A GRAVE INJUSTICE
Review of A Grave Injustice aired March 2008
Review of A Grave Injustice aired March 2008
on WGCU FM 90.1 by Linda Fasulo
A Grave Injustice by Prudy Taylor Board
ArcheBooks, 330 Pages, $28.99 US; available for Kindle
For those who are somewhat unfamiliar with local history, I’d like to give you a bit of background before presenting my review of A Grave Injustice, released in October of 2007 and written by author, award winning journalist and former News-Press reporter, Prudy Taylor Board. The information offered here was gleaned from the Florida World War II Memorial Website, Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources and Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
In order to meet the need for a flexible gunnery training school during the Second World War, Ft. Myers Ft. Myers
And now to A Grave Injustice…Terminated by the Miami Chronicle because of a trumped up charge by local law enforcement in retaliation for her uncovering evidence tampering by a detective, police beat reporter Corey Harris accepts a job with a local Fort Myers newspaper and returns to the Buckingham home where she was raised and which she recently inherited from her grandmother. While unpacking on her first night home, she is rousted by the sound of male voices beneath her window. They are echoing military cadence. Opening her front door, she witnesses a company of khaki-clad soldiers marching down Gunnery Lane in parade formation. Assuming that the old Buckingham Army Airfield has been reactivated due to the war in Iraq
Six weeks pass, and an old friend of her grandmother’s drops by with a bottle of wine. He has come to offer his condolences on her grandmother’s passing and also to bid her welcome. In conversation, Cory mentions the soldiers. Her guest is both appalled and confused. It’s been sixty years since troops were stationed at Buckingham. The base has been closed since 1945 and many of the buildings torn down. Shaken, she describes the uniformed men to her guest. In doing so, she gives a perfectly detailed description of the uniforms and insignias worn by the World War II gunner trainees stationed at Buckingham in the 1940s.
Haunted by the past and fearful of the future, Cory determines to uncover the mystery surrounding the soldiers. Is it someone’s idea of a joke or is there something else going on? As she delves further into the past, she discovers that things, as well as people, are not always what they seem, and in time, comes to the realization that if successful, she will bring peace to those horribly trapped by the past and final rest to the one who has suffered so long at the hands of a grave injustice.
Paranormal experiences aside, A Grave Injustice is a fascinating tale, not only because of its local color and history, but also because it offers the reader a smashingly good storyline and purposeful, sharp dialogue. In short, it is a shining example of what makes the mystery genre so popular. Throw a few ghosts into the mix, and you’ve got a real winner.
WHAT OTHERS SAY:
WHAT OTHERS SAY:
A Grave Injustice
By Prudy Taylor Board
From the Author of Murder a la Carte, Book 1 of the Clyde Colby Recipes for Murder Series, now comes a paranormal mystery...
Corey Harris is haunted. Haunted by new relationships, haunted by old relationships, but mostly haunted by dead relationships. A GRAVE INJUSTICE is one scary read! Prudy Taylor Board turns the heat up page after page, and you won’t be able to rest until you read the last word.
Don Bruns
Author of Jamaica Blue and South Beach
I loved it!!! A GRAVE INJUSTICE grabs you from the very beginning and holds you with a firm grip until the very end. Prudy Taylor Board knows how to write, her style is captivating. Absolutely a page turner. One of the best paranormal mysteries I’ve read!
Noreen Renier
Psychic detective and author of A Mind for Murder
Featured on Court TV’s Psychic Detectives
Corey Harris, crime reporter extraordinaire, does not waver as the real world and the world of spirits collide with explosive force in this fast paced thriller. Prudy Taylor Board has seamlessly woven the world of spirits into the real world in this brilliant and explosive paranormal mystery. A GRAVE INJUSTICE has it all: mesmerizing characters, a compelling plot, a pace so fast that you won’t be able to put it down, and a paranormal touch that feels all too real.
Patricia Gussin
Author of SHADOW OF DEATH
In A GRAVE INJUSTICE, Prudy Taylor Board has crafted a delightful paranormal mystery. She eases the reader into the supernatural element in such a way as to make it totally believable. She swings comfortably between Corey’s job as a newspaper reporter in the present and the World War II death of Karl Von Brett. Thanks to well placed geographic details, the reader is introduced to another character, the city of Fort Myers , Florida
Martha Powers
Award-winning author of Death Angel
Lies, murder and deception, sex, love and trust. Prudy Taylor Board’s new paranormal mystery, A GRAVE INJUSTICE has it all. Flawless transitions between time lines, identifiable characters with realistic dreams hopes and insecurities, keep her audience riveted until the climactic ending. A novel of supernatural suspense!
Graeme Johns
Author of the international thriller, Situation Sabotage
| Rating: | [R] Adult Situations, Graphic Violence, Adult Language. | |
| Words: | 94,108 | |
| Pages: | Hardcover 348 eBook 474 (PDF) | |
| File Size: | 994 KB (PDF) | |
| Pub Date: | 10/12/2007 | |
| ISBN: | Hardcover ISBN(10): 1-59507-185-7 ISBN(13): 978-159507-185-9 eBook 1-59507-186-6 | |
| Price: | Hardcover $28.99/£18.99 eBook $3.99 Kindle $9.99 |
MURDER A LA CARTE
Order from Archebooks
Order from Amazon
Murder a la Carte and Prudy are featured in The Essential Mystery List: For Readers,
Collectors, and Libraries by Roger M. Sobin
“Murder A La Carte, a fitting title for a book that from the first pages of the prologue pulls mystery fan readers deeper and deeper into the action, leaves romance readers aching and yearning, and avid readers of any genre—even foodaholics, drooling and hungry. The final moments of Prudy Taylor Board’s fast moving mystery novel left me gasping, and mortally afraid for our world as we now know it.”
A sample from Murder a la Carte
He struggled awake, disconcerted by the sensation that the bed was moving. He strained to see, but the dark was impenetrable. Where was the window? Rolling over onto his side, he pushed back the sheets and groped toward the nightstand to turn on the light, but recoiled when his hand struck something solid.
Another concrete wall.
Blocked again.
Panic pumped surges of adrenaline through his body. His heart throbbed and rushed. An icy sweat laced his brow and he shivered.
He was trapped.
In a concrete vault barely large enough to encompass his bed.
Virginia B. Elliott
Author of How to Board up Your Kitchen and Cook from a Hammock and The Romantic Tomato. Former South Florida Television talk show host and frequent cooking show guest.
"This book is a non-stop fun ride through mayhem, delectable menu items and some delightfully quirky romance neatly mixed together in a deliciously malicious treat. Don't miss it. Don't even be late."
A sample from Murder a la Carte
PROLOGUE
He struggled awake, disconcerted by the sensation that the bed was moving. He strained to see, but the dark was impenetrable. Where was the window? Rolling over onto his side, he pushed back the sheets and groped toward the nightstand to turn on the light, but recoiled when his hand struck something solid.
A wall.
Rough. Gritty. Unfinished concrete.
He sat upright in bed.
That wall hadn’t been there when he’d gone to
sleep.
The air in the room was different, too. Stale.
And cold. Much colder than when
he’d fallen asleep.
Was he dreaming?
Was this a nightmare?
He touched his face. The familiar wrinkles and furrows
were warm, solid, real. You can’t touch
or feel in dreams, he reasoned. Puzzled,
he thrust aside the sheet. He turned
away from the wall and, arthritic joints complaining, he tried to get out of
the king-sized bed, but collided with a barrier on the other side as well.
Another concrete wall.
On his hands and aching knees, in the void dense with
darkness, he crawled across the broad expanse of the spongy mattress to the
foot of the bedstead.
Blocked again.
Panic pumped surges of adrenaline through his body. His heart throbbed and rushed. An icy sweat laced his brow and he shivered.
He was trapped.
In a concrete vault barely large enough to encompass his bed.
But why? And where was he?
He struggled to remember. The fear made it difficult to think and
reason, but he wouldn’t, couldn’t give up.
Think. The night before he’d
consumed a splendid dinner, prime rib—end cut, eaten too much actually and, in
addition to three or four Scotches before and during dinner, he’d consumed
several after-dinner Drambuies. Far more
than usual.
