Murder in the River City
Read Murder in the River City Online
Authors: Allison Brennan
Table of Contents
Murder in the River City
By Allison Brennan
Copyright 2012 © Allison Brennan
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
Praise for Allison Brennan’s Books
LUCY KINCAID SERIES
Love Me to Death
“A world-class nail-biter … Brennan is in the groove with this one.”
–
New York Times
Bestselling Author Lee Child
“
Grabbing the reader by the throat from almost the first page, this pulse-ratcheting romantic suspense from Brennan delivers intense action, multifaceted characters, and a truly creepy bad guy. . . . [A] fast-paced, engrossing read.”
–
Publishers Weekly
“
A page turner, full throttle thriller … One of the best books that I've read in the romantic thriller genre.”
– Bewitched Bookworms
“[Love Me To Death]
had everything I look for in a well told mystery.”
–Wordsmithonia
Kiss Me, Kill Me
“[A] riveting new series.…
Lucy continues to be a fascinating and enticing character, and her ongoing development adds depth to an already rich brew of murder and mystery. Brennan rocks!”
– RT Book Reviews
“
Ms. Brennan ratchets up the suspense on page one and keeps it going until the last page.”
– Fresh Fiction
If I Should Die
“
Brennan’s Lucy Kincaid/Sean Rogan books are not only excellent procedural thrillers, but also chart the evolution of an intriguing relationship. The peeks into the mind of this heinous killer are all too chilling, making the threat level palpable and the story riveting. Brennan is on a major roll!”
– RT Book Reviews
“Non-stop action, spine-tingling suspense … a wonderful addition to a great series.”
– Fresh Fiction
“
A
spine-tingling chiller that will wrap you up in its mystery and take you on a heart-pounding race to the breathtaking finale!”
– Joyfully Reviewed, Recommended Read
Silenced
“Brennan throws a lot of story lines into the air and juggles them like a master. The mystery proves to be both compelling and complex.”
–
Associated Press
“Can’t-put-it-down exciting.”
– Fresh Fiction
“
From first to last, this story grabs hold and never lets go.”
– RT Book Reviews, Top Pick!
ROMANTIC THRILLERS
The Prey
“Taut, fast-paced suspense . . . A killer debut.”
–
NYT
Bestselling Author Mariah Stewart
“Outstanding psychological thriller has great plot, well-defined characters and unexpected twists.”
– Fresh Fiction
The Hunt
“Brennan does murder better than almost everyone writing in the suspense genre.”
– Armchair Interviews
“
Brennan is a force to be reckoned with in the thriller genre. …
The characters are solid, the plot hurtles forward, twisting and turning in true thriller fashion.”
– Reviewing the Evidence
The Kill
“Excellent psychological thriller.”
– Fresh Fiction
“Powerful, emotional, and not for the faint-hearted, Allison Brennan books are to watch out for.”
– Curled Up With A Good Book Reviews
Speak No Evil
“SPEAK NO EVIL is an edge-of-your-seat, wild, twisty, chilling read.”
– Romance Reader at Heart—A Top Pick for 2007
“Brennan's arrival on the suspense scene has been a tremendous gift.”
– RT Book Reviews
See No Evil
“Brennan firmly cements her position as a top suspense author by delivering an absolutely chilling and tragically sad novel. What makes this story so compelling is seeing how vengeance is taken to the destructive extreme and corruption and abuse of power create monsters. This book is mesmerizing and haunting.”
– RT Book Reviews (Top Pick!)
Fear No Evil
“Brennan's cold-blooded killer is horrifying in the extreme. That's not surprising, since this author is making a name for herself by producing not only memorable heroes but also unforgettable villains. This journey into terror is fast paced and pulse pounding. This is Brennan's best book to date!”
– RT Book Reviews (Top Pick!)
“Brennan has a terrific talent for scaring the pants off readers while at the same time making them want more, more, MORE!”
– Kim Cantrell, True Crime Book Reviews
Killing Fear
“Fast becoming a master at delivering complex, layered plots and characters that erupt from the page, Brennan has created a roller-coaster ride of chills!”
– RT Book Reviews (Top Pick!)
“A bone-chilling tale with a villain straight out of your worst nightmares. . . . KILLING FEAR delivers to the heart-stopping end.”
– Fresh Fiction
Tempting Evil
“An excellent thriller that would surely make an easy transition to the small or big screen. Overall, TEMPTING EVIL is an exciting read from start to finish and I devoured it in an extremely short space of time.”
– Reviewing the Evidence
“When you pick up a Brennan novel, you know you're in for a wild ride that will scare you silly.”
– RT Book Reviews
Playing Dead
“Ms. Brennan delivers another breathtaking tale of gritty, terrifying excellence.”
– Romance Reader at Heart—A Top Pick for 2008
“Crafty Brennan wraps up her Prison Break trilogy with the intricate tale of a nearly perfect frame-up. . . . It's wonderfully complex and terrifying at the same time.”
– RT Book Reviews
Sudden Death
“Fast, fierce fun. Brennan knows how to deliver.”
–
NYT
Bestselling Author Lisa Gardner
“A first-rate book, superbly plotted and executed, with exceptional characters. A real page-turner with twists and turns all the way to the end. I could not put this book down. Highly recommended.”
– Fresh Fiction
Fatal Secrets
“In this chilling thriller, Brennan explores the consequences of sliding from fierce commitment into obsession. . . . A master of suspense, Brennan does another outstanding job uniting horrifying action, procedural drama and the birth of a romance -- a prime example of why she's tops in the genre.”
– RT Book Reviews (Top Pick!)
“A fast-paced, action-packed romantic suspense.”
– Romance Junkies
Cutting Edge
“Both the nature and nurture sides of the “what makes a psychopath” argument are on display in Brennan's chiller. . . . Leave it to Brennan to deliver the creepy and deadly. This is definitely the stuff of nightmares.”
– RT Book Reviews
“A
n excellent suspense novel with a great psychopath villain.”
– Romance Readers at Heart
Dear Reader:
Six years ago, I wrote
Murder in the River City
as a serial for a magazine. Unfortunately, before they published the three-part story, the magazine closed down.
When cleaning my office last year, I found a printout of this story. I’d almost forgot I wrote it. I still loved my heroine, Shauna Murphy, and the hero, Detective Sam Garcia. I decided the story deserved an overhaul and have been rewriting it as I’ve had time over the last few months.
I’ve lived in and around Sacramento for twenty years and greatly enjoyed setting a story in an area I know and love. Well, I love it except for the heat!
You may recognize some characters from my novels. Detective John Black, Sam’s supervisor, starred in a short story of mine “A Capitol Obsession,” which was originally published in an anthology edited by Elizabeth George and currently available digitally in the anthology
Killing Justice.
John was also a secondary character in
Sudden Death
and
Fatal Secrets
, both set in Sacramento. Assistant Special Agent in Charge Dean Hooper, the hero of
Fatal Secrets
, also makes an appearance.
I hope you enjoy reading this novella as much as I enjoyed writing it.
All the best,
Allison Brennan
Chapter One
Sunday night
Callie Wood regretted every major decision she’d ever made.
Running off with her boyfriend when she was eighteen wasn’t the first of her bad choices, but it had set her on her present course. Six months later, he left her a thousand miles from home with forty bucks in her pocket, a change of clothes, and an ounce of weed. That, and the decent blowjobs she gave, got her halfway back home. Now she was stuck in Sacramento doing a little of this and a little of that until she landed a real job.
The problem? She really didn’t like working that hard.
That was all changing now. For the first time, she felt like she was making the right choices, that she’d found a kindred spirit.
Right guy, right plan, right time.