Chapter One - Christina's Unexpected Events

This is the first part of chapter one of my book, Christina's Unexpected Events.

I'm Detective Christina Ranae Stewart, a detective in the River City police station, and my boss was Detective Michael Mallory, who was single and three years older than I was. He was average weight and about my height, which was 5’7”, and he had brown hair and brown glasses. Randy Lakes, who was slender and about the same height as Michael, had brown hair and was Michael’s assistant detective, so when Michael couldn’t work on a specific day, then Randy took charge of the other detectives and officers and gave them instructions.

Besides Michael, Randy, and me, the River City police station consisted of twelve uniform officers and some crime scene officers as well as other employees who have helped with the duties at the police station so we can succeed. There were cubicles for each pair of detectives or officers, so they could have their privacy, but Detective Mallory organized the cubicles so he could observe his team through his bulletproof window. He wanted to make sure they acted professionally, and he wanted them to grow spiritually. Every morning, he gathered the officers and detectives so they could pray together before they started the day.

My partner, Jessica Harris, and I were Christians, and we attended the same church as often as possible. We have worked together for Detective Michael Mallory for the last ten years and have been challenged everyday because of the difficult life women police officers encounter on the streets.

Book Review: The Street Lawyer by John Grisham

The Street Lawyer was intriguing and suspenseful in the first few chapters because a street bum confronted Michael and other lawyers in their conference room. He had dynamite hooked up to him and threatened to pull the wire that would set the bomb off. I wanted to continue reading because I wanted to find out what the street bum planned to do, and the lawyers were going to escape their dilemma.

Michael was a lawyer at Drake and Sweeney. Madam Devier was the receptionist, and Polly was Michael's own secretary.

When Michael saw Madam Devier, he saw the street bum pointing a gun at her, and then he pointed it at Michael. Michael attempted to talk to him, but the street bum gathered the men into the conference room, and then he took off his coat. The lawyers saw sticks of dynamite and wires underneath his coat.

Mister, the street bum, demanded their wallets, cash, and jewelry. Then, he had Michael put them in a briefcase. After that, Michael had to call someone in the foyer and tell them he was going to set out a briefcase. He also had to call someone to send them some faxes on last year's taxes of the lawyers who were in the conference room.

The suspense continued to build, and then after an officer had the perfect shot at Mister, he fired, and Mister went down. The lawyers scrambled out of the building, but Michael thought he was injured. He left by another exit, and the ambulance attendants took him downstairs to the gym area to examine him. He was all right, but his blood pressure was high, so one attendant gave him a pill to lower it.

Michael thought about Mister and why he wanted to see their tax sheets and how much money they made as well as gave to the homeless people. He decided to drive to a rough area of the city. He located the law offices in the area and walked inside. The placed was run down, but he was fascinated with the environment. He wanted to help the homeless people, so he started working in the food line where the homeless people could get a meal.

You'll have to read the book to find out what happened to Michael, and what types of things confronted him as a street lawyer.

I have enjoyed reading books by John Grisham as well as the movies that have been based on his books. The Street Lawyer was well-written, and I wanted to find out what Michael decided to do with his life as a lawyer for a well-known law firm or if he decided to become a lawyer for the homeless. They were two different lifestyles that he had to decide between.

The next day he returned to his office because he wanted to work. However, he couldn't settle down to the files that he had on his desk. He left the building and sat in his car for awhile.

One False Move by Harlan Coben

One False Move features Myron Bolitar, who is Brenda Slaughter's bodyguard. Brenda is a basketball start and doesn't think she needs a bodyguard because she is twenty-five-years-old, but she agrees to it. Her father is missing, and she wants Myron to locate him. Myron also finds out that Brenda's mother left her when Brenda was five-years-old. Brenda's mother had written her some letters during the past years that she disappeared.

One day, Brenda and Myron drove to her father's apartment, but when they arrived, they saw that someone had been there because of the way the room looked. After a few minutes, Brenda realized that her mother's letters disappeared, and she had received threatening phone calls.

After Myron did some investigating concerning Brenda's father, Horace, he found out that someone had broken into Horace's apartment. He also found out that Horace had cleared out his bank account before he disappeared. Brenda told Myron that her aunt Mabel Edwards, Horace's sister, might know where her father relocated, so Myron decided to visit with her to see what he could find out.

