BooksChatter: ☀☄ The Veritas Deception [1]

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for The Veritas Deception, a Thriller by Lynne Constantine (10 August 2016, Sailor Dance Publishing, 302 pages).

Don't miss our interview with author Lynne Constantine.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis, trailer and excerpt below. Read the first four chapters with Kobo Preview.

Author Lynne Constantine will be awarding an ebook copy to one of our readers and the following prizes tour-wide: one $20.00 Amazon GC; one Autographed print copy of Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell (US Only); one Autographed print copy of The Advocate’s Daughter by Anthony Franze (US Only); one ebook copy of THE VERITAS DECEPTION by Lynne Constantine to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Trailer | Teaser | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

Days after US Senator Malcolm Phillips changes his vote on a bill he sponsored, he is murdered and his death disguised as an accident. He contacted one man before he died: investigative journalist, Jack Logan. He left Jack a single clue to help him uncover the truth and keep Phillips's widow, Taylor, safe. But safe from whom?

Jack and Taylor’s desperate hunt leads them to a vast network of corrupt authority, controlling everything from social media and television programming to law enforcement and US legislation. The key to unraveling a complex web of lies is a set of ancient relics, dating back to the time of Christ. But what do these relics have to do with a senator’s death?

Allies turn to foes when Jack and Taylor discover that those closest to them are part of the conspiracy and that they too have been manipulated. How long has a puppet master been pulling their strings—and will Jack and Taylor trust the right people long enough to win what becomes a colossal battle for souls?

Teaser: Excerpt

Chapter Five

One hundred and fifty miles later, Jack pulled over at a run-down motel and got them a room. The rumpled man behind the desk looked annoyed at having to tear himself away from his porn magazine to wait on them. In response to his request for a credit card, Jack slapped two hundred-dollar bills on the counter. They disappeared into the man’s pocket and a room key appeared in their place. No one else was around, so it was easy to sneak Beau into the room.
The stink of stale cigarettes wafted over Jack when he opened the door. He flipped a switch, and a dingy bulb in a cracked lamp illuminated the room. He threw his bag on one of the two orange Naugahyde chairs next to the small, round wooden table.
Taylor looked around the room, her eyes resting a moment on the double bed, then back at Jack.
“One bed. You should have gotten two rooms.”
      He shook his head. “Don’t worry. I’ll take one of the chairs.”
      She pulled the comforter off the bed, folded it, and placed it on the floor. Jack didn’t even want to think what kinds of stains would show up on it under a black light. Sitting on the bed, she called Beau over and patted the mattress until he jumped up next to her.
Jack handed Taylor a protein bar, but she shook her head.
“You have to eat. Think of the baby.”
      She took the bar, opened it, pulled off a small piece and put it in her mouth. “I don’t even have any clothes with me,” Taylor said, as she watched Jack put his duffel bag on the table.
“We’ll have to pick some things up tomorrow.” Rifling through the bag, he brought out a pair of faded blue sweatpants and a Boston University sweatshirt. “In the meantime…,” he held his breath as he handed them to her, watching her expression carefully.
Her mouth dropped open. “I can’t believe you still have these.” She held the shirt at arm’s length, looking it over, then shook her head. “You kept them all these years?”
      He shrugged. “Couldn’t force myself to get rid of them.”
      She got a faraway look for a minute, pressed her lips together, stood up and walked into the bathroom without another word.
He turned on the TV and flipped channels until he found CNN.
She returned, having changed, and sat down at the table. “Tell me again about what Malcolm said when he came to your apartment.”
      “He wasn’t making much sense, was clearly agitated. He mentioned someone named Jeremy that we need to find, said now that he’d voted against the bill, they would kill him. He also said Brody Hamilton was in on it. He gave me an envelope for you. Then he left.”
      “Let me see it.”
      Jack went to his briefcase, pulled out the letter and gave it to her, then sat back down.
She read it, then handed it back to Jack. “Go ahead. You can read it.”

