The Fallen Angels Book Club

by R Franklin James

Overview

The Fallen Angels Book Club has only two requirements: the members must love books and have a white-collar criminal record. Hollis Morgan fits the bill. Left holding the bag in an insurance fraud scheme concocted by her now ex-husband, she served her time and is trying to rebuild her life. All she wants is for the court to pardon her conviction so she can return to law school. After one of her fellow members is murdered in a scenario straight out of a club selection, Hollis is once again the subject of police scrutiny. Refusing to get stuck with another bad rap, she sets out to investigate her fellow club members. Is one of them really blackmailing the others? As a second member dies in yet another book-inspired murder, Hollis realizes that time is running out. Everything rides on her finding the killer-not just her career aspirations. She must identify the killer before she herself becomes the next victim. Everyone is convinced she knows more than she lets on. But what is it, exactly, that is she supposed to know? The Fallen Angels Book Club is the first book in an exciting new mystery series featuring amateur sleuth Hollis Morgan.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603819176
Publisher:	Camel Press
Publication date:	05/01/2013
Series:	Hollis Morgan Mystery , #1
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.66(d)

About the Author

R. Franklin James grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. As a UC Berkeley grad, she cultivated a different type of writing-legislation and public policy. After a career of public advocacy and serving as Deputy Mayor for the City of Los Angeles, she went back to her first love-writing.

Read an Excerpt

I had hoped the meeting would give me a clue as to Bill's connection to Rory. Possibilities raced around in my head, but so far there just seemed to be a lot of rattled cages. "If Rory was … say, blackmailing one of us," I went on, "there's nothing we can do now. It's over."

"Over my ass," Miller said. "There's a killer in the room."

Richard coughed.

"Wait a second," Rena jumped in. "It's doesn't have to be one of us. Maybe somebody out there had it in for Rory and knew he read this book, and … and then copied the murder."

"We're still going in circles," Abby said.

Gene checked his watch. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm done. I have no intention of going back to prison. I'm going to tell the truth." He picked up his jacket. "Hollis, the police haven't confirmed the blackmail. He wasn't blackmailing me. No need for anyone to share their story. I'm not going to ask, so you don't have to tell me."

"Gene, no one is sharing their story. Miller, I don't think the killer is necessarily in this room. I want to know if anyone had any clue about him, something he might have said, or--"

"I'd hate to think one of you guys might have done it," Rena said.

I formed a T with my hands for time out. "Look, Rena, we'd hate to think that you did it, too." She opened her mouth to protest. "What I'm saying is that we all might have been set up. Maybe Rory told someone about the club, and we became easy suspects."

"So where is this going?" Abby asked.

"Maybe there's something one of us knows that the rest don't know we know. We could try to figure out--"

Miller spoke slowly. "This isn't television. We can't afford to play detective."

I caught myself glaring at the stress cracks in the ceiling.

Could Bill have set this up?

"Okay then, let's just let the police do their job," Abby said. "I think we should all agree to stick to our rules: we don't know anything about anybody."

Gene nodded. "Yeah, I'm with Abby."

The others nodded. Richard was the only one who looked over at me. I shrugged.

Abby picked up her purse. "I think we should suspend our meetings until further notice. In time I'll … I'll contact everyone to come up with a date for our next meeting."

Everybody got up as if a bell had rung. I helped put the table and chairs in the storage area. I was taking a last look around the room when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I jumped.

"Want to go to Starbucks?" Richard asked.

I gave him a small smile. "I drink tea."

"They have tea, too." He placed the last chair on the stack and guided me by my elbow toward the door. "There's something I want to tell you."

Editorial Reviews

"Who is Hollis Morgan? Under this name she's building a life around her job as a paralegal and her volunteer work at a senior center. Her personal life centers on a monthly book club whose other members share her secret-they've all served prison time for white-collar felonies. When two murders put her on the suspect list, Hollis must find the connections that place her at the center of the web of lies, and clear her name before she loses her chance for a pardon. Twists and turns keep this debut novel exciting to the surprising end!"

-Michele Drier, author of Edited for Death, An Amy Hobbes Newspaper Mystery, and The Kandesky Vampire Chronicles.

"R. Franklin James' new book has everything a reader could ask for in a good mystery: intriguing plot, fascinating characters, and a few shockers thrown in along the way. From start to finish it kept me turning pages. I'm already looking forward to her next one."

-Shirley Kennedy, Romance Novelist

"Reading is murder in this must-read suspense novel filled with surprising twists and turns."

-Cathi Stoler, author of the mystery thriller, Telling Lies

"A fast paced plot with many twists coupled with a smart and determined protagonist make this a most enjoyable read."

-Kathleen Delaney, author of the Ellen McKenzie real estate mysteries

From the Publisher