High school senior Decker Savage, burdened by his baby brother’s
death and dreading his parents’ impending divorce, sees his mother
with a scruffy stranger and follows him to a dark house. He hears shouts
upstairs, a man hits the floor, and the culprit escapes. Decker follows the
victim’s ambulance. Through their mutual love of baseball, they become
friends; but the elderly man can’t remember who attacked him, and
Decker fears the assailant will return. His grades crater, his relationships
go south, his baseball skills are erratic, and by entering the man’s
house, he broke the law.
He suffers anonymous attacks and receives threatening notes: if he
doesn’t forget the man and the house, he, his family, and his friend
will be the next victims. Will Decker be able to uncover the culprit’s
identity, solve the mystery, and stop the attacks?
About the Author
Nancy G. West was a University of Texas business major who switched to
English literature in grad school and discovered that writing fiction was a
lot more fun than accounting. Her April 2025 novel, RISKY PURSUIT, with its
young, resourceful protagonist, multiple adult POVs, and themes of family,
loss, risk, grief, secrets, danger, and courage, should appeal to readers
ages 14 and up.
She’s also the author of the Lefty-Award-nominated Aggie Mundeen
rom/com mysteries, and the psychological suspense novel, Nine Days to
Evil.
Her mystery/suspense novella, THE PLUNGE, was a June 2019 selection for
ALA’s book club.
Carly, Maddie, Pilot and Cornelious have been waiting forever for their Seniors Only Cruise. After three years of solving crime in their small town, this trip is the relaxing break from Asbury they need. Dreaming of all the fun and drama-free adventures in store for them, the gang settles in for a calm summer cruise.
Soon after departing, things don’t go quite as planned. With strange, new additions to their itinerary, Asbury’s favorite sleuths detect something is amiss. When violence breaks out, Cornelious turns to the captain who quickly reassures everyone aboard. After all, what reason would the crew have to mess with a group of teenagers? Adding to their troubles is Cornelious’ cousin Dane, whose feelings for Maddie have only grown stronger.
Excited to be away from his father and finally dating Maddie, Cornelious tries to ignore his cousin as his insecurities fester. After a stirring revelation from Dane, Cornelious retreats from his friends and finds solace in the ship’s jolly Captain Dex. At the same time, Carly, Maddie and Pilot begin to suspect the crew, believing there’s more than meets the eye with this cruise. Frustrated by Cornelious’ withdrawal, the gang doubles down on their efforts to discover the crew’s motives. Pulled into a dangerous game of who to trust, the gang is determined to find the truth—and mend their friendship.
With relationships called into question and stunning secrets exposed, the gang faces their biggest obstacle yet—trust. Can Cornelious trust the captain more than his friends? With their peers placing blind trust in the crew, can the gang convince them otherwise, before it’s too late? Or are Pilot, Carly and Maddie just overreacting? With constantly changing itineraries, a scheming crew lurking behind every door, a happy-go-lucky captain refusing to dig deeper, and lifelong relationships put to the test, can the gang rekindle their relationship with each other and figure out what’s really going on?
About the Author
Growing up just over the bridge from Ocean City, NJ in Upper Township meant discovering plenty of fun places to both read, write, and run around outside like a maniac. For as long as she could remember, Kelly loved making up stories, and leaving her listeners/readers on the edge of their seats.
After graduating from Ocean City High School, Kelly accepted a basketball scholarship to Holy Family University, in Philadelphia. Upon graduating college, Kelly continued to live in Philly, teaching for four years, and meeting the love of her life during a snowstorm. In fact, it was her awesome husband who encouraged her to pursue her writing–Yay, Ryan!
Before writing page-turners however, she taught first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth grade — like a dessert menu, she simply had to test them all out. But her favorite job is the one she’s now doing full time: writing.
As her first published work, the Asbury High series has been brewing since she was 18, and has something for every type of reader–go ahead take look for yourself! If you love mysteries, you’ve found your new favorite author. Kelly loves to craft whodunit mysteries, leading readers through various twists and turns filled with red-herrings, hidden clues, and more peculiar characters than a reality show. As an athlete, she hopes that the importance of teamwork and overcoming adversity, is also quite clear in her writing
Kelly lives in South Jersey with her handsome husband, energetic baby boys, two cookie-stealing dogs, and an awfully smart cat. If you want to know when Kelly’s next book will come out, please visit her website at http://www.kbchannick.com, where you can sign up to receive emails providing updates for new releases, or contact her directly, as well as win fun giveaways, and receive up to date news.
