While out fly-fishing for trout on his favorite stream, Roscoe police chief Matt Davis stumbles across the remains of a body, barely recognizable as human, killed approximately six months earlier. With no physical evidence, no I.D. and no suspects, it's up to Chief Davis to not only find the murderer, but to also discover the identity of the victim.
Follow three potential victims prior to the murder—any one of whom could be destined for death—as they make there way toward Roscoe. Only two will survive, but which two?
Opening Day is the second in the Matt Davis Mystery Series, and picks up where As the Twig is Bent left off and is a 2012 Indie B.R.A.G. Medallion honoree.
Opening Day has sold thousands of copies, and also received a prestigious Indie BRAG Medallion. Published in 2010, it is currently ranked #1915 in the Kindle book store under police procedurals.
Forty minutes have passed, and I’ve already worked my way nearly a quarter mile upstream from where I started. The rule of thumb I follow is “When the fishing is slow, fish fast…” It doesn’t take a genius to supply the converse to the much-quoted adage. Fortunately, success in this, my favorite sport, is not measured for me in quantity, but in the quality of the experience. Almost as a punctuation mark to that philosophy, I take a deep breath to experience the early spring air. But, something’s not quite right. The scent of the pines is there alright, but there’s another odor intermingled with the microscopic molecules given off by the towering conifers. I’ve smelled this smell before, I think. It has a sour quality to it. Dead animal? Maybe a drowned rodent. Whatever its cause, the smell is getting stronger as I make my way upstream, apparently toward its source. Probably a deer, I think. Got to be something big. “Whew!” Damn that stinks!
Up ahead is a logjam of broken boughs, caught among a collection of small boulders in the middle of the water. In the center of the pile of debris is a dark shape that doesn’t quite fit the eye. Funny, I think, it doesn’t look like a deer. The color doesn’t seem right. The smell is overpowering now, and I have to cover my nose to avoid being sick, for there’s no mistaking the odor; it is a smell with which I am very familiar, being a former homicide detective. It is the smell of death—and it’s human.
Suddenly, I am very relieved that Val is not with me.
(COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL © 2010 Joseph Perrone Jr.)
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Italian
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Already translated.
Translated by Stefania Parente and Alessandra Elisa Paganin
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Rodrigo Ramia
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by María Fernanda Trapani
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Author review: Maria was really cooperative and easy to work with. |
