It’s a Saturday morning and few people are at the marina yet. It’s too early. I’m too early. But I’m anxious. This is the day that I—Risa Marr—get the chance to change my life forever.

Streaks of pink and gold warm the Florida sky. The wheels on my rolling suitcase clack along the metal walkway leading toward the boats. A seagull swoops low, looking to see if I’ve brought anything edible with me. I have, but only the mints stashed in my shorts pocket, and it’s not getting those.

For the next seven days, my food and lodging will be provided for free because I’m a finalist in the Wyatt DeMay competition, which will take place on the DeMay’s private tropical island. I’m still in shock that I’ve been chosen. And I’m hopeful. If I can just win the contest, my financial worries will be over. A million dollars and a legacy publishing contract? They’re to die for.

A sturdily-built man stands at the end of the dock and watches me. As I approach, I see he’s positioned beside the Thrill Seeker, the gleaming charter I’ve been instructed to board. A chill runs up my spine. I don’t want to get on this boat, or any boat. If there was an airstrip on secluded Key Island, I would gladly fly. But there isn’t one. I must travel by water with the four other finalists. I have no idea who they are, but they will be my competition.

“Good morning,” I say to the man.

“Risa Marr?” he asks.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“No purse?”

I shake my head. Why would I bring one? I won’t need money this week, and cell phones are strictly forbidden. There is to be no communication with the outside world.

He motions to the table next to him. “Empty your pockets. Place the contents into the bin while I search your luggage.” He sounds militaristic and unfriendly.

I do what he says.

He rummages through my suitcase, wrinkling my carefully-packed clothes and seizing a small pair of scissors. “These are sharp. You can have them back in a week.”

Then he turns to the plastic bin on the table. He reaches for the paper heart I made yesterday with Emmy, and I nearly swat his hand. I grab the Sizzling Pink keepsake and hide it deep inside my pocket. He can’t take it. “My three-year-old daughter gave it to me.”

He stares at me, and I stare back, defiant. He can confiscate anything else I brought with me, but Emmy’s heart is mine. She’s my world. Everything I will do this week—everything—is for her.

The Finalist
Genre: Suspense
Release: March 2022
Purchase Link

Five authors, each with their own secrets, are chosen to complete a deceased novelist’s unfinished manuscript. For single mom Risa Marr, the competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. At stake is a million dollars and a contract to continue the famous novelist’s bestselling thriller series.

Transported to the tropical paradise of Key Island, the finalists are cut off from the world and given seven days to draft their best ending for the book. But when one of them turns up dead, theories and accusations abound. Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? To what lengths will competitors go to win? And who, if anyone, will leave the island alive?

Meet the author
Joan Long is a third-generation Floridian with a graduate degree in Journalism and Communications from The University of Florida. She’s written for universities, public television, a magazine, and more. Her short story “The Extra Ingredient” is published in the Anthony Award-winning anthology Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible. The Finalist is her debut novel.

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