Delusions A Samantha Barclay Novel by Suzanne M Hurley    Books by Suzanne M Hurley · Changeable Facades                 >> View all
Category:	Mystery/Suspense	Publisher:	Wings ePress
Pages:	350	Copyright:	Oct 1,2008	ISBN-13:	9781597056861

Narcotics are sweeping Milton High! A student is dead! Lies and deceit take over, as High School counselor Samantha Barclay is immersed in yet another deadly drama. Will she catch the perpetrators? Will she stop the drug surge? And why in the world is Deputy Al Michaels ignoring her? Amateur Sleuth Samantha Barclay risks her life to uncover the truth. Buy your copy! Readers BookCase Delusions A riveting continuation of the Samantha Barclay Mystery Series. A book that you'll need to read cover to cover and shed a tear upon turning the last page. Excerpt Finally locating the switch, I flooded the area with light. What the.......? The letters 'NARC' had been spray painted in red across the entire back wall. Looking down I realized that the thing I'd tripped over was the arm of a body lying prostrate on the floor. Oh no! I recognized those clothes. It was Kris! Bending down I watched carefully and saw her chest rise and fall. Good! She was alive but unconscious. I needed to get to a phone fast. "What's this?" Turning I saw an ashen Mr. Eckhart running down the stairs. "Quick, call 911." I didn't have to ask twice before he grabbed his cell phone out of his belt and made the call. Sitting down on the bottom step, he put his head in his hands. "Not again," he muttered. Shaken I continued doing first aid, laying my sweater over Kris to keep her warm and counting the seconds until the medics arrived. I was afraid to move her even an inch in case her spine or neck was broken. Not again is right! And the words narc meant that someone had blown her cover. Hearing sirens and realizing that Mr. Eckhart was not in good shape to help, I raced up the stairs to direct everyone. Al rushed in the door, followed by John. Briefly explaining things, Al held me back to make room for the paramedics who also arrived. "Don't anyone touch anything." He glared at me. "This is a crime scene."

Dorothy Bodoin -author www.dorothybodoin.com
Dorothy BodoinDelusions can be deadly. Sometimes survival depends on the ability to see beyond appearances to reality.

Suzanne Hurley explores this idea in her new romantic mystery, DELUSIONS (Wings e-Press, October, 2008). DELUSIONS is a bittersweet tale of teen angst and tragedy, of a murder-minded drug dealer roaming the halls of a small rural high school, and of benign faces hiding their true natures behind masks.

It's another adventure for Samantha Barclay, counselor at Milton High School in West Virginia, whose perceptions of life around her are about to be challenged.

DELUSIONS begins with a dance to celebrate Milton's victory at the State Basket Ball Game. This should be a happy occasion for all, but as so often happens in real life, the festive atmosphere dissolves and quickly turns tragic. Sam responds to basketball star Mark Myton's frantic plea for help and finds cheerleader Cindy Lowe in a state of collapse in the girls' restroom. She has gone into cardiac arrest. The situation rapidly worsens. Cindy soon succumbs to irreparable damage done by ingesting the drug ecstasy. She leaves behind a boyfriend to take the blame, grieving parents, stunned friends, and a tormented counselor. How, Sam asks herself, could she have failed to see Cindy's emotional turmoil during their many sessions? Can Sam ever have confidence in her ability to counsel young people again? Who is doing a brisk business in drug traffic at Milton High School? And will there be another victim? Or more?

An added problem for Sam is her deteriorating relationship with her boyfriend, patrolman Al Michaels. Why is her romance going backward instead of forward? Was Al's interest in her just another delusion? And what can she do when her beloved father becomes too interested in a woman who's all wrong for him?

Sam's determination to track down the drug dealer leads her into grave danger. She realizes that she must be able to distinguish between illusion and reality, although at times this seems like an impossible task. Black and white give way to shades of gray, and Death wears a clever disguise.

Along with familiar faces from CHANGEABLE FACADES, DELUSIONS offers an array of new characters: Anguished parents who have to reconcile their differences and rebuild their lives, a tormented young Goth, a handsome, charming new cop, a pretty narc who seems to have captured Al's romantic interest, a mysterious janitor, a pair of suspicious dropouts, Cindy's all-American boyfriend . . . One or more of these people may be the enemy.

Samantha Barclay is a courageous, perceptive heroine who is determined to restore order to her own little corner of the world where one teen-aged death is one too many. In spite of the serious subject and the many problems that beset Sam, DELUSIONS sparkles with humor and offers and twists guaranteed to take the reader by surprise.

Once you meet Sam and her friends, you'll be eager to know what lies ahead for her. Good news! There's a third book in the works.