Dear
friends,
Frank Bennett
is back, solving his most baffling case yet!
BLOOD
KNOT, the third book in my Adirondack Mountain mystery
series will be released on July 26, 2005. Frank, Earl and the rest
of the residents of Trout Run, NY are once again grappling with
a murderer in their midst.
When you choose
to set your mystery series in a small town, you’re always
wrestling with “Cabot Cove Syndrome”—the problem
faced by the creators of “Murder, She Wrote,” in which
everyone Jessica Fletcher knew was either a crime victim or a murderer.
One way to keep the residents of a small town from killing one another
off is to find plausible ways to introduce some outsiders into the
close-knit community.
In BLOOD
KNOT, Trout Run welcomes MacArthur Payne, headmaster
of the North Country Academy, a newly opened tough-love school for
troubled teens. The locals are thrilled with the jobs the Academy
brings; Frank finds it hard to get enthused about scores of juvenile
delinquents arriving in his jurisdiction. When a teacher at the
Academy turns up dead, Frank’s fears are justified and the
hunt is on for a killer who may have used a native black bear as
his weapon.
In this new
installment of Frank’s adventures I try to put characters
in desperate straits into conflict: parents with out-of-control
teenagers, idealogues with points to prove; working people trying
to hold onto their jobs. It’s a combustible mix, but you can
count on Frank to sort it out.
Read the first
chapter here, then buy
the book. I hope to see some of you at my signings.
And remember, I’m available to speak at your book group (in
person if you’re within an hour of Morristown, NJ, or by speakerphone
if you’re further away).
As always, I love to hear from you, so let me know what you think
of ,
BLOOD KNOT.
Happy reading,
Swallow
Take
the
