SCALES OF JUSTICE
by Mitchell S Karnes
May 13 – June 7, 2024 Virtual Book Tour
Synopsis:
Top assassin Graham Turner walks a delicate line as he tries to secretly solve the mystery of his parents’ “accidental” deaths. The truth is buried deep within a child’s forgotten past and an organization that demands secrecy and absolute devotion. His main obstacle is William Allen, Graham’s boss and legal guardian. A master of manipulation and control, William pits Graham and his brother Robert against one another like pawns on a chessboard. William’s idea of justice is kill or be killed.
Just as Graham discovers the identity of his parents’ murderer and sets out to exact his revenge, he falls in love and develops a conscience. Graham must choose between love or loyalty, forgiveness or revenge. In a world of gray, Graham must find the line between black and white, wrong and right.
Follow the parallel stories of Graham and his father, two assassins who become their own worst enemies.
Book Details:
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Thriller
Published by: Amazon
Publication Date: September 7, 2023
Number of Pages: 479
ISBN: 9798860779228
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads | MitchellSKarnes.com
Read an excerpt:
Chapter 1
āEase up, Champ,ā Graham whispered. āDonāt wear yourself out and make my job too easy.ā He removed the small envelope from the three-pronged plastic stick of the bouquet and opened it. āYou are the only Chance Iāll ever take. Have a great conference. Iāll see you next monthā¦and Iāll be keeping Atlanta hot for you!ā There was a little red heart sign and the name, āMary.ā Graham shook his head in disgust. āHe really does have a woman in every port.ā As soon as the noise subsided and Graham heard the shower water, he readied himself for the task at hand. He slipped into the shadows of the far corner of the den and waited for Chance to come to him. Graham didnāt have to wait long.
Chance opened the bedroom door and wrapped the fluffy white towel around his waist. He examined the damage to his brand-new white shirt. Twisting and turning it in his hands, he noted the two missing buttons, the slight tear, and the smudges of red lipstick. āOh well,ā he said and tossed the shirt in a nearby wastebasket. āWell worth it.ā Opening the fridge, he uncorked a chilled liqueur and chugged the miniature bottle. āWow, Stacey was tenacious!ā
Shelly, you idiot, Graham thought. He wanted to step out of the shadow and kill Chance right then, but he resisted the urge. All in due time, Graham, he assured himself.
āOh well, she served her purpose,ā Chance said. āNow how do I get rid of her before Janet calls?ā Chance walked back to the bedroom and returned with a gold ring. Putting it on his left hand and glancing one more time toward the sleeping naked woman in the bedroom, he lifted the phone to his mouth and said, āCall Janet.ā It rang onceā¦twiceā¦three times.
āHey, babe,ā came the sweet voice on the other end. āHowās your day been?ā
āDraining,ā Chance said with a smile as he looked back to the bedroom. āIt was a real struggle.ā
āOh, but Iām sure you kept up your end of the deal,ā she said. āNobody can stand up to my man.ā
āYou got that right.ā Chance heard laughter in the background of the phone and bristled defensively, āJanet, whoās that?ā
āOh, Iām at the ladiesā book club tonight. You want to talk to anyone?ā she asked.
āNo thanks,ā he said. āHey, I got to go. I need to get packing for the trip back.ā
āOkay, babe. I love you,ā she said and then hung up.
āYeah, yeah,ā Chance said and tossed the phone to the couch to the left of Graham. Chance suddenly noticed the flowers and walked over to examine the bouquet. āWhen did these getā¦ā He pulled out the note. āMaryā¦Maryā¦Maryā¦who the hellās Mary?ā He picked up the bouquet, smelled it once, and then walked it over to the trash can. He slapped the back of his neck. āWhat the hell?ā He twisted around and slapped again at the stinging sensation in the back of his neck.
āThe polistes annularis,ā the dark figure announced calmly. āOr as we say in Tennessee, āThe red paper wasp.āā He took a step back as Chance swung awkwardly at him. āBut you lawyersā¦you love all of that Latin mumbo-jumbo, donāt you?ā Chance fell to his knees. Graham took the opportunity to touch Chance once again with the wasp held delicately in his tweezers, this time stinging the front of his throat. Chance slapped at the wasp, but Graham pulled it safely away. āAhā¦ahā¦ah,ā Graham said with a shake of his head. āJust one more for good measure, if you donāt mind.ā He put the wasp to Chanceās temple, and it obliged once again with a deadly sting.
