"The Poetry of Murder" is a mystery/suspense that captures the readers attention as early as the first paragraph.
An outstanding cast of characters that will have you laughing, crying, and hating them. "The Poetry of Murder" is an amazingly written work of art, by author Bernadette Steele.
Bernadette masterfully takes the reader thought twists and turns to solve the murder of, Geneva Anderson's aunt Victoria Franklin.
Geneva, inherits Ten million dollars and a secret to boot. While at the same time trying to get back to what was as normal a life as possible.
Who killed Victoria Franklin? Why? Where/How did Victoria really get so much money? What does her secrets reveal about who she really was in life?
All these questions and more are answered in Bernadette Steele's new book "The Poetry of Murder"
A must have novel that will never let the truth die!
I give this one the all Ten snowflakes for touching all five senses and never allowing me to put the book down.
Excerpt
Chapter 1
As Victoria completed the thank you cards, day turned to night and the danger of the snow was approaching fast but so was the beauty that came with its arrival. Victoria gazed out of the window at the Midway Plaisance as the first winter storm of the year hit Chicago. The longer she looked at the snow, the harder it fell and the whiter the Midway became. The wind rattled the windows in the room as her cell phone rang.
“You want what?”
"I want to talk to you tonight. Meet me in your office.”
“It’s eleven o’clock. Can’t this wait until morning?” Victoria asked.
“No, I’ll see you in ten minutes.”
Before Victoria could respond, the phone disconnected. She turned the phone off, placed it on the table and walked out of the room past the main hallway of International House and toward the empty front desk.
As she stepped into her office, she felt an arm grab her across the abdomen. She twisted and felt a sharp object enter her right shoulder. She turned her head to look at her shoulder and saw a needle come out of her arm. The arm holding her from behind let go. The room became blurry, and she could only make out the outline of her desk. She tried to rub her eyes, but her arms felt heavy and stiff. The room continued to blur until it finally turned completely dark. She tried to walk but her legs collapsed and she fell. She could feel her limbs, but they would not obey her commands. She tried to scream, but she could not move her mouth. The door closed behind her.
Blind and paralyzed, she lay on the floor for what seemed like an eternity on her right side, slightly bent over at the waist. The door opened again. She heard the slow and steady breath of a person in the room with her. She felt two arms slide under her armpits and straighten out her upper body. The person walked to where her feet were and grabbed her ankles and began to straighten her legs. She felt that her body was now lying perfectly straight on her back. Even though the floor in her office had plush, thick carpeting, the floor seemed to get harder by the second.
Two gloved hands took off her right shoe, and then her left shoe, unzipped and removed her pants, unbuttoned her blouse and carefully removed her right arm and then her left arm. The hands slid under her buttocks and pulled down her stockings and underwear. The two hands proceeded to unhook her bra and removed it.
The carpet made her bare skin tingle. As a cool draft blew across her naked body, goose bumps popped out on her skin. Her arms were placed at her sides and her hair adjusted around her head.
A cold, sharp object pierced her chest. The pain in her chest quickly traveled to her head and feet. When the person slowly pulled the object out of her chest, a warm liquid spread all over the top and down the sides of her chest. She realized that she had been stabbed in the chest. She heard a voice whisper. “And now nineteen more. One for each year.”
And I will meet you in hell one day, Victoria thought. And then the pain stopped, forever.
Bernadette Steele's Bio
Determined, personable, and imaginative are the words used to describe, Bernadette Steele. Throughout her life, Bernadette has used her persistent nature and quiet strength to navigate the hills and valleys of life.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Bernadette moved into the International House at the University of Chicago in 2004. The multicultural environment and Gothic architecture of I-House and the U of C campus inspired her to write her first murder mystery novel, The Poetry of Murder (Oak Tree Press, January 2008).
Due to a difficult childhood, Bernadette did not finish the sixth grade and never attended high school. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1993 and her Master of Science degree in Technical Communication and Information Design from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in 2003. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in Technical Communication at IIT and has an expected graduation date of 2010. She plans to pursue a career in academia.
For eight years, Bernadette worked as a technical writing and website designer for a major financial institution until she was laid off in December 2005. Prior to being laid off, Bernadette started writing The Poetry of Murder, and finished it in 2006.
As a resident of I-House, she served as a Representative-at-Large on the Residents’ Council from 2004 to 2006 and as the election coordinator in 2006.
She approaches her writing in a systematic manner that involves developing detailed outlines and character descriptions. Some of Bernadette’s favorite authors include Walter Mosley, James Baldwin, Agatha Christie, and Victor Hugo.
Bernadette has been an active member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority since 1999. She has served as her chapter’s webmaster from 2004 to 2007 and as a corresponding secretary from 2004 to 2005.
Bernadette enjoys a host of activities such as going to the movies, hiking and traveling. Her favorite film genres include film noir, science fiction, action/adventure and murder mysteries. For Bernadette, the seasons are divided up according to the various sporting events that she enjoys. Fall and Winter mean hoping that the Chicago Bears will get a decent quarterback and that the Chicago Bulls will get to the NBA championships again. Summer and Spring mean rooting for James Blake to win a championship tennis match and watching Tiger Woods have a winning season of golf.
The Poetry of Murder is the first in a continuing series of mysteries featuring the protagonist, Geneva Anderson.
Bernadette is a resident of Chicago and lives in the Hyde Park community.