During his visit with Mabel, he didn't find out much, except that she had her from Brenda's mother, and Horace didn't want to reveal his location because he thought it would be safer for her.

Later on, Brenda and Myron went to where her dad worked before he disappeared. They found her dad's locker and removed the contents because the security guard needed to have the locker available for the new worker. They found some trash plus some important papers that contained names of two men Horace had contacted a few times. They also found a shirt with a bloodstain on it. That shocked Brenda, and Myron asked her if she knew the men, but she didn't know either of them.

Myron and Brenda were in his car, and he called Lisa, his friend at the phone company who is doing some investigation to find out who else is involved. After he found out a few things, he pondered over his clues to the case of what has happened with Brenda, her father, and her mother. He found out that someone put a tap on her phone, but he didn't know who or why. Myron thought about their conversation and wondered if someone was looking for Horace or his wife, Anita, who was Brenda's mother. He hung up and told Brenda what Lisa told him.

Later that night, Myron and Brenda went to Win's place to discuss their situation. Win invited them to stay with him in his apartment as long as they needed to so they would be safe.

Throughout the book, Myron and Brenda are confronted with different obstacles such as people who want to harm them or locate Brenda's mother and father. The plot and suspense continues to build until the end of the book. Now, you'll have to read the book to find out what happens.

Pretend You Don't See Her by Mary Higgins Clark

Pretend You Don't See Her was another excellent book by Mary Higgins Clark. Once I started reading it, I had a difficult time putting it down. I rate this as high as her book titled A Cry In The Night.

Anyone you enjoys suspense will probably like Pretend You Don't See Her. Mary Higgins Clark is a great suspense writer, and her books have clean wholesome language.

One thing that helped create suspense in her books was the way that she continued to keep readers hanging at the end of a chapter. She ended a chapter at one scene and then switched scenes in the following chapter. As a result, I wanted to continue reading so I could find out what happened to the characters in the previous scenes.

This book had a lot of action and kept readers wanting to read so they could find out what happened to Lacey, the main character. The book was also easy to read. Some chapters were one and a half to two pages and others were a little longer. This particular book had 65 chapters and 305 pages. Once you started reading the book, you probably want to keep reading.

Pretend You Don't See Her was about a young girl named Lacey. She was a real estate agent.
One day, Lacey saw a murder. Now the murderer wanted to grab her. In order to protect Lacey from the murderer, the FBI placed her into a witness protection program. Lacey had to give up her family, apartment, and all of her friends, so she could start a new identity and life somewhere else. She couldn't tell her friends or relatives her new location.

Lacey had a difficult adjustment in her new location. She wanted to remain in contain with her friends and relatives, but she didn't want the murderer to locate her or to harm her family. Her mother also had a difficult time because she wanted to know Lacey's new location, so she could correspond with her, but all of the mail was sent through a secret place so nobody would locate Lacey's new home and identity. When she contacted her family by phone, it was a secure place. She couldn't talk about the weather, her job, or anything specific that would let people know where she lived.

Lacey met a guy and started to like him. They date, but she had a difficult time because she had to tell lies about herself. Will Lacey continue the relationship? Will the murderer find out where Lacey lived? Will the police catch the murderer, so Lacey could go back to her home town and her own name? You will have to read the book to find out the answers to these questions.

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich was an interesting and intriguing book. The author kept the plot moving and suspenseful. The book started out with Stephanie telling about her past and different relationships, especially with Joe Morelli.

Stephanie started working for her cousin, Vinnie. She wanted to locate suspects who had skipped out of town and bring them back. Her first assignment was to bring back Joseph Morelli, whom she had known for years, but she hadn't seen him that much.

She decided to stop at his apartment and see if he was home. When she arrived, she first noticed that his mail box was full, so she walked to his apartment and knocked on the door. She didn't receive an answer, so she walked around and peeked through a window to see if anyone was inside, but nobody was home. After she talked to a neighbor, she walked back to her car and thought about what to do next.

Within a few minutes, she noticed Mooch carrying a duffel bag and walking up to Joe's apartment. She saw him take a key and walk into Joe's apartment. Stephanie continued to watch the apartment, and then saw Mooch walk outside without the duffel bag, so she knew that Joe had to be inside, or Mooch just left it there. She decided to walk to his apartment and knocked on the door. She suddenly found him face to face with Joe Morelli. She told him she was looking for someone name Joe Juniak. He told her that she had the wrong apartment. She started to leave, and then Joe Morelli suddenly knew who she was. He called her name, Stephanie Plum.

