Sunday Snippet: Underbelly

Happy Father's Day to the dads out there, including fur dads and mentors. We've got beautiful weather after a very soggy week.

My work projects are bringing me so much joy right now. The books are so amazing! Also heard from one of my authors on two new stories he's got percolating right now. And I got a text message from one of my current authors that completely made my weekend. So … work is awesome right now.

Had a very good viewing week. I ended up doubling up on a couple of shows because the mood struck.

Ended up catching two episodes of the Brokenwood Mysteries. Both were pretty great. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting another one of Mike's ex-wives. And my heart kind of broke for him by the end of that episode. I'll probably finish out season nine this week.

Finished the complete run of available Classic Who episodes. Have to say in retrospect, it's weird how there have been seven doctors and only one master. That said, I'm actually kind of happy with how Seven's tenure ended. Not sure if I'll watch the movie with Eight or just skip over to New Who. It might be a few weeks before I start that.

Caught the second part of Silent Witness. This two-parter ended up being very twisty and I liked it. Looking forward to starting a new one this week.

Watched two episodes of Death in Paradise. I'm enjoying watching from the beginning in chronological order. It's nice to see how the original group came together.

Enjoyed the penultimate episode of Only Murders in the Building. What a cool twist or three. Can't wait to watch the finale this week.

Caught another episode of Classic Rugrats. This is my nostalgia show. I have so many great memories of watching this when my kiddos were little.

Watched an episode of Peak Practice. Joanna breaks my heart sometimes. And we're nearing the end of season nine when things don't go so well for her.

Continued my rewatch of Battlestar Galactica with a double-header of "Home Part I and II." These are two of my favorite episodes of season two. The fleet is brought back together, and the acting is stellar.

Enjoyed another episode of Madame Blanc Mysteries. Very interesting development at the end. I have a feeling I'll either love or hate the twist.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from Underbelly, a novella with an urban noir vibe and characters who get to pull off a heist.

Here's the mini-blurb:

Jarrod Steele is a private investigator who deals with the weird and the unknown and can find anything his clients want. His super-efficient assistant, Maylin Rose, along with her unique skill set, makes sure of it.

And a preview snippet…

Jarrod reached out through a looking glass spell. As predicted, his harpy of a grandmother ignored his call attempts for a full hour.

When he finally got through, Sopharella Whetstone snapped and sniped. "You know I don't appreciate being summoned via a spell. If you want to speak to me, you can come to the estate." Her tone oozed censure.

Jarrod bit back. "Considering I don't know where you are twenty-four hours a day, which estate should I try first?" It could take him days to figure out which home she happened to be staying in.

She snarked. "If you bothered keeping in touch, you'd know where I am."

Jarrod shot back. "Yet, you don't answer calls or spell-casts until it suits you. Kind of makes it hard to find out where you are." He arched his brows. "See the problem?" He bit his tongue to avoid saying more.

She harrumphed. "Touché. What do you want?" Her image wavered a little then grew stronger.

She'd added her considerable power to the spell.

Jarrod got to the point. "What do you know about Aston Pemburke?"

Her lips puckered. "Bah! Nouveaux magick. Bought and paid for by the Pemburkes. Not worth my time." She sent a piercing stare his way. "Why are you wasting yours with him?" Her tone had curiosity laced through it.

Jarrod didn't answer, instead he replied. "He almost got me killed tonight. And I know there's something not showing in his background."

Her visage softened a little. "Are you hurt? Did he cause harm to you?" She couldn't quite keep the concern from her voice.

Jarrod grunted. "I'm fine. But if he didn't set me up, I want to know who did."

Grandma Sophie demanded a full account. "Start at the beginning and tell me everything."

Jarrod shook his head. "I'm bound by my contract to keep the details under wraps." His reluctance to share went deep with her.

She snapped. "If I don't have all the details, I can't provide the right information."

Jarrod snorted. "Meaning you can't give out the crumbs you choose to like ammunition if I don't provide a big enough target." No way would he give her cannon fodder to use against another family.

She waved her hand. "Not this time. Whatever you say goes to my grave. I won't have your life threatened."

Unless she did the threatening.

Jarrod gave her the rundown. She listened without interrupting—for once—and nodded several times.

Leaning forward, she asked one question. "Did the Pemburkes purchase this cube or steal it?"

Jarrod lifted his chin. "According to my research, they bought it. There's a transfer of ownership in the archives."

She settled back in her chair. "The short answer is Aston has a sister whose relationship has been expunged from the family records. She married an up-and-coming magick monger named Jayson Barrowman." Her face twisted in distaste. "The cube works on a blood imprint, meaning anyone with the family DNA can wield the power." She paused a moment. "And the power could be astronomical. Barrowman will, no doubt, want to use it for nefarious purposes."

Jarrod growled. "Son of a bitch." He wanted to smash Aston Pemburke in the mouth.

His grandmother huffed out an exasperated sigh. "What on earth are you doing with a group of lowlifes like them?"

Jarrod matched her biting tone. "Getting paid. Thanks for the help, Grandmother." He cut the conference off with a wave of his hand.

He'd pay later. The next time he needed help.

Rising from the table, he hissed out his frustration. "Stupid class wars." But, damn, the hierarchy aspect explained a thing or two.

I love this couple! There might be a possibility of more adventures if the sages cooperate.

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye