The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES Denise Moncrief's New Book: The Memory Catcher
Denise is a Romantic Suspense author of the Colorado series, the Haunted Hearts Series and the Crisis Series.
The Memory Catcher
Author: Denise Moncrief
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When someone touches Naomi Fuller, she catches visions of dark memories that fill the other person’s soul with regret, fear, or shame. Living with other people’s guilt leaves little room in her psyche for her own history. She recalls seemingly unconnected events, but did those horrible incidents happen yesterday, last week, or six years ago?
Naomi believes someone is messing with her mind, so she turns to Sidney Ashe for help untangling her distorted timeline, but the more she leans on him, the more she questions his motives. Can she distance herself from Ashe when her heart is hopelessly falling for him?
As Naomi struggles to understand how her emerging memories mesh with the guilty memories of everyone around her and things become clearer, she fears there is a killer in Clallam County who would do anything to stop her from remembering.
Excerpt from The Memory Catcher
Her eyes popped open when a bang startled Naomi out of her drowsy zone. She focused on the view outside her window. Twinkling lights dotted the lakeside like a glittering diamond choker, sparkling luminescence reflecting on the gently breaking surface of the water.
Behind her, the remainder of the house sat in dark silence. No noise. No air conditioning. There was no need for artificial cooling. At midday, the temperature never topped seventy. No noisy furnace assaulted her ears. Even the old refrigerator stilled its raucous racket. The steady in and out of her breathing massaged her ears. She was alive. Yes, truly alive for the first time in as long as she could remember.
A thump thump thump interrupted the stillness, sending a momentary shock through her nervous system. A minute passed. The front doorknob rattled, the door shook. Her pulse raced. Had Brett followed her here? When she left Portland, she had refused to tell him where she was going. She never wanted to see him again, but that wouldn’t keep him from looking for her. His presence would shatter the peace she’d found here in her grandmother’s house. She couldn’t handle that because she could no longer handle him. Suppressing her panic, she rose to her feet and pressed her hand to her chest.
Another knock. "Hello in there. Anyone home?"
Naomi exhaled at the obviously feminine voice and hurried to the door to find out who disturbed her solitude.
The woman barged into the tiny entrance. "Just wanted to see who moved into Esther’s place.” She tilted her head from one side to the other. “Naomi?”
“Yes. Who are you?” She bit her lower lip. She hadn’t meant to sound so rude.
Confusion spread across the woman’s face. “It’s me. Abigail. I moved into the house just over there.” She pointed toward the west end of the lake.
Naomi peered into the darkening night, but trees obscured the view. The woman moved closer, and Naomi stepped back, avoiding physical contact.
Abigail’s eyes brightened just a bit. “I saw your lights blink. Is your power out?” Her eyes flitted back and forth as if attempting to see into the dark beyond Naomi’s shoulder. Then Abigail turned a penetrating gaze upon Naomi as if expecting a full explanation.
“I haven't turned my lights on. I was sitting in the sunroom watching the sun go down.”
“Oh?”
The woman's single syllable grated on her nerves. She wanted to ask if it was any of Abigail’s business, but she squelched the impolite comeback.
An uncomfortable silence ensued. Abigail shifted, inching her ample frame a little bit farther into the house. “I thought maybe something was going on up here. This place has problems.”
“I'm all right.” Naomi’s sharp tone should have conveyed her desire to end the conversation, but when Abigail didn’t budge, Naomi stepped forward and wrapped her hand around the doorknob.
A sneer appeared on the woman’s face as she reached out and grabbed Naomi’s forearm. She jerked at the sudden contact, a jolt of hyper-consciousness zipping through her psyche. A vision of a young woman flashed across Naomi’s mind. Shoving. Resistance. Feet dragging on torn carpet. Tears in the girl’s eyes. Naomi’s stomach muscles tightened, and she held her breath until the unwanted image dissolved.
Abigail scrutinized her as if she knew what went on in Naomi’s mind, and she wanted to kick herself for her carelessness. She shouldn’t let anyone touch her, but Abigail had grabbed her arm before she could stop her.
She pushed the woman’s hand off even though the damage was already done. Naomi had to nudge Abigail out the door before the inevitable aftereffects of seeing into someone else’s mind hit her. The confusion. The depression. The lethargy. Whether she passed out this time or not, the experience would consume her, as it always did.
“Thanks for coming by.”
She was almost successful in pushing Abigail out the door when the finest piece of man flesh she'd ever seen appeared on the wood deck of her front porch. Naomi’s already heightened pulse rate kicked up a notch. Her eyes locked with his, and sudden warmth spread throughout her body, heating her core, causing her to tingle in places that hadn’t reacted to the sight of a handsome man in a long, long time. All her previous fears of how she would react to seeing into Abigail’s mind disappeared. Gone as if she hadn’t just pulled something dark from another soul. Her whole being seemed drawn to the man, but how could that be? He was a stranger. Wasn’t he?
A smile spread across his face. “Naomi! Why didn’t you tell me you were back?”
He moved toward her and held out his arms as if he expected an embrace, and then lowered them slowly when she backed away from him. The urge to walk right into his arms hit her hard, and she was surprised by her unexpected reaction to a stranger.
The warmth that radiated from him diminished as the awkward moment lengthened. Thick brows creased a serious line across the bridge of his nose. Hazel eyes flashed with strong emotion. Not of anger, but of concern, touched with a hint of suspicion and maybe a bit of hurt feelings.
He cleared his throat. “I heard someone moved into Esther’s house. I was just checking on my new neighbor. I see Abigail beat me to it.” A scowl covered his face as he ground out Abigail’s name.
Naomi wondered what the animosity between them was all about, and her exasperation at their nosey intrusion got the best of her. “Why did either of you think you needed to check on me?”
A jolt of heat surged around and between them.
Abigail bristled. “This house has a history—”
“Of electrical outages,” Mr. Gorgeous said, finishing Abigail’s sentence with a sharp snap.
The three of them examined one another in deafening silence.
Abigail's mouth puckered. “I should go. Jasper will be wondering where I am.” She turned on her heel and left.
Unresolved tension hung in the air like a heavy, unspent thunderstorm. Naomi turned to the man. She wanted him to leave, and yet she wanted him to stay. He smiled as if he discerned her indecision. The grin widened and covered his face, sending a spark of electricity through her body.
Something passed between them. An understanding. The kind of understanding men and women share when attracted to one another—a promise of future pleasurable interaction.
He rubbed the back of his neck and stared across the lake. “I was just checking on you.” He stopped as if he realized he was repeating himself.
She attempted to soften her tone. “I’m all right.”
He nodded once and moved to go, but then stopped on the first riser of the steps and turned toward her. “Make sure you lock your doors. Even during the day.” The sadness in his eyes tugged at her heart. “It’s good to see you again, Naomi. I’ve missed you.”
He tossed one more glance over his shoulder as he walked away. The hurt expression on his face stabbed her in the heart, and once again she wondered at the intense emotions a stranger had stirred in her.
Author Genre: Romance, Mystery & Thrillers
Website: Denise Moncrief - Suspense, She Writes
Author's Blog: Suspense, She Writes
Twitter: @dmoncrief0131
E-Mail: denisemoncriefbooks(at)gmail(dot)com
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Author Description: Denise is a Southern girl. She has lived in Louisiana all her life, and yes, she has a drawl. She has a wonderful husband and two incredible children, who not only endure her writing moods, but also encourage her to indulge her writing passion. Besides writing romantic suspense, she enjoys traveling, reading, and scrapbooking.
Accounting is a skill she learned to earn a little money to support her writing habit. She wrote he first story when she was a teen, seventeen handwritten pages on school-ruled paper and an obvious rip-off of the last romance novel she read. She's been writing off and on ever since, and with more than a few full-length manuscripts already completed, she has no desire to slow down.
Author's Book List
Shaw's Landing
- Haunted Hearts Series Book 4Tired of keeping secrets that could get her killed…
As long as Courtney lived with Jared Crenshaw, she was able to keep his secrets and stay alive, but now that he’s dead, what she knows could get her killed. Hiding from the good guys can be just as dangerous as running from the bad guys.
Protected by a man who seems too good to be true…
Just when she thinks she has nowhere left to run, an investigator with the Arkansas State Police helps her find a new place to hide. Shaw Bennett seems to be everything Jared wasn’t, but can she trust him? He is, after all, just another cop.
Her life threatened by the father she never knew…
Shaw’s Landing seems a great place to disappear for a while until the night terrors begin. Are the visions she sees her imagination, the product of her increasing fear, or something more sinister? Has the curse of Haskins blood followed her?
