F. M. Meredith – Murder in the Worst Degree

My guest this week is mystery author, M. F. Meredith

F. M. Meredith aka Marilyn Meredith is the author of over 35 published books. She enjoys writing about police officers and their families and how what happens on the job affects the family and vice versa. Having several members of her own family involved in law enforcement, as well as many friends, she’s witnessed some of this first-hand.

Marilyn’s latest novel in the Rocky Bluff Mystery Series is:

Murder in the Worst Degree:

The body that washes up on the beach leads Detectives Milligan and Zachary on a murder investigation that includes the victim’s family members, his housekeeper, three long-time friends, and a mystery woman.

Evelyn is a very Special Person in Murder in the Worst Degree

Evelyn won my last contest to have her name used for a character in my next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery so it is super special to be appearing on her blog. Also, a little scary since she’s promised to write a review.

Here’s an excerpt:

Except for the dead body washed up on the sand, conditions were perfect for surfing. Thanks to a big storm coming from Alaska, spectacular waves rolled in. They rose in dark blue-gray splendor with a magnificent header of sparkling foam before they crashed and rolled toward shore. Another set of perfect waves formed right behind.

Two young males garbed in black wet suits stood a few feet away from the corpse. Colorful surfboards stood in the sand. Towels and personal items lay nearby.

Officer Gordon Butler from the Rocky Bluff P.D. had been patrolling along the beach front because of the unusual high surf. He was the first to respond to the dispatcher’s call of a body on the beach.

Gordon parked his blue-and-white patrol car on the broken asphalt of the parking area near the condemned pier. The only other car around was an old station wagon with the back window open. Gordon left his car and trudged through the sand—not easy in shoes.

One of the young surfers ran up to Gordon. “Oh, man, thank God you’re here. This is so gross. I was surfing and this body was in the wave with me. At first, I thought it was a pile of rags. We came ashore at the same time.” His shuddered, pulled off his hood and shook out his longish blonde hair.

“Did anyone touch the body?”

“Are you kidding? It’s yucky.”

“Good.” Once Gordon was close enough to see the corpse, there was no need to make sure the person was dead. Wrapped in seaweed and what appeared to be the remnants of sodden and torn clothing, the body appeared to be that of an elderly male.

Using his portable radio, Gordon made a call to the station, reporting his location and his find. He requested the detectives and the coroner be sent to the scene.

“Why the detectives?” the dispatcher asked.

“I’ve got a pretty good idea about the identity of the corpse. I doubt seriously he drowned while swimming.”

As he waited for the detectives, Gordon took down the surfers’ names and phone numbers. Both had the same story. They’d come to this seldom used beach to take advantage of the big waves where no one was around to interfere or chase them off.

The shorter of the two surfers who identified himself as Joey said, “Dude, this is so disgusting.”

“When do you think we can go back in the water?” Brandon, the blonde, flipped his long wet hair. “Surf like this doesn’t come around here often.”

“Once the detectives talk to you and the body is removed you’re on your own.”

“How long is that going to take?”Brandon stared at the huge waves.

“A half hour or so.” Gordon hoped he was right.

Here’s my  ✰✰✰✰✰ review:

 Murder in the Worse Degree is the latest novel in the Rocky Bluff Mystery Series. While I haven’t read all of them, I have read quite a few and they were all good, but this is one story I especially liked. Ms. Meredith knows how to write a solid mystery with interesting characters, and this time she threw in a clever twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting, but in my opinion, made the story exceptional. I recommend this novel to all mystery lovers.

Murder in the Worst Degree can be purchased from Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/n94hmju/

Visit Marilyn’s Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/

Check out her blog: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marilyn.meredith/

Contest:

Once again Marilyn is offering the opportunity to have your name used as a character in a book if you comment on the most blogs during this tour for Murder in the Worst Degree.

Tomorrow you can find Marilyn at http://jwillsbooks.com/