But this is no usual tour. Claire has written a short prequel to the series, which is being presented over a series of blogs. It started at Chapter One with Sharon at Chapter in my Life and yesterday was Christina's turn with Chapter Eleven at Christina's Bookshelf.
So, without further ado, I am delighted to present Chapter Twelve of the Prequel Tour for the Darkness Series:
The flat being ransacked was a total coincidence, Lorna told herself for the millionth time as she slipped into the musty smelling community hall next to the river. A pain in the neck that was down to living in a rubbish tenement with whippersnapper students who never bothered to shut the front door properly. Nothing more, nothing less.
Aside from the fact that nobody in their right mind could possibly give a monkey’s about the article she was writing for a journalism class, who even knew that she had been looking into the murder of a nurse from twenty years ago? The journalist she met, Adam Flanagan knew, but he had seemed barely interested in their conversation while they were having it. Lorna strongly suspected that he had forgotten she existed before he had got home that night.
She’d written a bit about her blog, but it was anonymous - none of her friends even knew she had one. She was being daft even giving it any thought, she told herself firmly. Her flat had been done over by common-or-garden bams off their heads, that was all there was to it..
‘What’s up with your face?’
Lorna looked up to see wee Taylor, the self appointed host of the swing dancing club, frowning at her. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen or sixteen, a skinny runt of the litter type in a blue shell suit, gold chain and sparkling earring.
‘You look like you’re dressed up to go carjacking,’ she said cheerfully. ‘Where on earth did you get that monstrosity of a tracksuit?’
‘My da got a load aff the back o’ a lorry aboot twenty year ago,’ Taylor said. ‘This is the last one. It’s pure vintage.’
‘It’s pure something.’
Lorna grinned and slipped through the crowd towards the dancefloor. It wasn’t long before a wee old guy in grey slacks that shone with age and a carefully pressed pullover pulled her onto the floor with surprising strength. Little Brown Jug was playing through the tinny speakers, and for a moment, Lorna enjoyed the sensation of being flung about. She’d taken up swing dancing in a fit of January keenness a few weeks ago. It had been part of her get-fit-at-last resolution, but no one had been more shocked than her when she started to enjoy it.
The wee old guy was good. He led her through some intricate footwork and turns, and she was grateful not to be able to think for concentrating on keeping up with him. Three songs later, she was too out of breath to talk and gestured that she was taking a break. The wee old guy nodded and held his hand out to a studenty-looking girl with purple hair.
Lorna pushed her way towards the queue at the bar, where Taylor was chatting to a woman she had never seen before.
The woman was tiny, the kind of delicate wee slip of a thing that made Lorna feel like a clumsy bear. Her hair fell all the way down her back in startling red waves, and as she turned to look at Lorna, Lorna was taken aback by something that flashed in her eyes. It was just an instant - as soon as it was gone Lorna was certain she must have imagined it. It wasn’t anger, exactly, but something urgent. Worry? Frustration?
‘This is Amy,’ Taylor said. ‘Lorna, Amy, Amy, Lorna. Amy wants to talk to you, Lorna. She’s been reading your blog.’
So there you go! Intrigued? I bet you are. Be sure to visit Claire's blog at A Knight's Read for tomorrow's instalment.
And if you'd like to know a bit more about the books themselves, here's the Dark of Night Episode One Blurb:
“A debut that is quite outstanding.”
“Glasgow has just found itself a fresh new name in crime fiction.” “An absolute belter of a book.”
Haunted by the fact that he never got the chance to tell best friend Lorna that he loved her before she was murdered, Ruari sets out to track down the man he saw her with the night before she was murdered - the man police are certain was her killer.
Forensic psychologist Amy Kerr has been watching prominent Glasgow lawyer Alec McAvoy for months, certain that he is the so-called Dancing Girls Killer who evaded capture in London five years previously.
Now Ruari and Amy are closing in on the same man - but every step they take draws them deeper into the killer’s web.
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK:
Dark of Night Episode One
Dark of Night Episode Two
Dark of Night Episode Three
Just Before Dawn Episode One
Amazon US:
Dark of Night Episode One
Dark of Night Episode Two
Dark of Night Episode Three
Just Before Dawn Episode One
What Readers Are Saying:
“...completely addictive. Very fast paced with the short punchy time-stamped chapters adding to the sense of a fast-moving investigation.” - Joanne Baird, Portobello Book Blog
“...full of the Glasgow banter and humour laced with a good old-fashioned murder mystery. Lots of twists and turns and little pools of red herrings kept me engrossed all the way through.” - Sharon Bairden, Chapterinmylife Blog
“Set in Glasgow this is pure Scottish gold.” - Susan Hampson, Books from Dusk Til Dawn
“The characters are engaging and the storytelling is fast paced. The Glasgow setting provides a perfect backdrop to this tartan noir. The snippets of humour bring the characters to life and add a little light relief to the darkness of the night!” - Kim Macleod
“This is an exciting new addition to Scotland's impressive murder mystery genre. The author has their own quirky humour and a pitch perfect ear for Glasgow banter.” - Dorkus
“A debut that is quite outstanding.”
“Glasgow has just found itself a fresh new name in crime fiction.” “An absolute belter of a book.”
Haunted by the fact that he never got the chance to tell best friend Lorna that he loved her before she was murdered, Ruari sets out to track down the man he saw her with the night before she was murdered - the man police are certain was her killer.
Forensic psychologist Amy Kerr has been watching prominent Glasgow lawyer Alec McAvoy for months, certain that he is the so-called Dancing Girls Killer who evaded capture in London five years previously.
Now Ruari and Amy are closing in on the same man - but every step they take draws them deeper into the killer’s web.
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK:
Dark of Night Episode One
Dark of Night Episode Two
Dark of Night Episode Three
Just Before Dawn Episode One
Amazon US:
Dark of Night Episode One
Dark of Night Episode Two
Dark of Night Episode Three
Just Before Dawn Episode One
What Readers Are Saying:
“...completely addictive. Very fast paced with the short punchy time-stamped chapters adding to the sense of a fast-moving investigation.” - Joanne Baird, Portobello Book Blog
“...full of the Glasgow banter and humour laced with a good old-fashioned murder mystery. Lots of twists and turns and little pools of red herrings kept me engrossed all the way through.” - Sharon Bairden, Chapterinmylife Blog
“Set in Glasgow this is pure Scottish gold.” - Susan Hampson, Books from Dusk Til Dawn
“The characters are engaging and the storytelling is fast paced. The Glasgow setting provides a perfect backdrop to this tartan noir. The snippets of humour bring the characters to life and add a little light relief to the darkness of the night!” - Kim Macleod
“This is an exciting new addition to Scotland's impressive murder mystery genre. The author has their own quirky humour and a pitch perfect ear for Glasgow banter.” - Dorkus
The Author:
C.S. Duffy
writes psychological suspense thrillers with a healthy dose of black humour.
Her background is in film and TV. She has several projects in development in
Sweden and the UK and her other writing has appeared in Elle Canada and The Guardian.
She is the author of Life is Swede, a
thriller that was originally written as a blog - leading several readers to
contact Swedish news agencies asking them why they hadn’t reported the murder
that features in the blog. She is the author of Dark of Night and Just Before
Dawn, a thriller series set in Glasgow which was selected for a Spotlight
slot at this year’s Bloody Scotland.
You can find her at:
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