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ALPHA
On a rainy October morning, Mallory Petersen discovers the corpse of her boyfriend, Bobby Furillo, in front of her office. That same day, her landlord's mentally unstable daughter disappears.
Thus begins another set of action-packed days for Des Moines' most popular private detective and high kicking martial artist.
Bucking police authority and continually attacked by unknown adversaries, Mallory uncovers Bobby's devastating secrets. Each new revelation puts Mallory in deeper peril from powerful and dangerous people.
In her own inimitable style, Mallory juggles not only two cases that will tax her physically, spiritually, and emotionally, but a host of her usual 'odd' investigations, while never neglecting her loyal taekwondo students.
And just what are those enigmatic RSVP cards that keep showing up in Mallory's mail?
Thus begins another set of action-packed days for Des Moines' most popular private detective and high kicking martial artist.
Bucking police authority and continually attacked by unknown adversaries, Mallory uncovers Bobby's devastating secrets. Each new revelation puts Mallory in deeper peril from powerful and dangerous people.
In her own inimitable style, Mallory juggles not only two cases that will tax her physically, spiritually, and emotionally, but a host of her usual 'odd' investigations, while never neglecting her loyal taekwondo students.
And just what are those enigmatic RSVP cards that keep showing up in Mallory's mail?
- GenresMystery
264 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2012
2 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Brayton
7 books33 followersStephen L. Brayton is a Sixth Degree Black Belt and certified instructor in the American Taekwondo Association.
He began writing as a child; his first short story concerned a true incident about his reactions to discipline. During high school, he wrote for the school newspaper and was a
photographer for the yearbook. For a Mass Media class, he wrote and edited a video project.
In college, he began a personal journal for a writing class; said journal is ongoing. He was also a reporter for the college newspaper.
During his early twenties, while working for a Kewanee, Illinois radio station, he wrote a fantasy based story and a trilogy for a comic book.
He has three books published: Alpha, Beta, and Delta, with the fourth in the series, Gamma, and another mystery, New Year Gone, due out later this year. The first in a new series, Night Shadows, was published May 7. He has also been in numerous anthologies as well as poems in Lyrical Iowa 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Social media presence can be found at:
www.braytonsbookbuzz.wordpress.com
www.stephenbrayton.wordpress.com
Twitter: @SLBrayton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephenbrayt...
He began writing as a child; his first short story concerned a true incident about his reactions to discipline. During high school, he wrote for the school newspaper and was a
photographer for the yearbook. For a Mass Media class, he wrote and edited a video project.
In college, he began a personal journal for a writing class; said journal is ongoing. He was also a reporter for the college newspaper.
During his early twenties, while working for a Kewanee, Illinois radio station, he wrote a fantasy based story and a trilogy for a comic book.
He has three books published: Alpha, Beta, and Delta, with the fourth in the series, Gamma, and another mystery, New Year Gone, due out later this year. The first in a new series, Night Shadows, was published May 7. He has also been in numerous anthologies as well as poems in Lyrical Iowa 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Social media presence can be found at:
www.braytonsbookbuzz.wordpress.com
www.stephenbrayton.wordpress.com
Twitter: @SLBrayton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephenbrayt...
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 13, 2015
Not that long ago I blogged a review about a book—and character—I really liked, an action-packed story about an actress who wants to join the FBI. In this book we get a female detective/martial arts expert who not only turns out to be even more awesome, but is in a story that I’m calling one of the best books I’ve read so far this year.
Mallory is a six-foot blonde blue-eyed woman whom even the ladies want; when I saw she had Sherlock Holmes and Sam Spade as her inspirations, I was officially just in love as everyone else. The story is told not only in first person but flashback, relating the murder of a past lover to her new lover. No doubt this has to do with another book in the series I haven’t read, but the story could have been fine without the framing device. . . just not as funny.
The writing is superb, quite enjoyable. I am really liking this character, especially her sense of humor, how she can be so hard-bitten yet still soft and sensitive, which is rare to see in even a real-life six foot gorgeous blonde (as a photographer who works with models, take my word for it). Her only downside is her ego, which forces her to do some stupid things, but that seems to be a prerequisite for going-it-alone detectives. The setting of Des Moines also works well, a bit of revelation; it seems to be a lot like any city on the coasts or anywhere in between, with a beautiful botanical garden and dangerous slums.
I liked this so much I immediately wanted to see the other book, but according to the author this is in publishing limbo right now.
Mallory is a six-foot blonde blue-eyed woman whom even the ladies want; when I saw she had Sherlock Holmes and Sam Spade as her inspirations, I was officially just in love as everyone else. The story is told not only in first person but flashback, relating the murder of a past lover to her new lover. No doubt this has to do with another book in the series I haven’t read, but the story could have been fine without the framing device. . . just not as funny.
The writing is superb, quite enjoyable. I am really liking this character, especially her sense of humor, how she can be so hard-bitten yet still soft and sensitive, which is rare to see in even a real-life six foot gorgeous blonde (as a photographer who works with models, take my word for it). Her only downside is her ego, which forces her to do some stupid things, but that seems to be a prerequisite for going-it-alone detectives. The setting of Des Moines also works well, a bit of revelation; it seems to be a lot like any city on the coasts or anywhere in between, with a beautiful botanical garden and dangerous slums.
I liked this so much I immediately wanted to see the other book, but according to the author this is in publishing limbo right now.
Displaying 1 of 1 review