They talked for a while, and then she told Joe that she was there to bring him in since he didn't show up in court. He told her he wasn't going to jail, and he picked up the duffel back and walked out the back door to his car, so he could leave. He took off, and Stephanie drove back to Vinnie's office.

When she arrived, she asked for some help to capture Joe Morelli, so Connie, the secretary, told her that Ranger was the best one to work with because he's had a lot of experience, and he was creative in his work.

Stephanie and Ranger went to a restaurant so they could talk about the case that Stephanie had, which was to bring Joe Morelli back in to court. Stephanie told Ranger everything she knew about the case, and then she asked him if he would help her. He wanted to start by getting her dressed appropriately as a tracker, but Stephanie told him that she didn't have any money except for just a little that she had been saving.

Stephanie first talked to Joe's mother about him and if she knew where he disappeared to, but that didn't help, so she continued her investigation. She talked to Benito Ramirez, but that didn't work out either. She wanted to leave, but he grabbed her and wouldn't let her. Benito called himself the champ, and he told her that nobody was going to tell him what to do. He told her that he gets what he wants.

Suddenly, there were gun shots, and Stephanie managed to escape, and became face to face with Joe Morelli. He happened to rescue Stephanie, who had been hurt in her escape from Benito. Joe walked Stephanie to her car, and then he left. This was the second time Stephanie confronted Joe Morelli, and he escaped.

What will happen to her next? Will she catch Joe Morelli and bring him in to court? You'll have to read the book to find out what happens.

This book was intriguing, and I wanted to keep reading it to find out if Stephanie could actually handle her job of bringing in guys who skipped out on their court appearances. If you enjoy reading suspenseful books, you'll enjoy this book.

Book Review: Secrets in the Shadows by V.C. Andrews

This was an intriguing book. Once I started reading it, I wanted to continue until I reached the end of the book. I enjoyed reading about Alice and wondered if she would meet other students at school.

When Alice was younger, she didn't have anyone to show her how to wear make up, or to dress attractively for the opposite sex. As a result, she became disinterested in boys and wanted to go home after school. She wanted to lock herself inside, so that nobody would harm her. She would tell people that she had to go to the Doral House, which was where she lived with her grandparents.

Alice's mother died, but her father was still alive and had married Rachel. They had twin boys, but for the sake of the new wife and boys, Alice had to pretend to be her grandmother's daughter. That made it difficult for Alice because she wanted to know her father.

One day, her father and his family came over, and Alice had been in the attic where she worked on her painting, but she had to go downstairs to greet them. A few minutes later, her grandfather took her out of the situation so they could go for a walk. He wanted to talk to her about her life and becoming involved in clubs at school instead of spending so much time alone in the attic and painting. On the other hand, he told her that she could possibly become successful with her painting because she was good.

Later on, Alice spent some time with Rachel, her step-mother, Rachel showed Alice how to apply make-up, so she would look more attractive to boys. She also bought Alice some new clothes.

After everyone left, Alice went for a walk. When she found herself in the village, she met Craig, and they started talking about the murder of Harry Pearson. Alice's mother committed the murder. Craig had done some research concerning the incidents surrounding the murder, and he wanted Alice to read the information.

I enjoyed reading Secrets in the Shadows. The author developed the characters so they were realistic. Alice was an interesting character. She wasn't interested in the opposite sex until Rachel helped her with her makeup and her clothes. Since Alice was more attractive, she wanted to meet her peers instead of going home alone and spending her time in solitude. People could relate to Alice and her struggles, especially if they experienced similar trials.

If you enjoy reading suspenseful books, you'll like Secrets in the Shadows.

The next morning, Craig picked up Alice and took her to school. The girls, who stood outside of the school, couldn't believe what they saw - Craig and Alice together.

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews was an intriguing and suspenseful book. I wanted to keep reading until I reached the end of the book. Sometimes, I felt like I was right there with the characters and wanted to help the children with their struggles of being locked in a bedroom by themselves. The author wanted readers to get a feel of her story and what happened to her.


