First Steps Publishing

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Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

A Deceptive Spirit: A Shelly Gale Mystery Book 3

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Release Date: April 11, 2025

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A small town in chaos. A family under siege. A faith that endures.

“Calling all units! Calling all units! Code Orange at the Pilotview Mall. All officers report immediately.”

When Lieutenant Curly Rogers heard the dispatcher’s words over the radio, fear gripped his heart. Flipping on the patrol car’s sirens and lights, he turned around, praying Shelly had finished shopping.

He again tried to reach his wife by phone, but it went straight to voicemail.
– – –
Fresh off their adventurous honeymoon cruise, Shelly, Curly, and their adopted son, Tucker, are ready to settle into family life in the quiet town of Pilotview, North Carolina. While Curly returns to work at the station, Shelly dives into her new life as a wife and mom. But their peaceful plans are thrown into turmoil when a bomb rocks the local mall, sending Shelly to the hospital and leaving Curly and Tucker scrambling for answers.

As more chaos unfolds, Curly is thrust into the center of a community unraveling at the seams. Who set off the bomb? Will Shelly survive? Who’s stealing Jed’s meat? And can Tucker finally find peace in his new family.

Join Curly, Shelly, and Tucker as they navigate heartache, danger, and redemption in this unforgettable story of love, faith, and second chances.


– – –

A blend of suspense, faith, and hope, A Deceptive Spirit delves into the struggles of conquering fear and the resilience of a community by their faith in God. This thrilling sequel to A Vengeful Spirit and A Covetous Spirit addresses serious themes while also reminding readers of the unshakable peace found in Jesus.

Shelly Gale Mystery series by Lizzy Armentrout
Available everywhere books are sold.
AMAZON  |  B&N

A Vengeful Spirit, Shelly Gale Mystery Book 1

A Covetous Spirit, Shelly Gale Mystery Book 2

A Deceptive Spirit, Shelly Gale Mystery Book 3

Beware the Shifting Sands by Mark Macedonia – Murder and Secrets in 1920s South Dakota

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Release Date: March 15, 2024

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In 1928, war veteran turned New York City detective Parker Simms returns to his South Dakota roots, seeking refuge from a Teapot Dome Scandal fallout. But when a sinister killer links their gruesome crimes to “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” Simms is thrust into a relentless pursuit of justice.

Recruiting the help of former flame turned schoolteacher, Sandra Groves, and her fiancé, history professor Archie Yeager, Simms dives into a labyrinth of secrets, exposing extortion, nativism, prejudice, and racism within the 1920s Black Hills society.

As they follow the twisted clues, suspicion blankets local law enforcement, Klansmen, indigenous Lakota people, and even the intended victims themselves. Simms must unravel the enigma, where fiction and reality blur, and deceit conceals the true monsters.

[Read more…] about Beware the Shifting Sands by Mark Macedonia – Murder and Secrets in 1920s South Dakota

2023 International Book Awards Finalist, Horror: SPECTER, the Lazarus Project

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S.P.E.C.T.E.R. - The Lazarus Project, Book 1Congratulations to Carrie Merrill,

2023 International Book Award – Horror, Award Finalist

SPECTER, The Lazarus Project, Book 1 SPECTER series

When gifted homicide detective Ryan Mills is recruited to a top-secret FBI division known as S.P.E.C.T.E.R., the world of the supernatural becomes more real than she could have ever imagined. She is introduced to an incredible device known as Lazarus, which can replay the events of a crime with the smallest pieces of available evidence. With the help of her new partner, Special Agent Sam Masters, and Dr. Matthew Holbrook, the research scientist who created Lazarus, Ryan is plunged into the paranormal exploration of unsolved murders. [Read more…] about 2023 International Book Awards Finalist, Horror: SPECTER, the Lazarus Project

SPECTER ~ The Lazarus Project, A Paranormal Suspense Thriller

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S.P.E.C.T.E.R. - The Lazarus Project, Book 1
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~ A PARANORMAL SUSPENSE THRILLER

See all Books by Carrie Merrill

In the afterglow, the grid vanished, and Ryan’s breath caught in her throat when she saw what remained. There was Jean, walking through her living room just as she had imagined her. Except, this woman was outlined in a halo of blue light—a hologram with every living detail that had been Jean—when she was alive. [Read more…] about SPECTER ~ The Lazarus Project, A Paranormal Suspense Thriller

Time of Death, Not all Secrets Stay Buried by Carrie Merrill

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Time of Death, Not All Secrets Stay Buried, by Carrie Merrill
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Evan Jenson finds herself lost in a world between life and death, but something else is there with her. Something sinister, demanding that its secrets be revealed.

~ A PARANORMAL GHOSTLY THRILLER

See all Books by Carrie Merrill
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Dr. Evan Jensen is a fourth-year resident in a General Surgery program at St. John’s Hospital in Chicago, where she must face life and death decisions on a daily basis. After she is the passenger in a horrific car accident, she is taken to the same trauma hospital where she works. Comatose and with life-threatening injuries, random and misty images dance around in her silent brain. Evan finds herself lost in a world between life and death, but something else is there with her. Something sinister and terrifying. [Read more…] about Time of Death, Not all Secrets Stay Buried by Carrie Merrill