BOGGED DOWN
An ancient bog hidden away in a forest is the perfect backdrop for murder…
BOGGED DOWN is a mystery set on Vashon Island, a place that has been described as Mayberry-meets-Burning Man. Its motto: Keep Vashon Weird.
Lavender (Lew) Lewis moved there because it is only a twenty-minute ferry ride from Seattle, yet light years away in tempo and character. She grew up on a commune in Alaska, joined the army at 17, does woods parkour for exercise and HR investigations to earn a living. Life in her waterfront cabin with her two food-obsessed cats is predictable and relatively stress free. Until she leads a tour group into an ancient bog on the island and discovers a body.
Here's an excerpt for your
reading pleasure.
Prologue
The air was still. The silence
absolute. The white flowers of a Labrador tea plant growing in the deep peat
moss were motionless. Birds were either foraging elsewhere or resting in the red
cedars near the edge of the pond. Even the frogs were quiet. A hapless insect
broke the silence and landed on the sticky hairs of a hungry sundew. It
struggled to free itself but was slowly suffocated and absorbed by the
carnivorous plant. Then again all was still.
Until a bubble released a whoosh
of air and a body, half submerged in the murky pond, sank to the bottom.
Chapter 1
A Hand Up
Twelve people clustered along a
seldom-used path under overhanging conifers. It was a warm day, almost 80
degrees in the sun but 10 degrees cooler in the shade. Most of those present
had complied with our suggestion that they wear boots or sturdy shoes. Only one
was wearing tennis shoes, a round-bellied middle-aged man in a T-shirt that
said, “Cheat on your girlfriend not your
workout.” I could have mentioned to him that in places along the trail the
moss ranged from damp to soggy to downright mucky. He was going to find it hard
to avoid sinking to the top of his pristine white Nikes. On the other hand,
he’d been warned. And I didn’t like his T-shirt.
“You the guide?” a young woman
asked me. “I thought Anna was going to be our guide.”
“She called in sick,” I said,
wondering as soon as the words were out whether that was something Anna would
have wanted everyone to know.
“Oh,” the young woman said,
sounding disappointed, even without knowing anything about me. Not only was it
my first time to take a group through Whistling Pete Bog, I was a poor
substitute for several reasons. First of all, I didn’t know much about the bog
beyond the few facts I’d committed to memory at the last minute. Second, I’m
not a people person. When I agreed to fill in for Anna, I was admonished to be
polite and not kid around too much. Apparently, my reputation for being
outspoken and at times flippant were not preferred qualities for a bog tour
guide. My redeeming quality was that I was available.
There was some chitchat while a
young volunteer for the Island Land Stewards passed around the sign-in sheet
and collected fees from those who hadn’t paid yet. But most of those present
had their cell phones out, passing the time by doing whatever it was people do
on their cell phones while standing next to someone they could be talking to. A
few were taking pictures to document the start of their adventure.
I’m on the board for the Island
Land Stewards, the owners of the bog. Our Executive Director twisted my arm to
lead the tour. The main instruction I received from him, other than sticking to
the script, was to keep everyone on the path. The bog was a unique and fragile
ecosystem. Damaged flora could take years rather than days to recover. That’s
why tours were limited to small groups and only happened once a year. The rest
of the time Whistling Pete Bog on Vashon Island was a well-kept secret by those
who cared about its existence. It is one of only two such bogs on the island,
both owned by our organization. It is on a side road toward the south end of
the island but doesn’t appear on any of the tourist maps. The small roadside
sign that identified it was obscured by trees and bushes. Most people, tourists
and residents alike, would fly past the overgrown path without a clue that it
led to such an amazing place.
When it was time to get under way, I took a deep breath and started the introductory spiel that I’d memorized the night before.
“Approximately 11,000 years ago
the glacier that covered this area finally receded and left behind a
depression. The land here was lined with glacial till which kept the water from
seeping out, so a small pond was formed. Slowly, very slowly sphagnum moss grew
outward from the edges of the water. And I do mean ‘slowly’–one foot every
thousand years.
“So,” I ad-libbed, “if you think
your tomato plants aren’t doing well this summer–.” I paused for a few
appreciative chuckles before continuing.
When I’d completed my script
about the bog’s history, I jumped right into an explanation of what they could
expect from the path ahead–uneven ground, roots poking up, an occasional detour
around trees that blocked the way, soft ground, mud, puddles. From the looks on
their faces, you would have thought I was about to lead them on an exotic
safari rather than an hour’s trek on a tame if uncultivated path. The bog’s
unique environment and the secrecy surrounding its very existence gave it cachet
and an aura of mystery.
We started off through a thick
fir and cedar forest. There was no breeze. The large branches overhead were as
still as paintings. Except for the muted sound of footfalls and a few hushed
conversations, it felt like we were entering another world, a magical place of
giant trees and spongy ground. Everyone knew we weren’t the first people to
journey into the bog. Still, I had to admit, it felt special, even to me.
BOGGED DOWN is available at the following sites: Amazon - B&N - Vashon Bookshop - IndieBound
Meet the
Author
Currently, she is the VP for
Puget Sound Sisters in Crime and lives and writes on Vashon Island in
Washington State’s Puget Sound. She spends time each day entertained by herons,
seals, eagles, and other wildlife.
For more on the author and her writing, you can connect with her on the following sites:
Website - www.charlottestuart.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/quirkymysteries
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.stuart.mysterywriter
GoodReads - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19305587.Charlotte_Stuart
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/clzstuart/?hl=en
Thanks for stopping by today. You can follow Charlotte’s tour by visiting the blogs below. Also be sure to enter the giveaway. If the Rafflecopter widget doesn’t appear, you can enter the giveaway by clicking HERE.
Happy Friday the 13th! Doesn’t Vashon Island sound like an interesting place to visit?
November 4 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
November 4 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, GUEST POST
November 5 – The Ninja Librarian – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
November 6 – Christy's Cozy Corners - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY
November 6 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
November 7 – Literary Gold – EXCERPT
November 8 – Gimme The Scoop Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 9 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT
November 10 – Ascroft, eh? - CHARACTER INTERVIEW
November 11 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
November 12 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST
November 14 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
November 15 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
November 16 – My Reading Journeys- REVIEW
November 17 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
I suspect that bogs the world over have been used to conceal crimes. Some more successfully than others.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Charlotte. And, as a PS I 'might' have ensured that the 'gentleman' in the white shoes got quite grubby quite quickly. His shape suggests he cheats on this workout too.
Oh, I really like the bog as a setting for a mystery novel, Mason! It's just perfect! Lots of history, atmosphere, danger, and more. And the story sounds interesting, too. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteBogged Down sounds like a great book!
ReplyDelete