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Gavin MacFadyen #1
Road Kill
Two decades of secrets, one killer on the loose, and a town haunted by its darkest sins—can they escape the past before it claims them all?
Two decades ago, a sleepy New England town is torn apart by murder when a group of teens lure their unsuspecting victim to a lakeside beach. The prosecution’s witness is the troubled fifteen-year-old Lacey Watkins, who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Haunted by the ghosts of her family’s past, Lacey has returned to this place of scandal. With the help of her sister Terri, she is starting over. With nowhere left to run, Lacey is struggling to build a life…until her sister is found dead. When she discovers crime-scene photos of two murders mixed in with her work, Lacey suddenly finds herself at the center of a police investigation and the target of a killer’s obsession.
After twenty years with the New Haven Police Department, the ex-Detective Gavin MacFadyen is starting a new career as a private investigator. But when his ex-partner is killed in a suspicious ‘hit-and-run’, he is pulled back into that world of corrupt cops, child prostitution, gang murders, and crime bosses who litter the shore with headless corpses.
Gavin has secrets of his own, but Lacey needs an ally, now more than ever…because the murderous fury of an avenger is about to destroy them both.
Two decades ago, a sleepy New England town is torn apart by murder when a group of teens lure their unsuspecting victim to a lakeside beach. The prosecution’s witness is the troubled fifteen-year-old Lacey Watkins, who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Haunted by the ghosts of her family’s past, Lacey has returned to this place of scandal. With the help of her sister Terri, she is starting over. With nowhere left to run, Lacey is struggling to build a life…until her sister is found dead. When she discovers crime-scene photos of two murders mixed in with her work, Lacey suddenly finds herself at the center of a police investigation and the target of a killer’s obsession.
After twenty years with the New Haven Police Department, the ex-Detective Gavin MacFadyen is starting a new career as a private investigator. But when his ex-partner is killed in a suspicious ‘hit-and-run’, he is pulled back into that world of corrupt cops, child prostitution, gang murders, and crime bosses who litter the shore with headless corpses.
Gavin has secrets of his own, but Lacey needs an ally, now more than ever…because the murderous fury of an avenger is about to destroy them both.
Audible Audio
First published December 27, 2013
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About the author
Jan Coffey
602 books83 followersJan Coffey, Nik James, and May McGoldrick are pen names for USA Today bestselling authors Nikoo Kafi and Jim McGoldrick. Together, they have crafted over fifty fast-paced, conflict-filled historical, contemporary, and Western novels, and two works of nonfiction.
Nikoo’s education and training was in engineering. She worked in robotics and submarine shipbuilding. Before earning a PhD in sixteenth-century Scottish and English literature, Jim pursued a hundred and one jobs, including a decade in submarine construction.
Storytellers at heart, Nikoo and Jim were always searching for careers that gave them time for both family and writing. Then, after thirteen years of marriage, they recognized each other’s creative strengths. Nikoo is all about characters and feeling. Jim is about action and sense of place. Their first attempt in writing fiction together produced their award-winning novel, The Thistle and the Rose. Since then, their stories have touched the hearts and minds of millions of readers all over the world. Their work has been translated into over a dozen languages and counting.
Nikoo and Jim are four-time Rita Finalists and the winners of numerous awards for their writing, including the Daphne DeMaurier Award for Excellence, the Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award, three NJRW Golden Leaf Awards, two Holt Medallions, and the Connecticut Press Club Award for Best Fiction.
The authors make their home in California.
Here is a complete catalogue of May McGoldrick, Nik James and Jan Coffey’s work, in chronological order.
Each book stands on its own.
MAY McGOLDRICK
Macpherson Clan Series
The Thistle and the Rose
A Midsummer Wedding (novella)
Angel of Skye
Heart of Gold
Beauty of the Mist
The Intended
Flame
Tess and the Highlander
The Dreamer (Highland Treasure)
The Enchantress (Highland Treasure)
The Firebrand (Highland Treasure)
Much Ado About Highlanders (Scottish Relic)
Taming the Highlander (Scottish Relic)
Tempest in the Highlands (Scottish Relic)
Arsenic and Old Armor
---
Pennington Family Series
The Promise
The Rebel
Borrowed Dreams
Captured Dreams
Dreams of Destiny
Romancing the Scot
It Happened in the Highlands
Sweet Home Highland Christmas (novella)
Sleepless in Scotland
Dearest Millie (novella)
How to Ditch a Duke (novella)
---
Royal Highlander Series
Highland Crown
Highland Jewel
Highland Sword
---
A Prince in the Pantry (novella)
Ghost of the Thames
---
Made in Heaven
Thanksgiving in Connecticut (novella)
NIK JAMES
The Winter Road (novella)
High Country Justice
Bullets and Silver
Silver Trail Christmas
JAN COFFEY
Trust Me Once
Twice Burned
Triple Threat
Fourth Victim
Five in a Row
Silent Waters
Cross Wired
The Janus Effect
The Puppet Master
Blind Eye
Road Kill
Mercy (novella)
Tropical Kiss
Aquarian
When the Mirror Cracks
NONFICTION
Marriage of Minds: Collaborative Fiction Writing
Step Write Up: Writing Exercises for 21st Century
---
Sign up for the May McGoldrick, Nik James, Jan Coffey Newsletter
https://www.maymcgoldrick.com/contact-us
---
Visit their author websites
www.MayMcGoldrick.com
www.NikJamesAuthor.com
www.JanCoffey.com
Nikoo’s education and training was in engineering. She worked in robotics and submarine shipbuilding. Before earning a PhD in sixteenth-century Scottish and English literature, Jim pursued a hundred and one jobs, including a decade in submarine construction.