Can the promise of love overcome the ghosts of the past at Shaw’s Landing?
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Ashley Ridge
- Haunted Hearts Series Book 3Trapped in an affair with a blackmailer...
After Ashley Rivers is involved in a hit and run accident, she picks up the pieces of her life and tries to move on, but the tragedy ruins her friendship with the two people most important to her. To fill the void, she falls into a psychologically abusive relationship with a sociopath.
Estranged from the man she has always loved...
Giving up her place in the North Arkansas Paranormal Society isn’t easy for Ashley. She longs to go back to the old ghost hunting days with her partners, Josh and Gray, but the hurt Josh inflicted on her is hard to forget. Distancing herself from him is even harder.
Entangled in a dark web of murder and revenge...
When a mysterious death on Ashley Ridge stirs up old haunting rumors, Lead Crime Scene Investigator with the Hill County Sheriff’s Office, Josh McCord, pulls Ashley into the investigation. Investigating the haunting draws Josh and Ashley together, but Josh fears Ashley will crush his heart again.
Can two wounded hearts repair the damage done by the past and find love on Ashley Ridge?
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Victoria House
- Haunted Hearts Series Book 2Haunted by a dark mystery in her family’s past... When Tori Downing takes possession of the abandoned Hamilton estate on the longest peninsula on Lake Jefferson, Arkansas, she avoids revealing her connection to the ill-fated Hamilton family. Is the glowing image that shimmers in the second floor window of Victoria House the ghost of Victoria Hamilton? Can Tori handle moving into a house with paranormal activity...again?
Tormented by a scandal she thought she’d left behind...
Until she leaves her career at the Arkansas State Crime Lab behind, she never even considers moving to Lake Jefferson, but the fallout from scandal gives Tori a very good reason to escape to Hill County and refurbish and restore the old family mansion. She settles into her new life...until the old accusations from her past start resurfacing.
Attracted to a man haunted by secrets of his own...
Drawn together to solve the murder of Jared Crenshaw, Tori and Lt. Grayson of the Hill County Sheriff’s Department dive into a tangled web of jealousy, deceit, and revenge as they attempt to solve both crimes, Jared’s death and the mysterious death years ago of Victoria Hamilton. Grayson’s past keeps interfering with his present, causing turmoil in both his professional life and his personal life. Can their love survive revealing the truth—from both the past and present—surrounding the tragedies at Victoria House?
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Laurel Heights
- Haunted Hearts Series Book 1Book One of an exciting new series filled with paranormal activity, delicious romance, and plenty of suspense.
A dark cloud of deceit hovers over her family tree...
Left an estate by an aunt she’s never met, Laurel Standridge takes possession of Laurel Heights, hoping it will be the safe haven she needs to recuperate from her ill-fated relationship with Rand Peterson. Secrets long buried rise to the surface when her cousin James is murdered and dumped on the highway just outside the gates of Laurel Heights.
Her past trails her to the mountains of Arkansas...
Caught in an obligation Chase Peterson feels he cannot ignore, he agrees to help his brother Rand take back the property he believes Laurel stole from him, but Chase remains at Laurel Heights after he discovers Laurel took nothing of Rand’s away with her except nightmares, fading bruises, and a broken rib.
Unexplained disturbances shatter her hopes of a normal life...
Are the strange bumps, thumps, and bangs reverberating through the night caused by the murderer of Laurel’s cousin James, someone Rand has sent to exact his revenge, or a disturbed soul existing in another dimension, trying to communicate with the living? Drawn together by the intrigue surrounding Laurel Heights, Chase and Laurel become hopelessly entangled in a relationship that goes deeper than mere physical attraction. Can their love survive the haunting of Laurel Heights?
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Twin Rivers
- Colorado series Book 3Country music star, Summer Jackson, left fame and fortune behind in Las Vegas one fateful night--the night an anonymous stranger checked her into rehab--the same night her partner Houston Pierce was murdered. Living out of the spotlight as Johanna Caldwell should be easier, except her fractured heart and her infamous past won't allow her any rest.
When Johanna arrives at Twin Rivers looking for a job, Austin Pierce remembers her as Summer Jackson, the woman he's always blamed for causing his brother's death. Pierce hires the woman who calls herself Johanna, but her presence rekindles his feelings of resentment toward the woman he knew as Summer Jackson.
Will a new threat expose their secrets and endanger their future before they have a chance to forgive each other and build a new life together?
