Dark Streets Shineth, a Say a Prayer whodunit
Clare Revell
PBGroup Holiday Extravaganza novella, December 1, 2020, 102 pp
Barnes and Noble
Ebook Currently on sale for 99 cents
YOU'D BETTER WATCH OUT. YOU'D BETTER NOT CRY. SANTA CLAUS IS GOING TO DIE...DCI Boaz Matthias isn't a Christmas person. He never has been. Not since he discovered the truth when he was seven. Christmas is a lie and a con and nothing is ever going to change his mind. Being given a temporary six week assignment isn't helping his mood either—as it means Christmas with the family. Only good thing is the accidental meeting of someone he thinks he could grow very fond of.
DC Isabel York loves Christmas. So much so that she decorates her desk with lights, tinsel, and a novelty advent calendar. When her boss is called away, his replacement is the last person she's expecting to see—her fledgling boyfriend.
In the middle of a nasty case, Isabel is nevertheless determined to show Boaz the real meaning of Christmas. The only problem is that work and pleasure just don't mix—at least not according to him.
I loved these characters throughout the Say a Prayer series. They’re intentional short segments of murder investigations at a particular police station in England. They are well-researched and populated with all-too-real people. Isabel hasn’t been a DC all that long, but her intuition and ability to connects dots has had other officers in her department…shall we say jealous? While most of the problem people were shifted around to other departments or fired, a few officers are still afraid of her and try to make her life miserable. Things get a little worse when their favorite boss has a family emergency and the temp is a grinch. Not just a grinch but the fellow who Isabel had started dating prior to his new assignment. The new temp, Boaz, walks in on an already-in-progress murder investigation. Someone is killing store Santas, and as it’s Isabel’s case, she’s in charge, much to the chagrin of the remaining problem parties in the department. Isabel’s got a lot to deal with this Christmas amid a boyfriend who hates her favorite time of year, numbskulls who whine at work even as Isabel continues to develop her self-confidence on the job, and a morgue filling up with bodies. Where can a person find a cup of Christmas cheer with all this mayhem?
Clare is a British author. She lives in a small town in England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, and her three children. Writing from a early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fanfiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.
Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American, the books contain British language and terminology. The first draft of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.
She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarerevell/
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellAuthor
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/