What Lies Within by Robert Smith Book Tour and Giveaway :)
What
Lies Within
by
Robert Smith
Genre:
Crime Thriller
“There
are four kinds of Homicide:
felonious,
excusable, justifiable, and praiseworthy.”
—Ambrose
Bierce
This
is a story about duty, revenge, murder, and horror.
The
system failed Tyler McDermitt. He and his brother have vowed to
protect unfortunate youth from a similar fate - or at least make
those responsible, pay. The McDermitt brothers, victims of child
abuse and molestation, escaped their hell and have decided to clean
up after the failings of a flawed justice system.
The
rough streets of Dorchester, south Boston, have hardened two aspiring
vigilantes and prepared them for a mission. One brother has a good
heart, a conscience, and a burning
compassion. His twisted sense
of morality has burdened him with a deep sense of responsibility. The
other brother is as hard as nails and as cold as ice. He is hell-bent
on revenge and aims to ensure the other stays the course.
A
motivated young detective is on their scent; she and her veteran
partner look to foil McDermitt brothers' plan.
Something
from the boys' past - something dark - is also closing in.
With
a hard tug, my blade sank deep into his neck, easily through the
jugular and carotid, then through the gristle of his trachea. There
would be no call for help as life pulsed from him. The remaining
vessels cut like butter. I lowered his emptying form to the ground.
Adrenaline kicked his heart into high gear and the oozing current of
blood became a flowing torrent. A
flash of panic lit his eyes and he mouthed something. It was
inaudible beneath the weak gurgles and clucks. Then the light in his
eyes went dim. That
was our plan, it was going to happen, nothing could stop it. I had no
control over it, him, or myself. I
opened my eyes as a figure emerged from the side of the building. The
darkness shrouding the alleyway veiled him. He cursed a fixture above
the door, the fixture from which I had earlier smashed the bulb. On
that night, black clouds had refused to allow the moon to glow. A
solitary street light, from the far end of the passage, cast light
which danced on his jingling keys as he fumbled for the lock. As
I looked on, Devil hissed into my ear, “Let’s do this already!”
His hot, wet breath was like that of a dog—a hungry dog. I
wiped the spit from my cheek and glanced over at him. I had seen that
look before. “Shhhh,”
I urged. That
expression, the look in his eyes brought me back. The
dark figure finished with the lock, then turned to walk down the
backstreet. He had parked his car behind the building, as he did
every night. That ensured he would walk by the dumpster which served
as our blind. Pungent odors of rotting food wafted from the big metal
box we hid beside. The stench stung my nose and watered my eyes—doubt
clouded my mind. “He’s
coming, get ready.” “Yeah...
I’m not sure about this one,” I answered, remembering how I was
rushed—pressured—into setting it up so fast. I never liked
to pull same-day jobs. It didn’t leave time for planning. And the
wild look in his eyes, was it excitement, anticipation, desperation?
I couldn’t tell, even though I had seen it
so many times before. He looked right at me, but through me, with
panic, yet focus—such focus. “Screw
that,” he jeered. “You did the damn research. What’s not
to be sure of ?” “Some
research, yeah. The police didn’t have enough to charge this
guy.” “Damn
it Tyler, you read what he did to that kid—you know he did it. And
you know we don’t have a choice!” he hissed while giving me a
little shove. “Ease
up, man,” I barked back, returning the shove. “Hello?”
The man in the alley probed. “Who’s back there?” Devil
and I leaned back, deeper into the shadow of the dumpster. “Hey...
are you okay? Who’s back there?” As
the footsteps approached, my instincts kicked in. I reached back,
felt the cold metal of my knife, slid it from my belt and got ready.
The echoing footfalls stopped, inches from where we were crouched. My
heart pounded so hard I was sure the man just around the corner heard
it aloud. Adrenaline coursed through me. I focused on controlling my
breathing. The images—evidence—we had gathered flashed
through my head like a sequential montage, each one delivering a
stabbing pain to my temples. I
saw red, nothing but red. In a pain-driven blood lust, I sprang from
the shadows and struck. Devil
laughed as he fought to pull me off the decimated corpse. “Tyler,
let’s go. It’s done. We gotta get outta here.” I
wiped sweat and blood from my face and tried to compose myself. I
stood on shaky wickets, looking down, and thought, Oh my god, did
I do that? I
had the same disbelief every time.
Robert Smith (A.K.A. TyCobbsTeeth) hails from Prince Edward Island (off Canada's east coast).
On
this small island, ocean waves drive hard against red cliffs. So,
with fears that the sandstone island might soon melt into the
Atlantic, Robert finished his studies in Information Technology and
moved to Canada's capital.
Robert
has worked in network design, administration and security. He
recently transitioned from a job managing a digital forensics team
(supporting investigations) to Enterprise Architecture. That's his
day job. At night, he writes.
This
author writes thrillers (psychological, suspense, crime and horror).
Pick one up if you like that sort of thing.
What inspired you to write this
book?
The story of Tyler McDermitt and his
brother came to me while nodding off a few years back. The first part
of that story played itself out in my mind as I began to drift off to
sleep. I had to keep getting up and jotting more notes. The title
(What Lies Within) is intuitive once you know the story.
Many stories come to me just before I
fall asleep. The hypnagogia fairies take pleasure in robbing me of a
good night’s rest.
What can we expect from you in the
future?
Foremost on my list of action items is
to finish the follow-up to What Lies Within. I see this story playing
out in three parts. The next novel will be ready for beta later this
summer. Then, the third and final installment. Once I complete this
trilogy, I would like to wrap up Society for Supper. Once those story
lines are wrapped up, I have several other projects planned. Which
one comes first will depend on what happens between now and then. I
have new stories hatching all the time. I jot them down in my list of
projects, which is beginning to get long.
Can you tell us a little bit about
the characters in What Lies Within?
Tyler McDermitt is the protagonist in
What Lies Within. He and his brother lost their parents when they
were very young. The system moved them around from foster home to
foster home until a couple took them in. The boys spent eight years
with that couple—the worst eight years one could imagine. These two
brothers, victims of child abuse and molestation, finally escaped
their hell. They pledge to clean up after the failings the flawed
system.
The rough streets of Dorchester, south
Boston, hardened the two aspiring vigilantes and prepared them for
their mission. One brother (Tyler) has a good heart, a conscience,
and a burning compassion. His twisted sense of morality has burdened
him with a deep sense of responsibility. The other brother is as hard
as nails and as cold as ice. He is hell-bent on revenge and aims to
ensure Tyler stays the course. Besides pursuit from police, there is
something from the boys' past closing in.
What did you enjoy most about
writing this book?
I truly enjoy being swept up in a
story, lost to reality and engrossed. Just like reading, it’s a way
to escape to a new world or a different reality temporarily. The
difference is, when writing, you can steer the direction, influence
and manipulate the characters and story.
With What Lies Within, Tyler tells most
of the story in the first person. That allowed me to put myself in
his shoes and really feel the character.
What is your favorite part of this
book and why?
My favorite part is that, once you
think you know what’s going on, your forced to question your
interpretation. As the story and the series goes on, you will
continue to flip-flop on how you read things. I wanted to keep the
reader guessing. I believe I am still trying to determine the right
time to reveal things, and how much to reveal (in book two). And once
the questions of Book 1 are answered, there are more twists to come. I really enjoy a good twist—a
surprise—and I believe I’ve been able to weave some surprises
into this story.
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