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Sarita Leone Reviews For SANDSWEPT: A CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND MYSTERY by Sarita Leone 4 Stars! “SandSwept is a delightful
suspense. Kelley is a character fraught with emotion. Owen seems mysterious
at first, but I soon came to adore him. The plot is interesting and
well developed. Fans of suspense will enjoy SandSwept.” -- 4 Angels! “I have enjoyed reading every book I have picked up by Sarita Leone so far. While I did like this latest novel, I had a slow start getting into the story. The reason for this was because I was trying to remember if what transpired in Sniffing Sand: A Chincoteague Island Mystery had to do with Sandswept: A Chincoteague Island Mystery, or if this was just a stand-alone story. A part of this had to do with the fact that Kelley would flash back to memories of her and Brad. Other than experiencing confusion at the beginning of the story, Sandswept: A Chincoteague Island Mystery was a good book. Owen had a great sense of humor as well as being easy on the eyes. The banter between him and Kelley was pretty humorous. I can’t wait to read Mrs. Leone’s next book.” Reviewed by: Cheryl Fallen Angel Reviews “It is rare these days to find an actual romance story with all the erotica out there but there is definitely romance in Sarita Leone’s Sandswept: A Chincoteague Island Mystery. Though I had a hard time pronouncing Chincoteague, this story was not hard to swallow. The characters were real. The story moved at a very realistic pace and it made me feel something. Kelley is a woman with a secret, one that it is well worth your time to read and find it out. And Owen *sigh*. If you want to escape the clutter of erotic stories that are out there now, and read a story that was written by a master of mystery and romance, get your hands on a copy of Ms. Leone’s Sanswept. You will not regret it. And Ms. Leone, I applaud you for writing a story so rich and so worthy to be curled up with on a lazy afternoon. Bravo.” 5 Moons! Reviewed by Blu Moon- Moon Over Water Reviews “I liked Sandswept because it kept me engaged from the beginning. I was constantly wondering what this person was thinking and why that person didn't do something else. If you have ever suffered from deep depression, you will be able to understand why Kelley loses track of time and doesn't want to see anybody. Why don't they just leave her alone? (Well, there'd be no story if they did that.) And I was so sure there was something fishy about Heath when he used that corny pickup line, "Local sunburn investigator, at your service." It's November. They're wearing sweaters. And guess what? You'll just have to read Sandswept to find out if I was right!” Reviewed by Beth E McKenzie, Myshelf.com Sample Chapter For SANDSWEPT:
A CHINCOTEAGUE ISLAND MYSTERY by Sarita Leone
Rain hammered against the roof like hundreds of tiny fists looking to gain entrance. The almost deafening sound made the pounding in her temples more intense. Shaking her head, she prayed for an end to the racket. How much more could she take? And how long before the scream held tight in her throat erupted, adding to the din? Just when she thought she couldn’t stand another second of the noise threatening to drive her insane, it stopped. Just like that, a stunning instant of silence, so absolute and unexpected it stole her breath. Then her world exploded. * * * * Waves met sand in crashing thunder as Kelley Garrett stood on the damp shore and stared out to sea. The afternoon, with its typical bleak November overcast, matched her mood. So, too, did the roar of the ocean as it pummeled the beach. The fury of the scene helped make the turmoil inside her easier to deal with, if only in small measure. The ocean’s loudness made the screaming within her head and heart seem duller, more manageable. The painful ache would never be completely gone, but at least here, with the water frothing and the wind howling, it felt smaller. Manageable—almost. Two years. It had been two years since Kelley had last set foot on Chincoteague Island, yet it felt like no time at all had passed since that stay. No time…and endless time. The beat of a heart…the gaping stretch of eternity. So much had changed, yet so many things remained the same. And in all of it, where was she, really? And her life? Where was that headed? Who knew? More importantly, who cared? “Too much.” She whispered the words. There was no one on the beach to hear her voice. Even if there had been, she doubted she would have cared what anyone thought of her talking to herself. Let them talk, question her sanity. God knows she’d wondered often enough whether or not she was losing her mind. No, she would have spoken aloud even had there been a crowd around her. Which, fortunately, there wasn’t. No crowd save a few seagulls who were hoping for a crust of