Murder for Liar by Verlin Darrow Blog Tour, Guest Review and Excerpt!

Murder for Liar by Verlin Darrow

Publisher:  The Wild Rose Press (May 15, 2023)
Category: Mystery/Suspense
Tour Dates June 26-July 27, 2023
ISBN: 978-1509248971
Available in Print and ebook, 298 pages

 

Description Murder for Liar by Verlin Darrow

Award-winning novelist Verlin Darrow delivers a standout thrill ride in his newest mystery, Murder for Liar, an engaging, enlightening, and entertaining novel of psychological suspense. 

About Murder for Liar:  Private investigator-turned-psychotherapist Tom Dashiel doesn’t know it yet, but he’s hurtling towards discovering where his threshold lies—the point of no return for his sanity.  So begins a surreal spiral when George Arundel enters Tom’s Santa Cruz office on a Tuesday afternoon in April. 

To say George Arundel is a puzzle is an understatement:  the local psychiatrist who referred Arundel to Tom described him—rather astutely—as “a substantial challenge.”  Working to treat the enigmatic Arundel, Tom soon realizes he has been tasked to treat a client unlike any he’s ever encountered. 

But how is George Arundel related to the uncanny coincidences Tom begins to encounter?  Are these mere coincidences…or something else?  Could a young woman named Zig-Zag really be an angel?  How could a dog—a rather cute one at that—reveal one of the most important clues? What’s the deal with that alluring, albeit mercurial, woman named Dizzy?  And what’s Arundel’s connection to the escalating spate of unsolved murders plaguing the typically calm but always colorful Santa Cruz community? 

Swept up in a perilous world where nothing is as it seems, Tom struggles to make sense of the decidedly dangerous, downright deadly scheme in which he has somehow unwittingly become a key player. Tom is about to discover that in this treacherous reality, the truth is far, far stranger than fiction…but the real danger is not knowing which is which. 

Verlin Darrow has crafted an exhilarating, briskly paced page turner with a to-die-for plot in his latest novel. An extraordinary read that is alternately dark and lighthearted, tragic and comic, wildly entertaining and highly enlightening, Murder for Liar is one of those books destined to stay with readers after the final page is turned.  Meticulously plotted, populated with a charismatic cast of unforgettable characters and bustling with twists and turns, Murder for Liar is a true standout.

Murder For Liar Excerpt

We were booked as a group, and once again no one was interested in my status as a good Samaritan. I was promised, though, that I could tell my story at a hearing later in the morning. By now, it was about four a.m.

Next, we were sorted by gender, unmanacled, fingerprinted, photographed, searched, and our possessions were confiscated. The county personnel were polite but very impersonal; they were hiding themselves in their roles. Finally, Phil, Emory, and myself were led to a large holding cell in which five smelly drunks were lying on orange plastic benches. As well as cheap alcohol and rank body odor, a puzzling combination of mildew and wet dog assaulted our noses. Clearly, incarceration provided a cornucopia of unpleasant odors. If I ever wrote a sociological textbook, I’d make sure to include that.

As Emory had predicted, none of our fellow arrestees wanted any part of me. Rousing themselves, they stumbled to the far comer of the room to resume sleeping off their various states of drunkenness.

My own fatigue overwhelmed me shortly after reclining on the uncomfortable, too-short bench nearest the cell door. I dreamt I was lying on an orange plastic bench in a holding cell. In the dream, I drifted in and out of sleep, dreaming (in the dream) that I was a gorilla looking for food who fell off a cliff and hit his head, and then hallucinated he was a goldfish trapped in a small muddy puddle.

It was probably the strangest dream I’ve ever had. I couldn’t tell who I really was, which scenario, if any, was real, and what any of it meant. I was hopelessly confused, or at least my subconscious was.

Much too soon, we were awakened by a loud, cheerful voice.

“Rise and shine, campers. Up and at ’em,” a guard called.

“Shut up!” one of the drunks shouted back.

“Now, now. Let’s not be a grumpy Gus,” the guard admonished.

I sat up to get a look at this character. He was almost as big as me, and although he couldn’t have been over thirty-five, his buzzed hair was pure white. His teeth, on the other hand, revealed in a broad smile, were quite yellow.

“Why not?” the drunk rasped. I expected this guy to look down and out, but aside from wrinkled clothes and a major scowl, he could’ve been a car salesman.

“Nobody likes grumpiness. It just doesn’t say, ‘Hey, I want to be your friend.’ ” His voice was musical, as if he were performing in a light opera.

Screw you.”

“And we all need friends.”

“Screw your mother.”

“Much as I’m enjoying our repartee, I need to make a general announcement. Listen up, gentlemen. You’ve got ten minutes to primp for your hearings. If you’re back in here afterward, we’ll feed you. Any questions?”

“Screw you.”

“You’ll need to reorganize your thought into the form of a question.”

“Screw you?”

“That’s better. Have a nice day,” he added as he turned and departed.

“What’s this primp crap?” one of the other drunks asked. He was extremely skinny, with a bedraggled ponytail.

“Beats me,” his buddy answered. “Just some wise-ass crap, I guess.”

He had a point. There was no mirror or sink in the room—just a lidless toilet. I stumbled over to it and peed. So much for primping.

Review Murder for Liar by Verlin Darrow

Review by Laura

“It was difficult to ascertain how my open-door policy affected my long-term healing. Unlike virtually every other therapist in Santa Cruz, I saw absolutely any client, no matter how bizarre, obnoxious, or hopeless.”

Author Verlin Darrow starts off his novel 'Murder For Liar,' with a perplexing problem. California based therapist Tom Dashiel begins seeing a new client who is under a surprising delusion. George Arundel believes that Dashiel is an angel. And not just any angel, but one that has returned to earth in the form of a human in order to usher the world into a new era.

George believes that his job in this prophecy is to find these angels and awaken them, and he has already found one other—a small, spunky woman whom he calls Zig-Zag.

Of course, Dashiel does not believe Arundel at first, attributing the delusion to the man's mental illness. But soon, Dashiel begins seeing signs in his life that he cannot deny. Signs that there may be more to his destiny than he had ever thought, and that maybe Arundel might be correct about his assumptions.

This novel is at times thrilling, hilarious and always effective in it's storytelling.

I've never read Verlin Darrow's work before, but with this as an example, I fully intend to read more! He seems to have a knack for creating not only a fascinating plot but really likable characters that you find yourself rooting for despite their flaws.

There were so many interesting aspects to the plot of this book that it's hard to cover them all in one short review. Suffice it to say, you should read this! I enjoyed it immensely and I'm positive that anyone who enjoys a good mystery would love it too.

Giveaway!

• 3 Murder for Liar by Verlin Darrow