Blog Tour! Cover of Darkness (+50$ Amazon GC Giveaway!)

COVER OF DARKNESS

By

Gregory Delaurentis

BLURB:  

A high profile murder of a Wall Street executive in Westchester pits three people against the criminal underbelly of Manhattan nightlife. The key players are two ex-cops turned private investigators—Kevin Whitehouse, whose sharpest tool is his keen analytical mind, and David Allerton, a former Special Forces operative—and Margaret Alexander, Kevin’s lover. In their search for a killer, they are forced to travel to the edge of sanity and morality, while stumbling onto their own confusing secrets as well. The Cover of Darkness is a gritty noir saga that untangles a web of deceit in the course of tracking down a brutal murderer.

Sounds like a good read right? Well see for yourselves with this excerpt!

The pool area was wide and reflected the sun on this hot summer day. It was edged with white marble so polished that it looked like pearl. Deck chairs lined the sides of the long pool, which was two lengths more than Olympic-sized. Outside the deck area was the carpeted lawn of the vast backyard, dappled with sun.

Hugh Osterman walked along the side of the pool wearing a heavy terry cloth robe and sandals. In his right hand, he held a martini glass. He ran his left hand through his sandy sun-streaked hair as he looked over his shoulder at the man following him.

“What’s going on? I don’t get it,” Osterman said, stopping at the end of the pool where the flotation chairs were kept.

“They said no,” the man replied. Considering the backdrop, he was incongruously dressed in a dark suit and tie.

“They said no . . . just like that?”

Osterman sat his drink down on the marble surface, and pushed a flotation chair into the deep end of the pool, sending it out and away. Then he peeled off the robe and dove smoothly into the water, emerging next to the floating chair.

“You go back and tell them that we aren’t pleased,” Osterman said sternly, pulling himself up and into the seat of the chair. “You tell them that Hugh Osterman wants to know what’s holding things up—what the problem is.”

The suit just stood at the edge of the pool, opening his jacket against the heat of the day. Osterman paddled to the side, and reached out and retrieved his martini glass. “I take it you have nothing to say about this?” he persisted, despite the other man’s silence.

The suit shook his head.

“Well, what are you waiting for?” Osterman said as he tipped the glass up to his lips. Suddenly, the bottom of the stem shattered. Osterman gurgled as he dropped the glass, blood bubbling from his mouth, an open tear in his neck. He jolted upright in the chair as the suit closed the distance between them, his Colt .38 Super still trained on its victim, its silencer smoldering.

Osterman slowly sat back as the suit pumped more rounds into Osterman’s bare, well-defined chest—the hot shells of his pistol ejecting out and striking the surface of the water, settling to the bottom. His life ended as his body tumbled from the floating chair, his blood a widening crimson slick roughly in the area where his body slipped through.

The suit popped his clip, slipped in a new one, and headed for the sprawling house.

“Convince me otherwise.”

The word “Freeze!” were suddenly heard from the doorway. David frowned as he glanced over his shoulder to see a scruffy looking black male, armed with his own shotgun.

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My Thoughts:

I absolutely adore thrillers, particularly if there's lots of mystery and captivating moments, and Cover of Darkness knocked it outof the park.  Dreggs of city life, the inner workings of the justice system and of course, webs of crime interact in this action-packed book of suspense and thrills so intense you swear you were there yourself. You can definitely tell that the author has done his research into police work and all of the day to day hubbub seems distinct and realistic. I almost felt like I was watching Rookie Blue or something and getting a first hand look into the force and the detective branches. 

The story was great, with pacing that had me at least paying attention the whole time. Some books have a pace like a snail...nothing ever happens. Other books have the pace of a roller coaster at cedar point...Everything goes so fast that you miss it and before you know it the books done. Cover of Darkness felt just right with the best blend of plot, dialogue, action, and thrills. Definitely fun. The characters were interesting and everyone, from the main big guys to little side kicks had depth and personality. THAT my friends is the mark of a good book to me. If even the guy that gives out coffee has something funny to say or helps the plot move along, I am super happy. 

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