Blog Tour: An Extract from Voices From The Dead by Tony Bassett
Today I am helping kick off the blog tour for Voices from the Dead by Tony Bassett. This is book eight in the series and I am sharing an extract!
Book Description:
A murdered beauty influencer. A buried secret waiting to surface. A killer who’s already one step ahead.
In the picturesque Warwickshire town of Queensbridge, a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room looking for peace from the chaos of her great-nephew’s rowdy thirtieth birthday party. But to her horror she witnesses a brutal crime from her balcony — a young woman strangled in the room opposite.
Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy — staying at the same hotel after attending a nearby wedding — is first on the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.
Roy’s boss, DCI Gavin Roscoe, takes charge of the investigation, and as the pair follow the trail, another brutal killing tears through the town. Roy is sure there’s a link between both murders, but Roscoe isn’t convinced.
But as Roy digs deeper, she closes in on a secret so dangerous someone will kill to protect it
Because in this town, the past never stays buried — and even the dead still have a voice.
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Note from the Author: In Chapter 2, Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy and her boyfriend, Detective Inspector Tom Vickers, are attending a wedding at a Warwickshire hotel when Justin Hemming, the assistant manager, receives a call from a guest, Cynthia Ecclestone, who believes she has witnessed a murder. All three take the lift to the second floor:
A grey-haired lady was standing by the open door.
‘Mrs. Ecclestone?’ Hemming asked her.
‘Yes,’ said Cynthia, who was shaking her head and looking agitated. ‘I was just standing on my balcony and saw a woman being strangled with a white towel. If you’re quick, you may be in time to save her. I’m a retired nurse. I know how vital speed can be in matters like this.’
‘Where was the woman?’
‘She was standing by the third window along in the new part of the building,’ said Cynthia. ‘If you come over here, I’ll show you the window.’
‘Are you sure the man hadn’t just passed her the towel so she could take a shower?’ said Hemming. ‘People often put towels round their shoulders before going to wash.’
‘I know what I saw, and I saw a man strangling the woman,’ Cynthia insisted.
‘All right. Show us the window. This couple are police officers, by the way, who happen to be staying in the hotel,’ he quickly explained.
The visitors followed Cynthia past the en suite bathroom into the classic room with its king-size bed, wall tapestries and period furniture.
‘Here you are,’ she said, stepping across the parquet floor and opening the patio door.
Hemming joined her on the balcony as she pointed out the third window.
‘I’m pretty sure that’s Room 224,’ he said.
‘I’m DS Roy from Heart of England Police,’ Sunita told Cynthia. ‘This is DI Vickers. When did this happen?’
‘Three minutes ago. Please hurry,’ she replied. ‘There might be time to save the poor woman.’
Hemming and the two detectives retraced their steps to the lift and then the duty manager led them across the landing into the hotel’s new extension. They stopped in the corridor outside the third door on the right.
‘This is it. Room 224,’ he said, tapping on the door. After a few seconds, he removed a keycard from his pocket and opened it.
The room, which was light, airy and decorated in a more contemporary style than Cynthia’s, was strangely quiet.
‘Hello,’ Hemming called. ‘Anyone here?’
Nothing stirred.
‘Do you want to go in?’ he asked his companions. ‘Looks like the room’s empty, but you never know.’
Tom Vickers, an amiable detective inspector who was slightly overweight with short, brown hair, stepped gingerly inside, glancing to the left and right as he proceeded.
‘There’s no one here,’ he remarked, venturing as far as the foot of the king-size bed, which was strewn with women’s clothing. He glanced across to the double-glazed picture window, where a closed suitcase stood. A soft drink can and a glass tumbler could be seen in the centre of the low-level sideboard.
‘Oh God. What a waste of time,’ Hemming complained. ‘These old biddies with their vivid imaginations. I could have done without this. I’m due off at seven.’
The assistant manager took out his mobile phone and dialled a number as the detectives gazed round the room. He stood quietly, his head bowed. Sunita thought he resembled a priest about to hear a confession. Then a woman’s voice answered.
‘Eileen, who’s booked into Room 224?’ he asked. ‘Can you have a look?’
After a brief pause, a buzzing noise signalled that Hemming’s colleague had given her reply.
‘How many nights were they booked in for?’ he asked.
He listened to her response and then hung up.
