By
Tj O’Connor, author of Dying to Know & Dying for the Past
Countdown—39 days to the launch of Dying for the Past, my first sequel to Oliver “Tuck” Tucker’s debut in Dying to Know. Tuck is back in Book 2 and he’s on a new case with the help of his beautiful and brilliant professor-wife, Angel, and Detective Bear Braddock, his always faithful, always-protective ex-partner. Or maybe I’m describing Hercule, his black Lab companion. Both I think.
Tuck has just started settling down into his new life as a dead detective after wrapping up his own murder and ending the killing spree of a serial killer. Things have been going well for him—all things being considered that is.
Tuck finds that being dead is often bittersweet. He explains
a little in Chapter 1 of Dying for the
Past…
“Sometimes,
being dead is not so bad. Like poofing in and out of places on a whim without
bothering with doors and stairs. And you never have to pee or get the flu
again—big pluses. Then there are times, though, when dead is depressing and
sad. It’s the things you miss—the taste of good wine, the adrenaline-rush of
chasing a suspect, or the feeling when you’re in the middle of the dance floor
with the most beautiful woman in the room. Those moments hurt.
A
woman with shoulder-length auburn hair and sparkling green eyes stood in the
middle of the mansion’s ballroom. Her long, silky gown was icing poured hot
over sultry curves. All eyes fixed on her when she embraced a tall,
distinguished-looking older man before a dance. He wore a tux—okay, yeah, he
was striking with gray hair and a strong, muscular build, brilliant, rich,
blah, blah, blah. Big deal. The two could have been on a wedding cake, but
instead were the center of attention at Angel’s big band-themed charity gala,
and leading a turn around the floor to Glenn Miller’s Moonlight Serenade.
When
they took their first step, I turned away …”
Then wham. Someone’s dead. Not just any someone, mind you,
but a shifty rich guy with a carnation on his lapel and a beautiful, but angry
young bride on his arm. The only things anyone knows about this mysterious
philanthropist is that he has too much money, too beautiful a young wife, and
one-too-many bullet holes in him.
“Mr.
Carnation hailed a passing waiter for a refill of champagne. After downing the
glass in a single gulp, he lifted Angel’s hand for a melodramatic kiss.
His
glass shattered and spasms jerked his body all the way to the floor. His right
arm thrust out and pointed at the crowd; his left still held the broken glass
stem. His body twitched a few more times and stilled …
…
I’d seen death before—and murder, too often. Not just my own, but dozens.
This
one was unmistakable. It wasn’t the way Mr. Carnation collapsed in a jerky,
melodramatic spiral to the hardwood. It also wasn’t the way his dull, lifeless
face caught the dance ball light either. It was much simpler.
It was the blood pooling around his body and the bullet hole through his torso.
Someone
murdered Mr. Carnation—shot him in front of two hundred witnesses. A killer
jitterbugged in and gunned him down to Benny Goodman.”
In Dying for the Past,
Tuck realizes pretty quickly that it’s all about just that—the past. For Tuck,
his past started to haunt him (pardon the pun) after his murder. You see, being
dead also comes with some perks—spirited perks, like touching crime scene
objects that show him a few snippets of their meaning (though often veiled) and
being able to move about without the delays of traffic or bad weather. He can
pop in and out of places at a whim. He just has to know where he wants to be. No, he has no after-life intuition or
clairvoyance—it always comes down to plain old detective work. Now, he has to
figure out how to use his new-found talents and a couple unusual characters to
solve the case.
“Across
the room, standing alongside the dance floor, was an uninvited guest. He was a
stout, striking man in a black pinstripe, double-breasted suit. He wore shiny,
buffed wingtips and a gray felt fedora. The only thing missing was a big cigar
hanging out of his mouth and a violin case. Then, he swept his hand across his
jacket and revealed a heavy semi-automatic in a shoulder holster. Did someone
invite Al Capone?
He
looked at me and winked. Winked …
…
Voices hushed as eyes fell on the dead man.
Not
me, though, I watched the crowd, looking for the killer and any telltale sign
of the smoking gun.
But
what I saw, or didn’t see, unnerved me more.
The
gangster in the black pinstripes was gone … vanished—poof. He arrived just in
time for a killing and left before the body hit the floor. No sign of his spats
and black tie remained. He didn’t leave his fedora or heater behind either. He
was as dead and gone as Mr. Carnation.
The
question was, however, would he stay that way?”
In Dying for the Past,
Tuck begins to learn some of his own family secrets. First, after witnessing the
murder of Stephanous Grecco in front of his wife and a hundred people at the Vincent
House—no one saw anything—Tuck finds himself searching for the killer and
wondering what it all has to do with his own family tree. What does he find
along the way?
·
Vincent Calaprese—the spirit of a 1939 mobster
boss with his hooks into Tuck’s family tree.· Sassy—the eye-candy delight always on Vincent’s arm and always after Tuck’s eye.
· Doc Gilley’s secret just within arm’s reach. Can Tuck get the truth out of him?
· Someone stalking Angel, but what does it have to do with Steve and Bonnie Grecco—the new rich elite in Winchester? And what does André Cartier, Angel’s only family and mentor, have to do with all of it?
· Why are the FBI, US Attorney’s Office, and a television ghost-hunter all converging on the Vincent House?
· Also, why is Poor Nic Bartalotta—retired New York mob boss extraordinaire—connected to the Russian Mob and missing federal snitches?
· Above all, who will find The Book—Old Vincent’s gangster journal holding the secrets to a bundle in loot and the names and evidence on the who’s who of Washington D.C.’s World War II spies, mobsters, and corrupt-elite. You’d be surprised how many are still around these days.
The answers come from the past and the victims are Dying for the Past.
Stay tuned to this channel—same InkSpot Time, same InkSpot channel. Next month, I’ll disclose
some of the past behind Dying for the
Past. Like …
·
What’s the backstory to Vincent Calaprese and
his pre-World War II escapades?· What’s the story behind Tuck, Doc, and his wayward ancestors?
· Why am I so connected to the past myself? What skeletons and secrets do I have hidden deep away?
If you can guess any of these answers, drop me a line here
or email me at tj@tjoconnor.com
Be looking for Dying
for the Past out on your bookshelves January 8, 2015!
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