Cathy, who was the oldest daughter, was the narrator in Flowers in the Attic. Chris was Cathy's older brother, and Cory and Carrie were five-year-old twins. Cathy told what happened to her family when their father died at the age of 36, and their mother couldn't handle the expenses of their house. They lost their house and had to leave all of their furniture and most of their other belongings and travel to their grandparents' house. However, Corrine hadn't seen or talked to her parents for 15 years, but she hoped they would accept her now and her children.


When they arrived at the house, they were greeted at the back door and led to the second floor to an area that was off limits to the rest of the staff except the last Friday of the month. The children and their mother entered a large room and were given instructions about staying there. The girls had to stay in one bed and the boys were in the second bed. Their mother had to leave the room, and the grandmother shut and locked the door. Nobody was to know the children were in there. They had to be absolutely quiet.


The next morning, they woke up, and their grandmother brought up a tray of food that was to last them the whole day. They also received a list of rules they had to follow.


On Friday, they entered the closet and walked up the staircase to the attic because they had to stay there for awhile. When they were in the attic, they started exploring their new surroundings, which was crowded with furniture and boxes. Then, Christopher found a room that had desks, bookcases, and blackboards. They couldn't believe what was in that room. They knew that some children had their school classroom in there.


Later on, when they walked downstairs, Chris and Cathy cleaned up the twins, and then played with them until their mother entered their room. Their grandmother followed her inside. The twins were overwhelmed and ran to hug her. They screamed out because they were so excited. However, their grandmother became furious with them because she didn't allow screaming in her house. She forced Corrine to show her children what would happen to them if they disobeyed. She had to take off her blouse and show them the welts she had from the beatings her own parents gave her.


The author created realistic characters, so that readers could relate to what each person experienced. The plot was also well constructed and moved along. I wanted to keep reading the story to find out what happened to the children.

The Robbery

This story is going to be something that I would like readers to develop. I will give you the beginning of the story, and whoever wants to add to the story can. I would like to have different readers participating in this activity. Please make sure you have correct spelling, sentence structure, paragraph structure, and punctuation.

Steven Brooks was behind the counter straightening it up when he heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up and saw a masked man pointing a gun toward him.

Review of "Hiding in the Shadows" by Kay Hooper

This is an excellent suspense book. It starts out with a whole chapter about Dinah Leighton. The next part is about Faith Parker, who was hospitalized as a result of a car wreck. She was left in a coma for several weeks. Dinah, who was Faith's faithful friend, continued to visit her and pay her bills.

When Faith suddenly woke up, she couldn't remember who she was or what had happened to her. Eventually, she could go home. However, during the time that Faith was in the hospital, Dinah disappeared. Nobody seemed to know what happened to her. Kane MacGregor, who was in love with Dinah, began searching for her. Faith also wanted to help him locate her because she continued to have visions about Dinah. She knew that Dinah was in trouble because she had a vision of a strange man she didn't know and a vision of Dinah being beaten and hidden in a dark place, but Faith didn't have any idea where the dark place was located. She wanted to locate Dinah soon before somebody killed her. She continued to gain strength from being in the hospital, but something else happened to her later on. Faith didn't know that her life was in danger, too.

One night, Faith was with Kane, and she was shot in the arm, but she was not seriously injured. Kane and Faith believed that someone was after them, but they didn't know who it was or why someone would want to harm them.

Noah Bishop, who was an FBI agent featured in Kay Hooper's books, also started investigating the Dinah's disappearance. He felt guilty when she disappeared because of what happened between them before she disappeared. Noah and Kane talked about that event, and Kane attempted to assure Noah that someone had taken Dinah instead of her just disappearing because of their conversation. That helped ease Noah's mind, but he still wanted to locate Dinah.

Now, you will have to read the rest of the book to find out what happened. Who was stalking them and why? Will Faith and Kane find Dinah? Will Dinah or Faith be killed?

At the end of the book are excerpts of "Stealing Shadows" and "Out of the Shadows." They feature the famous Detective, Noah Bishop, who was also featured in "Hiding in the Shadows."

This book was easy to read and understand, but there was some profanity throughout the book which some readers might not like. However, I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys suspense.

Book Review: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Are you looking for an intriguing mystery book? If you are, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie is a must read.