‘It’s a couple and we’ve got the surname Goodhope. They were booked in for last night and tonight,’ he told them.
‘So where are they?’ said Vickers. ‘I imagine you’ve got both their mobile numbers?’
Hemming nodded his head.
‘Yes, we’ll have them down at reception. I think Mrs Ecclestone’s imagination’s run away with her. She probably saw Mrs Goodhope holding up various outfits by the window and falsely assumed she was being assaulted. That’s all I can think.’
‘So has the woman got changed and gone out again?’ Vickers asked.
‘Probably. Yes, I imagine she’s out enjoying herself, which is what that lady in Room 203 should be doing − instead of cooking up wild stories we have to deal with.’ He paused for a moment.
‘Candy Goodhope,’ Hemming continued. ‘Now I come to think of it, I do seem to remember a rather pretty woman with long, wavy hair who arrived last night. She said she was from Gloucester and had come to Queensbridge to meet someone. Eileen was dealing with her. I don’t remember seeing the husband.’
‘Maybe he was parking their car,’ Sunita suggested. ‘She didn’t say why they were in the town?’
‘Just to visit friends, I think,’ he said. ‘People stay here for a wide variety of reasons. For weddings, hen parties, birthdays − all sorts of events. How was the wedding today?’
‘Absolutely fine,’ said Sunita.
‘I was best man,’ said Vickers. ‘I’m pleased to say my speech went down very well earlier on.’
‘The bride and groom are holding a dance in the ballroom this evening, aren’t they?’ said Hemming.
‘Yes, that reminds me,’ said Vickers, ‘we’d better get down there. Gary and Selena will be wondering where we are.’
‘Better just check the room thoroughly,’ said Sunita. ‘We haven’t tried the en suite.’
‘I’ll do that,’ said Vickers, spinning round and poking his head inside the marble bathroom.
Sunita stepped past Hemming and made her way to the window. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. A little light dust had settled on the window ledge and a brown circular mark was visible where a cup had been placed. The beige curtains hung neatly from either side of the window.
Then she turned round and gasped in horror. Blonde tresses of hair were protruding from beneath the bed.
About the Author:
Tony Bassett is a former journalist who worked on regional and national newspapers in Britain for more than 40 years. He mainly reported on crime, show business, human interest and consumer topics. Now retired, he writes crime fiction.
Tony is best known for his series of novels set in the West Midlands featuring Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Roscoe, an experienced detective and family man, and his sergeant, law graduate and resourceful problem-solver Sunita Roy.
His latest novel, VOICES FROM THE DEAD (Book 8) begins in the picturesque Warwickshire town of Queensbridge where a retired nurse escapes to her hotel room from a rowdy birthday party, looking for peace. But to her horror, through a window, she witnesses a brutal crime — a young woman being strangled in the new wing of the building.
Detective Sergeant Sunita Roy —attending a wedding in the same hotel — is first on the scene, and quickly realises this isn’t a random attack. The victim, glamorous beauty influencer Candy Goodhope, was living a double life — and everyone close to her has something to hide.
The fifth book in the series, HEIR TO MURDER, was judged first in the Mystery and Suspense (Police Procedurals) category in the American Fiction Awards in June 2024.
Other books in the series (in order) are: MURDER ON OXFORD LANE; THE CROSSBOW STALKER; MURDER OF A DOCTOR; OUT FOR REVENGE; and IT NEVER RAINS.
A collection of the first three books was published in May 2024 under the title THE MIDLANDS MURDERS: Detectives Roy & Roscoe box set (Books 1 – 3). The whole series has been released by London publishers The Book Folks, part of Joffe Books.
Tony has also written a stand-alone thriller, SEAT 97, about a man shot dead at a London concert hall (published by The Book Folks) while two further works (the crime novel Smile Of The Stowaway and the spy novel The Lazarus Charter) were published by The Conrad Press.
Tony first developed a love of writing at the age of nine when he produced a junior school magazine. A few years later, his local vicar in Tunbridge Wells staged his play about Naboth’s Vineyard. At Hull University, Tony was judged Time-Life Magazine student journalist of the year in 1971.
Tony, who has five grown-up children, is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists. He lives in South-East London with his partner Lin.
Contact Tony:
Website
X: @tonybassett1
Facebook
Instagram: @tonybassettauthor
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