Thursday's Special Is...Don't Ever Tell!

DON'T EVER TELL by Brandon Massey

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"The talented Mr. Massey has the rare knack of grabbing the reader early and not letting go. In this relentlessly gripping novel the hold only gets tighter as the pages turn. Massey knows how to ratchet up the suspense. Tell everyone that DON'T EVER TELL is a crackling good thriller."—John Lutz, New York Times Bestselling Author

"Put the kids to bed, let the cat out, throw another log on the fire, you will not stop turning the pages of Brandon Massey's DON'T EVER TELL until you've gobbled every last morsel. A diabolical rocket sled of a book, this story is deceptively simple, carefully crafted out of lean, mean prose; but the pay-off is shattering--a tour de force of psychological suspense. Old grudges, dark secrets, and a ticking time bomb of a villain add up to an irresistible read. Highly recommended."—Jay Bonansinga, National Bestselling Author

Read the following excerpt, and answer the questions that follow for a chance to win a free copy of "Don't Ever Tell." Or, stop by and chat with Brandon!!!

Excerpt:

Tim Price was watching television behind the counter when Joshua entered the electronics shop. His mop of brown hair even more disheveled than usual—and that was saying a lot—Tim smoked a cigarette and sipped coffee from a Styrofoam cup. He scowled at Joshua’s entrance.

“Hey, man,” Joshua said.

“You back already?” Tim asked.

That day, Tim wore a long black tee shirt that read, in giant red and green text, “It’s a Black Thing—You Wouldn’t Understand.”

“Interesting shirt,” Joshua said.

“It’s a vintage shirt, dude. From like the 80s. Classic.”

Joshua heard a Public Enemy song playing on the stereo at low volume. His memory of the track’s title was fuzzy, but he thought it was “Fight the Power.”

“Is this Black Pride Day in Price Electronics?” Joshua asked.

“I appreciate all cultures, my brother,” Tim said and nodded sagely. He blew out a ring of smoke and grinned.

“Whatever. I need your help again.”

“With?”

Joshua placed the satchel on the counter and opened it. He withdrew the laptop and the cell phone.

“First, I need access to this computer. When I turn it on, I get stuck at the log on screen when it asks me for a password.”

Tim took a puff on his smoke, frowned.

“You don’t know your own password? Even when I’m at my most stoned, I remember my freakin’ passwords, dude.”

“This isn’t my computer. It’s my wife’s.”

“Then, duh? Why not ask her the password?”

He was not about to tell Tim what had happened. Although Tim was a friend, they had never shared details of their private lives with each other. Theirs was mostly a friendship that revolved around their work and hobbies.

“She’s not around for me to ask,” Joshua said.

“Your lady creeping around on you?”

“What?”

“Okay, it’s none of my business. But if you want some advice . . .”

“You ever been married, Tim?”

Tim blinked. “You crazy? Hell, no, that’s like, legalized bondage.”

“Exactly. So no, I don’t want any advice.”

“Suit yourself.” Tim shrugged, slid the laptop toward him and raised the lid. “What’re you looking for on here?”

“I need to look through some files. I’m not exactly sure which ones yet.”

“This is highly unethical, you know,” Tim said. “Invading your wife’s privacy and all. You one of those ultra-jealous, stalker husbands? Like that guy in that Julia Roberts movie, Sleeping with the Enemy or whatever?”

“It’s for a good reason, Tim, I promise.”

Squinting at Joshua, Tim tapped ashes into a tray that looked like a hollowed-out mouse pad.

“All right, look,” he said, “I can probably get in, but it’s not gonna help you much if she trashed all the files. She might’ve covered her tracks or whatever. I can recover deleted files, but that can get a little hairy.”

“Let’s deal with that later. I just want to get on the system and see what I find.”

Tim pointed at the cell phone with his cigarette. “What about that?”

“It has a password, too.”

“Damn, your wife is like, super private with her stuff. Who puts a password on a freakin’ cell phone?”

“She did.”

“What the heck is she hiding, man? Like, government secrets or something?”

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Questions:

1) How many hours of television does Brandon watch each day?
2) Make up your own t-shirt slogan: stick within the categories of books, writers, vegetarians, Brandon, or small, furry animals
3) Ahhh…. Marital advice. The gift that keeps on giving. Share a piece of advice that has helped you or a loved one enjoy bliss (PG-rated please!)