared at social events in a stately tuxedo and helped lead the town’s annual Halloween parade. Most of Bosco’s days, however, were spent hanging outside the local bar, fostering neighborhood spirit and accepting treats.”

Dogs aren’t the only animals who have served in political offices. According to MentalFloss.com:

• Stubbs the Cathas served as mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska, for over fifteen years. When a handful of residents didn’t like any of the human candidates, they encouraged voters to write in Stubbs the cat instead. As luck would have it, the feline won.According to the Wall Street Journal, Stubbs is one tough candidate. During his administration, Stubbs has been shot, fallen into a restaurant fryer, jumped off a moving truck and been mauled by a dog. If I was him, I’d be asking for a secret service detail.
• Brynn of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky: A three-year-old pit bull, Brynneth Pawltro- Bamforth mostly commonly known as Brynn, is the most recently elected mayor of Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. She was adopted from a small rescue group in 2013 and has been her dog-mom’s best friend ever since. Brynn is the first American pit bull terrier to be mayor of her beloved town. In Brynn’s down time she enjoys patrolling the town and licking most everyone she comes across. Brynn also enjoys hiking with her human in Red River Gorge, Kentucky.

In 1998, Goofy the German Shepherd was elected mayor of this quiet Kentucky hamlet. Actually, he bought the election. In what began as a fundraiser for a local church, townspeople thought it would be fun to hold a mock mayoral election. Townspeople paid a dollar per ballot and voted as many times as they pleased. Goofy defeated his bipedal opponent in a landslide, receiving an astonishing 8,000 votes. Since that fateful day, the town has elected multiple canine mayors. Goofy was replaced by Junior, a black lab who embarked on a goodwill tour across the state to build improved relations with the quadruped community. Junior was succeeded by border collie Lucy Lou, who served for eight years before retiring.

Of course, there are those realists who will read Crimes Pastand will declare that Gnarly’s role as town mayor is totally implausible and about as realistic as falling in love at first sight … and we all know that never happens.

 

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