Storytellers at heart, Nikoo and Jim were always searching for careers that gave them time for both family and writing. Then, after thirteen years of marriage, they recognized each other’s creative strengths. Nikoo is all about characters and feeling. Jim is about action and sense of place. Their first attempt in writing fiction together produced their award-winning novel, The Thistle and the Rose. Since then, their stories have touched the hearts and minds of millions of readers all over the world. Their work has been translated into over a dozen languages and counting.
Nikoo and Jim are four-time Rita Finalists and the winners of numerous awards for their writing, including the Daphne DeMaurier Award for Excellence, the Romantic Times Magazine Reviewers’ Choice Award, three NJRW Golden Leaf Awards, two Holt Medallions, and the Connecticut Press Club Award for Best Fiction.
The authors make their home in California.
Here is a complete catalogue of May McGoldrick, Nik James and Jan Coffey’s work, in chronological order.
Each book stands on its own.
MAY McGOLDRICK
Macpherson Clan Series
The Thistle and the Rose
A Midsummer Wedding (novella)
Angel of Skye
Heart of Gold
Beauty of the Mist
The Intended
Flame
Tess and the Highlander
The Dreamer (Highland Treasure)
The Enchantress (Highland Treasure)
The Firebrand (Highland Treasure)
Much Ado About Highlanders (Scottish Relic)
Taming the Highlander (Scottish Relic)
Tempest in the Highlands (Scottish Relic)
Arsenic and Old Armor
---
Pennington Family Series
The Promise
The Rebel
Borrowed Dreams
Captured Dreams
Dreams of Destiny
Romancing the Scot
It Happened in the Highlands
Sweet Home Highland Christmas (novella)
Sleepless in Scotland
Dearest Millie (novella)
How to Ditch a Duke (novella)
---
Royal Highlander Series
Highland Crown
Highland Jewel
Highland Sword
---
A Prince in the Pantry (novella)
Ghost of the Thames
---
Made in Heaven
Thanksgiving in Connecticut (novella)
NIK JAMES
The Winter Road (novella)
High Country Justice
Bullets and Silver
Silver Trail Christmas
JAN COFFEY
Trust Me Once
Twice Burned
Triple Threat
Fourth Victim
Five in a Row
Silent Waters
Cross Wired
The Janus Effect
The Puppet Master
Blind Eye
Road Kill
Mercy (novella)
Tropical Kiss
Aquarian
When the Mirror Cracks
NONFICTION
Marriage of Minds: Collaborative Fiction Writing
Step Write Up: Writing Exercises for 21st Century
---
Sign up for the May McGoldrick, Nik James, Jan Coffey Newsletter
https://www.maymcgoldrick.com/contact-us
---
Visit their author websites
www.MayMcGoldrick.com
www.NikJamesAuthor.com
www.JanCoffey.com
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 12, 2014
Lacey’s sister is found dead. Having spent time behind bars she embarks on finding her sister’s killer. The sudden appearance of pictures on her computer that are linked to Terri’s death is a mystery that unravels slowly. It’s a gripping story that will keep you guessing. The plot takes a different twist when Gavin falls for Lacey. Meanwhile lingering in his mind was the mysterious death of Stephanie Green. Lacey has little or no choice but to trust her instinct. The story gets even more interesting when evidence of what Terri was working on before she died begun to resurface.
Clearly the author’s suspenseful writing is adept at letting her readers really get to know her characters. The story doesn't write one-dimensional characters that are easy to predict. You get into the characters' lives, motivations, thoughts and actions but at the same time the momentum of the story is well paced. I was quite riveted throughout the entire book. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing who did it?
‘Donna and Ron Marteka locked up in his office with the blinds down at least half an hour. What do you think they’re doing? Not forgetting Ron is married.
Not read any books written by this author but I must say I’m keen to do so now. Loved it! – Definitely a must read!
Clearly the author’s suspenseful writing is adept at letting her readers really get to know her characters. The story doesn't write one-dimensional characters that are easy to predict. You get into the characters' lives, motivations, thoughts and actions but at the same time the momentum of the story is well paced. I was quite riveted throughout the entire book. There were plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing who did it?
‘Donna and Ron Marteka locked up in his office with the blinds down at least half an hour. What do you think they’re doing? Not forgetting Ron is married.
Not read any books written by this author but I must say I’m keen to do so now. Loved it! – Definitely a must read!
February 19, 2014
This book did not let me down! The characters are well developed as i have come to expect from Jan Coffey! They are down to earth realist people facing struggles that could really happen in real life so it easy to slip into their experince. I loved the way the plot flows without any effort and i was able to relax and enjoy five stars was not enough for this writer i always give ten Jan Coffey has real talent and now days were vampires sparkle this is rare thank you for allowing me to read a well done work!
July 21, 2014
What a Great Read!
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Will definitely read a sequel. Great storyline and characters. A fast paced read that flows. I recommend this book for all adults who like mystery and romance.
I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. Will definitely read a sequel. Great storyline and characters. A fast paced read that flows. I recommend this book for all adults who like mystery and romance.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews