Author Spotlight: Carol Light Has New Southern Secrets Mystery & a Giveaway!

We have a winner! Debra Pruss, you were drawn at random to receive an ebook copy of Death Watch. Enjoy the book and thanks for coming by the blog! We love our readers!

I love having my writer pal Carol Light on the blog! Her mysteries are intriguing and keep me reading well into the night. I’m doubly excited this week because in less than two weeks, Carol and I are off on adventure–we’re heading to Montana for research, fun, and maybe even some writing! We’ll be posting our trip here, so stay tuned. In the meantime… here’s Carol with her newest release, Death Watch.

Carol Light is an avid reader and writer of mysteries. She loves creating amateur sleuths and complicating their normal lives with a crime that they must use their talents and wits to solve. She’s traveled worldwide and lived in Australia for eight years, teaching high school English and learning to speak “Strine.” Florida is now her home. If she’s not at the beach or writing, you can find her tackling quilting in much the same way that she figures out her mysteries—piece by piece, clue by clue. You can also follow her on BlueSky.

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Thanks, Nan, for inviting me for a summer visit to your blog! I’m looking forward to seeing you later this month when we travel to Montana. This will be my second trip to the Big Sky state. About ten years ago I visited the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. Since I was so close to the place where my father grew up, I had to take a day trip to Dillon, Montana. What a wonderful town! My grandparents’ home (sold before I was born) is still there, and I visited the college where my grandfather taught, which is now the University of Montana Western. Can’t wait to explore more of the state with you and soak in some cowboy culture together.

I’m excited to announce that my second Southern Secrets mystery, Death Watch, is out today! It’s a “whodunnit” puzzle with plenty of suspects and a few surprises. Jana Nance returns to Crossroads, Arkansas, to be close to her dying grandmother. But that’s not the only reason she leaves Indianapolis. Her career at the state’s tourism agency is going nowhere, and she’s rattling around in her empty house as her husband has died and her two grown daughters have moved away. So, when the position of tourism director for Crossroads is posted, she applies and is hired.

Arriving at her grandmother’s house, Jana is excited to renew her friendship with her high school bestie, Charlie, who lives next door with her son, Eli. Days later, Jana and her tourism committee visit the site of the city’s new park where they discover Eli’s body in a deer stand, along with pills laced with fentanyl. Police chief Tim Birch is already on the hunt for the person responsible for these drugs after his youngest officer dies of an accidental exposure to fentanyl during a routine traffic stop. He suspects Eli was a dealer, but Jana isn’t so sure. Under pressure from the mayor to keep the park planning on schedule, Jana must ensure the property is safe, but her decisions draw the attention of a killer who will do anything to keep from being exposed.

My family loved going on car trips when I was a girl. I’ve often wondered why my father never took us to Montana. Maybe it was because there were no longer any family members living there, or maybe he just couldn’t get excited about driving three kids and my mother across the country! Whatever the reason, he may have been smart to just remember his former home as it was when he left it. After years pass, both places and people change.

In Death Watch, Jana is grateful her high school days in Crossroads are behind her, but her new boss, the town’s mayor, is someone she’d hoped to never see again. She must give the woman a chance if she wants to succeed in her new dream job, but can she let go of her own prejudices from the past? Unlike Jana, other characters in the story wish they could relive their “glory days” as high school heroes. In a small town like Crossroads, memories are long and loyalties run deep, which makes Tim Birch’s job tracking this killer much more difficult. For Tim it’s not the past but the future and the safety of the people he serves that matters.

**Giveaway** For a chance to win an e-book copy of Death Watch, tell me what words describe your feelings about high school? I’d say friendships and insecurity are two that come to mind for me. Overall, I enjoyed that time in my life with its endless future possibilities and close friendships, but I don’t have any desire to be a teenager again. Too much drama! What was your experience?

Death Watch

A dangerous killer is hunting for more than deer in this southern forest…

New police chief Tim Birch is too late on the scene to save his youngest officer from fentanyl exposure at a routine traffic stop, and the grief cuts deep into his department. Someone is trafficking dangerous pills in Crossroads, Arkansas.

Jana Nance has returned home to steer the town’s tourism and be close to her dying grandmother. But when she and her committee visit lakefront property designated to become a park, they discover the body of her godson, Eli Carson, fatally shot in a deer stand. Jana is convinced it’s murder and not suicide.

She might be on to something. Fentanyl pills were found with Eli’s body, but was he a victim or the dealer? Unfortunately, not everyone on Tim’s team wants him to uncover that answer.

It’s Jana’s job to bring change to Crossroads, and she’s determined to succeed—even though her plans threaten a lucrative illegal activity. Unless Eli’s killer is caught, Jana’s death watch may be her own.

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