Keep Her Close
Today I am pleased to be able to
participate in one of the closing spots for the blog tour for Keep
Her Close by Erik Therme. My thanks
go to Noelle at Bookouture for my spot on the blog tour.
About the Book
Someone took your daughter. And nobody believes you…
Then:
Three-year-old Ally was found alone in a parking lot.
She was barefoot and dressed only in a yellow sundress. In the middle of winter.
What kind of person would abandon their daughter?
Now:
Fifteen years later and Ally has a new family.
But her real father has sent her a letter.
And now Ally is missing.
A gripping twist-filled thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Teresa Driscoll.
Then:
Three-year-old Ally was found alone in a parking lot.
She was barefoot and dressed only in a yellow sundress. In the middle of winter.
What kind of person would abandon their daughter?
Now:
Fifteen years later and Ally has a new family.
But her real father has sent her a letter.
And now Ally is missing.
A gripping twist-filled thriller that will have you looking over your shoulder. Perfect for fans of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Teresa Driscoll.
Extract
Today I have an extract for you from the book, and it’s a sneaky peek
at Chapter One. Hope you are all
sitting nice and comfortably to read this.
CHAPTER ONE
Fifteen Years Later
Dan shot upright in bed. The
phone was ringing, and his heart rate
doubled when he saw it was
past midnight. Holly and Ally were
the only people who called,
and they both knew he was always
in
bed by ten when he worked
the day shift. He untangled himself
from the sheets and made his
way into the kitchen, stubbing a
toe in the process.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Dad?”
Ally. “Are you okay? What’s
wrong?”
“Can you come over here?”
she asked. “Like right now?”
“Did something happen? Are you
at the apartment?”
“I’m fine. I’m just... Ellie’s
out with some friends, and I’m
freaking out.”
Dan let out his breath. “I
know it can be scary to be
alone in a
new place, but you’ve been
living there now for almost two weeks—”
“Dad, no—it’s not that. I
need you to come over and see
something.”
“It better not be a trapped
spider you’re afraid to kill.”
“It’s a letter,” Ally said
with a catch in her throat. “It
came in
today’s mail, but I just got
home from work now and opened it.”
“Is it the tuition bill for
your first semester of college? That
scares the hell out of me
as well. Luckily for us, your mother
remarried rich—”
“It’s not that. It’s a
letter... about my father.”
At first Dan thought he
hadn’t heard her correctly. “Why
would someone send you a
letter about me? Or is it a
letter about
Stepmonster Steve?”
“You know how much I hate
when you call him that,” Ally
huffed, “especially since it
doesn’t make sense—people say step
-monster for a stepmother,
not a stepfather.” She gave a
frustrated
sigh. “The letter isn’t about
you or him. It’s a letter from
someone
who says he’s my real
father, and he wants to meet.”
Dan switched the phone to
his other ear, still unsure he was
hearing her correctly. There was
no way he was hearing her correctly.
“Dad?”
“I’m here. What do you mean,
real father?”
“Just that. Someone claiming that
he’s my father, he’s dying of
cancer, and he wants to see
me. I don’t know if the letter
is real—”
“It’s not,” Dan said
automatically. “It’s probably a joke from
your
friends. You know they’re always
playing pranks on you because
you’re so gullible. Like that
time they convinced you a midget
lived inside the ATM and
pushed money out through the slot.”
“Dad, my friends wouldn’t do
this. They know how strongly
I feel about my real family.”
Dan’s insides shifted. “I’m sorry.
You’re right.”
“I didn’t mean it like
that,” Ally said, softening her voice.
“You’re my dad. Mom is my
mom. You guys know that. But you
also know how hard it is
not knowing where I came from... and
why I was...”
She trailed off. Dan could visualize
her hand twirling through
the air as she searched for
words. Ally had always been a hand-talker.
“Okay,” he told her. “Give
me a few minutes to get dressed,
and I’ll be there. I’m sure
it’s nothing. Maybe it’s something from
the adoption agency.”
“I don’t think so. Will you
please hurry?”
“Yeah,” he said, already
scanning the kitchen for his car
keys.
“Sit tight, kiddo.”
“Okay. Love you.”
The air conditioner kicked on, sending
a chill through his feet
from the floor vent. He
considered calling Holly—she was always
awake late into the night—but
he dismissed the thought as he hung
up the phone. There was no
reason to worry her over nothing.
WOW, what an opening. I’m
intrigued to read more and this is one that I will be adding to my TBR (to be
read) pile shortly.
About the Author
Erik Therme has thrashed in garage
bands, inadvertently harbored runaways, and met Darth Vader. When he’s not at
his computer, he can be found cheering for his youngest daughter’s volleyball
team, or watching horror movies with his seventeen-year-old. He currently
resides in Iowa City, Iowa—one of only twenty places in the world UNESCO has
certified as a City of Literature.
Social Media Links
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