Spotlight: Dharma: A Rekha Rao Mystery by Vee Kumari

Rekha Rao, a thirty-something Indian American professor of art history, is disillusioned by academia and haunted by the murder of her father. She believes police convicted the wrong person, and moves away from her match-making family.

She’s focused on managing her PTSD and healing her heart, broken by an abusive boyfriend. She gets entangled in a second murder, that of her mentor and father figure. The murder weapon, an idol of the Hindu goddess Durga, is left behind on the body. Detective Al Newton asks her to look into the relationship, if any, between the meaning of the statue and the motive for the murder.

Rekha is attracted to Al but steers clear of him because of her distaste for cops and fear of a new relationship. The two constantly clash, starting a love-hate relationship. Meanwhile, her family sets her up to meet a suitor, an Indian attorney. When police arrest one of her students and accuse her mentor of idol theft, Rekha is left with no other choice but to look for the killer on her own.

Despite admonitions from Al and bodily harm caused by an intruder, Rekha finds the killer, and in the process, emerges from the cocoon of a protected upbringing to taste the prospect of romance and discover her true identity.

Excerpt

CHAPTER 9

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, CA.

“Neil Anderson?” Patricia looked at her computer and said, “Oh, yeah, Davidson was his advisor. But three weeks ago, Davidson decided for sure he wanted to retire, one hundred percent as he put it, gave up his office and student counseling. So, yes, Anderson was adrift, but I believe Striker talked to your Chair before he assigned him to you.”

“It seemed so, but I wanted to check. Have you got a few minutes?”

“Sure, what’s bugging you?”

Today, Patricia was cheerful. Knowing her only for a short time, I wondered if she’d divulge any departmental secrets.

I asked, “You must miss Faust. How long had you worked for him?”

Her eyes lit up. “Since he moved to the Institute. He was such a great person, Rekha. Very patient with me as I developed the vocabulary for his manuscripts and memos. I’d have died for him. Don’t get me wrong. There was nothing inappropriate. I know where the line is.” I smiled, thinking of Ginny’s worry over Faust’s assistant.

I was making some headway with Patricia. “I heard there was some friction between Faust and Davidson. Was that true?”

“Oh yeah, they both went to Harvard. Fellow grad students. Then, Davidson went to teach somewhere in the Midwest, and Professor F went to UCI. When the institute got started, it was Striker who recruited him to join him here. But when the committee selected Professor F for the other co-directorship, Davidson went berserk.”

I noted that Patricia seemed to revere Faust in a way she didn’t accord the others. “What do you mean?”

“I overheard him yelling at the professor the day the committee announced the decision.”

“Davidson told me he patched it up with Faust.”

“Yes, they were back to being buddies. Men, they don’t hold grudges as we do.” Patricia laughed.

“Tell me about Striker. I just learned that he was unhappy he didn’t get the solo directorship. How did he treat Faust?” I sipped my coffee.

“I can’t tell you of a single person who held a grudge against Professor F. Poor man, he was too nice.” She cleared her throat. “Yeah, Striker was pissed when the Board suggested co-directors. He’d worked to get JPM built and wanted to be its sole owner, in a way. I sometimes laugh at what people value in their lives. Thank God, I’m not like that.”

“Do you think Striker would have arranged to get the Durga? Is he a collector of any sort?”

Patricia laughed. “He, a collector?  His wife died a few years ago, and he’s now married to JPM. Some of us were invited to his house after the Institute opened. I can tell you there was no collection of anything there. Except for dust.”

I couldn’t help smiling. “Tell me about Neil Anderson.” I peeked at my phone to check the time.

“Well, he’s a bit strange.”

I leaned forward to ask, “What do you mean? He’s brilliant, that much I can say. Very quiet in class but brilliant in his analysis and interpretation of data .”

Patricia smiled. “I guess his behavior goes along with his braininess. He wanted Professor F to read his proposal for the junior thesis. And he’s just finishing his sophomore year. The professor gave him a couple of meetings and suggested he talk to his advisor, Davidson.”

“Well, I think Neil was dead serious about getting into Faust’s next excavation. That must have been why he was so persistent.”

“Maybe, but he pestered the man with emails, sent his proposal to his home address, annoyed the heck out of him. Professor F told me to block his emails and tell him to work with Davidson or Striker. If it were up to me, I’d have reported him to the Dean for harassment.”  

