Title: Rachel's Peril Author: Charles Sheehan-Miles
Series: Rachel's Peril Trilogy #1
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: December 21, 2013
Genre: Mystery
More Info: Goodreads
Andrea Thompson is smart, assertive and beautiful. She’s also desperately lonely. Raised in Europe by her grandmother, she struggles knowing neither of her parents wanted her, and she has no idea why.
When Andrea receives an urgent call from her older sister Carrie, she agrees to fly to the United States to help. Carrie’s newborn daughter Rachel needs a bone marrow transplant.
What Andrea doesn’t know is that her return to the United States will launch a chain of events that will uncover secrets hidden for decades. Secrets which will rock the Thompson family and ignite a political firestorm.
Secrets that some will kill to protect.
The following is an unedited preview of Charles Sheehan-Miles’ upcoming novel Rachel’s Peril, the first novel in the Rachel’s Peril Trilogy. For more information about the book and more chapters, please check out the Rachel’s Peril page!
Chapter Excerpt:
Chapter 2. Amber Alert
Part 4. Andrea
Andrea felt her stomach lurch as the car swerved left, right, left again. Hairy Chest was yelling now, cursing in Arabic at the following cars. She stayed hunched down as tightly as possible, ignoring the rushing wind and the sound of the tires screeching, focused only on survival. Terror threatened to paralyze her as she thought of never being able to see Javier again, the through of losing her sisters, of not being there for them.
Then it happened. Hairy Chest’s body jerked, then spasmed. Blood splattered on the windshield in a splotchy pattern, then then he fell awkwardly against the driver of the car, who swerved again, shoving him away. Then his face, already turning dark with blood, lips swollen, fell between the seats, almost touching Andrea. She let out a scream as blood poured from his mouth.
The scream was cut short a second later when the driver fired a shot, unaimed, a wild shot, right through the seat. At her.
She jerked up behind the seat, powered by adrenaline and fear, grabbing his gun hand from behind and covering his eyes with the other. He screamed and she did too as he lost control of the car and then he pulled the trigger once, twice, three more times. The bullets flew randomly, all of them missing her. The sickening screech of tires grew lower in pitch, the car moving sideways now, threatening to roll. As the car reached a stop she realized her mistake. The police were behind them, but there was nothing to prevent the son of a bitch from shooting her right now.
In desperation, she leaned forward, over his shoulder, and sank her teeth into his cheek. She felt her teeth break the skin, salty, copper tasting blood spurting into her mouth as he jerked and howled in pain, and then it happened. His hand released the pistol.
Instantly, she grabbed it, diving into the back seat.
And then the driver was gone, running, the front door of the car swinging open.
She sagged into the seat, spitting out her kidnapper’s blood, and dropped the gun. Her eyes went to Hairy Chest. His bloodshot, dead eyes stared up at the roof of the car. Did he wonder what had happened? Did he wonder how two armed men managed to lose control of their prisoner, a sixteen year old girl?
Well, fuck him.
She flinched at the sound of gunshots outside. A lot of shots, followed by silence.
A few seconds later, a police officer appeared in the window, shouting, “Step out of the car now!”
She exhaled slowly, exhaustion sinking fast into her bones. Then she called out, “I can’t open the back door!”
She didn’t say that there was no way in hell she was crawling over the body of Hairy Chest to get to the front door. They could figure that out on their own.
Seconds later, the door opened, and she staggered out of the vehicle.
Other Thompson Sisters Books:
While Rachel’s Peril is the first book in a new trilogy, I would highly recommend reading these books beforehand to familiarize yourself with the characters. Not to mention, these are phenomenal books!
Book One – A Song for Julia
Everyone should have something to rebel against.
Crank Wilson left his South Boston home at sixteen to start a punk band and burn out his rage at the world. Six years later, he’s still at odds with his father, a Boston cop, and doesn’t ever speak to his mother. The only relationship that really matters is with his younger brother, but watching out for Sean can be a full-time job. The one thing Crank wants in life is to be left the hell alone to write his music and drive his band to success.
Julia Thompson left a secret behind in Beijing that exploded into scandal in Washington, DC, threatening her father’s career and dominating her family’s life. Now, in her senior year at Harvard, she’s haunted by a voice from her past and refuses to ever lose control of her emotions again, especially when it comes to a guy.
When Julia and Crank meet at an anti-war protest in Washington in the fall of 2002, the connection between them is so powerful it threatens to tear everything apart.
Book One.Five – Falling Stars
Crank Wilson and Julia Thompson love each other madly. But after Crank’s huge mistake during the summer, on the road with Crank’s rock band Morbid Obesity, they aren’t getting along.
Sean Wilson and Carrie Thompson are the seventeen year old younger siblings of Julia and Crank. Carrie is on her way to New York to start college at Columbia University and Sean is on his way home to Boston. For the next five days, they’re stuck in a car. Along the way, they’ll contend with screaming matches, giant spiders and a 240-pound pissed off Marine.
And the whole way, Crank will be faced with one question. After he screwed up so badly, is there any way he can win Julia back?
Book Two – Just Remember To Breathe
Alex Thompson’s life is following the script. A pre-law student at Columbia University, she’s focused on her grades, her life and her future. The last thing she needs is to reconnect with the boy who broke her heart.
Dylan Paris comes home from Afghanistan severely injured and knows that the one thing he cannot do is drag Alex into the mess he’s made of his life.
When Dylan and Alex are assigned to the same work study program and are forced to work side by side, they have to make new ground rules to keep from killing each other.
Only problem is, they keep breaking the rules.
The first rule is to never, ever talk about how they fell in love.
Book Three – The Last Hour
Twenty-seven year old Carrie Thompson-Sherman has the life she always wanted: her PhD, a prestigious fellowship, and an amazing husband.
Her life begins to unravel as a jealous colleague puts her fellowship in jeopardy and a haunting secret Ray Sherman carried home from Afghanistan comes to light.
Hounded by a federal investigation and the ensuing media feeding frenzy, Carrie and Ray desperately lean on each other, until a disastrous accident puts both Ray and her sister’s lives at risk.
In the last hour, Carrie and Ray will each find themselves faced with a choice.
A choice that will change everything.
Check Out These Other Exclusive Previews:
Prologue: Rachel Needs Help
Chapter One: Hairy Chest
1-1. Andrea
1-2. George-Phillip
1-3. Andrea
Chapter Two: Amber Alert
2-1. Sarah
2-2. Andrea
2-3. Sarah
Wow!! What an excerpt! I am anxiously awaiting this one! 😉
Thank you for sharing.