JUNGLE OF DECEIT

[MaMiller]

JUNGLE OF DECEIT is a romantic adventure.

Mitch Hasslet, a war photojournalist relegated to a desk job, is the sole witness to a heist of Mayan artifacts. Recruited by the enigmatic director of the Museum of Art and Antiquities, Mitch is sent to Guatemala, the last location the shipment was tracked to. Acting as the museum staff photographer, Mitch joins a group of archaeologists. His goal is to locate the artifacts as swiftly as possible so that he can collect his compensation and get the hell out of the jungle.

Alexandra Langley is about to run out of funds. She has yet to discover the lost Mayan civilization she knows lurks in the rainforest. To achieve her grant, she will accept the museum's latest nuisance, Mitch Hasslet, and any other obstacle that is sent her way.

Unsuccessful and desperate, Alex has decided to move the group to a portion of the jungle referred to as, “No Man’s Land”−a sector where archaeological teams have ventured but never returned.

As Mitch and Alex discover romance, will their bond protect them in a jungle filled with deceit?

[MaMiller]

I was remiss...I meant to share an excerpt from JUNGLE OF DECEIT

Chuck had gone ahead to check the trail one last time. It was almost a relief to have him out of her hair. Between him and Wes, their disapproval of her intended destination was stifling. It wasn’t as if she was crossing that barrier—that unseen line where people had gone missing over the past few years. No, they would be a good forty miles from the sector labeled No Man’s Land on Chuck’s map.

Alex would never jeopardize the safety of her crew, particularly considering most were college students, too young to know any better on their own. Maybe she was barely ten years older than most of them, but it might as well have been a lifetime. Youth was something that fascinated her, but she felt a strange disassociation with it.

Again Alex’s gaze returned to the photographer. He swiped a hand through hair made darker by perspiration. The hair was nice to look at, but her focus was on that hand. Big and scarred with nicks. A man’s hand.

That rogue thought spurred Alex to slam down the trunk of the Jeep. The sound drew the photographer’s attention her way and she met his eyes.

Midnight blue.

They reminded her of the ponds that provided sanctuary from the rigors of this dig. Cloistered by palm fronds, those small bodies of stagnant water discharged curls of steam on sultry mornings. Each pond was a temple to her. Each a retreat.
And Mitch Hasslet’s eyes looked exactly like the dark shadows at their depths.

Alex jerked her glance away. Maybe the move of their camp would improve her sudden treacherous thoughts. Yes, of course it would. A new challenge in an uncharted jungle. Land that no archeologist had covered.

Well, she couldn’t say that was true.

If an archeologist had—they never returned to tell about it.

JUNGLE OF DECEIT

[MaMiller]

I would love to share the trailer for JUNGLE OF DECEIT with you! Please grab a handful of popcorn.

Maureen A. Miller Trailers!

[MaMiller]

- JUNGLE OF DECEIT

“No!” he lurched up.

Red strobes contrasted with the stark interior of his tent to reveal a woman with long black hair sitting in the corner.

One gasp. Another. Soon Mitch began to disassociate the nightmare from the screeching nocturnal pitch of the jungle. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again the woman was gone.

Damn, I hate night sounds.

He considered turning on the flashlight, but the even breathing nearby reminded him that he shared this little canvas hell with Wes and Chuckles. His fingers wrapped around the aluminum cylinder as he hoisted out of the tent into the energetic heart of the jungle.

Night sounds. This jungle was full of them.

Reluctant to flick on the flashlight, Mitch relied on brief flashes of moonlight to aid with his getaway.

He explored the camp with the limited light. What in God’s name was he hoping for—to catch a glimpse of a crate marked with the HAA insignia? If he was successful, Nicholson had promised to use his connections to get him back into a lucrative photojournalist career. Although, if he was successful, he didn’t think he’d need the museum director’s influence.

Mitch broadened his circle around the site until he was tucked deep in a thicket of trees, far enough away to risk using the flashlight. He flicked on the beacon and stifled a shout as startled red eyes stared him dead on.

The disturbed kinkajou, a raccoon-like mammal, swung upside down from one of the branches and blinked curiously at Mitch. Recovering from the shock, he continued his loop, careful this time not to lose track of the camp. He only had a few hours until he was scheduled to meet up with Alexandra.

What was disturbing was how much he was looking forward to that.

[MaMiller]

Jungle Of Deceit is on sale for the holidays for only .99 cents!

You can find this romantic adventure at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Amazon

[MaMiller]

You can find this romantic adventure at Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Amazon

Excerpt:

“And what made the doctor move to this sector?” Mitch asked when he was knee-deep in ferns and unable to spot the ground beneath him.

Chuck stopped, lifting the bottom of his shirt to swipe the perspiration from his forehead.

“You mean you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“That no one else has been here.”

One glimpse up at the ceiling of writhing limbs, uncertain whether they were branches or indigenous reptiles, Mitch observed, “Understandable. But you sound cryptic. Why does no one come here?”

“Well…” Chuck seemed reluctant to embellish, “−there have been others—others who have.” He paused, glancing over his shoulder as if to confirm no one had followed them.
“But they never returned. Not one single member of any party that traveled to this region ever returned. The area is marked on the map as No Man’s Land.”

At that moment, a macaw screeched an eerie warning, and Mitch flinched.

“You’re pulling my leg.” He tried to sound composed. “Let’s spook the photographer, huh?”

“Would I purposely try to scare you?” Chuck grinned. “I wish I had thought of that.”

He pushed a branch aside and looked back. “Personally, I believe that a group or two have come in here, ran into some problems…hell, get bit by the right thing, or have a run in with a Fer-de-lance, and you’re doomed. Anyway, over the years, those little tales have escalated into hordes of archeologists gone missing. It’s become nothing more than campfire fodder,” Chuck frowned. “You know what I’m saying?”

Mitch doubted the man’s levity. And it was hard for him to form any conjecture without knowing the facts. “How many people are you talking? How many have gone missing?”

“Five that I know of. There have been reports of others, but like I said, the frenzy of gossip could have jacked the count up.”