First Word

The following excerpt is taken from the forthcoming Thriller titled The Abused by Michelle Gamble. Release coming in Spring 2020. For more information, visit 3L Publishing (www.3LPublishing.com).   17 Stanley Lentwood stared down at the rose garden. He noticed the crazy lawyer Finley Sullivan walked all around the hedges in a nervous pace. Stanley wondered if Finley’s drug use had damaged his brain. Just then a knock came to the door. “Come in.” Robert Scoffer opened the door with his usual bravado and strolled into the room with his cool confidence. Stanley turned and took a seat in front of the sofa. Robert just dropped down to the sofa. He appeared bored and put out that he had to do therapy. “So you going to give me some of that God crap?” asked Robert. “Pray for me … all that?” Stanley looked at Robert puzzled by his sudden comment. “Why would I do that?” “Eh, I went to this therapist once with Lynn—” “The woman you conned.” “Yeah, t...

The Abused is a psychological thriller about nine addicts who go to rehab only to have one of them start murdering the others. The novel is set to release in Fall 2016.  Reader discretion is advised. Some of this content may be profane and not appropriate for readers under the age if 18. 24             Detectives Marcus Patrick and Vincent Valdez had spent a grueling afternoon talking to each addict. Marcus found their insistent chatter emotionally draining. He felt like he had gone from crackerjack police detective to psychoanalyst all in one day. He chuckled to think some people did this for a living. He thought he would have to shoot his brains out if he had to spend a career listening to people whine about their “cravings” and their shitty, little lives. At one point Marcus wanted to scream, “Hey! I had a shitty life too buddy, but you don’t see me snorting coke and popping p...

The Abused is a psychological thriller about nine addicts who go to rehab only to have one of them start murdering the others. The novel is set to release in Fall 2016.  Reader discretion is advised. Some of this content may be profane and not appropriate for readers under the age if 18. 23             Craig noted the addicts were far more restless than usual – not that he could blame them. Assemblyman Pendergrass lay dead on a morgue slab. If they weren’t upset he would have wondered about their humanity except most addicts were more concerned with their cravings than anything else. Addiction is a nasty business. Addicts – all they care about is their next fix. Their next high. Addiction trumps love, family, work – everything important to most people. Addiction starts to become a best friend. It talks to you. It tells you “use me,” “get high” “forget everybody else”. Addiction is a s...

The Abused is a psychological thriller about nine addicts who go to rehab only to have one of them start murdering the others. The novel is set to release in Fall 2016.  Reader discretion is advised. Some of this content may be profane and not appropriate for readers under the age if 18. 18 Deacon shuffled behind the group as they headed for their session together. He was getting used to the daily routine. Get up, eat breakfast, go to your one-on-one, eat lunch, do group and then eat dinner and start over. It was perfunctory in his estimation. He didn’t care about any of it, and all he wanted to do was get out and call Violet. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He hoped to find her and apologize then maybe she would come back to him. As they all took their respective seats in the room, Stanley Lentwood walked in the room. Group was typically Craig’s gig so everyone was surprised to see Mr. Lentwood. Deacon didn’t like him and wished that Craig was ...

The Abused is a psychological thriller about 8 addicts who go to rehab only to have one start murdering the others. Reader discretion is advised. 8             Merry’s office was on the top floor of the St. John’s Rehab Center. She was the director of rehabilitation services and a Ph.D. in psychology and mental health with a specialty in addiction and substance abuse. Merry never did drugs or used her entire life. She never even took a shot of liquor. As a teenager Merry once witnessed some girls in the bathroom of the local dance club doing cocaine and she didn’t even know what they were doing. So when they offered her a snort of “blow” she said no without a clue to what she had just turned down.             Merry’s own childhood abuse fueled her desire to figure out what was wrong with her. She felt an endless unease and dissatisfaction in life. ...