I’m not certain whether I’m running from ennui or just can’t help sticking my foot into a pile of someone-else’s business. My name is Damon Lassard and I have more free time than any thirty-one-year-old has a right to have. I was a mediocre baseball player in the Japanese leagues who hit pay dirt with an advertising campaign for chewing gum. So when I moved back to the States and joined my twice-widowed mother in the community of Hollydale, I needed to find something to fill my days.
My mother thought that “something” should come in the form of a “someone”—Rebecca Leeds who owns The Cookery in Hollydale. Instead, Rebecca became my best friend. I love her to death but just can’t bring myself to date her. That’s probably because I spend so much time pining over Bethany Krims who forecasts the weather on one of the local broadcast stations. Not that Bethany has ever given me the time of day.
When I moved to Hollydale, I took on the role of local Citizens Association President. I thought I might be the first person ever to lose an uncontested election. But Hollydale needed someone to argue that not all potholes are created equal when it came time for the County Board to dole out its pittance of road repair fees. I have to admit, being President has its perks. It allows me to liaise with Gerry Sloman, my friend who works on the Arlington County police force. And police work is fascinating.
Gerry was recently promoted to detective and just landed his first homicide. The owner of the carnival operating this week’s Arlington County Fair was found strangled in his trailer yesterday morning. Gerry feels overwhelmed. He came to me for information because I helped the carnival crew with the fair’s logistics, so I know a number of the travelling workers. Earlier this evening, I provided Gerry much-needed sustenance in the form of store-bought pasta, and he clued me in to one detail that the police haven’t made public—there were two distinct ligature marks on the carnival owner’s neck. That can only mean one thing—he was strangled twice.
One person could have started with one implement of death and moved to another when the first failed to get the job done. But if that didn’t happen, then two people independently tried to kill the same person on the same night by the same method. Wait, there’s another possibility. A pair of killers could have worked together to snuff out the man’s last breath. The machinations seem endless and I haven’t even considered the motives yet. But I’m intrigued beyond belief. And unlike Gerry, I’m not bound by police protocols. It looks like I’ve finally found the passion I’ve been seeking in Hollydale.
Follow Damon’s efforts to dabble his way to amateur heroics and the path of his capricious love life in It Takes Two to Strangle: A Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective Mystery.
** Stephen is giving away one (1) copy of IT TAKES TWO TO STRANGLE. Contest open to US residents only and ends December 2. Leave a comment to be included in the giveaway. Book will be shipped directly from the author. **
Meet the author
Stephen Kaminski is the author of It Takes Two to Strangle, the first book in the Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective series. He is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School. Stephen has practiced law for over a decade and currently serves as General Counsel to a national non-profit organization. He is a lifelong lover of all types of mysteries and lives with his wife and daughter in Arlington, Virginia.
Visit Stephen at www.damonlassard.com or on Facebook.
Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
It Takes Two to Strangle sounds like my kind of read.
It would be awesome to win!
Love that it’s called the Dabbling Detective series and that we get to see how a male does as a cozy lead! Sounds like fun to me.
kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com
I too like the idea of a male “dabbling” detective. It would be interesting to see whether the police ever tell him “Stay home and let the real police work this out.” The whole baseball angle is interesting too – I work with a guy who played for the Cincinnati Reds back in the day and played ball in Italy. He’s still very popular there. Count me in. dz87507 @ gmail.com.
This looks wonderful and interesting. I like idea and look forward to reading this book.
Sounds intriguing!!
nlb1050(at)yahoo(dot)com
What a fun mystery!!! grammyd01 (at) comcast (dot) net
It would be great to read a book with a male lead character. The name of the series is really appealing.
lynettek51(at) yahoo(dot)com
Thanks for providing Damon the opportunity to post, Dru Ann. I hope everyone enjoys the book!
Warmest regards,
Stephen Kaminski
Damon Lassard sounds like the kind of guy I’d like to hang out with, I could totally get into reading this series. Thanks for the heads-up.
carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx
This is right up my alley! I’d love to read it.
jeanine_elizalde@yahoo.com
This book sounds like a good read!
I’ve been reading a lot of female authors lately. Maybe it’s time for a change of gender. Please put me in the drawing. Thanks.
In the case of my my younger son, I think they’d be lining up to take him down. He has an attitude that only his mothers could love… and even then it takes a lot of work. LOL
I’d love to add this book to my collection, so maybe I’ll get lucky.
NoraAdrienne(at)gmail(dot)com
I like the title and The Cookery sounds like a good place to eat.
catbooks(at)rocketmail(dot)com
This book is so different from the ones I have read. It really sounds fun. I would love to read this book. Thank you for another great author to know. saba121167(at)usa(dot)net
I want to read this!
Thanks for the intro to a new author. This book sounds like a great read!
jrobinson12 (at) austin (dot) rr (dot) com
contest is closed.
Thanks Stephen for dropping by and giving us a glimpse into Damon’s day.