New Zealand – A Crime Writer’s Dream

Debut mystery writer Sara E. Johnson appears at The Poisoned Pen on Monday, September 9 at 7 PM. She’ll introduce her book, Molten Mud Murder, and her protagonist, Alexa Glock. If you can’t make it, you can order signed copies of the book through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2k7sSur

You can read the summary of Molten Mud Murder here.

Is the past better left undisturbed, or unearthed?

When a body is found half-submerged in a molten mud pot in one of Rotorua’s famous geothermal wonderlands, forensics expert Alexa Glock spots a way to prolong her stay in New Zealand, which she has been visiting for work. Teeth are her expertise, and the investigation needs her help, as other ways of identifying the body may have… melted away.

Joining Detective Inspector Bruce Horne and his team, Alexa discovers that the murder victim, a city councilman, had trespassed on an island sacred to the Maori. The ancient punishment for such a transgression is disaster, demonic possession, or death… and when she visits the island to investigate, the same outcome is promised for her. Alexa doesn’t believe in ancient spirits returning to exact revenge, and when another victim turns up dead she begins to wonder whether the real threat is something—or someone—much closer to home.

*****

Better yet, you can read how Johnson’s year in New Zealand inspired murder. That’s a murder mystery, of course. She wrote about it for BookReporter.com. https://bit.ly/2kzH0Nd