The Hammer Falls by Andrew Barrett #BlogBlitz #Extract

Today I am delighted to share the first chapter of The Hammer Falls by Andrew Barrett on Blog Blitz


The Book

Some secrets, no matter how well buried, refuse to die.

When the remains of a woman are found in a burnt-out car, Eddie Collins reluctantly teams up with his enemy, DI Benson, to untangle the knot of lies behind this apparent suicide.

In the midst of all this, Eddie’s life grows more complicated by the day; his perfect relationship is suffocating him. As a CSI in the Major Crime Unit, he is also being forced to accept a promotion that he doesn’t want, leading a team that he can’t control or tolerate.

Even when the mystery is solved, proving it turns out to be deadly..


Chapter One
Eddie pulled his shirt back down and sat there with his foot tapping on the floor, fingers never still, nervously drumming some unheard rhythm on his leg. “It feels like it’s tripping over itself, like it’s fluttering and not getting a full charge of blood.” Eddie stopped talking and watched him. Alex was studying the computer screen, clicking the mouse, and reading. “You’re looking it up on Google, aren’t you?”
“What?”
“You haven’t a clue what I’m talking about.”
Alex turned and said, “I’m looking into your history, Eddie. And for your information, I’m nowhere near Google just yet.”
“So what it is, then? It thuds like hell at night when I’m trying to sleep–”
“You still on the booze?”
Eddie just stared at him.
“I have to ask. I’m your doctor.”
“Look, it sends me light-headed.”
“No booze?”
“No booze!”
“Still smoking?”
Eddie shrugged, “Gotta die sometime, doc.”
Alex went back to the computer.
“Will you leave that bastard thing alone and pay attention to me for a change? Are you checking your lottery results or something?”
“Oi, cut it out.” Alex faced Eddie and asked, “Are you uptight about anything?”
“Nope.”
“Really? What’s it like living in a monastery these days?”
“Okay, I’m uptight about everything. I just want to sleep, Alex.”
“I can remedy that,” he said. “That’s easy. But you need to get to the bottom of it; you need to understand why you’re having these panic attacks.”
Eddie laughed. “Panic attacks? Me? If I were any more chilled, I’d have frostbite.”
Alex nodded at Eddie’s twitching foot. “It’s a message. It’s your body telling you that something needs attention.”
“Ah I see. So my body, realising that I’m worried about something, decides the best way of helping me is to make me think I’m having a fucking heart attack and give me something else to worry about?”
“Well it can’t send you an email!”
Eddie sighed. “So what do I have to do then?”
“Think. What’s troubling you? What dreams do you have, what nightmares?”
“I don’t dream.”
Alex cocked an eyebrow.
“What? I don’t. None that I can remember, anyway.”

Grab your copy of The Hammer Falls: a gripping CSI mystery (Eddie Collins Book 3) from Amazon today for only 99p

 Andrew Barrett has enjoyed variety in his professional life, from engine-builder to farmer, from Oilfield Service Technician in Kuwait, to his current role of Senior CSI in Yorkshire.
He’s been a CSI since 1996, and has worked on all scene types from terrorism to murder, suicide to rape, drugs manufacture to bomb scenes. One way or another, Andrew’s life revolves around crime.
In 1997 he finished his first crime thriller, A Long Time Dead, and it’s still a readers’ favourite today, some 200,000 copies later, topping the Amazon charts several times. Two more books featuring SOCO Roger Conniston completed the trilogy.
Today, Andrew is still producing high-quality, authentic crime thrillers with a forensic flavour that attract attention from readers worldwide. He’s also attracted attention from the Yorkshire media, having been featured in the Yorkshire Post, and twice interviewed on BBC Radio Leeds.
He’s best known for his lead character, CSI Eddie Collins, and the acerbic way in which he roots out criminals and administers justice. Eddie’s series is four books and two short stories in length, and there’s still more to come.
Andrew is a proud Yorkshireman and sets all of his novels there, using his home city of Leeds as another major, and complementary, character in each of the stories.


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