Blurb:
A body is found in the Alabama wilderness. The
question is:
Is it a human corpse … or is it just a piece of
discarded property?
Agent Samantha Rose has been exiled to a backwater
assignment for the Commonwealth Bureau of Investigation, a death knell for her
career. But then Sam catches a break—a murder—that could give her the boost she
needs to get her life back on track. There's a snag, though: the body is a
clone, and technically that means it's not a homicide. And yet, something about
the body raises questions, not only for her, but for coroner Linsey Mackenzie.
The more they dig, the more they realize nothing about this
case is what it seems … and for Sam, nothing about Mac is what it seems,
either.
This case might be the way out for her, but that way could
be in a bodybag.
A thrilling new mystery from Liana Brooks, The
Day Before will have you looking over your shoulder and questioning what it
means to be human.
Excerpt:
Friday May 17th, 2069
Alabama District 3
Commonwealth of North
America
With an
asthmatic wheeze the engine died. It figured. Stuck in a man’s craw, it did.
This truck had been his daddy’s and his pappy’s, and before the Commonwealth
government forced him to replace the diesel engine with the newfangled water
doohickey, he was certain he’d pass the truck onto his son.
He’d been
playing under the hood of trucks since he was six and now he was stranded.
Embarrassing, that’s what it was. He climbed out of the cab to check the engine
out of habit. The ice blue block of modern fuel efficiency stared back. Three
hundred bucks it’d cost him, straight from his pocket.
Oh, there was a
government subsidy, all right. A priority list. Major Population Centers, they said.
Unite the countries of the Commonwealth on a timeline, they said. And what did
all that mean?
It meant the
damn Yankees got upgraded cities and free cars before the ink was dry on the
Constitution and what about the little man? Nobody thought about the working
class. No one cared about a man covered in oil and grease anymore.
He thumbed his
cellphone on. No reception. Figured.
So much for the
era of new prosperity. He’d hoof it. There was a little town about five miles
down the road where he could call Ricky to bring a tow truck. It would have
been cheaper to pay the diesel fines than get all this fixed.
Off schedule.
Over budget. Son of a –
He stared at the
distant trees. Well, it wasn’t going to get any cooler.
He grabbed his
wallet and keys from the cab of his truck. The tree line looked like a good
spot to answer a call from nature, then he’d see if there weren’t a shortcut
through to town. A meadowlark sang. Not a bad day for a hike. Would’ve been
better if it weren’t so dammed hot, but at least the humidity was low. He
wouldn’t like to walk in a summer monsoon, not at his age with arthritis
playing up.
Under a
sprawling oak he unzipped his pants. As an afterthought, he glanced down to
make sure he wouldn’t stir up a hill of fire ants.
A hand lay next
to his boots.
He blinked,
zipped his pants slowly, and turned around. "Hello?"
Cicadas chirped
in answer.
"Are you
drunk?" The quiet field that looked so peaceful only moments before was
now eerily sinister. He nudged the hand with his foot. It was swollen and pale
and crusted with blood, just like a prop out of a horror movie.
Maybe it was a
good idea to run to the next town.
LINKS:
HarperCollins – http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062407658/the-day-before
Barnes and Noble
– http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-day-before-liana-brooks/1120818378?ean=9780062407658
Website: http://www.lianabrooks.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lianabrooks
Newsletter: http://lianabrooks.us4.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=675dc6fb70db402b9a2b27c97&id=71396c63a4
Coming April 28th, 2015
Available for Pre-Order
Author Bio:
Liana Brooks
once read the book GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett and noted that
both their biographies invited readers to send money (or banana daiquiris).
That seems to have worked well for them. Liana prefers strawberry daiquiris
(virgin!) and will never say no to large amounts of cash in unmarked
bills.
Her books are
sweet and humorous with just enough edge to keep you reading past your
bedtime.
Liana was born
in San Diego after bouncing around the country she's settled (temporarily) in the
great wilderness of Alaska. She can be found on Twitter (@LianaBrooks), on
FaceBook, and on the web at www.lianabrooks.com.
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