Spotlight & Giveaway: Shadow of Death by Heather Graham

Today, HJ is pleased to share with you Heather Graham’s new release: Shadow of Death

Thanks so much for having me!

 
SHADOW OF DEATH follows FBI Agent Hunter Forrest and Florida State Police special agent Amy Larson as they investigate a powerful doomsday cult with a sinister mandate – one which involves human sacrifices. The case will draw them into underwater caves and deep into the Florida Everglades, where they’ll be forced to risk everything they hold dear.

You can cut off the head of the snake, but another will emerge.

When two hikers go missing within a series of daunting caves outside of Denver, Colorado, FDLE special agent Amy Larson and her partner, FBI special agent Hunter Forrest, have good reason to suspect foul play. The pair of hikers are only the latest to vanish after a rash of disappearances that’s left local law enforcement stumped. But in searching the dank caverns near the Arkansas River, the agents aren’t prepared for the horror they uncover: a muddy pit littered with corpses. Covered in bite marks. Made by human teeth.

When a tiny toy horse is found on the scene, Amy and Hunter recognize the calling card. They’ll have to move quickly before the already sizable body count grows. Their investigation soon draws them down the rabbit hole of a dangerous cult with a sinister mandate—one that involves human sacrifices. Anything to further their twisted cause. But when more people go missing, it becomes clear the cult’s reach extends beyond state lines, leading Amy and Hunter deep into the Florida Everglades to set a perilous trap, one that stands to risk everything they hold dear, including their lives.

Enjoy an exclusive excerpt from Shadow of Death 

The sun was just rising. Amy Larson emerged from the water, dripping, feeling the rays of brilliant heat fall on her. The day was beautiful, perfect and warm. It was wonderful. There were few places on earth she loved as much as she loved the Florida Keys and Key West. In all honesty, the best beaches could be found on the state’s west coast but to her, the Keys were a little bit of heaven. Key Largo was an escape from the massive metropolises of Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. And moving southward, the smaller islands were a taste of a purer time. Marathon offered the incredible Dolphin Research Center, and on down to Key West one could look out for the tiny Key deer. Then at the tail end, Key West itself is the island of rich history, bizarre stories, music, and water sports.
It had been good to come here. Hunter had needed to be here after taking a bullet; even with a vest on, he’d needed a bit of convalescence. Yet, while trying to shake off the last two cases they’d worked along with the salt water, memories still plagued them of the murders in the Everglades that had begun the bizarre Four Horsemen case and those that had followed when she’d received the little red plastic horse in the mail.
Because it wasn’t over. Someone wanted to play God, and they were using the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and Revelations to do it.
She smiled and slid down on a towel next to Hunter Forrest. He turned to her and ran a finger along her cheek. “This is the life,” he said softly. “I almost feel guilty. Days in the sun, diving this afternoon, nights with the sunset and the music. I could do this forever.”
“No, you couldn’t,” she said, amused. “You became an FBI agent because you were a child stuck in a horrible cult, and an FBI agent saved you and your parents. You need to be out there. You saw how your mom and dad got suckered into it. They saw people needed help, and those with a lot of money liked to keep it and weren’t always generous. Some people—some rich people—are great. But what your mom saw made her want a better way, and she thought she had found it. You saw evil could masquerade in many forms.” Her smile faded slightly. “You grew up and became an FBI agent because you’re determined to slay the evil that man does to his fellow man.”
“Sure. Right. Well, you know, second choice. Wrong era to be a knight in shining armor. And you’ve met my folks. They just wanted the best, and they were young and naive and looking for a better way. Anyway, we are what we are. But Clint Bullard is playing tonight. We’ll have some dinner, listen to him sing and play…maybe one of us will join him on a country music hit. We won’t stay too late, because we have a great room with those windows that open to the sunrise.”
“Sounds good, especially since we only have a few days left before vacation and leave time are up,” Amy said. She sat up pensively. It had been weeks since the showdown that had left Hunter injured, and his bones had healed. And while they worked for two separate agencies—he was FBI and she was Florida Department of Law Enforcement—she was now on loan to the FBI because of the Four Horsemen case. And although they’d taken down some of the players in the deadly enterprise afoot, they knew another shoe would drop.
Someone out there wanted the Apocalypse. Or they were in it for power or money or both and made use of the easily beguiled they could use in their quest. People who believed they would be the chosen when the world came to an end. And if murder was asked of someone, it was simply a means to an end.
“What are you thinking?” Hunter asked, studying her face.
She loved Hunter. Everything about him. Tall, dark, blue-eyed and fit not just because of his chosen vocation, but because he loved doing things. He loved the water, boats, and watching college and pro football games, along with basketball, baseball, and hockey. If he didn’t know about something, that was okay, he was eager to find out.
And he cared about people.
“I can’t help it. I mean, I have relaxed, I swear. But I was thinking of my old partner John Schultz and the first cases. I will miss him, but he will enjoy his retirement. I think back to the first case with the white horse, and finding the woman crucified in the Everglades. I think about putting away a bad guy, and then receiving the little red horse when we were vacationing before. And I think about the crazy lady we put away after that, and how she’s still convinced she’s a warrior and the lives she took don’t matter because she’ll be lifted up at the end. And I think—”
“Hold on,” Hunter said quietly. He had reached for his phone; she hadn’t heard it ring. He’d kept it on vibrate.
She watched his expression change as he listened. “All right. What time did you say? Thanks. Yep, we can do it.”
When he hung up, she knew.
“The black horse?” she asked.
He nodded, still studying her face.
“We have a plane to catch,” he said.

Excerpt. ©Heather Graham. Posted by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
 
 

Giveaway: A print copy of Heather Graham’s SHADOW OF DEATH, US only

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Meet the Author:

Heather Graham has been dubbed the “Queen of Romantic Suspense,” and her nearly three-decades-long career includes more than 200 published books with more than 60 million copies in print in 25 languages in the categories of romantic suspense, historical romance, vampire fiction, time travel, occult, and Christmas holiday fare. She has also the proud recipient of the International Thriller Writers’ Silver Bullet and an RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, and was also awarded the prestigious Thriller Master in 2016.
For more information, visit her at TheOriginalHeatherGraham.com