Today we’re celebrating the upcoming release of Between Love and Murder by Chris Bedell!
Between Love and Murder
Expected Publication Date: February 26th, 2021
Genre: YA Thriller/ LGBTQ
Publisher: Between the Lines Publishing
17-year-old Chad has a problem when he finds himself attracted to the new kid Archie. He’s over the moon when Archie flirts back. Chad’s excitement is short-lived when his best friend, Mallory pursues Archie as revenge for Chad rejecting her. Chad doesn’t want to lose his chance with Archie and decides he needs to eliminate the competition by implicating Mallory in the disappearance of her boyfriend Tommy months earlier.
Three months later, Tommy mysteriously shows up and is accidently killed by Mallory, with Chad and Archie as witnesses. Mallory convinces them they have to stay quiet or they’ll all go to jail for murder. Wanting to protect his new relationship with Archie, Chad agrees, but doubts about Mallory’s motives linger. Fear of losing Archie to Mallory plagues Chad until he decides he has to find a way to get her arrested, while keeping Archie and himself out of trouble. Will love lead to betrayal or murder?
If you like the nonlinear storytelling of ABC’s HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and the toxic love triangle of WINK POPPY MIDNIGHT, then BETWEEN LOVE AND MURDER is the book for you.
Excerpt
BEFORE
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2018
Expecting complete honesty was pointless.
Like with Santa Claus or the Tooth Fairy, or when a friend got a questionable haircut. Both the kid and friend could discover the truth without anyone playing the villain. Or like right now while I stood next to my locker in the school hallway. My best friend, Mallory, couldn’t have said what she had. Yet I didn’t have an ear wax problem, so the chances of her comment being misheard were slimmer than time travel happening.
I blinked. “Come again?”
She tugged at her backpack strap. “I’m sorry, Chad; I’m not trying to be awkward. I just couldn’t lie anymore.”
“Don’t apologize for your feelings.”
Telling her not to feel bad shouldn’t have been the best response I came up with. Doing so only prolonged the inevitable: deciding about whether honesty or a fib was best. However, there was no right reaction to finding out Mallory had a crush on me. Some events—such as her revelation—couldn’t be anticipated no matter how many A’s I earned in school.
Mallory bit her lip. “We’ve been spending a lot of time together since July.”
I chuckled. “We’ve always been close.”
“Not since I started dating Tommy.”
I scratched the side of my head. “What’d you expect to happen?”
Available on Amazon!
About the Author
My previous publishing credits include Thought Catalog, Entropy Magazine, Chicago Literati, and Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, among others. My debut YA Fantasy novel IN THE NAME OF MAGIC was published by NineStar Press in 2018.
My 2019 novels include NA Thriller BURNING BRIDGES (BLKDOG Publishing), YA Paranormal Romance DEATHLY DESIRES (DEEP HEARTS YA), and YA Thriller COUSIN DEAREST (BLKDOG Publishing). My 2020 novels include my YA Thriller I KNOW WHERE THE BODIES ARE BURIED (BLKDOG Publishing), YA Contemporary I’LL SEE YOU AGAIN (Deep Hearts YA), YA Thriller BETWEEN LOVE AND MURDER (Between The Lines Publishing), YA Sci-fi DYING BEFORE LIVING (Deep Hearts YA), and YA Thriller LOVE HIM/HATE HIM (Between The Lines Publishing). I also graduated with a BA in Creative Writing from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 2016.
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