Blog Tour: AND THE DEVIL WALKS AWAY by Kevin R. Doyle

 

And the Devil Walks Away

by Kevin R. Doyle

 

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GENRE:   Mystery

 

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BLURB:

 

Helen Lipscomb seemingly has nowhere to go but down. Cashiered from the force, ostracized by most of her former acquaintances, and with no real connections left to the community, she's been getting by as a sort of unofficial investigator, doing piecework for various lawyers and bail bondsmen. Her former life as a homicide detective seems far behind her until a notorious serial killer, locked away and facing the death penalty, offers her the challenge of a lifetime. Not to prove his innocence, but to prove him guilty of even more murders than the authorities suspect, murders for which another convicted man, several states away, is taking credit.

 

 

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Excerpt One:

 

She knew the truth now, but had to move closer to see for herself. When she did so, Helen struggled not to look away from the body.

 

She’d been with this woman just a few short hours before, had sat and talked with her, even semi-argued with her. They’d made a deal, practically shook hands on it, but it looked as if the dead woman had tried to renege on that deal.

 

“Did he make you a better offer?” Helen asked the room. “And why did you even for a minute think he’d honor it?”

 

The final work had been done with either hands or some sort of strap, the bulging eyes and distended tongue showed that, but there had been a fight here, for sure. The woman’s waist was a mess of ugly splotches, black, blue and green. Scratches ran across the face and one arm rested at such an angle as to suggest a break. Even now, only a few hours into the process, the eyes, though filmed over, told a story of struggle, fear, and ultimately, surrender to the inevitable.

 

Okay, then. Not the intended person she’d come here to question.

Clearly, Helen’s job had just become a whole lot more complicated.

 

 

 

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Review: Leo Benson, billionaire convicted of murdering 3 women, wanted to hire a former homicide detective not to prove his innocence, but to find him guilty of the murders they haven’t pinned him for. Huh? Evidently, no one will take the credit for his work. Proving somebody guilty of more murders?

Story was easy to read and relatively easy to get into for the most part; however, it was kind of long and slow. The story follows Helen as she navigates through the various case files and questions certain parties, trying to sniff out any clues or leads. The process is rather time-consuming, and I would’ve preferred a much faster pace. I admire the former cop’s tenacity to dig up the truth, but she does a lot of digging. The details can get a little muddled and complex.  I thought the premise was compelling and the story was well-read for the most part. It’s just a faster pace would’ve given it more edge.

A fairly nice read overall.

 

Rating: 3 stars

 

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

A lifelong Midwestener, Kevin R. Doyle teaches English at a small, rural high school in Missouri. He holds a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s in communications, both from Wichita State University. While he spent several decades writing short stories, mainly in the horror field, for a variety of small press publications, in the last eight years or so he’s moved into longer works in the genres of crime, horror and rock fiction.

His first published “book” was actually a short novelette, One Helluva Gig, recently re-released by The Wild Rose Press. His first full-length book, a crime novel titled The Group, was followed by two sequels, When You Have to Go There and And the Devil Walks Away, all currently released by The Wild Rose Press.

 

Besides straight crime thrillers, he’s also written four novels in the Sam Quinton private eye series, beginning with Squatter’s Rights, nominated for a Shamus award for Best First Private Eye Novel of 2021.

 

In the horror field, in 2015 Night to Dawn Magazine and Books released his novel, The Litter and in 2022 will release a new mystery novel, The Anchor.

 

Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Devil-Walks-Away-Kevin-Doyle-ebook/dp/B09CFVTBLF/

             

The book will be $0.99 during the tour.

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GIVEAWAY:

Kevin R. Doyle will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway