The Most Scariest Prologue from Resort to Murder

By Glenys O'Connell @GlenysOConnell

I write romantic suspense and mysteries and sometimes I read what I've written, and wonder just what's going on in my head.

I mean, writing about murders, no matter how light the touch...well, as Linda The Librarian said after reading one of my books: "You know, I'm worried about how you do your research. It's so real. Perhaps we need to do regular head counts on all your family members, just to be sure you're not testing this stuff hands on..."

Oh, yes, that's so funny. Really.

The lawyers told me to deny, deny, deny...

Ooops, did I say that out loud?  No, No - I don't try out my scary scenes on anyone. Honest.
 
But I do wonder about the state of my mind, that I find these scenes generally easy to imagine. And then I scare myself by reading them. Go figure.


Resort to Murder is set in the City of Leeds and on the beautiful Yorkshire coastline in the UK, a traditional spot for holidaymakers since  Victorian times and earlier. I've always thought that resorts and fairgrounds, where people come to have fun, are the perfect spot for a little murder. You only have to look at the effect a holiday in Rome had on these friends (or is that ex-friends?) 
 
 And then there's the ones that throw off all their inhibitions while on vacation...
 

So, I hope you'll read  the excerpt from Resort to Murder. It's a bit of a shocker,with a twist in its tail.....

Then tell me what you think. I mean, am I a bit, er, to use a term we professionals use, nutzoid, too? Surely not!
 
Read on - I have to warn you that this scene made me stay away from fun fairs for a long, long time......

The warm summer evening was thickening into night, and at the newly opened FunLand Pleasure Center crowds of visitors were making their way to the main gates and home. The carnival atmosphere of the new resort had left them tired but exhilarated.

 During the day the resort had been brimming with families and excited young children, but at night there was a different crowd, teenagers with a sprinkling of older folk. Many were coming from the country'n'western concert at the main hall and wore bright costumes, the English interpretation of American cowboy attire.

A striking blonde woman stood out from the rest. Her short red dress and strappy high-heeled sandals emphasized her leggy good looks, and few men in the crowd passed her by without a second glance. Her looks elicited some malicious comments from the women, which made their men folk laugh even as they indulged in brief fantasies of what they imagined this woman could offer.

None more so than the handsome man who lounged against a gatepost, his eyes taking in every line of the woman as she approached him.

 "Waiting for someone, honey?" She drawled her practiced pick-up line. She was a working girl and even though the evening had been a good time in her time off, she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to make a few pounds – especially not with a hunk like this. And he had that needy look she knew only too well………

"I think I've been waiting for you, love – probably most of my life," he replied, his tone matching her lazy drawl.

"Well, then, I guess we're two lucky people." She smiled up at him as she slipped her arm through his and they strolled together through the gates. As they reached the beach down the flower-bordered path of a small park, she slipped out of her spike-heeled shoes so that she could walk more easily on the sand. It was a calculatedly sexy move, affording the man a good look at her shapely thighs as she balanced herself against him to slip off first one shoe, then the other. He laughed good-naturedly as he steadied her, and took her elbow to guide her towards the sheltering privacy of some rocks. The only sounds were the muttering rhythm of the North Sea and the intermittent sounds of laughter and car horns from the resort on the cliffs above. 

In the shadows, sure they were alone, he dropped tiny kisses on her hair and the tip of her nose, and she responded happily pressing herself against him. The strap of her red dress slipped from her shoulder and he kissed the space it left, his lips moving down her skin until he captured her breast in his mouth.

She groaned softly in her throat, her busy fingers opening the buttons of his soft white shirt so that her lips could graze his chest. So far she hadn't mentioned business, but this one was attractive enough to interest her anyway.  She figured he was probably experienced enough to know what she was about so she gave herself up to the pleasure of his kisses.

When his hands began to wander over her lush body, she matched him move for move, finally pulling him down onto the cooling sand beside her and whispering in his ear: "Shall I take you high, baby?"

"Oh, I think you'll take me high, all right, I think the ultimate high…" His voice was thick, his mouth against her neck as she threw back her head and laughed in delight.

But the laughter was short-lived. For the same bright moonbeams that lit her eyes to gold also flashed silver on the terrible blade that arced down towards her throat.

"The ultimate high," he moaned against her threshing body.

Resort to Murder is published by The Wild Rose Press. You can see it here on Amazon or click here for another excerpt and more details on my web page.