Description City of Deadly Dreams by Elyse Douglas
Dane Cooper, an NYC Hell's Kitchen private detective, is hired by a Tennessee man to find his handsome, 20-year-old son named Elvis, who has been missing for several months. Though hesitant at first, Dane takes the case because he needs the money. Dane soon learns that the case centers around a beautiful, mysterious blonde, named Darcy. Against his better judgment, he falls for her, believing she might lead him to Elvis. Her dangerous secrets trouble him, and he realizes he can’t trust her. Dane’s investigation turns deadly when he learns that Elvis has left a trail of pregnant young girls, unhappy husbands, and vengeful women. Dane becomes a target as he struggles to find Elvis and save him from the killers who are closing in. Can Dane save Elvis and himself, or will Darcy's secrets get them all killed?View Trailer City of Deadly Dreams by Elyse Douglas
5-10 things you didn’t know about ‘The City of Deadly Dreams’
Elyse Douglas
“I’d spent part of the night fantasizing about the two of us strolling quiet beaches in the Caribbean, sipping wine in some bamboo hut, under quiet palms, with the rasp of the sea in our ears. The nights were cool, the bed ready, the lovemaking a never-too-much tangle of play and pleasure. I’d spent the other part of the night wanting Darcy out of my apartment and out of my life.” — Dane Cooper – City of Deadly Dreams
There was always a surprise waiting for us while we were writing the City of Deadly Dreams. First, it was a new genre for us, but one we wanted to explore. We normally write time travel novels, women’s fiction and romantic Christmas novels. So, the first thing we didn’t know was who was Dane Cooper, the private detective. He was loosely based on a New York City detective we’d met some years ago.
Another unknown was why Darcy-Lynn Roberts, the woman Dane falls for, decided to travel with Dane when she knew he’d learn her dangerous secrets.
Although we knew New York City would be the setting for the novel, we didn’t know if we should include Covid-19 in the story.
Abner Lipps, the man who hires Dane to locate his missing son, Elvis, was also a mystery. He was hiding something and, at first, we weren’t sure what that was. Dane finally uncovers it.
Darcy-Lynn is a tortured character with many secrets. We didn’t know why she’d be fired as a schoolteacher, and when Dane found out, the book took off.
During his investigation, Dane travels to Las Vegas and meets with an upscale mobster who wants to destroy Abner Lipps and kill his son. We did know that this mobster would play an important role in the plot near the end of the book.
Dane knows Darcy is lying to him. Can he keep his jealousy from ruining the investigation? We weren’t sure.
Near the end of the book, Dane confronts an antagonist who is out to kill him. We didn’t know how he’d escape, and we didn’t know who the mystery man was when he suddenly appeared. Should Dane run, fight or shoot? We didn’t know. Dane figured it out.
We didn’t know Dane had a sense of humor…
Paul scratched his nose and slanted me a look. “What are you sellin’, Cooper?”
I shrugged. “Goodwill among fathers?”
Paul coughed a laugh. “Do I look like I have any goodwill?”
“Well, my mother used to say that we all have potential,” I said.
“You don’t look like the type who always listened to your mother. Look at the business you’re in. Low and dirty.”
“She still thinks there’s hope for me.”
—Excerpt from City of Deadly Dreams
City of Deadly Dreams by Elyse Douglas
Guest Review by Linda Lu
Reminiscent of some of the most classic detective mysteries of the 20th century, 'City of Deadly Dreams: A Mystery,' by Elyse Douglas plunges the reader right into the action from the very first page.
Immediately you are brought into the world of Dane Cooper, a private detective and former policeman with a stinging wit and a grudge against the world. Cooper lost his wife and daughter in a car accident years before the beginning of the novel, and that loss led him to down some very dark roads.
At the beginning of the novel, he is visited by a man who has similarly lost a child, although this loss is more literal. Abner Lipps asks Cooper to help him find his son, Elvis. Elvis was given the same name as The King of Rock and Roll because of the fact that he was conceived at Graceland. Eventually his parents grew to believe that their son was the actual reincarnated embodiment of Elvis Presley.
Surprisingly, this is not the only weird thing in the life of young Elvis Lipps. At the age of 20, Elvis went missing somewhere in New York City. Hence the visit to Cooper. Cooper doesn't buy the story about reincarnation, but he does want to help the Lipps' find their son and he needs the money, so he agrees to take the case.
Of course, not everything is as it seems with Elvis Lipps' life, and soon Cooper learns about a few indiscretions that may have caused the young man to either disappear or be killed by someone who wasn't too happy with him.
This was a great mystery, with an interesting style that kept me guessing from start to finish. I love Elyse Douglas' (who are actually a husband and wife team named Elyse and Douglas) writing and their prose always takes me by surprise. This is one that you won't want to put down!
Giveaway City of Deadly Dreams by Elyse DouglasTeddy Rose Book Reviews Plus May 31 Kickoff & Interview
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