#Extract – “The Torments” by Michael J. Malone – #BlogTour #AnnieJacksonMysteries #TheTorments @michaeljmalone1 @OrendaBooks

Chapter 1 Annie

Annie reached for her car keys on the little kitchen table and felt a surge of anxiety twist at her heart and shorten her breath. The minute, the second, she sat in her car, the murmurs could awaken and harass her until the moment she stepped back inside her little stone cottage.

There was just no pattern to them. Often they would leave her alone for hours, sometimes days, but then they would populate every waking and sleeping moment, making her feel constantly on edge.

Inside the cottage, though, in the garden, or by the little beach that edged the loch, they were much quieter.

Sometimes she was able to deal with them, but there were moments when the hateful, accusatory voices became too much and she just wanted to curl up into a ball and rock herself to sleep.

For the millionth time she sent a prayer of thanks to her Aunt Sheila for leaving her this place – a woman she had only met a couple of times in her life, while only a girl. How she had known the little building would offer Annie sanctuary from the curse that had haunted her family for centuries Annie didn’t know, but she would be forever grateful.

Annie looked out of the window, at the still surface of the loch and the heathered hills beyond, and felt the soothing they always offered.

The only way to, is through, she told herself; the little mantra that had helped her face her troubles over the years. Just one of the nuggets she’d been taught by her adoptive mother, Mandy McEvoy.

With that thought tight in the forefront of her mind she gripped her keys. Felt the metal dig into the soft flesh of her palm.

You can’t lock yourself away up in Ardlochard forever, Lewis’s voice sounded in her ear. Her twin brother had phoned her just that morning from his office in Glasgow, like he did almost every day.

‘Watch me, brother,’ she’d replied.

Being isolated from the rest of society not only muted the voices but it also offered relief from knowing how someone was about to die – another part of the family curse. She did appreciate, however, that being almost entirely on her own, without another human within a ten-mile radius, was not a good way to live. And might well lead to quite a different form of madness.

All she needed was a brood of cats and she was set, she thought ruefully.

Steeling herself, she walked to the door. Lewis was right. Besides, it was time to go to work. It was only four afternoons a week. And importantly, without the income she earned at the little café in Lochaline, she wouldn’t be able to afford to live here, so there really wasn’t much of an argument to be had.

Another step closer to the door.

Last April, I read and reviewed the first Annie Jackson mystery called “The Murmurs”.

My REVIEW of “The Murmurs”

Michael J. Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers. Other published work includes Carnegie’s Call; A Taste for Malice; The Guillotine Choice; Beyond the Rage; The Bad Samaritan and Dog Fight. His psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and the critically acclaimed House of Spines and After He Died soon followed suit. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber & Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, Scotland.