I am so excited that best selling author Rosie Travers has agreed to share an extract from her new book, Trouble on the Tide with me. The novel, set on the Isle of Wight, forms the third book in the author's Eliza Kane Investigates series promises to be as gripping and well-written as the other books she has produced. Thank you for sharing this extract with readers here, Rosie.
The Blurb
When Isle of Wight restaurant owner Stewie Beech is found dead in a dinghy abandoned in picturesque Newtown Creek, the police conclude he died of a heart attack. But just days before his death Stewie discovered he’d been the victim of a serious case of art fraud, and his grieving widow Pilar is convinced the two events are related.
Forty years ago Stewie Beech and Eliza Kane’s dad Ian were best friends. When Ian returns to the Island after a thirty-year absence to attend Stewie’s funeral, he promises Pilar he will seek out the swindlers who conned her husband and bring them to justice.
A freak accident lands Ian on Eliza’s doorstep and she is roped in to help out. Ex pro golfer Eliza isn’t used to having family around and father and daughter soon clash, and not just with their conflicting theories about the mysterious circumstances leading up to Stewie’s death. Eliza is committed to promoting her golfing for girls initiative and has a love-life to sort out. She wants to solve the case and send her dad swiftly back to his native Yorkshire. But with few clues to go, Ian Kane is in no rush to go home, and it soon becomes clear he harbours secrets of his own…
The Extract
Very few men can pull off red velvet and Ian Kane wasn’t one of them. Just as I was wondering how best to avoid the colourfully dressed character striding purposefully towards me along Cowes’ cobbled high street, recognition dawned. He could have warned me he was back on the island.
‘Hello there, Eliza.’
‘Dad?’
‘Got it in one, sweetheart.’
His cheeks were flushed crimson to match his jacket. As he leaned in to give me an awkward hug, I smelt whisky on his breath. Tucked under one arm was a flat parcel, wrapped loosely in brown paper. The other hand clenched a plastic carrier bag, concealing something bottle shaped.
‘What on earth are you doing here?’ I asked, untangling myself. As far as I was aware Dad hadn’t stepped foot on the Isle of Wight for the last thirty years.
‘I was coming to find you. Meg said you were temporarily based in Cowes.’
My sister knew he was here? Why hadn’t she mentioned anything? After such a long absence Dad’s return was a significant event, if not exactly a cause for celebration.
‘You’ve seen Meg?’ I asked, puzzled.
‘I would like to,’ he replied. ‘But apparently she’s too busy.’ He mimicked a typical Meg eye roll. ‘I spoke to her on the phone an hour or so ago. Anyway, my fault, I didn’t let either of you know I was coming. Didn’t know myself until a few days ago. I came to pay my respects to an old mate.’
It was a good three years since I’d last seen my father. We’d met for lunch when I was on my way to compete in a golfing tournament in Lancashire. He’d lost a little more hair from the top of his head since then and gained a beard which aged him a good decade. I’d certainly never seen him wearing anything so incongruous as his current choice of attire.
‘What’s with the fancy dress costume?’ I asked.
‘It was for the funeral service. It’s what Stewie wanted, all mourners in red. I picked this up in a vintage shop in Harrogate. I’m rather fond of it, although I did get a few funny looks coming down on the train.’
He was getting a few funny looks now from a crowd of revellers sat outside the Anchor Inn enjoying their afternoon beers in the early spring sunshine. The dress code in Cowes was strictly nautical while Dad’s costume was straight out of a 1970s sitcom. I was anxious to move on.
The Author
Rosie Travers grew up in Southampton on the south coast of England. She loved escaping into a good book at a very early age and after landing her dream Saturday job as a teenager in WH Smith, she scribbled several stories and novels, none of which she was ever brave enough to show anyone. After many years juggling motherhood and a variety of jobs in local government, Rosie’s big break came after she moved to Southern California when her husband took an overseas work assignment. With too much time on her hands, she started a blog about ex-pat life which rekindled her teenage desire to become a writer. On her return to the UK she took a creative writing course and the rest, as they say is history.
Trouble on the Tide is Rosie’s fifth novel and the third in a series of fun cosy mysteries set on the Isle of Wight featuring professional golfer turned amateur sleuth Eliza Kane.
The Links
Website: www.rosietravers.com
Twitter: @RosieTravers
Instagram: rosietraversauthor
Amazon page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosie-Travers/e/B07CVZ2CQ5/
Buying link https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C6B33VXT/