Vengeful CONspiracies – Book Tour and Giveaway

 

Sadie encounters a nemesis from her past.

Is it coincidence or is it something more sinister?

Book 2 reveals the truth!

 

Vengeful CONspiracies

A Sadie Sabatini Mystery Book 2

by Nicole Leiren

Genre: Cozy Mystery

 

 

Sadie is settling into her new life in Wilson, Texas. She’s making friends and her business, Tesoro, is starting to thrive. But the past is never far behind. When two former team members come for a visit, they bring trouble in the form of a mutual enemy set on revenge threatening to disrupt Sadie’s fresh start.

 

She can’t turn her back on her team, though. They’ve been through too much together. The more Sadie tries to help, the more she suspects she might be the target of the con this time. With forces conspiring against her, the outcome of her decisions, both past and present, weigh heavily and make her question the choices she made leading to this point.

 

When their mutual enemy is found dead, alliances are tested, and wits are matched as the race to the truth reveals who can be trusted and who is running their final con. 

 

 

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I grabbed my laptop and returned to the counter. Since Kelsey didn’t want to talk about the election now, I wouldn’t bother her. I was curious, though, about the candidates. The seats being voted on were currently occupied by Jim Bob (JB) Nester, Alan Knightly, and Ted Birmingham. Ted was the only one not running for re-election. I was a little surprised by this. When it came to the Birminghams and their legacy, both influence and power were important. Since Ted typically did what his father wanted, I had no doubt it was Robert’s idea.

Next, I wanted to take a look at the candidates running to occupy those seats. “Hey, Tessa is running.”

Kelsey looked my way and grinned. “I knew you’d do some research before Sunday.”

I shrugged. “The Boy Scouts and I have that in common–always be prepared. I’ve visited her shop, Tessa’s Treats, many times.”

“She will be a great asset to the board, for sure. One vote down, two to go.” She winked.

Next up was Karen Bizzy, the “Karen” to beat out all other “Karens.” She had definitive plans for the town of Wilson, very few of which I supported. Denise McDowell and Jackie Price were also vying for a seat. I wasn’t sure either was truly qualified, but out of the two, I knew Denise better. Her motivations, at least, were easier to understand. Jackie, on the other hand, was still a mystery.

Since I was familiar with them, I hadn’t selected the hyperlink under their name to see the bio and picture. The new guy, Miles Gentry, needed additional research. I hovered over the blue letters that contained his name and hit enter.

As his picture appeared on a new page, my heart stopped beating for a moment. His hair might no longer be black, and contacts had replaced his glasses, but the face struck a familiar chord from my past. This man was not Miles Gentry. No, I’d recognize the smug look on his narrow face anywhere. This was none other than Miles Grant, a former pharmaceutical executive my team brought down about a year ago due to his use of experimental pesticides which poisoned the workers in the field. He had also skimmed money from the company to fund other experimental programs. In sum, he was a bad actor who had either learned his lesson and was starting a new life, or he had moved from California to Texas to start a new venture where no one knew him or his reputation. At least, he would think no one knew him.

Either way, I didn’t trust him. My gut was rarely, if ever, wrong. Right now, it was screaming at me that his presence in Wilson spelled bad news for the unsuspecting people of this town. Deep down, I also knew it wouldn’t be long before our paths crossed, which undoubtedly would mean nothing but trouble for me.

 

Murderous CONsequences

A Sadie Sabatini Mystery Book 1

 

 

Sadie Sabatini thinks of herself as a modern-day Robin Hood who uses her gift as a skilled con artist to help those who have nowhere else to turn. Leading this life is rewarding, but the number of enemies are piling up. Sadie decides to lay low and start over with a new (and legitimate business) in the small town of Wilson, Texas, situated on a small peninsula in beautiful Lake Amore.

