For Sneak Peak Sunday I'm posting an excerpt from my recently released novel, Affairs of the Dead. I figured I'd posted the beginning of the novel quite a bit already so the excerpt I'm using is from later in the novel where the main character, Selene, and her partner, Micah are investigating the death of a woman. The excerpt also showcases a little the tense relationship Selene and Micah have. Here's a blurb about the novel to get an idea of what it's about:
Blurb:
Help ghosts, stop a thief, and try not to die…
Necromancer Selene Vanream helps ghosts settle their affairs so they can move on. But when breaking the rules gets her in trouble, she’s bumped down to tracking ghosts trying to avoid the afterlife. Ghosts like Ethan Lance, who claims he was kicked out of his body when someone else jumped in. Which might be plausible—if such a thing were possible. And if Micah, Selene’s partner, didn’t pull her into an investigation of brutal murders that lead directly back to Ethan.
But when the whole mess puts Selene’s life in danger, she suddenly has very personal reasons to get Ethan’s body back. Between her uncomfortable relationship with Micah, and problems with her boss, Selene learns just how much trouble it can be when you don’t follow the rules…
Sneak Peak:
The cause of death was immediately apparent; her chest was covered in deep, garish wounds. Some of them looked as though the beastie had been trying to dig her insides out. Bile rose in my throat. I wanted to take a steadying breath, but the air was tainted with the stench of death, and I didn’t want to pull any more of that into my lungs than was necessary. Time to do a closer inspection.
The feeling of familiarity still nagged at me. I pulled on a pair of gloves and knelt down near the woman’s head. Micah had already gloved up and was sorting through his bag of runes.
“What are you doing?” Micah said sharply. I looked up at him with my hand stretched halfway toward the body.
“Inspecting,” I said. “That’s what we came here to do, right? I want to see her face.”
He stared at me a moment longer, then went back to his runes. I really hoped whatever had crawled up his butt and died would eventually find its release, because Micah could really use a big dose of unclench. I refocused on the body and carefully brushed the woman’s hair away from her face until I could see enough of her features to make my eyes widen. I gasped and sat back on my heels. Micah looked at me again.
“What?” he demanded. “Do you recognize her?”
