Ebony

by T.C. LoTempio

Reporter Jess McCall seems to have it all--a great career, money, fame--but what the intrepid reporter really desires is to finally mend fences with her younger, wild-child sister Amanda. When Amanda suddenly disappears, Jess reluctantly returns to her hometown of Ebony to investigate. There her efforts are stymied by the uncooperative Chief of Police and Amanda's employer, a respected pillar of the community. Undaunted and unconvinced by their blasé attitude, Jess delves deeper into the circumstances behind Amanda's disappearance, an action that partners her with Frankie Marshall, a reporter with secrets of his own. A series of other odd disappearances prompts them to wonder if Amanda's might not be linked as well, and they begin an inquiry that soon uncovers, among other things, their attraction to one another, a realization complicated by the appearance of Jess's ex-boyfriend. Old passions take second place to the drama unfolding around them, and they find themselves drawn deeper into an investigation that leads them to an abandoned factory in the woods just outside Ebony. There, they find they must confront undead horrors and the insane madman behind them in order to save Ebony--and themselves.

316 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Born in New York City, T. C. LoTempio is the national bestselling author of Meow If It’s Murder, the first in the Nick and Nora Mystery series.

She has been a staff reporter at the young adult magazine Susabella Passengers and Friends for more than a decade.

While Toni LoTempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life, she has no trouble doing it on paper.

Her lifelong love of mysteries began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She lists among her favorite mystery/suspense writers Erle Stanley Gardner, Mary Higgins Clark and James Patterson, as well as EJ Copperman, Steve Hockensmith, Victoria Laurie, Ali Brandon, Rita Mae Brown, Miranda James and Sofie Kelly to name only a few!

Toni is also passionate about her love for animals, as demonstrated with her four cats: Trixie, Princess, Maxx and, of course, ROCCO, who not only provided the inspiration for the character of Nick the cat in the Nick and Nora mystery series, but who also writes his own blog and does charity work for Nathan Fillion’s charity, Kids Need to Read!

Toni’s also devoted to miniseries like The Thorn Birds, Dancing with the Stars, reruns of Murder She Wrote and Castle (of course!).

She (and ROCCO, albeit he’s uncredited) pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime.

She, Rocco and company make their home in Clifton, New Jersey, just twenty minutes from the Big Apple – New York