EXCERPT from One of Us by Tawni O'Dell

EXCERPT

Today I have an excerpt from a thriller that came out in August. "One of Us" is a murder mystery and a psychological thriller that's heavily character driven. 

Tawni O'Dell is the New York Times bestselling author of Fragile Beasts, Sister Mine, Coal Run, and Back Roads, which was an Oprah's Book Club pick and a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection. Tawni's screen adaptation of Back Roads is currently in development to be made into a film with Adrian Lyne set to direct. Her work has been translated into 15 languages and been published in over 30 countries.

Tawni was born and raised in the coal-mining region of western Pennsylvania, the territory she writes about with such striking authenticity. Her novels have been lavished with praise by critics, including the New York Times, People Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, and many more.

Find O'Dell Online:

website
facebook
goodreads

**************************************

EXCERPT

“You’re the only one out there who doesn’t think I’m crazy,” he adds. “I appreciate that.”

One of the guards glances in my direction with a smirk on his face.

I realize this is a seemingly bizarre comment considering my testimony at his trial and ongoing insistence that this man is in complete control of his mental faculties is leading directly to his death.

His lawyers mounted a vigorous insanity defense, but his heart was never in it. If thy had been able to successfully convince a jury he was out of his mind he would have been allowed to remain alive in a secured psychiatric facility, but it was obvious to me he’d rather die than have his sanity doubted.

I know why he feels his way. I have a crazy mother too.

One of the officers escorts Carson back to his cell. The other walks me out.

I watch Carson go and I’m hit with a wave of loneliness, I admit I’ve come to depend on him. I find it easier to talk with him than to anyone else I know, and his suggestions for dealing with my problems have proven to be remarkably successful. Still, I’m not sure I could ever be comfortable having a serial killer for a life coach.

“You coming for the big day?” the guard at my side asks me.

I glance at his name tag: Pulanski. I remember him. The last time I was here he wanted my opinion on the legitimacy of type 2 bipolar syndrome. His wife had suddenly become afflicted with it in the middle of their divorce and was using it as the reason she couldn’t hold down a job and required substantial spousal support. He wanted to know if it was similar to type 2 diabetes and would go away if she lost weight.

“I don’t know,” I answer him.

“You ever seen one?”

“An execution? No.”

“You ever been responsible for one before?”

“if you mean is this the first case I’ve worked on where someone has been sentenced to death and exhausted his appeals, the answer is yes,” I reply. “But I’m not responsible.”

**************************************

Dr. Sheridan Doyle, a fastidiously groomed and TV-friendly forensic psychologist, is the go-to shrink for the Philadelphia District Attorney's office whenever a twisted killer's mind eludes other experts. But beneath his Armani pinstripes, he's still Danny Doyle, the awkward, terrified, bullied boy from a blue-collar mining family, plagued by panic attacks and haunted by the tragic death of his little sister and mental unraveling of his mother years ago.

Returning to a hometown grappling with its own ghosts, Danny finds a dead body at the infamous Lost Creek gallows where a band of rebellious Irish miners was once executed. Strangely, the body is connected to the wealthy family responsible for the miners' deaths. Teaming up with veteran detective Rafe, a father-like figure from his youth, Danny, in pursuit of a killer, comes dangerously close to startling truths about his family, his past, and himself.

Publisher: Gallery Books
Format: Hardcover, ebook, audio
Release Date: August 19, 2014
Buying Links: Amazon* | Book Depository* | OmniLit* | Barnes & Noble  * affiliate links; the blog receives a small commission from purchases made through these links.