Chance uttered raspily, āWho are you?ā as he grabbed at the swelling lumps on his temple and neck. His tongue was swelling rapidly, and Graham could tell he was already struggling desperately to breathe.
āWho am I? I guess I owe you that much,ā Graham said. āWhat harm could it do?ā He squatted a few feet from Chance and scrutinized the desperation in his face and eyes. Chance clawed his way toward the bathroom, but it was so far away. āGraham Turner at your service.ā He studied his victim as Chanceās body convulsed. Graham laughed, not at Chanceās situation but his own last comment. āWell, I suppose Iām actually at the service of your wife Janet.ā
Chance stopped struggling and turned his swollen neck towards Graham. Was it a joke? Chance tried to say Janetās name, but his tongue was too swollen to utter any sound other than the heavy wheezing of each belabored breath. The couch within his reach, Chance crawled for it.
āLooking for this?ā Graham asked, waving Chanceās phone in front of him. āYou lawyers are way too predictable.ā He put the phone in his jacket pocket. āAnyway, you asked a question and we only have a few minutes at most, so let me explain while thereās time.ā Graham moved toward the bedroom door and waited there. Seeing Chance glance towards the bed, Graham said, āOh, donāt concern yourself with Shelly; I drugged her drink downstairs as soon as I saw your overt interest in her little black dress. Sheās out for at least another hour.ā
Graham smiled. He didnāt have to hear the words to know the thought. āYes, I do think of everything. Thatās why they pay me so much. But your wifeā¦ā Graham paused. āYes, your wife, she thinks of everything too. Quite a lady you have there. Well, I suppose I should speak in the past tense in that situation. Quite a lady you had, Chance.ā
The lawyerās neck was blowing up like a massive goiter and his face contorting so badly that Grahamās stomach heaved; he quickly stood and walked away as Chance struggled toward the bathroom. Looking out the window, Graham continued, āShe caught wind of your plan to leave her and cut her out of everythingā¦last year, I think.ā Graham couldnāt stand to see Chance struggle any longer. He moved back to him, stepped over the lump of flesh and said, āSave your energy, you wonāt find the epinephrine kit either.ā Chance collapsed; sobbing, quivering and moaning to his last gasp of breath. Graham removed the black gloves and replaced them with a set of blue latex gloves instead. He checked Chanceās wrist for any sign of a pulse. He waited and watched until he was absolutely certain Chance Harrington was dead from the anaphylactic shock. According to the research, Chance Harrington had a deadly allergy to wasp stingsā¦especially the red paper wasp. Graham set the wasp on Chanceās neck and used the dead manās hand to squash it. Finally, he put the dead wasp next to the bouquet Chance had dropped on the floor.
As he removed up any evidence of his own presence in the room and made certain the scene looked authentic for a bee sting, Graham said, āThanks, Maryā¦I owe you one.ā He closed the door, wiped the handle and waited for the elevator. He wasnāt about to walk back down fourteen flights of stairs, especially in Denver.
The elevator door opened, and Graham disappeared inside. One more dead body to lose in the endless count of bodiesā¦one more name to forgetā¦one more job to mark off as āZero Retribution,ā a job well done.
***
Excerpt from Scales of Justice by Mitchell S Karnes. Copyright 2024 by Mitchell S Karnes. Reproduced with permission from Mitchell S Karnes. All rights reserved.
Guest Post
Crafting Scales of Justice
Mitchell S Karnes
I am fully aware that an author is often judged by his first novel. Good or bad, it makes or breaks a potential career in writing. When I set out to write Scales of Justice, I intentionally wanted to create a multilayered story where the casual reader could enjoy the surface story, while the student of literature could continue to dig deeper and find precious nuggets of information. As a Christian, I also wanted to insert a subtle message of hope and redemption.
