Authors on Tour: Larry D. Thompson — Dead Peasants

with Larry D. Thompson

We are delighted to welcome novelist Larry D. Thompson to Omnimystery News, courtesy of Partners in Crime Tours, which is coordinating his current book tour. We encourage you to visit all of the participating host sites; you can find his schedule here.

Larry's new legal thriller is Dead Peasants (St. Martin's Press, October 2012 hardcover and ebook formats).

Today we are pleased to introduce you to Larry with an excerpt from his book.

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THE KNOCK AT THE DOOR OF THE RV WAS so soft that at first Jack thought it must have been the wind. It came again. He rose from his chair and opened the door. An elderly black lady who he recognized as June Davis stood at the bottom of the steps.
 "Mrs. Davis, I'm sorry. I didn't hear you at first. Please come in. It's chilly out there for early May." Jack went down a step and extended his hand to assist his visitor, then offered her something to drink.
 June perched on the edge of the cushioned bench that circled the table. "Water would be nice," she said in a soft voice.
 Jack went to the refrigerator and returned with a bottle. He twisted the cap a half a turn and handed it to her. She twisted the cap the rest of the way, took a small sip, replaced the cap and set it on the table.
 "How are you doing, Mrs. Davis? I mean since your husband died have you been managing okay?"
 "I'm fine, Mr. Bryant. My house is paid for and I get a little social security check. Besides, my kids look after me." She reached into her purse and retrieved an envelope which she slid across the table to Jack. "This came in the mail, addressed to me. I, I wasn't sure what to do with it; so, I called Miss Colby. She said I should take it to you."
 Jack picked up the envelope. The return address was the United States Postal Service. He opened it and found another envelope, this one torn and mangled with the addressee illegible. The letter from the postal service read, Dear Mrs. Davis: One of our sorting machines jammed and mangled this letter. We apologize for the problem. Your name was the only one we could make out on the letter, and we were able to get your address. Please handle as you see fit. Very truly yours.
 Jack looked at the mangled letter. It was from Euro Life Insurance Company, based on the Isle of Gibraltar. It stated that Euro had determined that one William Davis was married to June Davis. Under the terms of the policy, since it paid double indemnity in the event of an accidental death, the benefit was $400,000, payable to Allison Southwest. Jack looked through the documents a second time before he looked up.
 "Did you know that they had insured Willie for $400,000?"
 "Lawdy, no, Mr. Bryant. Willie only made $20,000 a year. Why would anyone insure him for that kind of money? Besides, he retired from Allison fifteen years ago."
 "Good question. Let me keep these papers and the check. I'll get back to you in a couple of days."

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Photo provided courtesy of
Larry D. Thompson

Larry D. Thompson is a veteran trial lawyer and has drawn on decades of experience in the courtroom to produce his legal thrillers, of which Dead Peasants is his third. After graduating from the University of Texas School of Law, Thompson founded the Houston trial firm where he still serves as managing partner. The proud father of three grown children, he lives and works in Texas but spends his summers in Colorado, where he crafts his novels and hikes the mountains surrounding Vail. His greatest inspiration came from Thomas Thompson, his brother, who wrote many best-selling true-crime books and novels.

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Dead Peasants
Larry D. Thompson

Jack Bryant, exhausted after a high-profile career as a lawyer, takes an early retirement in Fort Worth, Texas, where he plans to kick back, relax, and watch his son play football at TCU. But then an elderly widow shows up with a check for life insurance benefits and that is suspiciously made payable to her dead husband's employer, Jack can't turn down her pleas for help and files a civil suit to collect the benefits rightfully due the widow.

A chain of events that can't be stopped thrusts Jack into a vortex of killings, and he and his new love interest find themselves targets of a murderer.

        

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