What the Monkey Saw
by Lynn Chandler Willis
January 30 - February 24, 2023 Virtual Book Tour
When F.B.I. agent Emily Gayle’s partner is brutally murdered, Emily forsakes her career at the bureau and returns home to the North Carolina mountains to care for her disabled father. Guilt ridden over leaving her partner alone to die, Emily takes a job as an end-of-life caregiver.
Deep in Appalachia, Jude Courtland is desperate for a fast buck to pay for his grandmother’s chemotherapy. Together with his brother Crispin and cousin, Devo, the trio takes to hijacking insulin delivery vans and selling the stolen drugs on the black market. When Emily is assigned to cancer patient Hazel Courtland, the line separating right and wrong begins to blur.
As the hijackings escalate and turn violent, Emily’s intuition hones in on startling evidence she can no longer ignore.
Struggling with the truth, Emily is torn between her conscience and her loyalty to a dying woman. With her own life in jeopardy, Emily’s forced to take a side. Right or wrong, the consequences are deadly.
When I read the synopsis for this book, I was intrigued about an FBI agent who turns her career to become a death doula. Her client brings her back home to the Appalachian Mountains. Her client, Hazel, is dying from cancer and her caregivers are her grandsons and their cousin who are not on the up and up. I knew it wouldn't be long before Emily was back to using her FBI-trained mind to put the pieces together of the crimes.
Imagery of the area is weaved throughout, setting a scene for us that brings even more to the table than simply words on a page. I love when an author can fully-immerse you inside the written words! You'll find yourself easily putting your own thoughts of morality on the line along with Emily. But when things hit too close to home for her on a personal level while colliding with her past, you'll find that you might be willing to blur the lines, too!
When the lesson of how blood doesn't necessarily make you family, I really felt connected to the story as I'm a firm believer that we can connect on a deeper level with those who are not blood relatives. I spent an entire afternoon immersed in the book and hope to soon read more of her works. Absolutely riveting and magnetic for those who enjoy pushing boundaries!
I received a complimentary copy for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Praise for What the Monkey Saw:
"A stunning portrait of small town southern crime where characters walk a moral tightrope and risk everything to do what they believe is right. Emily Gayle, who watches people die for a living, is caught up in a drug theft ring and if she's not careful, death will come for her. With breakneck pacing, you'll want to devour What the Monkey Saw in one sitting, but don't—this is one you'll want to savor. Highly recommended series debut for fans of S.A Cosby, Joe Landsdale, and James Lee Burke." - James L'Etoile, Award winning author of Black Label, Dead Drop, and the Detective Penley series
"This tale, ripe and deep with the Appalachian experience, makes us feel sorry for the bad guys and better understand how some people make ends meet to get by. The struggle of living is real. The crime is ugly in some ways and needed in others. Combine all this with Emily Gayle's deep-seeded struggle to overcome her trauma and reluctance to use her investigative prowess and you have a solid, multi-layered, intriguing mystery that still warms your heart, even amidst the hardness of Appalachian living." - C. Hope Clark, award-winning author of The Edisto Island Mysteries, The Carolina Slade Mysteries, and The Craven County Mysteries
"As in the best crime fiction, Lynn Chandler Willis's What the Monkey Saw is about far more than the crimes committed, in this case the hijacking of insulin deliveries in Appalachia. Through the plot of a heist novel, Willis demonstrates how some people respond to the twin pressures of poverty and illness by breaking the law, and she accomplishes this without either glamorizing the crimes or condescending to her characters. Ultimately, What the Monkey Saw stands out as an exploration of death and dying, and how we react to both: the avoidance, the denial of loss, and the acceptance and grief that wash over us like mountain rain, either drowning us or bringing the promise of brighter days just over the next ridge." - Christopher Swann, 2022 Georgia Author of the Year (Detective/Mystery), Author of Never Go Home, A Fire in the Night, and Never Turn Back
"From the very first pages you'll sense that this is something truly special not only a suspenseful story, but one that represents the triumph of the human spirit to survive hardship and confront the inevitable end. A must read!" - Lawrence Kelter, International bestselling author of the Stephanie Chalice Mystery Series
About the Author:
Lynn Chandler Willis is a best-selling, multi-award-winning author who has worked in the corporate world, the television news industry, and had a thirteen-year run as the owner and publisher of a small-town newspaper. She lives in the heart of North Carolina on a mini-farm surrounded by chickens, turkeys, ducks, nine grandkids, a sassy little calico named Jingles, and Finn, a brown border collie known to be the best dog in the world. Seriously.
Connect with the Author:
LynnChandlerWillis.com Goodreads BookBub - @lynn361 Instagram - @lynnchandlerwillis_author Twitter - @LynnCWillis Facebook - @lynnchandlerwillis.author
This is a giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Tours for Lynn Chandler Willis. See the widget for entry terms and conditions. Void where prohibited.
The giveaway is for: 1 - $20 Amazon.com Gift Card