A Specter of Justice, Mark de Castrique
A Specter of Justice, Mark de Castrique
List: $19.95 | Sale: $13.97
Club: $9.97

A Specter of Justice
A Sam Blackman Mystery

Author: Mark de Castrique

Narrator: William Dufris

Unabridged: 8 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/22/2015


Synopsis

When private detective Sam Blackman agrees to help his partner and lover, Nakayla Robertson, conduct a fundraiser for orphaned twins, he does so to ease his conscience. The boys’ parents were killed in a courtroom shootout where Sam was the key witness against the twins’ father. The charity event, a nighttime ghost tour of the legendary haunted sites of Asheville, North Carolina, seems harmless enough. Sam only has to tell the story of a grief-stricken woman who hanged herself from an old, arched stone bridge. “Helen, come forth,” he cries. Sam and his tourgoers expect the actress playing Helen’s ghost to walk toward them from the bridge’s dark recesses. Instead, her body tumbles from overhead and dangles at the end of a noose. Someone has reenacted the legend with deadly authenticity.When a second murder mimics another old ghost tale, the police fear a macabre serial killer is on the prowl. But the case isn’t Sam’s to solve. Then, a tidal wave of evidence begins to point to one man—Sam’s friend, defense attorney Hewitt Donaldson. Sam and Nakayla, firmly believing in Donaldson’s innocence, must not only prove it but halt a murderer seemingly bent on retribution. Does the killer’s motivation rise from the present, or is Team Donaldson dealing with some specter from the past?

About Mark de Castrique

Mark de Castrique is the author of the Washington, DC, political thriller, The 13th Target, and author of the critically acclaimed Barry Clayton and Sam Blackman mystery series, both set in the mountains of his native North Carolina, and as well as mysteries for young adults. He is a veteran of the television and film production industry and serves as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

About William Dufris

William Dufris attended the University of Southern Maine in Portland-Gorham before pursuing a career in voice work in London and then the United States. He has won more than twenty AudioFile Earphones Awards, was voted one of the Best Voices at the End of the Century by AudioFile magazine, and won the prestigious Audie Award in 2012 for best nonfiction narration. He lives with his family in Maine.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ed

#5 in the Sam Blackman series. My rating for this book wavered. I have thoroughly enjoyed author de Castrique's 10 previous series novels but this one had a few faults. Brushing aside two instances of pronouns referencing an ambiguous subject, I objected to what I thought were gaping holes in the ca......more

Goodreads review by Lori

A fund-raising event turns into a murder investigation when two of the actors meet their deaths. Taking place at Helen's Bridge, a ghost was supposed to appear under the bridge, but instead, it dangles from the top. Although a group of Japanese tourists was present and their photos were taken as evi......more

Goodreads review by Gloria

In the tenth Sam Blackman-Nakayla Robertson mystery, the tables are turned on their down-the-hall neighbor, defense attorney Hewitt Donaldson, who becomes the prime suspect in a double murder. While it is completely understandable that Sam and his partner (and lover) can’t believe the lawyer is guil......more


Quotes

“In de Castrique’s lively fifth Sam Blackman mystery…the complex relationship between Sam, a man dedicated to bringing criminals to justice, and Hewitt, a lawyer often willing to bend the law to save his clients from jail, will keep readers turning the pages.”

Publishers Weekly

“A pair of creepy killings seems right up North Carolina shamus Sam Blackman’s alley, especially when it looks as if a good friend is being framed for the crimes…Sam’s fifth case is an entertaining whodunit with colorful characters, swift-footed plotting, and a confident narrative voice.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Lots of interesting characters and some nice twists help make the pages fly by. A good choice for anyone who enjoys small-town mysteries and ghost stories.”

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