bread, an unwanted pretzel. “Too damn much. How can one person be expected to handle it all? I don’t know if I can do it.” With every word that flashed through her mind her pulse quickened. Each thought ratcheted the anger that simmered constantly inside her up a degree. With perfect timing, the gull nearest Kelley tilted its head. Staring at her expectantly, its beady black eyes were bright and inquisitive. Fleetingly she wished she had brought something to feed them. Now she felt even more inadequate, and that annoyed her, too. Who comes to the beach in the fall and forgets about feeding the birds? “Sorry, friend. No dinner from me.” She shrugged, the sleeves of her cable knit sweater flopping down over her hands. “I can’t even take care of myself. Don’t expect me to take care of you. You’ll be pretty disappointed if you do. That’s a promise.” Turning on her heel, Kelley strode down the beach, keeping close to the tide line and its cold, wet sand. Her toes dug into the hard-packed surface and she walked for at least a mile without looking up. When she did turn her gaze to the distant horizon, she saw a black sky. Ominous, with wide purple swatches in the deepening gloom. Perfect. A storm tonight. I hope it’s a big one. One that’ll make me forget why I’m here—even if just for an hour or two. Let the lightning flash and the thunder boom. Let it wear me out with its intensity. Maybe then I’ll be able to get some sleep tonight, some hours of peace. Finally. She walked a while longer, heedless of the way the wind began to blow hard against her body. Fighting to stay upright in the face of the approaching storm gave her something to concentrate on. It saved her from the company of her own misgivings, the ones which never quieted. The same thoughts that threatened to drive her closer to madness with each day that passed. By the time Kelley climbed the dunes between the parking lot and the ocean, the first cold, fat raindrops were falling. They pelted her, hard and fast. Her skin stung where they hit. Her face took the brunt of the onslaught, her cheeks reddening at the slap of rain on tender skin. Still, the pain brought a rueful smile to her wind-seared lips. No matter how much discomfort Mother Nature inflicted, it still wasn’t nearly as bad as what she’d experienced already. Rain, sleet, even gale force winds couldn’t touch her body hard enough to hurt it. No, Kelley’s body could never be torn apart like her heart had been. Never. She’d decided to close off that part of herself, not to open it up to being slammed again. It was one vow she had taken that she intended to keep. With a sigh, she climbed into the driver’s seat of her vintage white Volkswagen Beetle. The car had been a gift, given just before the proverbial shit had hit the famous fan. Still, shitstorm notwithstanding, she cherished the car. Once inside its snug interior her heart began to slow. She flicked on the defogger and she waited for the windows to clear. Then she backed out of the parking space and headed for home. Home. The place where she lived now that her life had fallen apart. The one spot on earth where she’d been happiest before—well. Before. The home that didn’t really feel like home anymore, but was the only place she could think of to go now. The only place she could stand. Being here without Brad was like being tossed into the ocean without a life jacket. She felt pulled by the tide, swallowed by the current and at the mercy of every fish, shark and whale in the sea. It was hell, but it was unthinkable for her to live anywhere else. This was the place they had loved the most. Where they had loved each other without reservation. Love. It could take a person straight to Heaven, to the pinnacle of ecstasy. And in a flash, it could drop someone to the bowels of Hell. Kelley knew. She’d been both places in her lifetime. In fact, she inhabited one now. It was her punishment for not having died. It was—this existence she fought so hard—the thing that would kill her. She knew it as surely as she knew her own name. If only that death would come sooner rather than later, she might not be so heartbreakingly unhappy. But Death, unfortunately, wasn’t paying attention to what she wanted. What she needed—so desperately. So she turned the car toward the bridge connecting Assateague to Chincoteague and resigned herself to living one more day without love. Living loveless in paradise. What a cruel joke. The thoughts flared in her mind, like kindling struck by a match. Just as quickly as a pile of fluff and twigs, they died, leaving her mind as empty as her heart. Two hours later, back at the house, Kelley still felt unsettled. She’d changed into dry jeans and a warm sweatshirt. She’d even towel dried her hair. All done automatically, as was most everything she did now. Because it was nearing dinnertime, not that she was hungry because really, she