 

Trouble is never far behind though and her past catches up to her in a big way when a friend of a former mark threatens blackmail for his silence. When he turns up dead and Sadie is the prime suspect, she realizes this time she must protect herself. Her skills prove helpful as she digs deeper into the web of revenge, blackmail, and secrets to discover she’s not the only one with a past to hide.

 

As the threats mount, Sadie knows she’s closing in on the truth. She now worries that the few new friends she’s made in town are in danger because of her. With time running out, can she protect those around her and find the real killer before this new chapter in her life is conned out of a happy ending?

 

 

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Figuring I’d put a little icing on top of my minor victory cake, I added a little louder so those within earshot could hear, “As a new part of this community, I’ve decided I want to give back. I’m going to donate twenty-five percent of my net proceeds to the local shelter. That’s a good cause, wouldn’t you agree, Ms. Birmingham?”

How I managed to keep the smile off my face as my words registered with her escaped me. Perhaps, it was because this had been a spur of the moment decision, but it sincerely seemed like the right thing to do. Plus, Emma Jane had to agree since she was going to do it as well and everyone knew it.

She drew herself to her full height and offered a smile that didn’t look agreeable or contrite to me in the least. “Of course. Giving back is always a good thing.” She offered a deep, dramatic sigh (for maximum effect, I’m sure). “I just hope you’re around long enough to make good on that pledge. I’ve heard you might have found yourself in a bit of trouble.”

Emma Jane was baiting me, but this fish had learned not to bite. My response was limited to a shrug of my shoulders and a sassy smile. “I’m not certain what trouble you might be referring to, but I assure you that the truth…” I turned to Emerson. “What is it you told me about the truth?”

He grinned. “It will set you free.”

Nodding, I returned my attention to Emma Jane. “And since the truth is that I didn’t do anything to worry about, I know I’ll remain free.”

To her credit, she didn’t back down. Instead, she lifted her hand to inspect her manicure and sighed. “We shall see, won’t we?”

 

 

Described by those who know her best as perky, quirky and effervescent, USA Today Best-Selling author Nicole Leiren likes to have fun — in life, with her characters and, of course, her readers. She admits to being sassy (just ask her mother!) and inspiration for her characters are drawn from the real-world heroes and heroines she meets while traversing the country.

 

Nicole enjoys sharing the love, laughter, mystery, and occasionally a touch of the mayhem she forces her characters to endure—all for the reader’s pleasure! Her real-world heroes and heroines will keep you turning the pages until you reach the whodunit or happily ever after (usually both!)

 

 

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What inspired you to write this book?

 

Writing the second book in a series is always a little challenging for me.  Deciding what happens next in a character’s story is important.  The first one – you typically know you have to introduce them into the new world, the main characters, a little about their story (and backstory) and then let readers get to know and love them like you do through the story you tell.

While you still want to do that to a certain extent in book 2, the challenge is making sure readers who might be reading this one first have enough information to know who’s who and what’s what but not making the folks who read the first book have déjà vu by hearing things explained exactly the same way as before.

I have great admiration for authors who have series that span 10, 15 or more books.  That’s a lot of repeating in new ways 😊

For this story, I wanted to bring in the more personal aspect of Sadie’s past and the choices she made. I think people generally believe they’re making the best decisions they can with the information and experience they have in front of them. When another perspective is introduced, however, it can make us question the choices we made. Sadie learns that not everyone on her team accepted her decision to have them go their separate ways and keep their distance to protect each other. She’s now faced with having her two worlds, past and present collide and she’s re-examining all her decisions and trying to determine if her team is still loyal or if they’re out for revenge.

For me, the inspiration for this story was looking at life from different perspectives and exploring how that can create challenges and the ability to strengthen relationships in the end.

 

53 Comments

  1. Marcy Meyer

    This sounds like a good cozy mystery. I would enjoy reading it.

  2. Melissa Cushing

    This sounds like the perfect new book for me to read! IU love a good cozy mystery and this one is perfect!

  3. Lisa Brown

    Yay, a cozy mystery! I do hope to read it :)

    • Soha Molina

      What advice do you have for new authors?

