Death Roll by Diana Welker

Welcome!  Death by Committee by Alexis Morgan is the debut novel in An Abby McCree Mystery series. comes out on January 22.  Pruning the Dead by Julia Henry releases on January 29.  The Promised Amish Bride by Marta Perry is now out in paperback.  It releases on e-book on February 1.  It is the third novel in Brides of Lost Creek series.

Diana Welker lives part time in the Midwest and part-time in the Southeast.  Her thirty year business career revolved around gems and gold.  After leaving the jewelry industry, she freelanced for a regional magazine writing articles of local interest.  Her love of reading and storytelling resulted in a second career of writing romance novels sprinkled with mystery and jewels of all types.

She also writes short stories and has a short story entitled “Tickle Pink” in the Southwest Florida Romance Writers of American anthology entitled From Florida with Love.  Besides her love of nature’s most colorful treasures, she enjoys travel photography and history.

Guest Post from Diana

In “Death Roll”, Meg buys a painting of a mysterious woman which draws her to Gasparilla Island near Ft. Myers, Florida, where she seeks a famous pirate’s sunken treasure. Her journey is filled with twists, turns, danger, suspense, and some strangers she flees from and some she befriends. If Meg survives her quest of find answers, what does the future have in store for her? Does one man gain special attention from Meg as she follows her clues left in pages behind the painting? You’ll have to read the story to find out!

I love any body of water whether I’m swimming in it or in a boat floating on it, I love history and I love gems leading me to write “Death Roll”. Meg’s a gemologist in the story giving her knowledge about the treasure she seeks. I enjoyed my career as one too. It was fun to design and sell pieces to customers looking for the perfect gift. I love sunshine, spending time with family and friends, and writing stories! Thank you for visiting me here today!

My Thoughts

Death Roll by Diana Welker takes us back to 2016 in Naples, Florida.  Megan Foster, a jewelry artist, is at an antique shop and takes a fancy to a beautiful portrait.  The picture portrays a woman wearing a gorgeous emerald necklace and when the paintings falls, she discovers there are items hidden inside. Diary pages and an old map were stashed behind the backing of the portrait and Megan believes the picture was painted by Cephas Thompson.  Megan purchases the painting which she titles “Princess” and quickly begins reading the diary pages.  The tell a two hundred year old tale of a young woman who stole from her pirate father and her ship ends up sinking in a storm with treasure on board.  Eric Cortes is an underwater photographer, diver and artist.  He is captivated by Megan from the moment he meets her and is happy to teach her how to dive.  Megan soon trusts Eric and shares her desire to recover the treasure which will fund her internship in Paris with a renowned jewelry designer.  Neither one anticipated getting involved in a murder or being chased by mobsters.   Can Eric and Megan recover the lost treasure?  Join them on their quest in Diana Welker’s Death Roll.

Death Roll is not what quite what I expected from reading the blurb.  Megan is wary of romance after her last boyfriend emptied her bank account and her safe.  She recently won a prestigious internship in Paris, but she must provide a $10,000 deposit for living expenses within a month.  If Megan can find the treasure, her financial woes would be over.  The only problem is she does not own a boat nor does she know how to dive.  Eric Cortes is drawn to Megan when he meets her at a local art gallery.  Teaching Megan to dive is the perfect opportunity to get to know her.    Megan learns that Eric has grown up hearing the legends of the mysterious pirate, Jose Gaspar.  Is it possible that the stories are all true?  Eric is currently staying with his brother in the hopes of them reconnecting.  He soon discovers that his brother is embroiled in some shady deals which soon leaks over into Eric’s life.  The mystery kicks into gear around the halfway point.  Soon the bodies start piling up and suspicion points to Eric.  Before they can hunt for treasure, they need to clear Eric off the suspect list.  Megan and Eric spend time learning to dive, flirting, enjoying good meals, and outings with their friends.  The author’s romance background is evident in Death Roll.  Death Roll is a slow starter with the pace picking up later in the story with the action.  I wish there had been more time devoted to the hunt for the underwater treasure.  Death Roll is a romantic suspense with friendship, family, mobsters, pirate treasure, romance and danger.   Death Roll is available on Amazon.

Thank you for joining me today.  I will return tomorrow with my thoughts on Turning Point by Danielle Steel.  I hope you have a brilliant day.  Take care and Happy Reading!

Kris

The Avid Reader