Other than my Chair, Patricia was the only female at Oxy who paid me any attention. I could use a little solidarity. On an impulse, I hugged her and said, “Let’s do lunch some time.” She smiled and nodded. Before leaving, I asked for Davidson’s phone number and address. I wanted to talk to him about Neil and other things. “Patricia, I stopped by and saw Ginny, but wondered if Faust had more kith and kin in this area. Are his parents alive?

“No. Striker reached out to every relative we could locate. There’s a niece who lives in Pasadena. Want to go see her?” She handed me a hastily scribbled address on a post-it note.

It was clear to me now that Davidson had always been in Faust’s shadow. Faust got the accolades and the co-directorship. What was the tipping point that led Davidson to murder? Did Faust take Ginny away from him too?

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About the Author

Vee Kumari grew up in India. She loved to read, and often used it to avoid her mother, who might want her to do a chore or two. It was her mother who directed her to use the dictionary to learn the meanings of new words and construct sentences with them. Vee wanted to become an English professor but went to medical school instead.

Upon coming to the US, Vee obtained a doctorate in anatomy. She became a faculty member at the UC Davis Medical Center, where she worked for over 35 years, and later worked for the Keck School of Medicine for five years. Teaching neuroanatomy to medical students became her passion. She published many scientific papers and won several teaching awards.

When she retired in 2012, she took classes from The Gotham Writers' Workshop and UCLA Writers Program. Dharma, A Rekha Rao Mystery is her debut fiction that incorporates her observations on the lives of Indian immigrants and Indian Americans in the US.

Vee lives in Burbank and is also an actor who has appeared in TV shows, including Criminal Minds and Glow, and produced and was the lead in a short film, Halwa, which garnered the first prize in HBO's 2019 Asian Pacific American Visionaries (APAV) contest.

She is at work on her next novel about an Indian immigrant family whose American dream shatters when one of their twin daughters goes missing.

Connect:

Facebook: @veekumari

Instagram:  @vee6873hollywood

Twitter: @veekumari1

Website: veekumari.com

Audio Spotlight: The Isle of Gold by Seven Jane

Series: Daughters Jones Trilogy, Book 1

Genre: Historical Fantasy

Release date: May 4, 2020

Synopsis: The year is 1716 - the Golden Age of the Pirates. An orphan who sleeps in the dusty kitchens of a quayside brothel, Merrin Smith is desperate to unravel the secrets of her past and find the truth about the events that brought her to Isla Perla as a child. Disguised as a sailor, she joins the crew of the pirate ship Riptide, helmed by the notorious Captain Erik Winters. Tenacious and rumored to be a madman, Winters is known as much for his ruthlessness as for his connection to the enigmatic and beautiful proprietress of The Goodnight Mermaid, Evangeline Dahl, who vanished from the island two summers before.

This book is an epic, emotional adventure of two women - one desperate to save herself, and the other determined to be rescued - and the secret which binds them together.

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About the Author: Seven Jane

Seven Jane is a bestselling author of dark fantasy and speculative fiction. Her debut novel, The Isle of Gold, was published by Black Spot Books in October 2018. Currently, Seven is collaborating as the lead author on a franchise project with a top veteran Hollywood director and an award-winning screenwriter.

Seven is a regular contributor to The Nerd Daily and Suspense Magazine. She is represented by Gandolfo Helin & Fountain Literary Management and supported by Smith Publicity.

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About the Narrator: Nicole B. Dolen

Nicole Dolen has always been fascinated with accents. As a child growing up in a Navy family, she spent most of her childhood overseas in various countries such as Italy, Spain, England, and Germany.  She is fluent in English and Italian.  Nicole has a B.A. in Art and Communications and a Masters in Education. When she is not spending her time with her family or narrating, she is teaching, and practicing accents by reading to her young students.

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Spotlight: The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

One of Oprah Magazine's Most Anticipated Romances of 2020

A high stakes wager pits an aspiring entrepreneur against a ruthless CEO in this sexy romantic comedy.

After her life falls apart, recruitment consultant Layla Patel returns home to her family in San Francisco. But in the eyes of her father, who runs a Michelin starred restaurant, she can do no wrong. He would do anything to see her smile again. With the best intentions in mind, he offers her the office upstairs to start her new business and creates a profile on an online dating site to find her a man. She doesn’t know he’s arranged a series of blind dates until the first one comes knocking on her door…

As CEO of a corporate downsizing company Sam Mehta is more used to conflict than calm. In search of a quiet new office, he finds the perfect space above a cozy Indian restaurant that smells like home. But when communication goes awry, he's forced to share his space with the owner's beautiful yet infuriating daughter Layla, her crazy family, and a parade of hopeful suitors, all of whom threaten to disrupt his carefully ordered life.

As they face off in close quarters, the sarcasm and sparks fly. But when the battle for the office becomes a battle of the heart, Sam and Layla have to decide if this is love or just a game.

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About the Author

Sara Desai has been a lawyer, radio DJ, marathon runner, historian, bouncer and librarian. She lives on Vancouver Island with her husband, kids and an assortment of forest creatures who think they are pets. Sara writes sexy romantic comedy and contemporary romance with a multicultural twist. When not laughing at her own jokes, Sara can be found eating nachos. Visit Sara at www.saradesai.com.

Spotlight: Tales of Ming Courtesans by Alice Poon

From the author of The Green Phoenix comes a riveting tale of female friendship, honor, and sacrifice for love, set in 17th Century China and featuring the intertwined stories of three of the era’s most renowned courtesans, escorts skilled in music, poetry and painting who could decide themselves whether or not to offer patrons bed favors.

Inspired by literary works and folklore, Tales of Ming Courtesans traces the destinies of the three girls from the seamy world of human trafficking and slavery to the cultured scene of the famously decadent pleasure district of the city of Nanjing, evoking episodes in Memoirs of a Geisha.

The girls all existed – Rushi was a famous poet, Yuanyuan became the concubine of a general who changed the course of Chinese history by supporting the Manchu invasion in 1644 and Xiangjun challenged the corruption of court officials to try to save her lover. Rushi’s daughter, Jingjing, gradually pieces together the stories of the three from a memoir left to her by her mother.

Betrayal, tenacity and hope all come together in a novel that brings to life an important era in China’s history, and particularly highlights the challenges faced by independent-minded women.

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About the Author

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Alice Poon steeped herself in Chinese poetry and history, Jin Yong’s martial arts novels and English Literature in her school days. This early immersion has inspired her creative writing.

Always fascinated with iconic but unsung women in Chinese history and legends, she cherishes a dream of bringing them to the page.

Her new historical novel Tales of Ming Courtesans will be released by Earnshaw Books on June 1, 2020.

She is the author of The Green Phoenix and the bestselling and award-winning non-fiction title Land and the Ruling Class in Hong Kong. She now lives in Vancouver, Canada and devotes her time to writing historical Chinese fiction.

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Tales of Ming Courtesans

Spotlight: Spies by Ellie Midwood

Series: Metropolis, Book 2
Genre: Historical Fiction

Weimar Berlin, 1927

Having recovered from the hyperinflation, the decadent metropolis is prospering against all odds. Unbothered by the turbulent events of the previous years, Berlin plunges into an orgy of life, entirely oblivious to the dangerous signs of an upcoming catastrophe.

Much like the rest of Berlin’s artistic elite, Margot von Steinhoff is too preoccupied with her work on the set of the infamous Fritz Lang, to pay attention to the dark shadow of the nationalistic threat hanging over the city. When Ernst Weniger, her former lover and now an official NKVD officer, asks for her help in aiding the German communists, she refuses at first, choosing to stay apolitical, just like Lang. However, when the new Gauleiter of Berlin, Joseph Goebbels, arrives in the city and begins his relentless campaign of harassment and misinformation, Margot realizes that staying neutral is no longer an option. Playing on the wrong side can cost her not only her career but her freedom, yet Margot has never been more certain of her choice.

“I don’t read political newspapers, Margot. I only want to make my films… I don’t want to have anything to do with all those politics.”

“I don’t want to have anything to do with them either. But the sad fact is that sometimes politics wants to have everything to do with us, regardless of our desires. At some point, all of us will have to take sides. The good news, Fritz, is that I’ll always be on yours.”

Dark, gritty, yet full of hope, “Spies” is the novel of the doomed Weimar Republic and the last generation of free-thinking artists who lived and created their masterpieces in a city, on the verge of collapse.

Excerpt

On the roof, it was colder still. The wet chill penetrated even through the layers of her warm overcoat and scarf. Margot hugged herself with both arms. She saw Lang at once. He stood on the very edge of the roof, hands buried deep in his pockets, not a jacket in sight, seemingly oblivious to the gusts of icy wind that tossed his dark hair, tangling its longish threads. His gaze was riveted to the street at his feet. As Margot approached him, she had just seen Thea disappear into one of the cars. 

