Blog Tour: LUCKY SECRETS by B.T. Polcari

 

LUCKY SECRETS

B.T. Polcari

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GENRE:  Young Adult Cozy Mystery

 

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BLURB:

 

College student Sara Donovan is in the homestretch of graduating when a mysterious package arrives with an invitation to an exclusive contest. One that will drastically change the winner’s life. Included are unsettling photographs from forgettable chapters in her life and a threatening note strongly suggesting she participate.

 

With no good options, Sara enters the contest and finds herself at a fabulous mansion up against eight formidable opponents, each with a dark secret and all racing to solve seven levels of riddles and puzzles.

 

After a contestant’s body is discovered, Sara contemplates dropping out when another package arrives, its chilling contents making clear she’s at the center of a dangerous game with deadly consequences if she quits. But what it doesn’t say is—what happens if she wins?

 

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Excerpt Three:

 

Karsh Azarian’s pretentious voice came from the end of the table. “It would appear I am now the only courageous one going it alone.” He held a glass of red wine aloft in our direction, a smug grin splashed across his stupid goateed face. “As it should be, I suppose. Fair play and what not.”

 

Across from me and next to Olivia Fantucci, Scooter Jablonsky’s attention bounced between Karsh, Jimmy, and I. Then he pointed with his half-full drink glass toward Frederick Volkov and Rod Toft, who were seated on our side of the table to Azarian’s right. “Hey, Freddie boy, y’all been quiet tonight. Whatsa matter, your contest off like a herd of turtles?”

 

Volkov fixed his hound-dog eyes on Scooter. “Quite the contrary, Burl. Tell me, have you and Spencer made it out of your rooms yet, or are you still wrasslin’ with that devilish first clue?” Volkov finished with an amused laugh and clinked glasses with Toft. “Cheers, my friend.”

 

Scooter was about to blow when Spencer Fernsby inserted himself in the conversation. “Frederick, throughout my career, I have seen your kind come and go. Usually to prison for insider trading and fraud, I might add.” He raised a water glass to his lips. “My goodness, it would be quite difficult to win the contest from a jail cell, don’t you think?”

 

Volkov jumped to his feet. Even from my vantage point, I could see the blue vein throbbing in his forehead. “Are you threatening me, Fernsby?”

 

Fernsby smiled warmly, a contrast to his suddenly stone-cold blue-gray eyes. “That certainly wasn’t my intention. My respectful apologies.”

 

Jimmy whispered in my ear, “The plot thickens.”

 

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Topic: Please describe a compelling scene in this story and why it’s pivotal.

 

“Sara, her wild card best friend, Zoe, and her adorable dachshund, Mauzzy, find themselves entangled in a high-stakes contest of wits alongside an array of distinctively portrayed contestants. Each character brings their own quirks and challenges to the table, keeping the competition as unpredictable as it is intense.”                   -Carol W, Authors Reading

 

To give you a taste of the mystery and intrigue that is Lucky Secrets, I’d like to share with you one of many compelling scenes in the story as the plot unfolds, refolds, and unfolds yet again. So as not to risk any chance of a spoiler, I think the best scene to describe begins in Chapter Four, called “El Sueño,” and continues through all of Chapter Five, called “The Meeting.”

Lucky Secrets is set outside Birmingham, Alabama, in a fabulous and sprawling mansion called El Sueño. The story opens with the protagonist, college student and amateur sleuth Sara Donovan, receiving a mysterious package from a law firm with two sealed envelopes and a jewelry box holding a cut diamond worth fifty-thousand dollars.

The first envelope contains an invitation to an exclusive contest that will drastically change the winner’s life for the better, with an orientation meeting being held in two days, leaving Sara little time to decide.

The second envelope contains “interesting” photos of Sara over the past two years plus two doctored photos with chilling implications. Included with the photos is an unsigned note strongly recommending she participate in the contest, the message being clear: participate or suffer the consequences.

The scene at El Sueño starts in Chapter Four when Sara and her best friend, Zoe Harp, arrive at what they call a “ritzy castle.” This early part of the scene sets an atmosphere of extreme wealth and opulence with detailed descriptions of the estate’s grounds, grand foyer, and music room, along with the butler who greets them at the door, the fussy Percy Pembarton. However, it also portends there is more than what meets the eye when an armed refrigerator-of-a-man frisks Sara and Zoe and takes their phones before they can enter the music room where the meeting will take place. 

Chapter Five is a continuation of the scene and is pivotal because it introduces the reader to the contest’s lawyer, Creighton Winston, and the eight other contestants and their backgrounds; lays out the eight specific ironclad rules of the contest, including it being an “all-or-nothing contest” with only one winner; states the mind-boggling amount of money up for grabs—a minimum of $500M; and provides some early interplay between the below group of eclectic attendees.

Karsh Azarian, financial asset manager and billion-dollar hedge fund manager

Jessica Doerr, mortgage lender specializing in refinancing services for seniors

Sara Donovan, University of Alabama business major and recognized amateur sleuth

Jimmy Dougal, real estate agent specializing in high-end luxury properties

Olivia Fantucci, attorney specializing in large class-action and personal injury lawsuits

Spencer Fernsby, founder/CEO of the telecom giant, CLATEL Communications

Burl “Scooter” Jablonsky, owner of five car dealerships including two luxury franchises

Rodney “Rod” Toft, cryptocurrency exchange investor and technology venture capitalist

Frederick Volkov, highly successful financier, stock trader, and arbitrageur

Prior to introducing each of the contestants, Creighton Winston advises the group he has no knowledge of what is in each of their second envelopes, only that the contest’s founder felt some of the people in the room might have needed a little push to participate. As Winston puts it, every person was personally selected because each had a secret that needed to remain a secret. Especially from law enforcement. He ends with, “Since the winner of the contest will become fabulously wealthy, it would seem, everyone is here because of a potentially—lucky secret.”

By the end of the chapter, it is clear Sara is up against people with unsavory yet mysterious backgrounds, even if not readily apparent from their appearances, who, like Sara, have been blackmailed to participate.

The question hanging in the air: Why?

Thank you so much to Sandra’s Book Club and Goddess Fish Promotions for letting me share my book and thoughts with you all!

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

B.T. Polcari is a graduate of Rutgers College of Rutgers University, an award-winning mystery author, and a proud father of two wonderful children. He’s a champion of rescue pups (Mauzzy is a rescue), craves watching football and basketball, and, of course, loves reading mysteries. Among his favorite authors are Richard Osman, D.P. Lyle, Frederick Forsyth, and Michael Connelly. He is also an unapologetic fantasy football addict. He lives with his wife in scenic Chattanooga, Tennessee.

 

Website: http://www.btpolcari.com/

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/btpolcari

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/btpolcari/

X (Twitter): https://x.com/btpolcari

Goodreads Profile: https://www.goodreads.com/btpolcari

 

Signed Copies: www.btpolcari.com

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Secrets-Mauzzy-Me-Mystery/dp/1509261427/ref=sr_1_1

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/lucky-secrets/id6744645288

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lucky-secrets-b-t-polcari/1147214891

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/lucky-secrets/41569b963e658847

 

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GIVEAWAY 

B.T. Polcari will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

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