Blurb:
Crossing the finish line from the dark side of
the track can make it hard to find the winner’s circle.
The adrenaline rush is real. So is the danger.
Stock car or modified. Track or street. One can make you famous… the other can
make you dead.
Tony “Razzman” Razzolito is in way over
his head as he works to solve the most challenging case of his career. An
up-and-coming NASCAR driver is found shot to death in an alley in uptown
Charlotte. When the widow of the victim asks Tony and his partner at McHenry
Investigative Services to find out why her husband was killed, the Razzman gets
a quick education in a sport he knows nothing about.
His investigation soon leads him to the world of
illegal street racing where he tangles with a crew led by a maniac that doesn’t
like to lose.
Mix in a healthy dose of tension between Tony
and a certain Homicide Detective assigned to the case and tempers as well as
egos are bound to get in the way.
This is book 3 in the popular Razzman
Mystery Crime Files series
Excerpt:
I leaned forward. “Robin,” I said, gently. “I’m not a big NASCAR guy. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’d never heard of your husband before yesterday, and I only know the Carter-Swanson name because I’ve seen their car dealerships all over Charlotte.”
She looked at me strangely and then cut her eyes over to Scott. He glanced at me and then said to her, “He’s from New York.”
As if that would somehow explain everything.
“Look,” I said, leaning back in my chair. “I’m a baseball guy. You wanna talk batting stats, power hitters, stolen base leaders, the Yankees, or any other baseball related stuff, I’m your man.” I shook my head. “But, racing? It’s just not my thing. I’ve been to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York more times than I can count, but I’ve never been to the NASCAR Hall of Fame even once… and it’s here in Charlotte!” I sighed. “So, I’m asking you to please treat me like I don’t know anything about the race business… because I don’t.”
The room was silent. I was looking at Robin Trevino. Robin Trevino was looking at Scott. Scott was looking at me. After a minute of awkward silence, Robin Trevino stood up.
“Is there a restroom?” she asked. She was still not looking at me.
Scott stood and opened the door. “Go back down to our reception area, go out the main door to our office into the hallway and turn right. The bathrooms are between our suite and the suite next door to us.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, as she walked past Scott.
I hadn’t moved. I took in a deep breath. As I exhaled, I asked, “Think she’ll be back?”
Scott scowled at me. “Would you?”
“I’m sorry, Scott,” I said. “But it’s not a crime to not be a NASCAR fan.”
“It is if you live in Charlotte.”
I sat there thinking about that for a minute. I’m a pretty good private detective, and I’m reasonably certain that we could help Mrs. Trevino find out who killed her husband. That being said, I understood that I would need to do a lot more research into the world of NASCAR to get a feel for what may have motivated someone to shoot a young, up-and-coming driver. But then again, it just might not have anything to do with racing.
I looked up at Scott, who was still standing at the door. “To be fair, being a race fan is not a requirement for solving this murder. I’m not trying to hurt anybody’s feelings here, but I’m not gonna pretend either—”
Scott cut me off. “—here she comes.” He looked hard at me. “Be nice.”
Robin Trevino re-entered our conference room and took the same seat she was in before her bathroom break.
I tried to speak first. “Mrs. Trevino… Robin… I didn’t mea—”
“You know,” she said, interrupting me. “When I left here a few minutes ago, I had no intention of coming back in here. My first thought was that maybe I was wrong about coming here in the first place.” She paused, and I tried to speak again. She cut me off again. “Please, Mr. Razzolito, let me finish.” I sat quietly. “I mean, I had never heard of anyone that didn’t like NASCAR… or of anyone that didn’t know who my husband was.” She lowered her head and sighed. After a few seconds, she looked up, her eyes finding mine. “For the last three years, Jarrod and I have been on an amazing journey.” She shook her head in disbelief. “I… I guess we got swept up in all of it. Everywhere we went, people knew who we were. Jarrod was the new ‘it guy’ on the circuit, and he and I were both being interviewed all the time.” She shrugged. “We were royalty… it never occurred to me that you didn’t know who he was… who I was.” She lowered her head again and almost whispered. “I guess your reaction stung me.” She was slowly shaking her head back and forth.
Three quirky Foodie Facts about Tony Razzolito:
1. He loves pizza. But since he’s from NY State, he only eats authentic NY-style pies, and never from national chain pizza stores.
2. He’s kind of a beer snob. He drinks craft beers exclusively, with his favorites being the rich, amber style.
3. Although a New Yorker at heart, he’s embraced southern food and loves a good pulled pork sandwich and will put coleslaw on his hotdogs.
Bio:
Joe Congel grew up in Syracuse, NY, and currently lives in beautiful Charlotte, NC. He got his first break in the world of publishing when he illustrated the humorous book, Housetraining Your VCR, A Help Manual for Humans, published by Grapevine Publications back in the early ’90s.
A few years after Housetraining set the world on fire, Joe decided that he was better suited as a writer rather than as an artist, so he began crafting stories that allowed the reader to use their own imagination to add the visuals to the narrative.
Since he’s enjoyed reading murder mysteries and PI detective stories all his life, he felt he had a pretty good grasp on how to create an engaging character in the world of private detecting. DEAD IS FOREVER is the first book in the Razzman Mystery Crime Files series, featuring Tony Razzolito, PI. The book is set in Syracuse, NY, and Charlotte, NC, with upcoming books in the series concentrated more in and around the Charlotte area. Joe is uniquely qualified to write about both areas of the country since he lived in Syracuse for 36 years and Charlotte for the last 25 plus years.
When he’s not writing, you will most likely find him spoiling his three grandchildren.
Buy links:
Amazon:
My Amazon page: Amazon.com: Joe Congel: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
Carter Novels/Indie Book Source: Books by Joe Congel – Indie Book Source
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FaceBook: Joe Congel Author | Facebook
Twitter: WWW.Twitter.com/JoeCongelAuthor
Blog: Joe Congel Fiction Stories