He’d gone to sleep in his room. He should have known he’d feel this bad in
the morning.
Morning.
The concept of a new day aroused an incredibly
poignant awareness of his life, which he now realized was not a limitless span
of time. He had taken the concept so
terribly for granted. He envisioned
blazing sunshine. Blue skies. Imagined the fragrance of fresh, clean
air. The taste of life and freedom.
What kind of cage or pen was this?
And who would do this to him? He had enemies, but that was just
business. Surely his foes weren’t this
inhuman.
He pummeled the abrasive surface of the wall with his
fists, desperate to make a noise, to attract attention. His knuckles stung and
soon they were bleeding. He sucked them to make them stop hurting, acutely
aware of the taste of his warm, salty blood.
Surely this was a joke. An expensive practical joke. A wave of relief followed by anger swept
through him. He sank back against the
pillows.
That damned Sam!
It had to be him. Such a
prankster. Surely this was one of Sam’s
jokes. And they would laugh about it
later. But not until he had chewed Sam’s
ass. This stunt pushed the limits, the
envelope of friendship and . . .
A sound shattered the stillness. A hissing.
He pressed his back against the headboard of the bed. Could there possibly be some kind of snake in
this cage with him? Immobilized with
dread, he held his breath and listened, concentrating intently, but he sensed
no life force other than his own.
The air. There
was a subtle change. Oily. Could air be oily?
His throat tightened and he clutched his chest. His eyes burned and watered. He grasped his throat with both hands as his
esophagus spasmed. The pain from the
constricting muscles was almost welcome because he could understand it. But what was happening to him? Shit.
Now he couldn’t breathe.
His lungs burned and ached and he prayed for air. Images of his loved ones crowded his
thoughts, but only briefly. As the need for air became desperate, bargains,
deals, mediations, negotiations swam through his mind. If God will let me live, I’ll . . .
A pain ripped
across his chest and, gasping for the precious oxygen, he clawed at the cold,
unrelenting wall with bloodied fingertips.
Got to get OUT!
Striations of pain flooded his body and the need for
oxygen burgeoned so rapidly he could no longer think coherently. Like an animal, he raged and tried to scream
for help, but didn’t have sufficient air in his lungs to manage more than a
croak. And although he battled fiercely
to inhale, his lungs issued the final indignity, the final betrayal. They ceased to function, to draw in the air
he so desperately needed. They were dead
in his chest. Dead lungs. Unmoving.
Unresponsive in their final paralysis.
Barely conscious, he listened as his heartbeats, at
first reverberating in his ears like a slow, deliberate jackhammer, slowed and
faltered. My God, he thought, I’m dying . . .
His brain succumbed to the nothingness. An eerie silence enveloped the chamber as his
bodily functions shut down. One by
one. And he was free.
Forever.
Outside the Florida Gulf of Mexico
kissed the sandy beach and a new day began at Far Horizons.
Clyde Colby is the host of a Miami-based TV cooking show. She—yes she—was also an accomplished investigative reporter earlier in her career. When on assignment at the Far Horizons beach resort on Rattlesnake Key to do a show featuring acclaimed chef Henri Doucette, she finds new friends, a lover—and murder.
The delicious web of conspiracy grows more intricate and elusive as more bodies turn up, a newspaper reporter is savagely beaten, and one of the resort’s maids—who has befriended Clyde—mysteriously disappears. Clyde is determined to unravel the sinister happenings at Far Horizons, or as the locals call it, the infamous Last Resort. Yet she has no idea what peril awaits her.
This is a succulent treat for all mystery-suspense lovers, spicy and delectable in every twist and turn. It will leave you hungr
| Rating: | R Adult Content, Language, Violence, Some Sexual Content | |
| Words: | 88,311 | |
| Pages: | Hardcover 280, eBook 381 (PDF) | |
| File Size: | 1.26MB (PDF) | |
| Pub Date: | 05/31/2004 | |
| ISBN: | Hardcover 1-59507-030-3, eBook 1-59507-029-X | |
| Price: | Hardcover $27.99/£18.99, eBook $3.99 |
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