hadn’t felt true hunger in longer than she could remember, she dumped a can of chicken noodle soup in a bowl and nuked it. Then she ate three or four spoonfuls before tossing the rest into the garbage disposal. When the phone rang she was standing by the back door, watching the rain pelt against the screen. Without taking her eyes from the storm, she retrieved her cell from her pocket and flipped it open. “Hello?” “Kelley? Honey, it’s your mother.” As if she didn’t recognize the voice. It must be near seven o’clock, her mother’s thrice-weekly appointed calling time. It had been more often but Kelley had finally put her foot down, insisting she had things to do and couldn’t be counted on to be available to chat on the phone every evening. Her mini-tirade had worked. Now her mother called only three times instead of nightly. Their conversations could hardly be called chatty. Rather an exchange of the barest sort, the strained conversation of two people trying to pretend the world hadn’t shattered. “Hi, Mom.” She sighed. Maybe the phone lines would go dead, affected by the raging storm, and she’d be spared tonight’s conversation. Oh, right. She was on a cell phone. There were no phone lines to go dead. On her mother’s end, maybe? No, her mother used a cell, too. Kelley had bought it for her last Mother’s Day. Next year Mom would get a sweater, like other mothers do. “Hi, honey. What’re you doing?” “Watching lightning flash over the bay,” she responded. A jagged white scar tore through the velvety sky, and then disappeared, leaving its impression to linger on her retina before fading away. “You’re not outside, are you? Not on the back porch?” A sliver of anger licked its way along her consciousness. The sliver was never far away nowadays. Anger, yes, she felt that emotion. In enormous quantities, and over random occurrences. Especially over idiotic comments, like the ones her mother was apt to make. Fighting to contain her emotions, Kelley answered slowly and evenly. “No. I’m not on the porch. And really, I’m sure I know how to act during a thunderstorm. I’m hardly a child anymore, you know.” “You’ll always be my child,” her mother shot back. Her tone insinuated that Kelley was not only her child, but one in need of watching. It pushed Kelley’s annoyance threshold an inch lower. “Fine. But I’m perfectly capable of deciding where to stand during a thunderstorm.” It was childish, she knew, but she couldn’t help herself. “Of course you are,” her mother said quietly. “And I don’t want to argue with you, Kelley. I didn’t call for that.” Then why did you call? To tell me where to stand? Immediately she regretted her prickliness.
Her mother was only concerned about her. There wasn’t any need
to snap at her, even from the relative privacy of her mind. Was there? “Kelley? Dear? Are you all right?” Concern rang loudly from behind the words, and Kelley felt the ice around her heart soften. “I’m fine, Mom. Really, I’m fine.” It was a lie and they both knew it but that hardly mattered anymore. “I don’t want to argue, either. I guess I’m just tired, that’s all.” Thunder boomed overhead. The sound echoed through the empty rooms, punctuated by a flash of searing white beyond the window. And then another crash, thunder on the heels of thunder. In the flashes, Kelley saw the white-capped waves churning in the bay. She realized her mother had been talking while she watched the storm. With every ounce of concentration she could muster, Kelley focused on the voice filling her ear. “…all day? Anything exciting?” Decoding the full question was a no-brainer. It was one of the same, standard-issue questions her mother had asked week after week for months now. Almost as automatically, Kelley answered. She gave the stock answer. “Nothing much. You know, the usual.” “You say that every time, every single time I ask. What’s ‘the usual’ anyway? Please, enlighten me.” Concern had shifted to sarcasm in less time than it took the next rumble of thunder to be swallowed by the storm. “I’m waiting, Kelley. What did you do today? And don’t you dare give me the same answer—I want to know the truth. How did you spend your day?” There was no way she could tell her mother the truth. It would break her heart. One broken heart in the family was enough, wasn’t it? Besides, saying it aloud might force Kelley to move forward, to actually do what she’d only dreamed of doing. It might spur her mother into action, as well. And that was one thing Kelley didn’t want to do. No, either she’d work this all out on her own or… Well, she’d just work it out on her own, one way or another. Her mind moved swiftly. “I went to the beach this morning. Walked a while. A long while. Um…I picked up some seashells. Whelks, big ones. Banded and channeled, both kinds.” Another bolt of lightning tore the sky wide, its glare like a spotlight on Kelley’s lies. Now that she’d begun lying, it