YA -
Action/Mystery
Synopsis:
Sydney Marie McSwain and her pal, Cody Beck,
team up to take on a secret club called The Devil's Door where members are
branded with the tattoo of a devil and call themselves The Privileged Ones.
Sydney Marie McSwain - a tomboy who yearned for
a father.
Cody Beck - a wannabe filmmaker, wisenheimer and
flirt.
Jaden Transparent - the star who led the high school
hockey team to two championships, and was now on the A-list for NHL scouts.
Sydney Marie McSwain loves her mom, Anna - a
private investigator in the coastal city where they live - but they had a major
issue between them. Anna refused to give Sydney the identity of her father. On
the day of her high school graduation, they were battling it out, once again.
An hour later, Sydney, Cody and Jaden were at the local café, and watched as
Anna was gunned down, and it was broadcasted on live TV.
Faced with immediate responsibility, Sydney and
Cody agreed to take over the agency, only they changed the name to McSwain
& Beck. At the same time, Sydney convinced Sutter Beach Detective, Ace
Carter, to help her track down her father.
Out of the blue, a model walked in and hired
them to follow her step-brother. While Cody was busy editing a trailer to
solicit new clients, Sydney settled into her lemon-yellow pickup to do
surveillance, and wound up staking out a secret club called The Devil’s Door
whose suspicious members wore the tattoo of a devil.
That same night, Sydney received a call from one
of her mom’s former clients, only the client was gunned down at the location
where they agreed to meet. The mysterious discovery of a DVD revealed the
possibility that teenagers were being abducted, only nobody reported them
missing.
On the hunt for the victims, McSwain & Beck
were chased by men in ski masks, nearly gunned down by members of a cartel
called the outlaws, Sydney’s precious pickup was broken into; then the
step-brother they were hired to follow, was found dead and Sydney was the
number one suspect.
If things weren’t bad enough already, they had
to figure out how to crash a red-carpet Mardi Gras bash being held on a private
cruise ship, before it sailed off into the sunset, where they just might meet
the devil, himself.
Now, the clock was ticking…
And time was running out…
How was she ever going to find her father, now?
“Their lives were in the hands of two 18 year-olds…”
Excerpt #1
The ticker tape on
the bottom of the TV read: In an unusual turn of events, Investigator Anna
McSwain assists law enforcement personnel in the arrest of Marty Cole, an
officer with the Sutter
Beach Vice Unit. Cole is
another individual alleged to be involved in the pension fund scam that McSwain
uncovered earlier this year.
Anna slipped her
weapon back in its holster, and started down the path toward her own SUV, when…
POP – POP – POP –
POP…
A sniper opened
fire, and a round of bullets ripped into her chest. She stumbled and faltered;
then fell like a dead weight to the ground.
It
was immediate pandemonium at the scene. “Shots fired! Shots fired!” an officer
screamed at the top of his lungs. “Officers take cover.” Uniformed officers
took up defensive positions and scanned the area for the shooter.
Excerpt #2
A
FEW hours later, Cody and I stood at the top of the hill overlooking the
harbor. We were both dressed in dark-jump suits and night-goggles. Rope gear
and harnesses were secured around our waists. At the marina, The Humidor was
lit up with thousands of twinkling lights, indicating the party was underway.
Limousines, Hummers and exotic sports cars continued to drop off late arrivals
dressed to the nines at the red-carpet plank that led to the main deck where
the party was underway.
At the sound of a car door shutting
behind me, I turned around to see Jaden as he trudged up the incline, carrying
Cody’s camera bag. When he reached us, he opened it and pulled out Cody’s Canon
camera and the tri-pod.
I looked at Cody, aghast. “You’re having
him film this?”
Cody shrugged. “Are you kidding? This is
the perfect advertising tool.”
“It’s not a spy flick, Cody.”
“C’mon Syd, how often do sleuths get to
handle situations like this, saving victims on a frigging cruise-liner? Man,
we’re doing something no veteran P.I. ever gets to do. It sure beats rifling
through documents in a cold basement.”
I shuttered. “What if we don’t save them?
Have you thought of that? This is serious stuff, Cody.”
Cody put both hands on my arms, and
stared into my eyes. “Not saving them, is not an option. You got us here, this
far. We will save them!”
Tears welled up in my eyes. I hate
crying, but lately, I seem to be doing it, a lot.
Jaden nodded, and he looked serious and
sincere. “I hate to say it, Syd. But numb-nuts is right. You took the skills
your mom taught you, and you worked this case. You have a chance to stop what’s
happening, long before that boat takes them anywhere.”
I inhaled a gulp of air and let it out.
“Okay,” I finally responded, after what felt like an eternity.
Review:
I always loved mystery and action books but I can't believe
how intense this book was! Syd and Cody were the perfect match together! It
totally reminded me of Bones and Booth. They were both real, sexy, and funny. I
think Syd got some Catwoman gene in her! WOOT! She was reckless, and dangerous.
The characters got major awesome sass! I totally wish I can be more like that! The
romance between Syd and Cody was low in this book, but you know that there is
something there, and it would grow.
The plot was a thrill ride for sure! It felt like I was
watching some DC Comics cartoon but less predictable. There were many layers to
this book. I totally felt I was attach in every single possible way with the
characters and the plot. A lot of the time I felt like I had to hold my breath
because I was so afraid. One more plus about this book was that the chapters
are short! YAY! The story was definitely fast paced. I really don't enjoy books
that dwindle on emotions and thinking a lot, especially over something so
stupid. This book was definitely not boring.
Sorry for not having not a lot to say. I just can't describe
how awesome it is. And I really don't want to give away much! I definitely
would recommend this to more of the male readers because the romance is low and
action is high in this book.
CR HIATT is a writer of screenplays and an
author of YA action-mystery novels. The daughter of a military veteran, CR grew
up in a small town where she became an All-American athlete. CR knew early on
that she wasn't cut out for the nine to five type of job - her tendency to day
dream about adventures often got in the way. But, being the daughter of a Navy
Veteran she also knew one had to do what was necessary to be secure, so she
disciplined herself to push those dreams aside and settled on working in the
entertainment legal field. When those dreams invaded her world once again, CR
finally gave in and set out to write her own adventures. What the heck, right.
If you can't live 'em, you might as well write about them. The McSwain &
Beck series are works of fiction, only based on real life events. Gone at Zero
Hundred 00:00 is the first in the series, and available now. Fireworks on the
4th will be released in late June, just before the 4th of July holiday season.
Twitter: @mcswainandbeck
Now GIVEAWAY!
Best Wishes With the GIVEAWAY! You're Awesome!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, MG WELLS! I appreciate the support!
ReplyDeletewell written book that keeps your attention throughout! Once you start you won't want to put it down! Action paced and entertaining all the way !!
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by the tour, and posting a comment. I am so glad that you liked the book.
DeleteCR HIATT
Thank you for stopping by my blog tour. I am glad you liked the book.
DeleteI appreciate the support.
CR HIATT
Hi -
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for being a host for my blog tour. Also, thank you for taking the time to read, and post a review of my YA action-thriller, Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00. I appreciate the time it takes, and am humbled that you could fit it in with your school work.
I sincerely appreciate your efforts on my behalf.
CR HIATT
Hi - I wanted to thank you for hosting my blog tour, and also, for taking the time to read and post a review of my book. I appreciate that you took the time out of your busy school work, in order to aid in my marketing efforts. Thank you so much.
ReplyDelete:-)
CR HIATT
The pleasure was all mine! <3 The book was such an amazing book! It was so fast-paced that it wasn't a drag at all! Great job! <3
DeleteThank you for the kind words. Let's hope I run into a lot of YA's that feel the same as you. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a really fun book! I got over my YA prejudice by reading Elise Stokes Cassidy books. Can't wait.
ReplyDeleteIt is definitely an amazing book. Tell me what you thought of it when you done okay? :D
DeleteKathy - Yes, that Elise sucked me in with both Cassidy Jones adventures, The Secret Formula and The Vulcan's Gift. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by the tour.
Loved it from the mineute I started reading it, finished in a day and can't wait for the next one :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for stopping by my blog tour, Sheila. I am glad that you enjoyed the book. Fireworks on the 4th is coming real soon.
DeleteCan't wait to share your work with my son (he's 14)! Heck, I'm looking forward to reading it! ;o)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! :D
DeleteThanks for doing the giveaway the books sounds great!
ReplyDelete