Tainted Waters

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.

Tainted Waters (Mystery/Thriller)

By Maggie Thom

Quadessence Solutions

ASIN #BOOCJGTSME

$3.83

203 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Thriller With A Bang.”

Samantha Overton, a reporter for the Tennison Post, finds out that someone doesn’t want her writing about GOOM Lake. The lake is located in a peaceful valley, and named after the original owners’ initials, but most families, Sam’s included, have long since moved away. However, cabins still remain, and Sam sometimes takes her handicapped niece there to swim and play. Mystery surrounds the lake, and people have died there under suspicious circumstances, but the verdicts tend to be suicide or heart attack. Sam’s father disappeared twenty years previously, and she was told he committed suicide, but now she’s starting to remember things, and suspects he may have been murdered. After she’s fired from the newspaper someone wants her dead, then Sam stumbles upon a stranger at the lake, who keeps bumping into her in mysterious circumstances. She doesn’t know whom to trust, and has a tendency to look for clues on her own.

For a thriller, it was often a humorous romp with Sam plunging into her own trouble. One minute you want to cackle out laughing, and the next yell for her to run for her life. It was literally a thrill a minute as she takes chances without thinking them through first. There is a lot going on at the lake, and the police don’t seem to be interested, but killers seem to be everywhere, and there is a portion blocked off with no trespassing signs. Well, if the authorities won’t take a look, maybe Sam should. What she finds is so dangerous many have already been killed for its secrets.

The author weaves a twisting plot that leaves the reader breathless, and we’re left wondering who is behind the shenanigans at the lake. In fact, I had picked the wrong person behind the plot. I figured it’s either him or a complete unknown who has not been introduced to the story. Then I’m shocked to find the killer has always been around, I just didn’t notice. Maggie Thom fooled me completely. The novel is a real treat, and highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

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.