  4. Barbara Montag

    This looks like a great mystery series & I love the cover!
    Thank you for sharing.

  5. Piroska

    Thanks for the great excerpt. The book sounds very intriguing. Love the cover!

  6. Wendy Jensen

    This sounds like an interesting mystery.

  7. Susan Smith

    This sounds like a great Cozy Mystery. I like the cover.

  8. Carol G

    New series, sounds like a good one to read.

    • Thanks Carol! Book 1 is on sale (99 cents at Amazon) if you want to check out how it all starts!

    • Thanks Rita! Hope you enjoy Sadie's newest adventure. Book 1 is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon if you want to see how Sadie's story begins :-)

  9. heather

    I would love to read this one this spring season it sounds super interesting and I love the cover too.

    • Thanks Heather! I'm so glad you like the cover! Hope you enjoy Sadie's newest adventure. Book 1 is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon if you want to see how Sadie's story begins :-)

  10. Nina Lewis

    Sounds like a great series. Thank you for the excerpts & your guest post! :)

    • Thanks Nina! Hope you enjoy Sadie's newest adventure. I'm so glad you enjoyed the excerpt :-) As an FYI, Book 1 is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon if you want to see how Sadie's story begins :-)

  11. Pat F

    Looks like a wonderful read! Can't wait to read it.

    • Thanks Pat! Hope you enjoy Sadie's newest adventure. Book 1 is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon if you want to see how Sadie's story begins :-)

  12. Sherry

    I really like the excerpt and the cover.

    • Thanks Sherry! So glad you enjoyed the excerpt and like the cover! Appreciate your stopping by!!

  13. Heather Swanson

    Looks exciting Do you write in a daily journal?

    • Thanks Heather! I did journal when I was younger. Unfortunately, there's little time in my day right now (between my day job, author stuff, and my public speaking.) Do you journal? I know it can be a great tool - maybe I should try to find time to do that!

  14. Jamie Martin

    Do you have any advice for new writers?

    • Hi Jamie, thanks for stopping by! My advice would be that creating the stories is the fun part but to be success and/or in this for the long haul, authors need to understand the business side of things so it's important early on (before you sign that first book deal) that you understand that side (at least a little) so you can be prepared to juggle it. The creative side and the business side require two different parts of our brains and switching between the two can be challenging at times :-) But if you love writing, I'd say keep on, keeping on!!

  15. Jeanna Massman

    I love cozy mysteries and this one sounds great.

    • Thanks Jeanna! Hope you enjoy Sadie's newest adventure. Book 1 is on sale for 99 cents at Amazon if you want to see how Sadie's story begins :-) Appreciate your stopping by! Nicole

  16. Cynthia C

    The excerpt is interesting. Thank you for sharing it.

  17. beth shepherd

    This looks like a great read

  18. wendy hutton

    I love a good mystery, this sounds exciting

  19. Cindy Merrill

    The plot sounds like a game of wits, for sure. Do you prefer rural settings for the stories you write?

  20. polly

    Sounds like it is going to be about relationships...always an interesting topic.

  21. Soha Molina

    What advice do you have for new authors?

  22. Donna

    Cozy mysteries are one of my favorite genres and both of these sound like really fun ones!

  23. Virginia Hafer

    This is the kind of book that I like to read,

  24. Ann Fantom

    This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.

  25. Patty Curtis

    Love books written by Nicole Leiren! She is a fantastic writer! I have read all her books. 📚

  26. Patty Curtis

    Love books written by Nicole Leiren! She is a fantastic writer! I have read all her books. 📚 I can’t wait to read this one.

  27. Debbi Wellenstein

    The cover is wonderful. Thank you for the giveaway!

  28. Billie Williams

    Best wishes on your new release.

  29. Jennifer R

    The cozy mystery book sounds fun to read.

  30. Michelle Domangue

    What a great sounding book

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