Posted on by Jacquie Biggar

#NewRelease News from @MaeClair1- The Keeping Place #amreading


I’m excited to have one of my favorite authors and blogging friend here today to share her upcoming release, The Keeping Place. I’ve read/reviewed many of Mae’s backlist and can say she never disappoints!

Hi, Jacquie! Thank you so much for hosting me on your blog today. I’m delighted to be here, sharing my upcoming release The Keeping Place, a dual timeline mystery which is now available for pre-order! Most readers know me as someone who loves weaving urban legends and threads of the supernatural into my stories. The Keeping Place took an entirely different turn.
Well… there is a small thread that does involve an old town legend and a ghost, but nothing that takes center stage as in my other books. This one is about relationships, and what happens to an estranged mother/daughter when the remains of the youngest daughter are discovered ten years after she disappeared. It’s a bit more of a “quiet” mystery then I usually write.

BLURB:
In the town of Hornwood, the past is always present . . .

Nicole Seabrooke has been wracked with guilt since the night of her younger sister’s disappearance ten years ago. Her mother, Glory, tasked her with watching over Janie. Instead, Nicole dragged her to a high school party, then failed to keep an eye on her. Police believed she drowned, but her body was never found.

A decade later, her remains are discovered.

Nicole returns to Hornwood when new evidence indicates Janie’s death may have been a homicide. With the help of Detective Vin McCain, her high school boyfriend, Nicole begins to piece together what took place the night her sister disappeared—a task that further complicates her relationship with Glory and places Nicole in the crosshairs of a killer. One who will do whatever it takes to keep the truth about Janie’s death from being revealed.

Even if it means killing again.

________________________

One of the most compelling elements of writing a mystery, is populating it with characters. The excerpt I’m sharing today centers on Nicole’s mother, Glory, and Hornwood’s Chief of Police, Jude Beck. Their relationship plays out in the background of the story. Glory is a sixty-year-old faded starlet, still incredibly gorgeous, but also high maintenance. Jude is forty-nine, taciturn, and a man of little words. The Keeping Place is by no means a romance, but as in real life, we all experience entanglements of the heart.

RELEASE DATE IS MARCH 5TH

PRE-ORDER FROM AMAZON

EXCERPT:

What Glory wouldn’t give to spin back the clock. Fix her mistakes, banish the residue of dirty secrets. Her past was littered with sins and the pain of people who’d suffered unfairly because of her decisions.

You are a shallow, self-centered, miserable excuse of a woman, Glory Faye Larkin.

She didn’t know why Jude bothered with her. Why anyone did.

As if on cue, his dark gray Suburban rounded a bend in the road. He’d been checking on her more frequently since Janie was found, even staying the night on a semi-regular basis.

She sipped her wine as he parked in the driveway; counted her blessings as he stepped from the vehicle. His devotion to a washed-up movie star bordered on senseless given there were plenty of attractive women his own age in Hornwood. She wanted to believe she loved him, but a bad track record with matters of the heart left her gun shy.

“’Evening,” he called, approaching the porch.

Glory shifted on the swing, a lipstick-stained glass of Sauvignon Blanc clutched loosely in one hand. She’d started drinking with dinner but was far from drunk. Not even tipsy, which was a damn shame considering she was on bottle number two. All she had to show for the effort was a headache.

“There’s beer in the refrigerator.” She pointed toward the door, an invitation for him to join her.

He dropped a kiss on her lips before disappearing inside. When he returned, he carried a Michelob along with her half-finished bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. The swing rocked when he sat beside her, a minor bobble that ebbed and settled like a ripple at low tide. Jude topped off her glass then set the wine aside.

Glory studied his profile. “You usually tell me I’ve had enough.”

“Usually.” He hooked an arm over the back of the swing. “I heard Nicole’s in town.”

“From who?”

“Phyllis. I stopped by the restaurant. She said she sent Nic out here.”

“Word gets around fast.” Glory sat straighter, determined to banish her melancholy. The defense mechanism surfaced with little effort, the actress doing whatever was necessary to mask vulnerability. She shouldn’t have to pretend with Jude, but old habits die hard. “Nicole’s staying with me.”

“Staying?” His brows arched higher.

“I know it’s hard to believe, but we’re tolerating each other for Janie’s sake.” A plausible lie. She wanted Nicole there for her own reasons but couldn’t confide in him. As much as she struggled with his attraction, the thought of him seeing her differently was devastating. If he learned the truth about the unforgivable things she’d done in the past, he’d never look at her the same again. She forced a half-smile. “It was a difficult meeting, but we got through it. I asked her to stay for dinner. You can see how that went over.” She waved at the empty air. “I imagine she’s somewhere in town.”

“Vin’s on duty.”

“Do you think she would have gone to see him?”

“Who knows where her mind is?” Jude set his beer aside. “I’m here because the autopsy on Janie came back.”

She’d waited days for the results, her stomach balled up in knots. Now that she was seconds from learning the truth, fear robbed her of speech.

Thanks again for hosting me today, Jacquie. I appreciate the opportunity to share The Keeping Place with your readers. I’ve held onto this novel for two years, uncertain how I wanted to publish it. As an author, I naturally like every book I’ve written, but The Keeping Place is my personal favorite—perhaps because it’s so different in tone from my other mysteries.

I still utilize dual timelines, but rather than having centuries between them, my timelines are separated by a mere ten years.

It’s my sincere hope readers will enjoy the story.

Connect with Mae Clair at BOOKBUB and the following haunts:Amazon|BookBub|Newsletter Sign-Up
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60 Replies to “#NewRelease News from @MaeClair1- The Keeping Place #amreading”

  5. Thank you, Jacquie, for showcasing Mae’s latest masterpiece. I’m looking forward to reading The Keeping Place next week. 😊

    Liked by 2 people

  9. Hi, Jacquie. Thank you so much for opening your blog to me today and allowing me to share The Keeping Place with your readers. I appreciate the opportunity and that kind introduction! 🤗

    Liked by 1 person

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