Hello, lovelies! It gives me great pleasure today to host Bob
Liter and his new book series, “The Nick Bancroft Mystery Book Series”! For other stops on his Goddess Fish
Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in
this post.
Be sure to make it to the
end of this post to enter to win a $50 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!! Also, come back daily to interact with Bob
and to increase your chances of winning!
Thanks for stopping
by! Wishing you lots of luck in this
fabulous giveaway!
Nick Bancroft Mystery Book
Series
by Bob Liter
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Romantic Mystery/Suspense
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
IN THIS
"GRIPPING" MYSTERY THRILLER SOMEONE TRIES TO BURN NICK BANCROFT
ALIVE, BEATS HIM SENSELESS, USES HIM FOR TARGET PRACTICE AND WORST OF ALL HIS
BELOVED CHICAGO CUBS DISAPPOINT HIM AGAIN! SOMETIMES A PI JUST CAN'T CATCH A
BREAK! BUT WHEN HIS CLIENT IS A SEXY NUDIST, NICK BANCROFT WILL PUT UP WITH
JUST ABOUT ANYTHING!
When
a sexy nudist hires him to protect her from whoever is threatening her life,
Nick Bancroft becomes the target. Someone tries to burn him alive, beats the
hell out of him and, since that didn't run him off, uses him for target
practice. Meanwhile, two people are murdered, Nick's true love, Maggie Atley,
is more than somewhat perturbed by his relationship with his client, and a
mysterious club seems to hold the answer. Nick survives an exciting but still
losing season by his beloved Chicago Cubs, a vicious attack by a couple of huge
dogs and eventually puts the finger on the bad guys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB – THE NICK
BANCROFT MYSTERY BOOK SERIES:
I'm
an ex-newspaper reporter who inherited a run-down, one-man detective agency. My
name is Nick Bancroft. I used to do investigation work occasionally for a
friend Jimmy Jackson, who left me the business and stuck me with an office on
the top floor of an old building in the wrong end of town.
I
would have refused the inheritance, but I was sick of working where news had
been converted to entertainment. And, besides, Jimmy had paid six months’ rent
in advance for the office with a small apartment attached. Since I inherited
the business I have helped solve a murder and got some press as a result.
In a
small town like Centrel City, you can find bribery, graft, kickbacks, political
influence peddling, criminal cover-ups, and sometimes murder. Now when I get involved
in a case, there usually is a story I can sell to the upstate Chicago Times. I
didn't expect to make a living as a private investigator and freelance
reporter, but I was wrong ... sort of. It beats making money for someone else
and it leaves time for my almost favorite sport of bowling and my passion for
the Chicago Cubs.
It’s
all in a day’s work; I can be tough enough when I have to be. On the other
hand, I can be soft for the ladies, especially for an on-again off-again lover,
Maggie Atley. Nothing is ever as it seems and I don’t quit until I find the
answers. My name is Nick Bancroft.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB – MURDER BY
THE BOOK – BOOK ONE:
Nick
Bancroft inherits a rundown detective agency and embarks on a new career as a
hard-boiled detective. When date rape drugs show up in Centrel City, so does
reporter Nick Bancroft. The drugs are discovered at two different murders with
sex etiquette books left at the scenes. Nick is hired by the first victim’s
father, Ramsey Sinclair, to find the killer. A Chicago detective, Miss
Faustine, is also hired by Mr. Sinclair to work “closely” with Bancroft. His
focus is interrupted when he begins a love affair with receptionist, Maggie
Atley, from a neighboring office.
Bancroft
is banking on solving the murders and selling the story to the Chicago Times.
As the case unfolds there is enough danger, drama, and deception to fill a
book. Nick finds few things are as they seem and in his enthusiasm he becomes
the target of a shooter and also the target of charming Maggie Atley’s
affections.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB – AUGUST
IS MURDER – BOOK TWO:
A
sexy nudist hires Nick Bancroft to defend her from threats on her life; Nick
volunteers to provide 24-hour protection. Now, he is the target and August
becomes even hotter when someone tries to burn him alive. Nick is not one to
turn tail and run, especially now with two murders and Lady Godiva to protect.
Nick's true love, second only to the Cubs and bowling, Maggie Atley, is more
than somewhat perturbed by the arrangement with his beautiful client.
