A Venomous Love

Title: A Venomous Love (Bloodstone, #3) 

Author: Chris Karlsen 
Genre: Historical Suspense set in Victorian London 

Release Date: February 28, 2020 

Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC.

A veteran, Detective Rudyard Bloodstone has fought a brutal battle and witnessed war horrors that haunt his nightmares. Now one of those horrors has followed him home from Africa.

A vicious predator, the Cape cobra, can kill a man in thirty minutes. A suspect using the snake as a weapon in robberies is terrorizing London.

When the crimes escalate into murder, a victim’s daughter, Honoria Underhill, becomes the focus of the killer. After several attempts on her life, Scotland Yard threatens to take over the high profile case. With few leads to follow, Bloodstone and his partner must now fight department politics and catch the killer before Underhill becomes another murder victim.

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“I demand to see a detective. Immediately!”

Ruddy, and his partner, Archie, looked up from their paperwork toward the station lobby. The man making the demand wore a top hat and well-cut frock coat. Dennis Strong, the desk sergeant, came from behind the raised lobby desk to speak with the man. Their rapid exchange of words swiftly degenerated into a heated discussion. Vigorous gestures from the man’s free hand were accompanied by the usual narrowing eyes citizens employ to emphasize displeasure.

“That turned to shit fast,” Ruddy said.

Top Hat, as Ruddy dubbed him, banged a shiny black cane on the floor several times, stressing his point. Each man leaned in as they made their points. Sergeant Strong held his ground. Broad-chested with thighs like ham hocks and biceps like a normal man’s thighs, he had the civilian inching back.

“How long do you give before Strong snaps that cane in two?” Ruddy asked.

“Forgive the pun, but I’ve no idea what possesses people to give him stick. The man is solid as a pillar postbox.” Archie gave a small shake of his head.

A chubby-cheeked, thin-lipped woman in her forties swayed as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other and back. She had stood behind and to the side of Top Hat as he argued with Strong.

Ruddy read the sergeant’s lips as he told the man no. The woman stepped forward and started to speak when Top Hat grabbed her by the elbow and forced her behind him. She yanked her arm from his grasp and gave him a glacier melting glare.

 

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books.

My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write three different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters. The newest is The Bloodstone Series. Each series has a different setting and some cross time periods, which I find fun to write.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs.

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The Bloodstone Series

The Bloodstone Series

Historical Thriller

Date Published: Feb. 21, 2019

Publisher: Books to Go Now

The set contains three stories centered around Victorian Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone. In Silk, the first in the series and set in 1888, the same year as the Ripper murders, Detective Bloodstone is chasing his own serial killer. With little evidence to go on, his few leads bring him under political scrutiny when his investigation results in a clash with an influential Viscount.

Snifter of Death is book two in the series. When a rash of wealthy men who have nothing in common other than the cause of their deaths...arsenic poisoning, Rudyard and his partner struggle as every lead they have ends up a dead end. The tip they need comes from an unusual source and they must peel the layers of the case away to discover the revenge filled suspect.

Choosing Heart or Home is the one story in the set that doesn’t have Rudyard working a criminal case. It is a warm-hearted romance set during Christmas 1889, he decides to go home to Wales to visit his family for the holidays and take the opportunity to introduce them to his lady love. As so often happens, things don’t go as Rudyard envisioned.

About the Author

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books. My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa.

  I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write three different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters. The newest is The Bloodstone Series, which is historical suspense with romantic elements. Each series has different time periods, which I find fun to write.

I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and four wild and crazy rescue dogs.

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Choosing Heart or Home

Title: Choosing Heart or Home 

Author: Chris karlsen 

Genre: Victorian Historical Romance/ Holiday Fiction 

Release Date: November 1, 2018 

Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC. 

Christmas, 1889

The widowed Victoria reigns over an empire the “sun never sets on,” and London is bright with holiday decorations. Detective Rudyard Bloodstone is Holborn Station’s lead investigator. With his career moving along well, Rudyard’s year got even better after meeting London music hall star, Honeysuckle Flowers.

As he and his lady begin to celebrate the holidays, Rudyard grows homesick for Wales and for his family there. He makes plans to see his parents and thinks it is the perfect time to introduce Honeysuckle to them.

His joyful vision of how the visit will go fades, when to his unhappy surprise, his mother paints Honeysuckle with a trollop’s brush. His mother is firm: he is loved and missed and most welcome to the family home but not his lady. Loyalty to his parents is challenged by his love for Honeysuckle. 

He must choose between them, and to choose one means the risk of losing the other.

“This is my Mum, Emma, and Dad, Davy. Mum, Dad, this is the gentleman I wrote you about, Rudyard Bloodstone.” Honeysuckle smiled up at him as she spoke his name.

Ruddy extended his hand to her father. “Nice meeting you.”

Her father pulled the blonde wig of fat curls from his head before shaking hands. “We were hoping to meet you.”

Her dad still wore his heavy Cinderella’s wicked stepsister makeup: Cherry red lipstick, a deep pink smear over his cheekbones and kohl-lined eyes. Over the years, Ruddy had interviewed a handful of men in women’s makeup. They ran the gamut from witnesses, to victims, to suspects. None were in the theatre. It was hard to hold a snicker back with most of them.

Ruddy turned to her mother and with a slight bow of his head. “Mrs. Fowler.”

“Please, it’s Emma and Davy.” She still wore her stage makeup as well. Hers wasn’t as extreme as her husband’s but Honeysuckle had said her role was part of the chorus.

Her parents were average height and a couple inches shorter than Honeysuckle. Silver strands streaked the brown hair of each. Davy was right, Honeysuckle took her looks from Emma. She had her mother’s thick eyelashes and full mouth even her petite nose that turned up slightly at the tip.

Davy brought a second chair over and placed it in front of a table covered in jars, sponges, and brushes. “Please sit.” He gestured to the chairs and joined Emma on the dressing table bench seat. “Is everything still good in London? You said in your letter you were doing well.”

“It’s all fine, Dad.”

“This is such a marvelous surprise, seeing you,” Emma said. The bodice of her gown opened as she bent to show a lot of cleavage where a red corset pushed her breasts high. Ruddy glanced at the sight and immediately raised his eyes, fixing his attention on Emma’s face. She released Honeysuckle’s hand and sat back. In his peripheral vision Ruddy saw a flash of white as the lower half of the gown parted. He continued maintaining his attention on her face.

“We should go someplace special tonight to celebrate being together,” Davy said.

“Actually Dad, we’re here for a reason other than social,” Honeysuckle replied.

Emma adjusted her robe so it didn’t gap open top or bottom, though not the faintest pink tinged her cheeks at the exposure. Honeysuckle had warned him her parents weren’t bashful types. The only time Ruddy had ever seen his mother’s undergarments was on wash days when they hung on the line.

“What do you need sweetie?” Davy asked.

“As I recall, the panto ends today.” Emma and Davy nodded. “Instead of going to dinner a special place, I need your talents to help me put on a fundraiser for a good cause. It’s in Brecon.”

“What’s the benefit for?” Davy asked.

“A plaque for the lost loved ones fallen in battle,” Ruddy answered. “But the village can’t afford the stonework. You’d be making a lot of folks happy.”

“Of course, we’ll do it,” Davy said, Emma nodding in agreement.

“When?” Emma asked.

“By Christmas Eve.”

“Christmas Eve!” Emma’s brows shot up. “How can we put on a show that fast?”

“You don’t have to put on a new routine. Just your promenade skit, a song or two, and I’ll do the rest of the entertaining,” Honeysuckle said. “I think we have the makings for a fun show.” She clasped Ruddy’s face in her palms and laid a huge kiss on his lips. “We are on our way, darling.”

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books. My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write three different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters. The newest is The Bloodstone Series. Each series has a different setting and some cross time periods, which I find fun to write. I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs. 

Losing Time

Title: Losing Time (Knights in Time Book 5) 

Author: Chris Karlsen 

Genre: Historical Romance (With time travel elements) 

Release Date: September 16, 2018 

Hosted by: Buoni Amici Press, LLC. 

Can love survive the wrong time and place? Felicia Wycliff’s peaceful stroll through the woods turned to disaster when her dachshund bolted after a rabbit. One minute Felicia was running after the determined little dog, the next she was hurled to the ground. Gathering her wits after her tumble, she brushed herself off and continued her pursuit—-right into three mounted knights who blocked her path. They were so authentic looking. They might’ve stepped from the keep of the nearby castle, Elysian Fields. But the old Norman fortress was a ruin and had been for three hundred years. “Seize her,” the middle knight ordered, the knight who sat tallest in the saddle. “Let me go.” She fought, striking out when the two knights grabbed her. “Who the deuce are you?” “I’m the Captain of the Baron’s Guard, and you are trespassing.” Kidnapped, her confusion and fear consumed her. But when they rode through the gates of Elysian Fields, the castle looking as formidable as the date it was built, her terror exploded. When she fell she knew exactly where she was. But where the devil had she landed?

 

   

The force of the charge knocked them to the ground as it had Felicia and everyone else who experienced it.

Leland’s mouth watered like crazy. He spit and then rolled onto his knees but couldn’t keep his balance and fell onto his side. There was a strange salty taste to the saliva as though his mouth was sweating from the heat. He spit and then rolled onto his knees. Too dizzy to attempt standing, he closed his eyes and counted to twenty. When he opened them again, the dizziness had passed.

Tony had managed to roll onto his knees. Breathing hard and fast, he held a palm under one eye and worked to remove his contacts. “My eyes. My eyes. They’re on fire.”

He closed his hand over the contacts. As he did his shoulders dropped and his breathing evened.

Leland slowly stood. “Can you stand?” he asked Tony.

“Yes. I’m fine now.”

“Can you see all right?”

“Well enough. I’m a tad fuzzy around the edges but if you’re not asking me to read the fine print on a legal document, I’ll be able to do whatever we need to.”

“Let’s start toward the castle. No point in delaying.”

“Yeah, no point in putting off the inevitable,” Tony said.

They just crossed out of the clearing when both stopped.

“Did you hear voices?” Tony whispered.

Leland nodded. “We need to hide.” He dashed for a patch of thick shrubs with Tony right behind.

They got hunkered down as Felicia and a knight on horseback came into the clearing by the outcropping. Felicia brought her horse to a halt, looped the reins, laid them over the pommel and dismounted.

 

   

 

 

I was born and raised in Chicago. My father was a history professor and my mother was, and is, a voracious reader. I grew up with a love of history and books. My parents also love traveling, a passion they passed onto me. I wanted to see the places I read about, see the land and monuments from the time periods that fascinated me. I’ve had the good fortune to travel extensively throughout Europe, the Near East, and North Africa. I am a retired police detective. I spent twenty-five years in law enforcement with two different agencies. My desire to write came in my early teens. After I retired, I decided to pursue that dream. I write three different series. My paranormal romance series is called, Knights in Time. My romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters. The newest is The Bloodstone Series. Each series has a different setting and some cross time periods, which I find fun to write. I currently live in the Pacific Northwest with my husband and five wild and crazy rescue dogs.

 

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