Written by Roy A. Teel, Rise of the Iron Eagle is just the first book from the Iron Eagle crime novel series. Based in Los Angeles, it's main characters are Sheriff's Homicide Detective Jim O'Brian and FBI Profiler Special Agent Steve Hoffman. Their newest case concerns a serial killer who is preying on other serial killers - some known by law enforcement, others well off radar. Sounds like somethng up your street? You can read the excerpt after the jump!
Rise of the Iron Eagle (Book One) by Roy A. Teel
From the opening of Chapter 8:
John walked into Starbucks at the corner of Topanga and Lassen just
before six thirty a.m. He got a coffee and a copy of the Daily News, and the
headline said it all, “‘Billy the Kid,’ Crips Gang Member and Serial Rapist,
Body Found in Legion Park: Iron Eagle Said to Be Killer.” He shook his head, “I
should really start looking for the people who leak this stuff.” He walked to a
flower shop a few doors down to purchase a dozen long-stemmed red roses. His
truck was parked in front of Country Deli, a local landmark for nearly fifty
years. He knew the area very, very well, but he knew it for all the wrong
reasons. He pulled out of the lot and headed west through the neighborhoods of
oak and eucalyptus trees, following Lassen as it turned from a busy
thoroughfare into a quiet neighborhood of post-World War II homes and horse
properties, until he reached the entrance to Oakwood Cemetery.
He parked his truck outside the large black wrought iron gates and the
ivy covered brick walls of the cemetery and walked through the entrance and up
the steep incline of the main road. He walked past a blue and white striped
tent; a small backhoe sat quietly where fresh earth had been moved, and a
concrete burial vault sat on the ground next to the newly-opened grave. He
walked out into the cemetery grass and stopped in front of a grave marker set
beneath a huge California Live Oak. He looked at the gray and white granite and
its inscription, ‘Amber Lynn Swenson.’ He knelt and brushed away the fresh cut
grass, so the whole inscription was revealed. ‘Loving Wife and Beautiful Soul.
April 8, 1978 – March 20, 2003.’ Placing the flowers on the stone, he sat down,
leaning his back against the tree. “I miss you, honey. I miss my best
friend. I’m sorry I’ve been away for so
long.” He heaved a sigh as a tear rolled down his face, and he whispered, “I’m
still looking for him, Amber Lynn. For the man who took your life and our life
together away.” He wiped the tears from his eyes, his lower lip quivering. “I
know I’ve told you, and I don’t know if you are somewhere where you can hear me
or not, but I’m sorry. If I had just been on time that night, he wouldn’t have
gotten you.” He wiped the stone with a handkerchief from his pocket and
laughed. “You always made fun of me for being old fashioned … but you were glad
I had it the night I asked you to marry me. How could I know that this same
piece of linen that dried your tears of joy at our engagement would later dry
my tears of sorrow at your funeral.” John paused for a moment, his anger rising
up. “He’s still out there, Amber, hurting women and children. I can’t let that
continue. I will find him…and I will avenge you and all the others he’s
tortured and killed. He’s a sly one; so far below the radar not even law
enforcement sees his pattern or knows that he even exists. The randomness of
his killings and the large area that he covers is his protection. I thought I
had him with Roskowski. He was evil but wasn’t the man who did this to you.”
He stood up and walked toward the unmarked piece of land next to
Amber’s headstone. “This is my spot, baby, right next to you. I’m not afraid of
death…I’m afraid of dying before I catch him and bring him to justice.” He
leaned down on his hands and knees and gently touched his lips to her name.
“Rest, my angel. The next time I come back, it’ll be to tell you that I got
him.”
***
About the author: After battling Multiple Sclerosis for nearly 16 years, Roy began devoting his energies and passions to the full-time art of storytelling. His disability has brought with it an unforeseen blessing. He can finally take medications to alleviate some of the pain from his MS and focus on the pleasures of character creation and the joys of putting words to paper.
As an author, Roy A. Teel Jr. is very diverse, and his works include both fiction and nonfiction. His previous works include The Way, The Truth, and The Lies: How the Gospels Mislead Christians about Jesus’ True Message (2005), Against The Grain: The American Mega-Church and its Culture of Control (2008), Light of Darkness: Dialogues in Death (2008), and And God Laughed (2013).
In 2014, Roy began publishing his latest and largest project – a 15-book geographically-centered hard-boiled, mystery, suspense, thriller crime series: “The Iron Eagle Series.”
You can follow Roy on Goodreads.
What do you think? Would you be interested in reading Rise of the Iron Eagle?
I was kindly sent the Rise of the Iron Eagle excerpt by Kelsey from Book Publicity Services.
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