What to expect from the McKinley Mysteries:
Romance. Humor. Murder. Are you looking for a murder mystery
without all the graphic violence and foul language? Something that you can
enjoy in an afternoon and walk away feeling good about afterward? How about a
dash of humor and romance? If so, meet former detectives Sean and Sara
McKinley. When a billionaire leaves them all his money, they no longer have to
work, but they find themselves sticking to what they’re good at—solving
murders. Undercover, off the books, and around the world, they’ll get to the
bottom of things…and romance it up along the way.
This is
the perfect book series for fans of Hart to Hart, Castle, Colombo, Monk, Rockford
Files, Psych, and Magnum PI.
Read in
any order or follow the series from the beginning.
CAROLYN ARNOLD
is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker,
teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction
series—Detective Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and
Matthew Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre
diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled mysteries, and
thrillers to action adventures.
Both her female
detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement
as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE
PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born
in a small town and enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the
lights of a big city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her
overactive imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to
touch the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and
empower.
She currently
lives just west of Toronto with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime
Writers of Canada and Sisters in Crime.
Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:
Website - http://carolynarnold.net/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/Carolyn_Arnold
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolynArnold
And don’t forget to sign up for her
newsletter for up-to-date information on release and special offers at http://carolynarnold.net/newsletters.
HALLOWEEN IS MURDER
Beware of all that goes bump in the night…
Sean and Sara McKinley are excited about the haunted house they’ve set
up as a Halloween charity fund-raiser, but things take a ghoulish turn when the
reporter covering their story is found dead. With the media keeping mum about
how she died, Sara’s curiosity is piqued, and she convinces Sean to take on the
investigation through their PI firm.
But this case is not without its challenges. The police are actively
investigating it, as well, and it’s not even clear that the woman was murdered.
It will take a little cloak-and-dagger, dress-up, and finesse for the McKinleys
to get to the bottom of it, but they aren’t the kind to give up.
As they troll for leads and work through the skeletons in the reporter’s
closet, they unearth a few suspects, but they’ll need to carve out the whole
truth if they’re going to find her killer. If they do so fast enough, there
might even be time for a little trick-or-treating.
Major
Retailer Links & Goodreads:
Excerpt from chapter 2 of Halloween
is Murder (McKinley Mysteries)
Chapter 2
SHOCKING TURN OF EVENTS
IT WAS
NEARING SIX O’CLOCK in the evening, and Sean and Sara were home in their
media room on a large sectional couch, getting ready to watch their spotlight
on the evening news with some friends and colleagues. They’d left the haunted
house in the hands of some capable employees, who would be posted there until
closing at eight.
Jimmy Voigt, their
former sergeant when they worked for the Albany PD, also worked for them at the
PI firm. He was on the couch next to his girlfriend, Meredith, for the viewing.
Sara had told Sean more than once that it was a match made in heaven. He was
pretty sure he’d rolled his eyes every time. Not because he didn’t believe in
love—he was married to his soul mate—but he just found it hard to picture his
former boss whispering sweet nothings to a lady love.
Helen was seated at the
other end of the sectional, and Mia was on the floor at her feet, still dressed
up as a princess. She really was a good kid—as far as kids went anyway. And
it’s not that Sean had anything against children, but for now, he and Sara had
decided they weren’t going to have any. And honestly, it was probably for the
best, as they traveled a lot and solving crimes didn’t leave much free time.
“I’m going to be on
TV.” Mia’s face lit up as she grinned. “I can’t wait!” She seemed more excited
about this than she had been at the announcement that pizza was for dinner. Mia
stared at the muted television. “That lady was so pretty.”
By “that lady,” Sean
assumed she meant Chloe Parsons. Sean had to agree that based on appearances
and initial impressions, she was good-looking. But he didn’t understand why she
took such issue with Susannah when she didn’t want to talk.
Mia turned to Sara and
flashed another smile. “You looked great, too.”
“Thank you.” Sara
returned the smile and swept her long brown hair over her left shoulder. “Did
you have fun today?”
“Oh yeah. My favorite
part was the mummy.”
“That didn’t scare
you?” Sara laced her voice with concern but couldn’t hide the underlying
amusement.
Mia’s expression faded,
and her eyes enlarged. She nodded. “I was, but I like to be scared. And I love
mummies!” She bounded to her feet and jumped onto her mother’s lap. Helen let
out a whoosh of air but quickly recovered.
“It’s the other kind of
mummy, though, sweetheart.” Helen ran a hand over her daughter’s silky hair.
“Oh, it’s almost time,”
Meredith said, obviously getting swept up in Mia’s enthusiasm.
Sean looked at the
digital clock on the cable box: 5:59.
“It’s on!” Jimmy said,
sitting up straighter.
Sean turned up the
sound and sank back into the couch, putting an arm around his wife.
Mia wriggled on her
mother’s lap.
“Come on, honey, back
on the floor.” Helen’s voice strained with the desperation of her plea.
Sean smiled, not
because of the woman’s discomfort but because he loved seeing how excited Mia
was.
“My costume was the
best. They have to show me!” The little girl’s eyes were wide and fixed on the
screen.
“You are a beautiful
little princess,” Sean said.
Mia glared at him. “I’m
not little.” She held up both hands, fingers splaying as she counted
them off. “I’m six.”
“My apologies,” he said
with a slight bow of his head.
Sara laced her fingers
with his, and he met her gaze, which said, You’re aren’t the best with kids…
Message received.
“Shh.” This came from
Jimmy, and when Sean turned to look at him, he shrugged. “You want to hear it,
don’t you?”
Sean increased the
volume a bit more.
“We have some somber
news this evening,” a chic reporter announced from the news desk. Based
on the set of her mouth and the sad look in her eyes, she wasn’t reading from a
script. “Your Source has just received word that one of our own has died.”
Sara tapped her fingers
on the back of his, leaned in, and whispered, “I have a bad feeling about
this.”
He didn’t look over at
her, but his wife had this way of sensing things. He wouldn’t label her
clairvoyant, but she certainly had strong intuition.
“Tonight, we say
good-bye to”—the reporter, while she kept her tone modulated, was clearly
battling with her emotions—“Chloe Parsons.”
The news was a sledgehammer to his chest, knocking the wind out of
him.
********************************************************************