After
weeks of investigation there are still unanswered questions. Who are the bad
guys? What does a mysterious club have to do with the murders? Can Nick survive
another losing season by his beloved Chicago Cubs? Is this the last inning for
Nick and Maggie?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB – DEATH
STING – BOOK THREE:
After
an intimate breakfast together, while reading the paper to Maggie, Nick is
baffled by a headline: Female Body Found Covered with Stings: The Sheriff Calls
the Death an Accident. Free-lance reporter and private detective, Nick
Bancroft, doesn’t believe it and is drawn to the case like a bee to honey. He
learns the victim lived in a home for young unwed mothers who work as
waitresses and hookers at a nightclub.
Murder
suspects include an alcoholic handy man, the man and wife who operate the home,
a nightclub operator and his henchman, and a sheriff's deputy. Everyone is
trying to stop Nick’s investigation, including federal agents.
Even
when he and his earthy lover Maggie survive being dumped in a deep lake with
weights tied to their ankles, Bancroft is unwavering in his pursuit of the
truth. Will Maggie and Nick’s romance sink or swim before the case is solved?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB – POINT OF
MURDER – BOOK FOUR:
Nick
Bancroft, a former investigative reporter, enjoys a mundane existence in
Centrel City operating a one-man detective agency. He supplements his pauper’s
wages selling news stories to the Chicago Times. In a small apartment, Nick and
his roommate Maggie, share frivolous romantic lovemaking and the responsibility
of feeding a stray cat that adopted them. On the surface it seems
picture-perfect.
The
bed of roses ends abruptly when Nick’s destitute young friend, Bobby Scalf, is
found murdered with a blunt six inch spike in his head. Nick becomes a suspect
when the second murder victim is discovered in the abandoned building where the
boy lived.
While
Nick tries to find out who killed the boy, he uncovers a web of corruption
involving the town council, the school board, the police chief and the local
newspaper publisher. Nick survives several attempts on his life, and that of
his stormy lover, before nailing the killer and exposing the town's secrets.
Solving the town’s problems may not be enough to solve the problems festering
between Maggie and Nick. Is it really over?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB – AND THE
BAND PLAYED ON – BOOK FIVE:
Freelance
reporter and sometime private detective, Nick Bancroft, is tough enough when he
has to be. On the other hand, he can be soft for the ladies. That's how he ends
up at an outdoor band concert, with Maggie, a librarian, divorcee, and his very
talented lover. Nick is front row center to witness the murder of a
well-connected private secretary of an important political figure.
It
doesn't earn him any points with the cops that he is on the scene before them,
and it doesn't earn him any points with certain influential politicians that he
won't get off the case. Not only is Nick drawn into the dirty details of the
crime, someone is trying to kill him. During the investigation, Maggie and Nick
come face to face with the events surrounding 9-11. Will the final case break
their spirits and crumble their love, or will they emerge stronger and
committed to life together?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT ONE:
From August is Murder – Book Two:
The
first time they tried to kill me I was asleep. My office and apartment were on
the third floor of a nearly abandoned building. My own coughing jarred me
awake. I rolled to a sitting position from the sweat-wet bedding and continued
choking on hot, acrid air. The sweat was no surprise. My air conditioner had
quit. But this was more than August heat in Centrel City, Illinois.
A
flip of the light switch near my bed did nothing to alleviate the darkness. I
went to hands and knees and felt around until I found my pants and shoes, sat
against the bed, squirmed into the jeans. Heat from the floor threatened to
roast my rump.
"Don't
panic, Nick," I said aloud. Should I try to save anything or just get the
hell out? My files, I had to save my case files. I crawled into the office, stood,
and pulled out the top drawer. I felt my way to the office door and opened it.
A swish of even hotter air swept against my face.
What
about Maggie? She might be in the office on the second floor. It was well past
midnight. Why would she be there? I assured myself she was not. She was the
reason why I now had a stray cat and a cracked heart. What about the cat? Any
cat that came and went when the office door was locked wouldn't be trapped in
that old building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GUEST POST:
My
Dad, Bob Liter, was a young ambitious man raised in the depression era. He had
been to war, gotten an education in journalism, and had seen the world through
his military service. He found the love of his life, my Mom, Lillian. They
married and nine months later I arrived. I am Bob Liter’s first daughter Martie
Liter Ogborn.
Dad’s
career made it necessary for our family to move several times, fortunately
because of bigger and better job offers. There were a few stops in small towns
in the Midwest. I was born in Boone, Iowa. My sister Jeannie was born in
Dubuque, Iowa. And our brother Jeff was born in Lincoln, Illinois where Bob
Liter was hired for the job of city editor at the Lincoln Courier.
Now a
family man, did Bob’s ambitions fade and the dull routine of the common and
ordinary take its place? Did Bob Liter find a cold beer at an air-conditioned
bar during the heat and humidity of August in Central Illinois more attractive
than going home to a house full of kids, a wife pregnant again, and a black and
white TV in front of a box fan?
