Tracking Jacky

Ever wondered about Detective Bannon's tracking skills? This short story will help to solve the mystery.

Young Mark Bannon and his girlfriend Rita return to the homestead after a successful hunt to get a kangaroo for Rita's pop and nan. Rita informs him she is going quondonging with her cousin Jacky and they can practice tracking. Jacky is good at hiding his tracks and has a secret hidden in his backpack he is sure will prevent Mark from finding him.

For those of you who don't know what a quondong is, it's an Australian native fruit tree that grows throughout the outback of South Australia. The fruit when ripe is ruby red, luscious and tart.

This would be one of the first stories I wrote many years ago now. I'm surprised it survived the many house moves on paper and eventually on floppy disk then transferred to computer to again survive crashes, until I found it in a dusty archive on an external hard drive while sorting out some files.

Well here it is, tidied up, polished and fit for publication.

Get it for FREE here now
 

 

The Lion’s Den

First the Goats. Then the Women. It Started with a Big Cat. It Ends with The Devil.

In the remote Australian outback of north-west Victoria, a farmer dies confronting a predator stalking his livestock. Constable Madeline Kerne calls it in to Sergeant Michael Ryan, who along with homicide detective Mark ‘The Devil’ Bannon are enjoying a quiet weekend gathering at local farmer Joe Cooke’s property.

What starts as a routine stock theft investigation turns sinister when women vanish from the community. Then Constable Kerne herself disappears, and journalist Condamine Baxter … Detective Bannon’s love interest.

Rural whispers of conspiracy harden into grim reality.

Bannon assembles an unlikely team: methodical Sergeant Ryan, stoic Senior Constable Scott Jackson, and eager rookie PC Caleb Jones. Together they hunt a predator who knows the mallee scrub around Mara better than they do … one who understands that out here, people disappear and questions go unanswered.

To catch a predator this cunning, Bannon must become what the outback already believes him to be. The man behind the legend. The monster they whisper about when darkness falls.

The Devil is coming.

And he doesn’t play by the rules.

Some hunters become the hunted.
Some crimes require a monster to catch a monster.
In this forgotten corner of Australia, a killer is about to meet their match.

This is the third book in the Mara Mysteries Series.

Pre-order Ebook now available. 

 Five days to go to ebook pre-order day. Excitment's growing. 😀

 

 Pre-order release day for The Lion's Den is getting closer. Just over three weeks away. 😱
Am I ready? Almost, I hope. All edits going well, I'm not up to the final read through and a few small touch ups that could be needed.

If you haven't started reading The Mara Mysteries yet why not start now with book one, Enter The Devil available through Amazon as ebook, paperback or Kindle Unlimited.

 

 If you've read Enter The Devil and Skeletons In The Closet you'd know who this is.
If you guessed Constable Richard Parry you're correct.

Parry left at the end of Skeletons In The Closet. Will we see him again?

No spoilers here! What happens to Parry you'll have to wait and see.

 

 A Weekend At Joe's

In between Skeletons In The Closet and The Lion's Den is this little gem. 
Joe's much anticipated doo. If you can't get enough of Mark Bannon, Mick Ryan and all the colourful characters from the fictional town of Mara you can join them for a weekend of fun and laughter at Joe's with a spot of shooting, a barbeque and an old fashioned outback country dance.
While this is not a necessary part of the Mara Mysteries who can't resist a little fun in between the serious stuff? 

You can download this little short story for FREE HERE. 

 

 A sneak peek at the opening paragraphs for The Lion's Den. 

Editing is coming along and on track for an early December release. Chapters will begin drifting into my proof-readers inboxes within the next two weeks. 

Meanwhile enjoy this tantilising, spine chilling excerpt.