My dear Taylor,

Let me begin by how saying I am sorry and how painful is to know that nothing I can do will fix the mess I’ve made. No matter how it started, in the end, I did love you. If you believe nothing else, believe that. You will find things out—things that will make you hate me. I need you to understand that what we’ve gone through in the last two years to create this life you carry, it changed me. Brought us closer and gave me a glimpse into real love—something I’d never known before you. It was your love and the love I already feel for our child that gave me the strength to stand up to them. To finally do the right thing.
There’s so much more at stake than meets the eye. For reasons too complicated to explain in this letter, I have changed my vote. Look into the rider. It opens the door for untold evil. And look into Brody Hamilton’s record. Once my vote is cast, they will know that I have deserted, and they will kill me. I can’t tell you how it will happen, or when but you must know that regardless of what it looks like, when you hear of my death, be certain it was not of my own doing. They are excellent at making things appear as they want. After all, they made up my entire background.
You must find a man named Jeremy. He is the key to everything. He has been in hiding for the past year and has, over that time, built up a network of allies and advocates. I’ve enlisted the aid of Jack, he has skills you are not aware of, and I believe together you can accomplish what neither of you could do alone.
Trust no one. Not the press, not the enforcement agencies. They are everywhere. Disappear. Go deep. I have already arranged your first stop. Jack knows where to go. Once you arrive, you will find instructions for your next stop. Don’t waste time. It is imperative that you get to Jeremy as soon as you can.
I don’t deserve your forgiveness but I pray that one day you will find it in your heart to grant it.
All my Love,
Malcolm

When Jack had finished, he looked at her. “Wow.”
      “Yeah, I don’t even know where to start. What does he mean, ‘they made up my entire background’?” she asked.
“I don’t know. But he told me that he was owned. Hamilton too.”
      Taylor looked shocked. “No. That’s impossible. You must be wrong.”
      “Look Taylor, I know this is hard to take in, but you need to think. Who else could be involved? He already mentioned Hamilton. What about other politicians in D.C.?”
      Jack could see the wheels turning in her mind. Grabbing the cheap, plastic motel pen from the table, she rooted in her bag and brought out a small pad of paper.
“Number one: The rider. Two, Brody Hamilton, and three, Jeremy. Where is this cabin he mentioned?”
      “The New Hampshire woods. It belongs to a friend of mine.”
      She looked confused. “Why would he know anything about your friends, and why would he be keeping tabs on you?”
      “I don’t know.”
      “How can this be? How did he get through the background checks?”
      “That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Whoever he works for is powerful enough to build him a bulletproof identity.”
      The voice on the television got their attention.
“US Senator Malcolm Phillips was found dead in his room while vacationing in Truk Lagoon, a small island in Micronesia, yesterday afternoon. The senator apparently died of anaphylactic shock from a seafood allergy. In a bizarre twist, his wife, Taylor Parks Phillips, is missing. Funeral services are on hold until Mrs. Phillips is located.”
      Jack changed the channel again. Fox News was discussing the implications of Phillips’s death.
“On a more personal note Bill, what do you make of the wife’s disappearance? Seems a little strange, don’t you think?” A picture of Taylor flashed across the screen.
The news anchor’s eyes widened and he turned to his co-anchor.
“It seems there is a new development in the disappearance of Taylor Phillips. She may have been abducted. Take a look at this. A man was captured on video by the security camera.”
      The footage showed Jack holding a gun as Taylor was rushed into the front seat of his car.
Jack cursed and turned the television off. “How did they get that?”
      “We’ve got cameras everywhere.”
      “Everyone will be looking for us. We’ve got to get moving, and we’ve got to dump my car.”
      “What about my shots? We need to go back.”
      She didn’t get it. “We can’t go back. I’ll figure something out. Trust me.”
As soon as the words left his lips, he regretted them. Her expression said it all—trust was the last thing she would bestow on him. He would earn it back. Somehow. He would figure out a way to make things right.

The Veritas Deception
Pre-order Now! Out on 10 August 2016

About the Author

Lynne is a twitter addicted fiction writer always working on her next book.

She is the coauthor of CIRCLE DANCE, a family saga spanning three generations, that received an endorsement from Olympia Dukakis.

She is also a social media consultant and speaker, working with authors to build their brand platforms. Lynne teaches at various workshops and has spoken at the Thrillerfest conference in New York.

She is a monthly contributor to Suspense Magazine, and a contributing editor to THE BIG THRILL magazine.

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Giveaway and Tour Stops

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a Rafflecopter giveaway Enter to win one of the following prizes: one $20.00 Amazon GC; one Autographed print copy of Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell (US Only); one Autographed print copy of The Advocate’s Daughter by Anthony Franze (US Only); one ebook copy of THE VERITAS DECEPTION by Lynne Constantine.
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