From New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Heather Graham, comes HAUNTED BE THE HOLIDAYS, a new novella in her Krewe of Hunters Series, brought to you by 1,001 Dark Nights! Be sure to grab your copy today!
About HAUNTED BE THE HOLIDAYS:
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Heather Graham comes a new story in her Krewe of Hunters series…
When you’re looking for the victim of a mysterious murder in a theater, there is nothing like calling on a dead diva for help! Krewe members must find the victim if they’re to discover the identity of a murderer at large, one more than willing to kill the performers when he doesn’t like the show.
It’s Halloween at the Global Tower Theatre, a fantastic and historic theater owned by Adam Harrison and run by spouses of Krewe members. During a special performance, a strange actor makes an appearance in the middle of the show, warning of dire events if his murder is not solved before another holiday rolls around.
Dakota McCoy and Brodie McFadden dive into the mystery. Both have a
special talent for dealing with ghosts, but this one is proving elusive. With the help of Brodie’s diva mother and his ever-patient father – who were killed together when a stage chandelier fell upon them – Dakota and Brodie set out to solve the case.
If they can’t solve the murder quickly, there will be no Thanksgiving for the Krewe . . .
Grab your copy of HAUNTED BE THE HOLIDAYS today!
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EXCERPT:
Caroline walked down the hallway where doors opened into dressing rooms, storage, prop, and costume rooms. She had grown into one of the company’s stars and had her own dressing room near the stairs, allowing for quick costume changes when need be.
On the way, she noticed the prop room door was ajar. She paused to close it and was startled by a leering face. She laughed softy to herself because it was the mask used by the monster in the show. In this twist on the original story, the horror of the creature only showed at certain times. And when it did, there was no time to transform the actor on stage.
The mask, conceived to look like a death’s head, made its appearance in the second act. It was horrible, created as a skeletal face with narrow bones, huge black eyes and a gaping mouth that twisted into a leering scowl.
She’d seen the mask at dress rehearsal, but it was still a chilling sight. It was set atop a stand that had been draped with the monster’s cloak, and it appeared to be as real as possible—without an actor even wearing it.
“You scared me!” she told the mask.
And closed the door.
Despite the lack of light here now, it was easy enough to feel her way to her dressing table in her small—but oh, so special and appreciated—dressing room. And even to find her little bag. She knew exactly where she’d left it. She grabbed her reticule, hurried out and paused—the prop room door was ajar again. The leering death’s head was sticking out at an odd angle.
Something had to be wrong with the way the thing had been set.
Sighing, she started to walk back to the room and see what the difficulty could be.
The face on the thing was cruel and menacing.
“Quite frightening,” she told the piece, approaching it.
“Caroline.”
She froze. It had seemed to say her name. Fear spread through her with a vengeance.
It would have to remain as it was, she decided. She was not staying a minute longer and Judson was right upstairs.
She turned to walk away and wound up running.
But as she reached the stairs and started up them, she knew that someone or something was behind her. She turned, compelled by some unknown force.
And she was stunned to see that the thing, the horrible mask, worn by someone who had also donned the cloak, was there before her.
She started to let out a scream.
It never left her lips. The thing came after her, seeming to float up the stairs, black cloaked arms flying…
Encompassing her and whispering before she could scream.
“The theater is mine, don’t you understand? The theater will always be mine.”
Its arms tightened as she choked out a dying, muted cry for help.
But she was silenced.
Forever.
About Heather Graham:
New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Heather Graham has always been an avid reader, from classics to sci-fi, mystery, horror, thriller, romance, and all kinds of non-fiction. She’s fairly certain that her mom’s deliciously crazy family–arriving in the US a bit before her birth from Ireland–gave her the love of storytelling. She started out in theater and commercials, but once her children began to arrive, she stayed home and gave writing a try. She’s incredibly grateful to be doing what she’s doing for a living. Heather belongs to MWA, RWA, Sisters in Crime, HWA, and ITW, and has the recipient of the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, a Silver Bullet for charitable works, and this year, she will receive the Thriller Master title from ITW. She has over 200 novels in print, and has been published in 22 languages.
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Awesome excerpt! Sound like another enchanting read!! Shared on all my socials!!💖😉