Murder, Just Because by Yolanda Renee

It’s a pleasure to be participating in author Yolanda Renee’s MURDER, JUST BECAUSE Blog Tour through MC Book Tours today.

Yolanda is offering an awesome tour-wide international giveaway. More information on the giveaway is listed below.

Guest Post -- Evil Exists

(Chrys: Discuss further the Feb. IWSG Post about how authors were shocked you would write such dark stuff.)

Thank you, Chrys, for hosting me today and for asking for more information on the questions I faced from other authors regarding my books, The Snowman and Murder, Just Because. I’ve been very open about the scenes of explicit sex and violence. I don’t want anyone to buy a book they can’t read.

So why did I write it?

How did Stowy Jenkins come into being?

For me, Stowy Jenkins represents all the evil in the world.

Every day this last year, before COVID-19, I would switch on the news, and the stories reported there made my skin crawl.

A young girl calls for an Uber, leaves the bar, and gets into the car she’s ordered. Except it isn’t. Her body is found a week later.

Another very young girl is at home when a man abducts her right out of her front yard. There are witnesses. Her mutilated body is discovered a week later.

A college student gets a text from a man looking for a date. She meets him alone in a park. Several weeks later, her mutilated remains are found in his home.

Another college student seeks help from a stalker. Both the police and college security brush off her concerns. The stalker kills her on campus.

I could go on. I won’t. I’ve made my point.

As I’ve stated before, sexual violence happens daily, hourly! It happens to children and adults alike. When a man kidnaps a young woman and rapes her, it’s not to make love to her. It’s to abuse, violate, and destroy. There is nothing pretty or “comfortable” about it.

No matter what I’ve written, this is the world we live in. I do not apologize for taking the ugliest of reality and putting it into my books. My goal was also personal. I want to defeat the evil that found me, and in my books--good always defeats evil.

As a survivor of rape, I know firsthand the horrors that others inflict on the innocent. I see the price the victims pay when others brush off concerns, ignore clear signs, and excuse the perpetrator because “those things just don’t happen!”

Stowy Jenkins is not unique.

He’s existed since the beginning of time.

(Chrys: I applaud you, Yolanda, for writing these scenes and this character, for going there in your mind, and for not backing down.)

MURDER, JUST BECAUSE
by Yolanda  Renée

◊ Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense
◊ Publisher: Yolanda Renee
◊ Series: Detective Quaid Mysteries
◊ Paperback: 291 pages
◊ Print & eBooks
◊ ISBN-10: 0985820632
◊ ISBN-13: 978-0985820633
◊ Contains explicit sex & graphic violence

"While this book does contain explicit sexual language and graphic violence, it could easily be taken from the daily headlines. The content is plausible and realistic as we look at the world around us. The events in the book are not overly done but give a pragmatic look at the terrifying actions killers can and sometimes do take."

BLURB: It was a matter of beginner’s luck, but rookie detective Steven Quaid’s career and reputation as an elite investigator skyrocketed when he captured one of the most sadistic serial killers in Alaskan history: Stowy Jenkins, AKA the Snowman. But that was ten years ago.

And now…Jenkins is back. Escaped from prison and on the move, his bloodlust is stronger than ever, and his methods of torture are even more horrifying than before. As his bloody rampage continues and the number of mutilated bodies mounts, terrified Alaskans increasingly doubt Quaid’s ability to catch the killer again. The detective’s reputation is on the line, and he’s going to need a lot more than luck, because this time, Jenkins is driven by more than the thrill of a random kill.

This time, it’s more personal. He’s out for revenge…and his ultimate target is Quaid. In a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, Jenkins starts picking off the people in Quaid’s life…slowly, gradually tightening his circle of corpses and drawing ever closer to the most important person in Quaid’s life...his wife. Can Quaid do the impossible again? Can he outmaneuver the killer, or has the detective's luck finally run out?

BOOK LINKS:

Amazon / Smashwords

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Author Yolanda Renee

At one time Alaska called to me, and I answered. I learned to sleep under the midnight sun, survive in below zero temperatures, and hike the Mountain Ranges. I’ve traveled from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, and the memories are some of my most valued. The wonders, mysteries and incredible beauty that is Alaska has never left me and thus now influences my writing.

Despite my adventurous spirit, I achieved my educational goals, married, and I have two handsome sons. Writing is now my focus, my newest adventure!

For more on Yolanda and her writing, you can connect with her here:

Blog    *     Facebook     *     Twitter     *     Pinterest    

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This tour-wide giveaway is for a complete set of the Detective Quaid Mystery series books for one winner, paperback copies of MURDER, JUST BECAUSE for five winners, a Kindle copy of MURDER, JUST BECAUSE for 10 winners, and a  $25 Amazon Gift Card.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. If the widget doesn’t show up, just click HERE and you’ll be directed to the widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to follow Yolanda on her week-long tour HERE. You never know what you might find out. Do you enjoy watching a character grow from one story to the next?