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An Impostor in Town
- Colorado series Book 1Peyton Chandler has done everything to protect her son Jake from the evil men who would destroy her by destroying him. For years, she has allowed another woman to raise her son, kept herself apart from him, and hidden behind her dead sister's identity, never allowing herself to get close to anyone--not even Sheriff Brian Parker, the one man whose love and respect she craves. When Brian receives a note claiming there's an impostor in town, he doesn't know where to start his investigation. Peyton fears she will lose the man she loves if he discovers she's not the woman she claims to be.
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Cross Examination
No longer able to tolerate her husband Scott’s abuse, Tamara Slay packs up her daughter, Gabby, and moves to Louisiana, hoping a new life and a new identity will give her a fresh start. An unexpected phone call from a Sheriff’s deputy in Florida shatters her sense of security. Scott hides a much darker secret than abusing his wife. Above all else, she must protect Gabby from Scott.
Lt. Martin Beck of the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Department has been investigating the death of Brandy Fuller for years. Sidetracked for a while by his wife’s murder, Beck finally reopens the cold Fuller case and discovers a thin lead. The new evidence takes him to Louisiana to meet the estranged wife of his primary suspect. Together, Beck and Tamara conclude that Scott not only murdered Brandy Fuller, but seven other women on the Florida Gulf coast.
As Beck dives deeper into the investigation, he draws closer to Tamara. Passions ignite as the one woman who wants Scott dead the most allies with the one man who wants Scott dead the most. Can Beck protect Tamara and Gabby from Scott and stop a serial killer from killing again?
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Deceptions of the Heart
Surviving as Jennifer Cristobal isn't easy for Rhonda Prentiss. Three years ago, a sudden, fatal trauma stripped Rhonda of her middle-class, stay-at-home-mom existence. A brand new shock prompts Rhonda's essence to invade Jennifer's soul, suppressing the other woman's memories and replacing them with her own. When Jennifer's heart transplant surgeon, Dr. Crane, can't--or won't--help her understand her unusual body-swapping dilemma, she turns to the only man she can trust. But can she fully trust Jennifer's husband, Anson? Rhonda's memory proves faulty--and sugarcoated. Multiple threats from her past shake her fragile hold on mental stability. If one of her enemies succeeds, he will kill Rhonda's soul...or Jennifer's body...or both.
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Crisis of Serenity
- Crisis Series Book 2Tess Copeland lives a quiet life in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Thanks to the government’s witness protection program, she enjoys the freedom of never having to glance over her shoulder to see if someone is following her. Life has become safe, serene...and boring. Her heart longs for something more than just existing...until a ghost from her past shatters her serenity.
Once upon a time, Tess was caught between the FBI and the men the feds were trying to take down. Jake Coleman is the U.S. Marshal who extracted her from the jam she was in with the FBI, a man she could have fallen for...hard...if she had let herself. It’s been a year since she last saw Jake, and in all the months that have passed, he’s never tried to find her. The longer he keeps his distance, the more she wonders why his absence hurts so much.
When a stranger comes to town searching for her, all of Tess’ old fears are resurrected. Asking Jake for help with her current crisis might lure him into a dangerous trap involving murder, kidnapping, and revenge. When Jake and Tess come face-to-face with the past, they will have to use all their wits to survive.
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Crisis of Identity
Tess Copeland is an operator. Her motto? Necessity is the mother of a good a con. When Hurricane Irving slams into the Texas Gulf coast, Tess seizes the opportunity to escape her past by hijacking a dead woman’s life, but Shelby Coleman’s was the wrong identity to steal. And the cop that trails her? He’s a U.S. Marshall with the Fugitive Task Force for the northern district of Illinois. Tess left Chicago because the criminal justice system gave her no choice. Now she’s on the run from ghosts of misdeeds past—both hers and Shelby’s.
Enter Trevor Smith, a pseudo-cowboy from Houston, Texas, with good looks, a quick tongue, and testosterone poisoning. Will Tess succumb to his questionable charms and become his damsel in distress? She doesn’t have to faint at his feet—she’s capable of handling just about anything. But will she choose to let Trevor be the man? When Tess kidnaps her niece, her life changes. She must make some hard decisions. Does she trust the lawman that promises her redemption, or does she trust the cowboy that promises her nothing but himself?
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
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eBook Author’s Corner
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