Spent Identity by Marlene M. Bell Book Excerpt

Welcome to the book tour for Spent Identity by Marlene M. Bell. I’m sharing an excerpt from the book, so you can find out more!

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Spent Identity
(Annalisse Series #2)

By Marlene M. Bell
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 378 Pages
December 11th 2019 by Ewephoric Publishing

To find her missing aunt, she has to unearth the secrets of the past. But lies and deceit run through the very heart of their town….

What started out as a promising relationship with adventurer and tycoon Alec Zavos has fizzled into an uncertain future for antiquities expert Annalisse Drury. Returning to Walker Farm in Upstate New York to see her Aunt Kate should have been a welcome homecoming and distraction. Instead, she finds the childhood home she expected to inherit is for sale, without her permission. What’s worse, Kate’s ranch manager makes a gruesome discovery in the barn: the body of a man, dead by foul play.

Annalisse turns in Alec’s direction for help. She and her aunt shelter on his estate in the Catskills while the authorities canvass the scene. But when Kate herself disappears without a trace, Annalisse fears the worst: that one of the many secrets of her hometown has ensnared her family—a secret someone is willing to kill for to keep hidden.

Praise for the Book

“The story is welcoming and vibrant, and much of it is nuanced and warm. When Bell aims for fun adventure, she hits the bull’s-eye.” – Booklife Review

“…Bell keeps her well-paced story moving. Her use of dialogue to drive the narrative is excellent and she sticks the twist ending nicely, one of the harder tricks to pull off in this genre. Her characters are vivid and spot-on…” – IndieReader Review

“Ambitiously written, Spent Identity has lots of action, a solid narrative, and engaging dialogue that give it substance, while the theme of betrayal cuts a wide swath. Enhanced with a cast of well-balanced and wide-ranging characters, Spent Identity acts as more than a run of the mill mystery, with engaging and relatable family relationships woven into the mains storyline. Suspenseful and well-crafted, Spent Identity is a consistently entertaining read.” Self-Publishing Review

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Spent Identity Excerpt

“Ethan’s rubbed off on you. He spends too many paychecks on forensics books. We should have gone with him to the sheriff’s office. You know he’ll accidentally say something stupid and act guilty.” Annalisse picked at a hangnail. “How’s he getting home?”

“I told him to call if he needed to make bail,” Kate replied with a hint of a smile.

Kate’s half-assed joke didn’t make Annalisse feel better.

“Take the next exit. Are you as hungry as I am? Helga isn’t expecting anyone at the estate today. I hate to drop in for lunch.” Annalisse rolled her window down and watched the pizza place whiz by, then the last deli disappeared, along with the exit. “I guess that’s a no.”

“How can you eat? Doesn’t anything faze you?” Kate popped the steering wheel cover with a palm. “I’m not sure I’ll be eating for a week,” she huffed. “You and Ethan are a fine pair, I swear.”

“We’ve seen worse, Auntie. What happened was horrible, but the dead guy’s not our main problem. Losing the farm is.”

Kate nodded. “You don’t think Jeremy did that to that… person, do you?”

“Not his style.”

Kate turned to gape at her. “As opposed to what?”

“He’s a white-collar professional. You have written notice he intends to sell the farm. I can’t see his motive for that man in the stall. He doesn’t need your permission. Do you think your son’s capable of murder?”

Kate shifted beneath her seat belt.

Annalisse studied her aunt’s deadpan expression. “You do?”

“No. Don’t put words in my mouth.”

“Driveway’s coming up.” Annalisse pointed out her window, stabbing the air. “Slow down, you’re going to miss it.”

Kate applied the brakes in the same jerky motion she used on the gas pedal. “Know what? I’ll drop myself off at the stables first.” She looked in the rearview mirror and cut across the next lane.

“Not before you eat or drink something. I won’t have you keel over.”

“Tell Helga not to fuss. I need to be around the horses… to think. I’ll grab a drink from Alec’s little fridge.”

Kate turned the Beamer into the bricked drive in front of Alec’s huge showplace horse barn with the silver horse jumping out of a big B on the header. Hardly a barn, but he liked to call it that. The magnificent thirty-stall breeding headquarters with office and tack area and an arena, all under one roof. The facility was opulent, full of hot-walkers, wash racks, birthing stalls, and the finest saddles money could buy. The dream to live with Alec and work beside him in his veterinary clinic had slipped from her grasp.

Other Books in the Series

Stolen Obsession
(Annalisse Series #1)
By Marlene M. Bell
Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 294 Pages
June 30th 2018 by Ewephoric Publishing

People die, but legends live on.

New York antiquities appraiser Annalisse Drury recently lost her best friend to murder. The killer’s identity may be linked to her friend’s expensive missing bracelet—a 500-year-old artifact that carries an ancient curse, one that unleashes evil upon any who dare wear the jewelry created for the Persian royal family.

Weeks later, Annalisse sees a matching necklace at a Manhattan gallery opening. She begs the owner to destroy the cursed piece, but her pleas fall on deaf ears—despite the unnatural death that occurs during the opening. With two victims linked to the jewelry, Annalisse is certain she must act.

Desperate, Annalisse enlists the gallery owner’s son to help—even though she’s afraid he’ll break her heart. Wealthy and devastatingly handsome, with a string of bereft women in his wake, Greek playboy Alec Zavos dismisses Annalisse’s concerns—until his parents are ripped from the Zavos family yacht during their ocean voyage near Crete.

Annalisse and Alec race across two oceans to save his mother, feared dead or kidnapped. When the killer changes tactics and goes after Alec behind Annalisse’s back, can her plan to rescue Alec’s mother save them all?

Hold on for a heart-thumping, thrilling adventure through exotic lands in this fast-moving romantic suspense mystery by Marlene M. Bell.

Praise for the Book

“Debut author Bell delivers a great, slow-building romance, gently examining her characters’ painful pasts.” — Kirkus Reviews

“An irresistible page turner and a successful melding of thriller and romance. With a splash of international adventure and plenty of surprises, Stolen Obsession is an entertaining read and a great beginning to the Annalisse Series.” — Self-Publishing Review, ★★★★½

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About the Author

Marlene M. Bell is an award-winning writer and acclaimed artist as well as a photographer. Her sheep landscapes grace the covers of Sheep!, The Shepherd, Ranch & Rural Living, and Sheep Industry News, to name a few. Her catalog venture, Ewephoric, began in 1985 out of her desire to locate personalized sheep stationery. She rarely found sheep products through catalogs and set out to design them herself. Marlene and her husband, Gregg, reside in beautiful East Texas on a wooded ranch with their dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep, a large Maremma guard dog named Tia, along with Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks, the cats that believe they rule the household—and do.

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Spent Identity Tour

Enter the Giveaway ENDED

One winner will receive the following (valued at $230):

1. Poppies Overnighter bag – Leather and canvas
2. Large Spa Tin – Lavender scents
3. Autographed novel by Marlene with companion wire bound notebook
4. Authentic Vera Bradley portable umbrella
5. $50 Amazon gift card

US only
Ends February 5, 2020

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