Darrell James—NAZARETH CHILD Launch Party

The party, like the novel, was a class act, with plenty of action and intriguing characters. First, meet Darrell James the author (left). Below is an excerpt from  NAZARETH CHILD, the first in his 3-book thriller series starring female, FBI field operative, Del Shannon, published by Midnight Ink. All the launch-party action follows below.—Elaine Ash

CHAPTER ONE

THIS night, she had come for the fugitive Ruben Vazquez. The tiny house trailer, that sat at the river’s edge at the end of a long gravel drive, seemed a fitting end to the chase. Inside could be heard the whistling-shush of desert wind through the cottonwood trees, the nails-on-chalkboard screech of limbs against aluminum siding, the steady drip-drip-drip of the kitchen faucet. All of itthe sounds served to mark time.

Del Shannon sat alone in the dark, her back to the wall, facing the door. The waiting was always the hard part, but that was behind her now. Somewhere off, a dog had begun to bark. An owl, that had been roosting in the tree outside, had suddenly shrieked a hellish lament and flapped off into the night. Footsteps could be heard crunching down the loose gravel drive. Now boot-scuffs coming onto the metal porch. END EXCERPT