became easier to do. Quickly, almost without thinking, she embroidered upon the truth. “Oh, that sounds lovely. A nice long walk on the beach, collecting shells. Those whelks are something else. I love the one you and—” Startled silence. To her mother’s credit, it only lasted scant seconds, but the silence was louder than the storm. “The whelk that’s in my bathroom. It has such a beautiful, rosy center. You know the one, don’t you, dear?” As smooth as silk on a baby’s butt. Kelley smiled. The expression was one she hadn’t used for a long time, not even in her mind. It felt good to hear it inside her head, and she almost laughed out loud. Almost. It felt good to have a piece of Brad touch her without feeling pain. Unexpected, unusual, and, for that instant, pleasant. “Yes, Mom, I know the shell. It is a pretty one,” Kelley answered. “I picked up a few like that this morning. Not as pretty as yours, but still nice.” “Wonderful, dear. That’s just great. And this afternoon? What did you do this afternoon?” It would have been simple to continue to spin tales about her day, but suddenly the idea of embellishing was daunting. Focusing on the churning, black sea, Kelley said, “Not much. This morning wore me out, I guess. The rest of the day just passed, that’s all. It was morning, and then it was dinnertime. That’s it, nothing spectacular.” She heard her mother sigh. With a sigh of her own, Kelley waited for the admonishment, the unsolicited advice, the endless, never-changing diatribe sure to come next. She waited, and was surprised when it didn’t come. “Ah, well. Yes, I suppose a day can get away from you now and again.” The voice was as soft as cotton candy, so sweet and innocent that it may have fooled someone else with its assumed sincerity. But Kelley knew the woman behind the voice too well. She wasn’t lulled into a false sense of security. “Yes, I suppose.” Kelley’s fingers tightened on the cell phone. She wished she had the guts to cut the conversation off now, to snap the phone shut and shove it back into the pocket of her jeans. Hard and fast, into the farthest corner where even if it rang again she wouldn’t have to answer it. Had it not been her mother on the other end of the line, she may have been able to do it. But it was her mother, the woman who had brought her into this world, and she owed the woman more respect than she wanted to give. In the end, Kelley’s mother was faster than she was, anyhow. Even if she’d been about to hang up, she would have missed her chance. The voice from the phone was whip fast and to the point. “Well, just as long as you don’t let many more days slip by, Kelley. Have you given any more thought to what we discussed the other night? And the night before that? And last week?” Softness turned hard quickly. Silk became steel and the questions shot like rounds from an assault rifle, ricocheting through her mind, causing a clatter that made the storm trivial by comparison. “A job, Kelley Garrett. You need a job. Not later, but now. Have you considered that? Are there any places on that island that could offer you the type of employment you’re qualified for? Because it’s time. You know it and I know it. Even Dr. Stevens knows it. You need to find a job.” Her hand rose in front of her face, holding back the traffic that was her mother’s tirade. “Dr. Stevens? You spoke to Dr. Stevens about this?” “Today. Just this afternoon, in fact. This afternoon, when you were letting time drift by as if you have an endless supply of it. Life is short, Kelley. You can’t let it pass you by forever, you know. Time is measured.” Like a dragon rearing its head, Kelley’s temper roared to life. Her reply came in clipped bursts whose volume lessened with each volley. “Believe me, I know. Time is measured. No reminders, Mother. I don’t need reminders. In case you’ve forgotten. Measured time—stolen time—lost time? I know them all. Intimately. And a job? I’ll get one when—and if—I’m good and ready.” “Kelley, I don’t want to—” Her palm smacked the wide glass pane before her. The reinforced material, specially manufactured to withstand hurricane force winds and off-course seagulls, withstood the brunt of her anger. “And tell Dr. Stevens to go to Hell. I fired him, remember? He’s not my therapist anymore. And one more thing, Mother—” “But, Kelley, he just wants to help—” Lightning speared the world outside, and for a heartbeat Kelley saw her reflection in the glass. The woman staring back at her looked as unpredictable, tortured and out of control as the raging storm. “Remember, I cut Dr. Stevens out of my life. I can cut anyone out. Anyone.” With a sound that was almost a snarl, Kelley slapped the cell phone closed. She dropped it to the floor and put her forehead against the cool glass. Her sobs came quickly. Her body slid down the windowpane and she slumped on the floor, shaking and gasping for air. |