Poison Butterfly (Terry Strong, P.I. Mysteries, Book 2) by Lo Monaco

Release date: April 1, 2018

Subgenre: Cozy Mystery, Private Investigators

About Poison Butterfly:

 

Terry Strong has been hired by Martin Oldfield to find his wife. After a bit of confusion, Terry discovers that the wife, Eloise, had disappeared 25 years ago, leaving Oldfield with a five-month old baby. After investigating Eloise’s whereabouts, Terry finds her, but she is now Louise Kingley. Terry arranges for Oldfield and Louise to meet. The day after the first meeting, Oldfield is arrested for killing Louise. Oldfield hires Terry to clear him of the murder, sending Terry on an ever-changing whirlwind search to discover who Eloise/Louise truly was and who, in fact, killed her. A surprise ending brings the investigation to a shocking close.

 

Excerpt:

 

Her gamin face clouded in what seemed to be a combination of worry and sadness. “I feel as though I need to explain. It was foolish of me to send him that postcard, but I didn't think he'd be able to find me. I sent it on impulse when my doctor told me that I had a problem with my heart. It turned out to be nothing serious, but I had already sent the card.” She shook her head. “Which I now, very strongly, regret.”

“Mrs. Oldfield, you don't have to explain anything to us.”

“Please call me Mrs. Kingley. I've remarried.”

“Then you did get a divorce from Martin Oldfield.”

“No.”  Her eyes flitted back and forth between Jack and me. “I assumed he had gotten one.”

“He didn't.”

We sat in silence for a moment, Eloise staring down at her hands clenched on her lap.

She looked up. “Then that means....”

I nodded. “Yes. You're still married to him.”

She sighed and gazed up at the ceiling. “Oh, dear.”  She bit her lower lip and looked back at us. “I guess I'd better meet with him and convince him to get a divorce.”

“You don't have to meet with him, you know. You could get a divorce on your own.”

“Yes, I'm aware of that. But I don't want my husband to know anything about my previous marriage. When I left Martin I also left my former life. I became a different person. I’m married now to a very good man and I don't want anything to come between us. Such as an unacknowledged husband.”

I couldn't help it, it just slipped out. “And your son?”

The muscles in her face seemed to sag. “You probably think I'm some kind of monster. An unnatural mother. A self-centered bitch who would leave her baby behind.”  She seemed to be searching for understanding—or forgiveness.

Before either Jack or I could respond, she continued. “I married Martin because I was pregnant and had nowhere to go and no one to help me. I couldn't go home. My father would have thrown me out. So, I married Martin. Then when the baby came along, I tried. I really tried. But I just wasn't cut out to be a mother. Martin was so much better at taking care of the baby. When it cried in the middle of the night, he was the one who got up and took care of it. When the baby cried with colic, he rocked it on his knees till it felt better. After the baby was about five months old, I just couldn't stand being there anymore.” 

Her hands were clenched so tightly, I could see the knuckles turn white. She continued, “I didn't love Martin and his compulsive cleanliness and his constant badgering about how I should take better care of the baby, just drove me out. I didn't feel guilty about leaving the baby with him. I could have never been as good a mother as Martin.” 

I didn't miss the sarcasm.

 

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About Lo Monaco:

Lo Monaco lived in Sicily, Italy for 16 years and recently returned to California. She was trained as an operatic soprano, and has worked for numerous Opera Companies in America and was director of the Schola Cantorum for the Church of Sant'Anna in the town where she lived with her two dogs (including Tim, the overgrown Fox Terrier that co-stars in the Terry Strong, P.I., series) and three canaries. In order to pay for the years of vocal study, she worked for five years as a Fingerprint Technician for a sheriff's department and five years as a Group Counselor for juvenile offenders.

She started writing fiction in November, 1998. She started her first Terry Strong, P.I., novel, "Lethal Relations," in January, 2013.

She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Private Eye Writers of America, the Short Mystery Fiction Society and Sisters In Crime-Los Angeles Chapter.

The first Luigi Mancuso story, "Oil in a Day's Work," was published in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2002 issue of Futures MYSTERY Anthology Magazine. 

The second Luigi Mancuso story, "Hearts and Diamonds," was published in the April/May/June 2004 issue of Futures MYSTERY Anthology Magazine.

 Among other short stories originally published in Futures MYSTERY Anthology Magazine were: "A Man of Honor," Feb/Mar 2001 and, "Saturday Night Reruns," April/May 2001.

She is a former editor of FMAM.

In July, 2001, "A Man of Honor" (translated into Italian), won SECOND PLACE in the Akery National Literary Competition in Acerra, Italy (V Edizione Concorso Letterario Nazionale di Narrativa "Akery"). In November, 2001, it was nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

She is a former Managing Director of Futures Mystery Anthology Magazine and is currently a reviewer for the FMAM ezine.

 

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