Smorgasbord Free Book Promotions 2023- Share an Excerpt from one of your published books #Murder #Mystery – Death by Surfboard (Holly Swimsuit Mystery Book 3) by Susie Black

In this series beginning in August 2023, you are invited to share an excerpt of 500 words from any of your published books .

This feature is for any author who has been promoted on Smorgasbord previously.

Please read full details of how to participate at the end of the post.

The aim of the series

1. 1. To showcase your book and sell some more copies.
   2. Gain more reviews for the book.
   3. Promote a selection of your other books that are available

Today I am featuring Susie Black and her recently released book which the third in a very popular series. Death by Surfboard (Holly Swimsuit Mystery Book 3)

About the book

No one is more stunned than Mermaid Swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik when a fisherman hooks her unscrupulous colleague’s battered corpse attached to a surfboard and hauls it onto the Washington Street Pier. The coroner ruled that while Jack Tyne drowned, he “had help dying,” and Holly’s boss is wrongly arrested for the crime. To save the big cheese from a life behind bars, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur detective dons her sleuthing hat to find Jack’s real killer. But the trail has more twists and turns than a pretzel, and nothing turns out the way Holly thinks it will as she tangles with a clever killer hellbent for revenge.

Excerpt from Death by Surfboard

Pop summoned a burst of energy, hauled the rod over his left shoulder, and gave an enormous tug on the line. My eyes bugged as the battered, wet-suited body of Jack Tyne, still attached by his surf leash to his surfboard, flopped unceremoniously onto the pier. Pop, Andy, and I inched closer to the crumpled body hopelessly entangled in the fishing line for any sign of life. Andy cautiously toed his faded deck shoe against the left leg of the prone body. “Is the guy dead?”

Nearsighted, the old man squinted into the sun and shrugged. Pop bent closer for a better look. Siggie rested his head on Pop’s arm as the old man studied Jack’s pummeled face. “He reminds me a bit of the guy who surfs every morning. Gets to the beach at the same time as me.” Pop said, “The middle-aged guy and the hot blond stacked chick usually wrapped around him on the beach. You’ve seen them around. They’re the ones making out like a couple of horny teenagers or taking photos of one another on their phones. Sometimes she stands next to me and takes pictures of the idiot daredevil surfers coming in through the pier pilings.” Pop jerked his chin at Jack. “Another one of those hotshot morons.”

I pointed at Jack. “This guy works at the same company I do.” Pop and Andy looked at me surprised, as though they’d forgotten me standing right next to them. “And the woman you’re describing is someone who works with us too.”

Since Jack hadn’t so much as twitched, Pop angled his leathery face closer to Jack’s pasty grayish kisser to see if he was as dead as he looked. Pop leaned in and passed a hand over Jack’s mouth. Pop took a breath, and Siggie barked when the old man jumped back as though he’d been burned by a cattle prod. The sickening stench wafting out from Jack Tyne’s wetsuit could easily fell an entire herd. The old man gagged as his eyes followed a wavy line of caked yellowy vomit haloed around Jack’s blue lips, chin, and the stub of a beard. Pop dragged his eyes past Jack’s ravaged face to the watery streams of greenish-brown crap leaking out of the sleeves and legs of the torn wetsuit. Pop jumped a helluva lot faster than you’d expect a guy his age ought to as the liquidy turds slowly coursed onto the deck of the pier.

Andy playfully poked his elbow in the old man’s ribs and joked. “Whatssamatta? The guy’s breath that bad?”

The old man pointed a crooked index finger at Jack’s pummeled body. “Poor bastard doesn’t have any breath at all. He’s dead as a doornail.”

Naturally, I burst out laughing.

©Susie Black Death by Surfboard

One of the reviews for the book

N. N. Light 5.0 out of 5 stars A fresh, hilarious cozy mystery!  Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸

Are you ready to catch a wave and ride the surf along with sassy, outspoken swimsuit exec Holly Schlivnik as she tries to save her boss from a murder rap? Wow, what a brilliant cozy mystery! Susie Black has outdone herself with a fresh, hilarious installment in her award-winning series. The plot moves at a fast pace. The dialogue is witty, sharp, and hilarious. The characters are so funny, especially Holly. The descriptive narration is intricate, and the writing is superb. Death by Surfboard is an unputdownable read and you’ll lose sleep over it.

This book lives and dies on its dialogue. If you’re like me and enjoy clutching your sides because you’re laughing so hard cozy mysteries, you’re going to love Holly and her co-workers. Holly is brash, opinionated and has a running stream of thoughts that’ll have you chortling. The comedic one-liners are reason enough alone to buy this book.

The other reason is the cast of characters. Death by Surfboard features a large cast of characters, many of whom are suspects. Holly is one of my favorite cozy mystery heroines. She’s so smart, her mind reminds me of one of my favorite literary sleuths. Her profession and age make her a true original.

Susie Black is a masterful writer, and her writing gets better with each book. I fell in love with her writing with book one and since this is book three, I’m a Holly fanatic. I want to start a fan club complete with shirts and banners. The plot is crisp, clean, and moves at a nice cozy pace. The conflict and tension are spot on. The mystery itself is well executed and I enjoyed trying to solve it before Holly does.

If you’re a cozy mystery reader, you will want to read this book. If you’re looking for a good laugh, pick up this book right now. Even though this is book three, it can be read out of order or as a standalone. I can’t recommend this book enough. Brilliant from start to finish. 

Head over to read the reviews and buy the book: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK

Also by Susie Black

Connect to Susie Black: Amazon US – And: Amazon UK –  Follow Susie: Goodreads – Website: Author Susie Black – Twitter: @hollyswimsuit – LinkedIn: Author Susie Black

About the Susie Black

Named best US author of the year by N. N. Light Book Heaven, award-winning cozy mystery author Susie Black was born in the Big Apple but now calls sunny Southern California home. Like the protagonist in her Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.

She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avid stamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.

What will be in the post and how to get in touch

• • • • I will top and tail the post in the usual way with your other books and links, bio, photo and social media.
      • I will also select a review from Amazon or Goodreads that I feel has the best selling pitch for the book.
      • Please share a book that has reviews to select from.
        
      • This series is open to all authors who have previously been featured in the promotions on Smorgasbord.
      • I do have a younger readership for the book posts so please consider that when selecting your excerpt.
      • I suggest an excerpt of 500 words that you feel would encourage a reader to buy the book, or a poem that you feel best reflects the theme of your collection.
      • No need to send the cover as I will have that or will access from Amazon.
      • Please send your excerpt to sally.cronin@moyhill.com
      • I only ask that authors share the link to their social media and respond to each comment individually as a matter of courtesy.

 

Thank you for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books.. Sally.