“You know she only did it for you, right?” Margot said softly, risking threading her arm through the crook of his. 

He didn’t pull away, only laughed vacantly and with great cynicism. There was a long pause, wind howling in the wires that stretched like a great spiderweb underneath. 

“You know nothing about Thea at all,” said Lang at length, with somewhat of an ironic look about him. 

“I know that she wishes only the best for you…” Margot’s voice lost its conviction after Fritz gave her a certain look. 

“Margot, my angel, sometimes I imagine you only say such things to give me pleasure. You don’t truly believe them, do you?”

“Of course, I do.” She grew progressively confused. 

“I know that you two became good friends. She is my friend as well and I don’t wish to say anything bad about her. At one point, we used to be very close. Very, very close.” He paused, staring pensively ahead. “But she’s not like us, Margot. We can come off as cynics and even misanthropes but deep inside, we’re the most ridiculous of idealists. We wish to see the world better than it is. We wish to see the good in the worst of people. We are hopeless optimists in this world that is going to the devil. Thea, she’s a pragmatist. She only thinks about her own skin. She knows where the wind is blowing from but unlike us, she’s not stupid enough to go against it.”

Margot began shaking her head. “She stood by you because—”

“She stood by me because I’m still useful to her,” Lang threw back. “That is her entire reason for standing by me. We’re making good money together. We’re Berlin’s golden couple, a team that is only successful because it’s still a team and she’s very well aware of that. Don’t try to make it out into something romantic.” 

“I wasn’t talking about anything romantic. But there’s simple human decency, after all—”

“Human decency,” he interrupted her once again, “showed itself when you refused to take over the filming when Klitzsch asked you to. That was human decency. That—” his hand shot out in the direction of the road, where the small procession had long since disappeared “—is betrayal and that’s all there is to it, Margot. I would have expected it from Klein-Rogge, he’s been a nationalist as long as I remember him – the reason why I have always cast him as a villain for my pictures. He has all the reasons to hate me. I did steal his wife from him, after all. But her… I didn’t expect it from her.” 

Suddenly, he pulled his hand out of his pocket and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. 

“My poor angel, you’re shivering something terrible.” She didn’t even notice that she was. “Let’s go back inside before you catch a cold.”

But Margot didn’t budge. “Fritz?” 

“Yes?” 

“Since we’re talking about betrayals,” her voice trailed off. Lang watched her keenly, waiting for the confession. “It was me. I brought all those leaflets here. The police were here because of me. It’s all,” she gestured vaguely around them, “because of me. All your troubles, are completely because of me.” 

For a few moments, he was silent. Then, a grin began growing slowly on his face. 

“Do you think I’m blind? I knew all about the leaflets.” With unexpected affection, he cupped her cold cheeks with his icy palms as he regarded her tenderly. “Just as I said, the most ridiculous of idealists.” He planted the softest kiss on her forehead and pressed her head to his shoulder. “Bring all that Bolshevist agitprop here. Plaster the walls of the set with it if you like. I’ll film it and release it with all that Red rot in the background just to give that sod an apoplectic shock on the day of the premiere. But don’t submit to them, Margot. I need at least one kindred spirit around. Else, I shall lose all hope in humanity altogether.”

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About the Author

Ellie Midwood is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning historical fiction author. She owes her interest in the history of the Second World War to her grandfather, Junior Sergeant in the 2nd Guards Tank Army of the First Belorussian Front, who began telling her about his experiences on the frontline when she was a young girl. Growing up, her interest in history only deepened and transformed from reading about the war to writing about it. After obtaining her BA in Linguistics, Ellie decided to make writing her full-time career and began working on her first full-length historical novel, “The Girl from Berlin.” Ellie is continuously enriching her library with new research material and feeds her passion for WWII and Holocaust history by collecting rare memorabilia and documents.

In her free time, Ellie is a health-obsessed yoga enthusiast, neat freak, adventurer, Nazi Germany history expert, polyglot, philosopher, a proud Jew, and a doggie mama. Ellie lives in New York with her fiancé and their Chihuahua named Shark Bait.

For more information on Ellie and her novels, please visit her website. You can also find her on Facebook, Amazon, and Goodreads.

