NBTM Virtual Book Tour and Giveaway: Grave Girl (Thomas Shepard Mystery #1) by Dan Padavona

Welcome to my stop on the NBTM virtual book tour for Grave Girl by Dan Padavona. This book tour was organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. On my stop, I have an excerpt from the book as well as an interesting guest post from the author regarding Jack the Ripper. There's also the tour wide giveaway for a chance to win a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card. Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour for more content. Enjoy!

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Title: Grave Girl

Series: Thomas Shepard Mystery #1

Author: Dan Padavona

Publication Date: December 27th 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

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Every mind holds a secret. Some are more deadly than others.

Nightshade County Sheriff Thomas Shepherd is a successful model for every law enforcement officer with autism. He leads an idyllic life in his uncle’s old home along Wolf Lake and is planning to marry private investigator Chelsey Byrd.

But when a star athlete’s girlfriend disappears while camping, everyone blames the boyfriend. He’s volatile and dangerous. Did he murder the girl and bury her in the woods?

The sheriff’s gut tells him there’s more to the story than the boyfriend is willing to admit. The more he digs into the case, the more he worries someone is hiding a dark secret.

Is the boy a killer? Or is he the next victim?

Goodreads * Amazon

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EXCERPT:

McKenzie Ossman twirled a length of blond hair around her finger and took in the stars. Here, five miles beyond Kane Grove’s city lights, the sky was a frozen portrait of fireworks. She shivered against the chill and puffed out a condensation cloud, the cold already deep enough to penetrate her bones. By morning, frost would cover the landscape.

She accepted the bottle of Jack Daniels from Marshall and sipped. This was a terrible idea. As much as she wanted to get him away from the pressures of Kane Grove University and the constant attention he received from being a future NFL draft selection, she didn’t like it when he drank. Hazel-skinned, strong, body painted with tattoos, he was a Greek god when he was sober. But lately he’d taken to drinking too often. He changed after the alcohol hit his bloodstream, turning angry and short-fused, a bomb ready to blow.

Then there was the problem of getting back to campus on his motorcycle. She couldn’t trust him to drive buzzed. Sometimes he pushed the motorcycle past eighty in the dark, her arms wrapped around his waist, Marshall one wrong move from disaster.

Marshall Prisco was the proverbial diamond in the rough. Few small college football players attracted professional scouts, yet dozens attended Kane Grove football games for the chance to see him play. A senior wide receiver, he was unstoppable on the field, too fast and strong for the poor fools tasked with covering him.

McKenzie sipped from the bottle and winced when the alcohol burned her throat. Marshall held out his hand, and she wasn’t sure she should give the bottle back to him.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Dan Padavona is the author of The Wolf Lake series, The Logan and Scarlett series, Darkwater Cove, The Scarlett Bell thriller series, and The Thomas Shepherd Mysteries. Many of his novels rank in the top-10 in Amazon’s thriller and mystery categories. He is a husband, a parent, and proud member of the International Thriller Writers Organization.

When he’s not writing, Dan enjoys photography, biking, weightlifting, and storm chasing. Dan has videotaped tornadoes from New York to Oklahoma and Texas and was nearly swept up by a strong twister outside Sweetwater, Texas. A self-proclaimed ice cream and gelato lover, Dan admits to spending too much time in the gym, compensating for his questionable nutritional decisions.

Website * Amazon * Facebook *

Goodreads * Instagram * Twitter

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GUEST POST:

Without question, the most intriguing murder/mystery cases involved Jack the Ripper from the nineteenth century. Before anyone coined the term serial killer, Jack the Ripper terrorized Englanders. And the police never caught him.

Strange as it seems, the name Jack the Ripper came into being when a person claiming to be the killer sent a letter to the newspaper. He signed the letter as the infamous serial killer, but police believed the letter was a hoax. To this day, the name exists only because of a potentially fraudulent letter.

One such letter arrived with half a human kidney, leading the authorities to believe the killer was a surgeon or possessed a medical background.

The legend holds strong because the cases remain unsolved mysteries. For this reason, Hollywood has long depicted the killer on film, and the mysterious figure has inspired countless more silver screen murderers, such as Hannibal Lecter.

Today, forensics and DNA evidence would lead the police to the killer, but that technology didn’t exist in the late-nineteenth century. That’s why some of the most realistic murder mystery novels take place before modern criminal investigation evolved.

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GIVEAWAY:

Dan Padavona will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Good luck!

(All the Ups and Downs is not responsible for this giveaway, its entries, or the prize. Goddess Fish Promotions and the author assume all responsibility over this giveaway.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway