Overview

"When private detective Sam Blackman agrees to help his partner and lover, Nakayla Robertson, conduct a fundraiser for orphaned twin boys, he does so to ease his conscience. The boys' parents were killed in a courtroom shootout where Sam was the key witness against the twins' father. The charity event, a nighttime ghost tour of the legendary haunted sites of Asheville, North Carolina, seems harmless enough. Sam only has to tell the story of a grief-stricken woman who hanged herself from an old, arched stone bridge. ""Helen, come forth!"" he cries. Sam and his tour-goers expect the actress playing Helen's ghost to walk toward them from the bridge's dark recesses. Instead, her body tumbles from overhead and dangles at the end of a noose. Someone has reenacted the legend with deadly authenticity. When a second murder mimics another old ghost tale, the police fear a macabre serial killer is on the prowl. But the case isn't Sam's to solve. Then, a tidal wave of evidence begins to point to one man-Sam's friend, defense attorney Hewitt Donaldson. Sam and Nakayla, firmly believing in Donaldson's innocence, must not only prove it, but halt a murderer seemingly bent on retribution. Does the killer's motivation rise from the present, or is Team Donaldson dealing with some specter from the past?"

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9781464204746

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Reviews

...an entertaining whodunit with colorful characters, swift-footed plotting, and a confident narrative voice. - Kirkus Reviews A good choice for anyone who enjoys small-town mysteries and ghost stories. - Stacy Alesi, Booklist

When two murders mimic old Asheville, NC, ghost stories and the evidence points to a friend, defense lawyer Hewitt Donaldson, PI Sam Blackman, and his girlfriend must work to find the real killer and free Hewitt. The fifth entry in a well-written regional series (after A Murder in Passing). --Library Journal One of my favorite mystery series is written by Mark de Castrique, beginning with Blackman's Coffin. The fifth and latest title, A Specter of Justice, explores innocence and evil....Featuring private investigator Sam Blackman and his partner Nakayla Robertson, A Specter of Justice begins with a dramatic courtroom scene and soon evolves into a quest to solve two murders related to a ghost walk fundraiser. But there are more ghosts from the past as suspicion centers on their friend and local defense attorney, Hewitt Donaldson. Several pieces of incriminating evidence, plus plenty of twists and other possible suspects keep appearing, contributing to the suspense of this well-written series....Sam and Nakayla live in Asheville, North Carolina which only adds to the appeal by giving de Castrique the opportunity to set scenes at famous historic locales like the Biltmore Estate or the Grove Park Inn. Each book also features a literary (e.g., Thomas Wolfe, Carl Sandburg), artistic or historic theme and so provides some interesting detail while presenting a puzzling murder to solve. --NetGalley In de Castrique's lively fifth Sam Blackman mystery (after 2013's A Murder in Passing), Sam helps organize a ghost tour of Asheville, N.C., to raise money for the two orphaned children of a client, Helen Atwood, after Helen's abusive husband murders her. When Sam finds one of the actors in the ghost tour hanging from a noose on a bridge, he quickly transforms from volunteer tour guide to investigator. Later, after more actors start dying, suspicion for the deaths falls on Sam's employer, DA Hewitt Donaldson. Little seems to be at stake in the languidly paced investigation, despite the high body count, but the complex relationship between Sam, a man dedicated to bringing criminals to justice, and Hewitt, a lawyer often willing to bend the law to save his clients from jail, will keep readers turning the pages. --Publishers Weekly Sam's fifth case (A Murder in Passing, 2013, etc.) is an entertaining whodunit with colorful characters, swift-footed plotting, and a confident narrative voice. --Kirkus Reviews Lots of interesting characters and some nice twists help make the pages fly by. A good choice for anyone who enjoys small-town mysteries and ghost stories. --Stacy Alesi Booklist

Lots of interesting characters and some nice twists help make the pages fly by. A good choice for anyone who enjoys small-town mysteries and ghost stories. --Stacy Alesi Booklist

Author Information

Mark de Castrique grew up in the mountains of western North Carolina where many of his novels are set. He's a veteran of the television and film production industry, has served as an adjunct professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte teaching The American Mystery, and he's a frequent speaker and workshop leader. He and his wife, Linda, live in Charlotte, North Carolina. www.markdecastrique.com

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