I
remember Dad taking me to the Flame Restaurant in Lincoln one Saturday
afternoon. We went hand-in-hand into the bar area where he picked me up and sat
me on a bar stool. I had a fountain soda and he had a beer. The bubbly water
and melting ice cream did not impress me and may have been the first and last
fountain soda I ever had.
My
Dad was a penny pincher. He made a meager attempt at painting the kitchen in
our rental house with three different colors of leftover paint. The colors
didn’t really go together. I remember a pole lamp with crumbling white plastic
shades that barely covered three light bulbs. Dad replaced the shades with
coffee cans and painted them Chicago Cub Blue. I still have that pole lamp in
my bedroom and decorated it with Cub baseball emblems in 2016 when the Cubs won
the World Series.
During
a summer school break in Lincoln, Illinois there was uneasiness in the house at
222 Sixth St. Try saying that with missing front teeth. Mom was packing us kids
up. Why did she tell me she was taking us to the train station to visit her mom
in Des Moines, Iowa? Why wasn’t Dad going with us? What could I do to stop this
from happening? I hid in the garage. Any more than that, I don’t remember.
The
next spring we moved to Sunnyland, Illinois across the river and east of
Peoria. Bob Liter started a new job at the Peoria Journal Star. We moved into a
house that was ours, not one we rented. Mom and Dad planted flowers and started
a garden. It was the sixties, a new decade, a new start, and new opportunities.
We still did not have an air conditioner; August was murder.
You decide is Nick Bancroft, by some standards, just a good man
who falls into the strangest situations?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert T “Bob” Liter (1923-2008)
was born in Hartley, IA to Charles and Hazel Liter and grew up in Des Moines,
IA. His sisters June and JoAnn, joined
the family before the decade was over. Bob was a U.S. Navy veteran, and was
honorably discharged after two tours of duty, one tour in World War II and the
other tour in the Korean War. A Graduate from Drake University in Des Moines,
IA, he earned his degree in journalism, and married Lillian in 1950.
What
Happened Next
I
came along 9 months later; my name is Martie. I was soon followed by my sister
Jeannie and two brothers, Jeff and Ron.
Later
in Dad's journalism career he worked as a copy editor for the Peoria Journal
Star, Peoria, IL until his retirement. Through the years he was also a writer.
Early in his sideline career he was published in various True Confession
magazines. When Dad retired to take care of Mom he continued to pursue his
passion for writing. Much of his work has been available since 2002 in EBook
format.
First
Five Novels Available On Amazon NOW
It is
my honor to introduce new readers to the Bancroft Mysteries where the character
Nick Bancroft has an uncanny resemblance to my Dad, Bob Liter with his wit and
bodacious gutsy approach to life. Then
there is Nick’s on-again off-again lady, Maggie Atley, who is just like Mom,
Lillian Liter, in the way she deals with a self-proclaimed “male chauvinist
piggy.”
While
Nick solves mysteries in the fictitious, but very real, community of Central
City, IL he still finds time for his love-hate relationship with bowling, and
his avid undying passion for the Chicago Cubs and Bears.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CONNECT WITH BOB:
Website:
Blog:
Email:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
Goodreads Author Page:
Amazon Author Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS –
MURDER BY THE BOOK – BOOK ONE:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
Goodreads Book Page #1:
Goodreads Book Page #2:
Goodreads Book Page #3:
BookBub Book Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS –
AUGUST IS MURDER – BOOK TWO:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
Goodreads Book Page #1:
Goodreads Book Page #2:
Goodreads Book Page #3:
BookBub Book Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS –
DEATH STING – BOOK THREE:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
The Book Depository Paperback:
BAM! Books-A-Million Paperback:
Goodreads Book Page #1:
Goodreads Book Page #2:
Goodreads Book Page #3:
BookBub Book Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS –
POINT OF MURDER – BOOK FOUR:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Amazon Paperback:
Goodreads Book Page #1:
Goodreads Book Page #2:
Goodreads Book Page #3:
BookBub Book Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BOOK BUY LINKS –
AND THE BAND PLAYED ON – BOOK FIVE:
Amazon Kindle eBook:
Goodreads Book Page #1:
Goodreads Book Page #2:
BookBub Book Page:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFO:
Bob will be awarding a $50 Amazon or B/N GC to a
randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a
purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this
blog. This does not cost you anything,
it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here.**
This contest is sponsored
by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish
Promotions. Prizes are given away by the
sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish
Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