Agatha Christie, who wrote during the Golden Age Period of literature, was a very popular Detective Fiction writer. Her famous detectives were Tommy and Tuppence, Hercule Poirot, and Miss Marple.

Throughout the book, Agatha Christie maintained the suspense so that readers wanted to continue reading until they reached the conclusion.

Someone invited ten people to Indian Island, and when the guests gathered together, nobody knew who sent them the invitation or why. People made Indian Island sound like a luxurious place to have a vacation, so when the ten people received their invitations, they wanted to stay at the island and see if it really was luxurious even though they didn't know who invited them.
They were also eager to find out the identity of their mysterious host.

During this time, the guests shared their lives, and someone played a recording about each one of the guests. This startled the guests because the recording mentioned the crime that each person had committed, and all of the guests were found guilty.

One by one, each person was killed according to each verse in the rhyme. The characters attempted to remain together because they didn't know who was going to be the next victim, and they felt safer being together. However, at night they locked themselves in their rooms, so that nobody could enter their bedrooms at night when they slept. The characters also attempted to investigate the case because they wanted to find out the identity of the killer.

The book was well written and full of suspense. One thing I especially liked about Agatha Christie's books was the clean language. All of her books are for anyone who wants to read interesting and intriguing mysteries. I would recommend And Then There Were None. All of her books that I have read are excellent and intriguing.

At the end of the book, the detectives discussed the incidents at Indian Island and attempted to figure out the killer's identity. However, they couldn't come to a conclusion. The killer confessed in the end, but he or she still wasn't caught and arrested.

Now, you'll have to read the book to find out what happened.I never knew what was going to happen in the book except for the clues the author presented throughout the book, which were revealed in the nursery rhyme, "Ten Little Indians." Someone posted this rhyme in every room for the guests to read and ponder, so they could investigate the case they were to solve.

And Then There were None by Agatha Christie was a great book. I wanted to continue reading it until the last page because I wanted to find out what was going to happen and who killed the people one by one.

Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake

Thieves' Dozen by Donald E. Westlake was a fantastic book of mysteries. John Dortmunder is Westlake's hilarious burglar. This book consists of a dozen mysteries featuring Dortmunder.

One of my favorite short stories in this collection was Too Many Crooks. I have enjoyed reading this short story and wanted to read it again. Dortmunder and his partner, Kelp, broke through a wall and into the bank, but when they entered the bank, they couldn't believe what they saw.

This story was intriguing and hilarious, especially after they broke through the wall.

Another story I liked was Give Til It Hurts. Dortmunder had on an Arabian outfit and a pocketful of Roman coins, so he needed to take off his robe as soon as possible and climb on the window of the building. He used sheets and tied them together, so he could climb out that way. He escaped, and then he walked back inside to the gambling area where the men played poker. Dortmunder pretended to be someone else.

This was also a good story. It didn't have the humor like the first story, but I still liked it. I wondered what would happen to Dortmunder when he walked back inside to the gambling area, so I wanted to continue reading.

Art and Craft was another short story I liked. Dortmunder had a phone call from someone whom he wasn't sure he remembered. He thought the guy was someone he met in prison. He had to go to prison several times for his burglaries until he mastered a secret of escaping from the scene of his crimes. The voice finally identified himself as Three Finger. Then, Dortmunder remembered Three Finger had been in prison. He was out of prison and wanted to meet with Dortmunder, but he wasn't that fond of meeting with Three Finger. However, Dortmunder agreed to meet Three Finger.

When they met, Dortmunder couldn't believe his eyes because he was used to seeing Three Finger in prison clothes. Now, he saw him dressed up and looking completely different.

Three Finger wanted Dortmunder to rob his painting store, so he could be in the newspapers. He said it would be ironic to have a burglar be robbed when he was out of prison. Dortmunder didn't know if he wanted to commit the crime.

Now, you'll have to read the book to find out what happened in these stories and the other stories that are included in the book. If you enjoy reading capers, you'll probably enjoy reading these twelve short stories.

Welcome to Dying For A Good Mystery

I will have different book reviews, samples of my short stories and books, and other information about mysteries and the subgenres. I hope you enjoy reading what I have displayed on my blog.


If you are interested in finding out more about me or my writing, you can go to my main website: Janet's Creative Designs - http://www.cassielulu.com/index.html