Burying Daisy Doe by Ramona Richards – Spotlight with Excerpt and Giveaway

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Burying Daisy Doe by Ramona Richards, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Burying Daisy Doe
Series: Star Cavanaugh Cold Case #1
Author: Ramona Richards
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: November 17, 2020
Genre: Christian Suspense

No cold case is more important than the one that destroyed her own family

Every small town has one unsolved case that haunts its memory, festering for generations below the surface with the truth of humanity’s darkness. Star Cavanaugh is obsessed with the one that tore her family apart.

Over sixty years ago, Daisy Doe was murdered and discarded outside Pineville, Alabama, buried without a name or anyone to mourn her loss. When Star’s father tried to solve the case, he was also killed. Now a cold-case detective with resources of her own, Star is determined to get to the bottom of both crimes. But she’ll have to face an entire town locked in corruption, silence, and fear–and the same danger that took two other lives. The only people in the town she can trust are her grandmother and the charming Mike Luinetti, and both of them trust a God Star isn’t sure she believes in. Can Christians so focused on the good really help her track down this evil?

With an irresistible combination of sharp suspense, faith, humor, and authentic regional flavor, Burying Daisy Doe will draw fans of Terri Blackstock, Margaret Maron, Jaime Jo Wright, and J.T. Ellison.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound | Christianbook | BookBub

---

EXCERPT

Miss Doris faced the altar when Mike and I first walked in, but one of her girls spotted us and whispered in her ear. She spun around, her face lit by a wide grin. Mike led me down the center aisle but stopped at only the third pew down. He seated me on the right side of the church, directly opposite most of the ushers’ wives. As he went back up the aisle to assume his duties for the morning, I scooted over to leave room for one person.

Miss Doris arrived first, dropping in beside me with a wicked grin. “So tell me what’s going on? I thought y’all just watched a DVD last night.”

I forced back a grin and brought out my best Scarlett O’Hara accent. “Why, Miss Doris, whatever do you mean?”

She smacked my arm. “Now, don’t you play coy with me, young lady.” I arched my eyebrows. “I’m serious. There’s really nothing to tell.”

“Humph. You’re holding out.”

I hesitated, then relented, leaning toward her with a conspiratorial whisper. “We just talked. Decided to start going out some. But, really, nothing serious.”

She grabbed my hand in a surprisingly strong grip. “Good for you. At least it’s a start.” Miss Doris patted my arm with her other hand and giggled, as if she were fifteen and Mike were the captain of the high school football team. “Just in time too. Now you’ll have a chance to show off some of your cooking on Decoration Sunday.”

Apparently, I looked as confused as I felt. This was becoming a habit.

“Oh, honey, don’t your people have Decoration Sunday where you’re from?”

“Um, I don’t think so.”

“First Sunday in May. That’s just a couple of weeks away. Haven’t you noticed it in the bulletin? Dinner on the grounds right after church. Big potluck. All the women bring their best dishes. After lunch we all put the new flowers for the year on our people’s graves. If you had folks buried out there, you’d want to clean off the gravesites a few days ahead of time. Y’know, kill off the weeds, maybe put down clean sand or chips.”

There were a few things about small-town life you just had to take as they came and figure them out later.

“It’ll be a good time for you to show him you know how to cook.” She peered over her shoulder at him again. “You have no idea how we’ve been praying for that boy. He needs a woman. A good woman.”

Right. I could hear Mike’s laughter at that statement. “Now, Miss Doris, I’m sure he’s—”

“Especially after what happened to the last girl.”

A tiny red flag popped up in the back of my head. OK, maybe not really red. More yellow. Maybe orange . . . “What happened to the last girl?”

“And it wasn’t his fault. That girl Jessica had always been on the wild side. We’d tried to warn him, but men, you know, they always think they know best. And they hadn’t been together long. But my guess is he’ll never leave Pineville because of it. Wouldn’t be able to.”

My stomach tightened. This was turning more ominous by the second. “What happened to her?”

A lone chime from the organ signaled the start of worship. Miss Doris straightened. “Oops. I have to get back.” With another pat on my bicep, she scooted away and back to her pew with the girls.

I glanced around at Mike, but his solemn chat with another deacon kept him occupied. I faced forward again, staring at the empty wooden cross at the front of the church, a sick feeling spreading from my stomach up into my throat. What in the world have I done?

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ramona Richards is the award-winning author of 12 books, including 9 novels. She has also worked as an editor in Christian publishing for forty years, and is now the associate publisher for Iron Stream Media. She lives in the Birmingham, Alabama, area.

CONNECT WITH RAMONA: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

---

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a $20 Visa card and a signed copy of Burying Daisy Doe and Murder in the Family!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight December 8, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on December 15, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

---

 

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.