Tainted Waters Blog Tour Excerpt and Giveaway with Maggie Thom

Tainted Waters

By Maggie Thom

Publisher: Quadessence Solutions

Published: April , 2013

ASIN: B00CJGTSME

Genre: Suspense/Thriller

Amazon Synopsis:

He didn’t commit suicide but who’s going to believe her...

Frustrated at being fired from her latest job and overwhelmed by her consolatory family, Sam decides to move to the family’s cabin at the lake. A place she hasn’t been since her dad committed suicide there, twenty years before. Or did he? Snooping is something she’s good at but someone seems to be taking offense to her looking too closely at what has been happening at the lake. What she discovers is shocking. Now she must uncover 

what’s real and what’s not. All that she learned growing up, may be false.

Keegan, who has recently moved to the area to finish his latest book, is also trying to find out if his grandfather, who’d passed away ten years before, died of natural causes or was murdered? The descendants of the four families, who own the land around the lagoon, are dying off.

Since Sam and Keegan are the only ones questioning the deaths, they find themselves working together to seek the truth. Are people being murdered? Who would benefit from their deaths? Why would there be barricades and armed guards at the north end of the lake? To stay alive, Sam and Keegan must find the answers and convince others, before more people are killed... including them.

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Excerpt:

            “Don’t do it. Please don’t do it,” she begged him.

            “I have to. Do you really think I like this anymore than you do? I hate it but I want her to have a life. A good life. I want her to live.” He punched the wall grunting in pain. Cradling his hand, he turned to face her.

            “But we don’t know for sure that she needs this. Just wait.” She could barely contain the soft sobs.

            “Wait until what? The Doctor says oops we can put her on a waiting list but it could be years. You can check your family but oh yeah, we really can’t. We don’t have any options. I know it’s not the conventional route–”

            She snorted. “Oh, my god. Please tell me you know how dangerous this is?”

            He reached for her hand, squeezing it. “I do. I know... it’s not safe. But I have to do this. I love her as much as you do. She’s mine in every way that counts. If we follow the rules, we may lose her. You know that she’ll be put way down on the list for a transplant. If they’ll even put her on it. She’s not considered a good candidate. She’s disabled so why would they even care.”

            “It’s not fair.”

             “I know. I have to do what I think is right. I don’t want to lose her.”

            Sobbing, she turned and ran from the room, her body convulsing with the depth of her pain. He hated that he had to hurt her but it just strengthened his resolve that if he didn’t do something soon, it might be too late. Picking up his cell, he checked for the number he’d recorded in his contacts. The reality of what he was doing was overwhelming. It took him a minute to calm his nerves before he could hit call. The phone rang four times before he was given a voice mail message.

            “Leave your name and number. I’ll call you.”

            Even though it was one of those recorded standard phone company recordings, a chill descended through his body sending out tentacles that wrapped themselves so deep, they felt like they’d settled into the marrow of his bones. Knowing he was dealing with the black market which meant some unsavory people, he hesitated only a second before leaving the required information. Clicking off his cell, he went to set it down, only to find his hands were shaking so bad that it slipped out of his fingers, clanking onto the counter. His first thought was that he’d destroyed it and would never have to use it again. It wasn’t his everyday phone it was one that was pay as you go. He’d bought it specifically for this purpose. Maybe he’d watched too much TV but the less information that he had to give them, the more he felt in control. Tentatively picking it up, he flipped it open. The screen lit up immediately. It still worked.

          “You’re in this now,” he whispered softly.

My Thoughts:

Sam loses her latest job as a reporter at the Tennison Post after only 3 months, and for what? Simply writing a story that told the truth. Okay, she wasn't assigned to write it, but it was a good story. What could be wrong with that? The story didn't even get printed, so what was the big deal? Discouraged at the loss of her job, Sam goes to spend some time at their family's cabin at the lake to get her head together where she discovers that something strange is going on.

The original owners of the properties had an agreement that there would be no building changes on their lots unless there was agreement among the owners, but there seemed to be something going on at the north end of the lake. Sam decided to make it her business to figure out what it was - especially since the owner of the property hadn't been seen for close to twenty years.

Sam meets Keegan, a writer who has come to temporarily stay at one of the other cabins while he finishes his book. Together they start to unravel some of the mysteries of what are going on at the lake. Along the way, Sam begins to wonder if her father's suicide wasn't a suicide, but rather murder. The more they look, the more trouble they find, especially when someone starts shooting at them!

Then of course, whenever two young people find themselves in a situation where adrenaline is running high and danger is near, physical attraction seems to spring to life and Keegan and Same find themselves attracted to one another. The romance in this novel has one or two explicit scenes. There is also some profanity and coarse language in this novel.

Tainted Waters is a fast-paced novel. with lots of intrigue and surprises. I had no idea that the novel would end up where it did when I started reading it. It was a fascinating journey.

I particularly liked the character of DD. Though she was not a main character I thought her situation added interest and an additional facet to Sam's own character and life. I found Sam to be very likeable if somewhat impulsive and nosy. Her intentions are are good, even if she sometimes goes about things in the wrong way by breaking the rules to achieve her goal. It is obvious that her family is very important to her.

I gave Tainted Waters 4 stars out of 5. Readers of mystery and suspense should enjoy this novel.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair and honest review. A positive opinion was not required. All thoughts are my own.

About the Author:

Award winning author, Maggie Thom, took the challenge and leapt off, leaving a fulltime, twenty year career in management, to write full time. After publishing her first suspense/thriller book Captured Lies, October 2012, she published her second novel, Tainted Waters, April, 2013. Tainted Waters went on to win 2013 Suspense and Thriller Book of the Year through Turning the Pages Magazine and Captured Lies won book of the Month through LAS Reviews (February 2014).

She published her third novel, Deceitful Truths (The Caspian Wine Series - Book 2), March 2014. An avid reader and writer her whole life, she decided to break the monotony of wishing to be an author by making it happen.

She is a wholehearted nature lover and likes nothing better than to take a book, hike to a remote spot by a river or waterfalls and read.

Married to her best friend, she is learning that humor, love and patience help her navigate her way through her twins’ teen years. Her motto: Escape to read and Read to escape. "Maggie Thom writes a fast paced thriller laced with romance that keeps the reader interested and on edge!" InDtale Magazine

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