The inspiration arose, oddly enough, from a Daredevil comic book. The hero (Daredevil) longs to kill his nemesis (Bullseye) for taking the life of his girlfriend (Elektra). Following through with his desire for revenge would destroy everything heās lived for. Instantly, an image came to mind of an assassin playing Russian roulette with his mark. The book played before my mind like a movie. I let my imagination run free, and the story unfolded piece by piece with each click of the empty chamber. Back and forth I went between the mark and the assassin, each flashing back to his part of the story until finally, with the last pull of the trigger, their stories intertwined.
Unfortunately, I never could write the story as clearly or powerfully as it appeared in my mind. After seventeen unsuccessful attempts, I abandoned my efforts but left the Russian roulette scene for the climax of the novel. I intermixed threads of other characterās stories in the tale. Each major character battled with his or her own conflict, and all the conflicts ultimately wound together into one major conflict of the story. Own the truth, or the truth will own you. Each character (Graham, Robert, William, Claire, and Victor) held an important back story that I would expose little by little throughout Scales of Justice. Each character, held captive by a deep psychological flaw and a deadly secret, struggled to survive and overcome. Each longed to be free.
I completed the novel, which at that time I entitled Crossing the Line. I pitched it to a publisher, and he accepted it with several conditions. First, he insisted that I combine Crossing the Line with Sins of the Fathers (the prequel that would follow the suspense/mystery of Grahamās story). How in the world could I do that? If I put the two stories together, there would be no mystery. If you knew the tale of the fathers, you would know the answer to the mystery of the sons. But the publisher was insistent. He would not publish one without the other. I finally discovered the answer and alternated between the two time periods, slowly revealing each story and its stages of the conflict. I was so excited when I resubmitted the novel.
My excitement was short-lived. The publisherās second condition was that I sit down with his editor and accept his changes. He wanted two new characters. He wanted more erotica. He wanted some vulgar language. After all, he argued, these were assassins. The last detail he insisted on was a different ending. I struggled. I was about to publish my first novel if I was willing to concede my will to his. On the other hand, he was insisting on things that clashed with my Christian values. He did, however, have a point that these characters were not Christians and would not be restrained by my values. Then a wonderful thought came to me. I could solve much of the issue with a desire for control. What if the assassinās boss insisted on appearances and etiquette? If he did, he could ban the use of vulgar language. The publisher accepted my proposal. We compromised on the other conditions. Unfortunately, after months of work, the publisher decided to drop his fiction line and focus his efforts on gardening books. I was devastated!
My father encouraged me to self-publish the novel, so I did. I hated the original cover and discovered there were over forty books with the same title, Crossing the Line. Decades later, I picked up the book and revised it the way I wanted it. I kept the intertwined stories of the fathers and the sons, but I changed what I wanted to change and had a new title and cover created. Scales of Justice is my favorite book and represents life with all its disappointments and opportunities. My father once said, āBe true to yourself. Youāre the only person you have to live with the rest of your life.ā That theme plays well into the heart of Scales of Justice.
Can an assassin find forgiveness? Is Godās love deep enough to forgive murder? Can we be freed from our past, or are we doomed to its curse? Follow the story of Graham Turner and his father, two assassins who longed to walk away from their past. Enjoy the surface story and dig deep into the symbolism of Scales of Justice. Feel free to interact with me via my website (mitchellskarnes.com). Iād love to discuss any aspect of the story with you, and I eagerly await your thoughts.
Author Bio:
Mitchell S Karnes is a husband, father of seven, and grandfather of nine. Mitchell uses his experience and insights as a minister, counselor, and educator to write and speak on challenging issues and concerns with an ever-growing audience. He has published five novels, three short stories, a one-act play, and numerous Bible study lessons. He is now working on a new series featuring Abbey Rhodes, a Nashville Homicide Detective.
Through two separate battles against Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, God has given Mitchell a new perspective on life that challenges him to create stories to not only entertain audiences but call them to action. Mitchell’s mission is to reach and reconcile those who have been disillusioned with God and His church and inspire the church to live out the love of Christ Jesus in a broken and hurting world.
Catch Up With Mitchell S Karnes:
Instagram – @mitchellskarnesauthor
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