Tainted Waters by Maggie Thom Review and Giveaway $25

Tainted Waters

by Maggie Thom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

BLURB:

He didn’t commit suicide but who’s going to believe her...

Frustrated at being fired from her latest job and overwhelmed by her consolatory family, Sam decides to move to the family’s cabin at the lake. A place she hasn’t been since her dad committed suicide there twenty years before. Or did he? Snooping is something she’s good at but someone seems to be taking offense to her looking too closely at what has been happening at the lake. What she discovers is shocking. Now she must uncover what’s real and what’s not. All that she learned growing up, may be false.

Keegan, who has recently moved to the area to finish his latest book, is also trying to find out if his grandfather, who’d passed away ten years before, died of natural causes or was murdered.

The descendants of the four families who own the land around the lagoon are dying off. Since Sam and Keegan are the only ones questioning the deaths, they find themselves working together to seek the truth. Are people being murdered? Who would benefit from their deaths? Why would there be barricades and armed guards at the north end of the lake?

To stay alive, Sam and Keegan must find the answers and convince others, before more people are killed... including them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Excerpt:

. “You’re fired!”

Sam’s hands slammed down on the arms of the office chair as she jerked forward. “Because some dude stole a necklace from his wife, pawned it and got the insurance for it? And I had the nerve to tell the story?”

 “You’re fired!”

There was so much more she wanted to say to him. To tell him. It wasn’t fair that she was getting kicked to the curb for other people’s lies and secrets. It wasn’t her fault that she felt truth should win out at all costs. Climbing to her feet, she stared hard at her boss, debating about telling him again why she’d written that story. The blue vein bulging from his forehead and the deep crimson color of his puffy cheeks told her it was pointless and might just cause a heart attack.

“The story didn’t run, so what’s the big deal?”

His mottled face started to shake with fury. Sam picked up her coffee which she was glad she’d set down when she came in and took a step back. The last man she’d seen that angry had thrown a punch.

“Only because I caught it. Nothing and I mean nothing, gets printed in this paper without my say so. Very sneaky Samantha. Not acceptable. You’re done here. And don’t worry you won’t ever work in this industry again.”

She shook her head hoping something would fall into place and this would all make sense. It wasn’t like it was any different than any of the other stories the newspaper wrote – they got details, or as many as they could and then skewed them sideways if that’s what made the tale sensational. Only she hadn’t needed to do that. The facts themselves had been enough to make the story astounding. For once the paper might have been able to print the truth and nothing but the truth. The informant who’d put her on to this situation had been right, it had been unbelievable. She wished she’d been able to thank him but that was part of the agreement – no names, no thank yous, no mention of where the story started. And she couldn’t tell anyone because it wasn’t actually supposed to have been hers to tell.

“I’m fired.” It didn’t compute.

“Of course. I don’t say things I don’t mean. Now get out.”

She eyed Mr. Donner, the man that she’d thought she was going to have a lot of respect for, the man she’d envisioned thanking in the future for all he’d taught her. For taking her under his wing and making her the exceptional journalist that she was. Okay she knew that was crap but she had hoped that her initial ‘feeling’ about him had been wrong. Besides she figured that even if he wasn’t more than a pompous figurehead, there had to be some people at the paper that she could learn from. To date, unfortunately, she’d only been patted on the head and given the lame jobs. Still, she’d actually started to believe that this work might be her calling. Well, until she’d taken it into her head to run with a tip she’d been given. It hadn’t really been meant for her but since Tom hadn’t been at his desk when his phone kept ringing and ringing, she’d figured it had been hers to run with since she’d been the one to answer it. She had planned to show them what she could do and that would have been the start to her amazing career.

Another damn dream dashed.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Maggie Thom took the challenge and leapt off, leaving a fulltime twenty year career in management, to write full time. After her initial panic that she might need a straight jacket, she published her first book Captured Lies, October 2012. And now is excited to release her second novel, Tainted Waters, April, 2013. Her third book, Deceitful Truths (sequel to Captured Lies), available fall of 2013. An avid reader and writer her whole life, she decided to break the monotony of wishing to be an author by making it happen. Married to her best friend, she is learning that humor, love and patience help her navigate her way through her twins’ teen years. Her motto: Escape to read and Read to escape. 

www.maggiethom.com

www.facebook.com/authormaggiethom

www.twitter.com/maggiethom2

www.goodreads.com.maggiethom

google +:  https://plus.google.com/102887579832939598896/posts

https://pinterest.com/maggiethom2/

Tainted Waters will be available to be purchased at:

Amazon: http://amzn.to/183Jtz1
iTunes: http://bit.ly/18uXqDB
Kobo: http://bit.ly/1026Y47
Smashwords: http://bit.ly/11MrCb4
Sony: http://bit.ly/16AlZCG
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/10qX93O
Diesel: http://bit.ly/14pkwen

My Review:

I liked this book because the bodies started to pile up before the book even started. The character was looking for answers just like I was. I had no idea until the end who was bad. I thought that the setting was cool, and I was lured to the lake. I felt like all  the answers were there.

Sam was a good character to like. She got fired, and had to get away. Poor thing went right into more drama and tension. As the expected started to happen the author did a 360 and led me in a completely different direction. What was even more interesting was that Sam was not the only one to question the natural cause deaths at the lake. 

Keegan is also curious what happened at the lake. They both need to find out what happened to their loved ones, before they perish to the lake as well. 

This was a great suspense story that I am still trying to figure out! I am giving this book a 4/5. I was given a copy to review, however all opinions are my own!

Giveaway: 

Maggie will be awarding a $25 GC, winner's choice to Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Kobo, to a randomly drawn commenter, and an autographed ecopy of Captured Lies to another randomly drawn commenter during the tour. A signed autographed copy of Captured Lies will be awarded to a randomly drawn host (US ONLY).

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here: 

  http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/04/virtual-book-tour-tainted-waters-by.html