Spies

Spotlight: Small Town, Big Secrets by Elsie Davis

Publication Date: June 8, 2020
Genres: Adult, Entangled: Bliss, Contemporary, Romance, Fake Relationship, Marriage of Convenience

To save her son, shy but determined waitress Becky McAllister would do just about anything. But she never expected “anything” to include the brother of the man who broke her heart.

Steve Parker needs a wife, now, if he has any hopes of winning his local DA election and becoming the advocate for the underserved he’s always dreamed of being. The sweet waitress seems like just the person—if he can get her to agree.

One year of marriage—no strings, no personal attachments. Becky gets the insurance funds she needs for her son’s surgery while Steve’s poll ratings soar. Neither planned on a commitment in their future, so they should have no problem making it through the year without getting emotionally involved, right?

Except Becky’s holding on to a secret from her past—one that would change everything.

Excerpt

Becky reached into her purse and pulled out the baggie with her peanut butter and jelly sandwich she’d fixed for herself this morning. No such thing as a leisurely lunch today. She pulled out the first half, the sticky red jelly coming out the sides and getting all over her fingers. She licked the outer edges to catch the strawberry goo before it dripped onto her clothes.

She reached for the napkin tucked in the front pocket of her purse and yanked it out, but in doing so, the papers from the doctor’s office she’d shoved there earlier came out with the napkin and fell to the ground. Sandwich in one hand, she juggled her purse and stooped down to grab the papers. Her day couldn’t get any worse.  

She stood and rounded the corner, colliding with the hulking chest of a man, her sandwich firmly smushed between them. The man’s arms came around her, preventing her from falling. 

Apparently, her day could get worse. 

“I’m so sorry.” Becky stepped back, getting her first good look at the guy she’d broadsided.

“Are you okay?” Mr. Business Executive asked, letting his hands drop when he realized she wasn’t in danger of falling flat on her face.  

Of course, it had to be a guy who looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine. Dark, wavy hair cut in a roguish style and brushed off to the side. His olive complexion had nothing to do with sun. Chocolate brown eyes, a cleanly shaven face, and a strong jaw completed the picture. Swoon worthy. 

But there was nothing swoon worthy about the peanut butter and jelly now plastered across his suit coat, shirt, and tie. This was a day she clearly should have stayed in bed. And judging by the man’s frown as he gazed down at the mess she’d made of his clothes, he would agree.

“I’m fine. I’m so sorry. Here, let me help.” Using her napkin, she began to wipe at his shirt. Each stroke only smeared the gooey mixture worse, turning his blue shirt an ugly brownish-red color, making him smell like he’d plastered peanut butter on as aftershave this morning. 

The man reached up to grasp her hand, stopping her from doing any more damage than she’d already done. “I’m not sure that’s helping,” he said with a laugh. His smile reached his eyes, the corners crinkling. Way better than a frown.

Becky was mesmerized for just a moment, lost in the kindness of his expression. Most people would’ve been furious with her, but not this guy. “I feel awful.”

“Where were you in such a hurry to go? Or do you just make a habit of meeting people in unorthodox ways?” The warm sound of his laugh was pleasing, his joke at a time like this catching her off guard.  

“My job,” she said. “And this isn’t good. I can’t be late—or any later than I already am. I’ve really got to run. Is there anything I can do to make this up to you?” 

“I’ll get it handled. Don’t worry. I’d hate for you to be late for work.” The man removed his suitcoat.

“Are you sure? I could go get some water and more napkins…” She’d been late far too often trying to manage Byron’s care and doctor’s visits, but she didn’t feel right leaving him like this. 

“I’m sure.”

Becky exhaled, her breath coming out as one big whoosh. “Thank you for being so understanding.” She turned to leave, but then she paused, half twisting back around. “And no, I don’t make a habit of bumping into people, for the record.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I won’t have to keep an eye out for you while I’m in town.” 

His laughter continued to ring in her ears as she hurried down the sidewalk, stopping only to toss the rest of her sandwich in the trashcan on the corner.   

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About the Author

Elsie Davis discovered the world of Happily-Ever-After romance at the age of twelve when she began avidly reading Barbara Cartland, the Queen of Romance, and has been hooked ever since. After building her dream log home on top of a small mountain, she turned her attention to do what she loves most, writing. An award-winning author and active member of RWA, she writes contemporary romance and romantic suspense. She writes from her heart, hoping to share a little love in a big world. She will never forget the moment of exhilaration when she first got the email offering her a contract for publication. A moment that has repeated itself, and one that keeps her energized and moving forward.

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