Author Michael D. Graves Hosts 1930s Cocktail Party, Fourth Book in the Pete Stone Private Investigator Series Released

Emporia, KS – Meadowlark Press and Michael D. Graves announce the publication of the fourth book in the award-winning Pete Stone Private Investigator series. Shadows and Sorrows is available for pre-release order through meadowlarkbookstore.com and a launch event is planned for Thursday, April 14, from 4-6 pm at Twin Rivers Winery, 627 Commercial Street, Emporia. Attendees will enjoy readings by the author and themed cocktails will be featured. 1930s cocktail attire is encouraged; party fedoras will be on hand for guests.

Pete Stone Series Now Available for Purchase at Urban Interiors in Wichita

The office was empty, but I knew where Agnes would be so I locked up and walked down the street. I found her sitting in the lobby of the Eaton Hotel reading the morning edition of the Wichita Eagle.

-Detective Pete Stone

 

The Eaton Hotel, built in 1886, is a location frequented by our favorite 1930s detective, Pete Stone. Fun fact: you can still visit the Eaton today. It is home to Urban Interiors, a delightful store featuring unique gift items, local artisan products, and designer furniture. You can also purchase your very own copies of the books set in 1930s Wichita: To Leave a Shadow, Shadow of Death, and All Hallow's Shadows.  

Check out their beautiful display!

Excerpt from Shadow of Death, by Michael D. Graves

Shadow of Death is the second title in the Pete Stone, Private Investigator series, published December 2017.

Saturday, June 5

The first time I met the cop we had words. You might’ve called it an altercation. Maybe even a fight. It was night, late at night, going into the wee hours of the morning, and I’d been drinking, again. I’d been drinking a lot lately. The cop braced me on the sidewalk down the street from Tom’s Inn, planting a fleshy paw on my chest with a stiff arm. He flashed a grin that bore not a trace of good humor. He leaned in and sniffed my breath and snapped his head back.

“Ugh, man. You smell like a drunken bum. You’re stink-o, you are. Who are you, buddy? What’s your name?”

I fumbled through my pockets and pulled out a card.

“Pete Stone, Private Investigations,” he said. “So, you’re a gumshoe. Well, you’re drunk, gumshoe. I hope you don’t think you’re going to drive your fancy automobile over my city streets in your condition. Cause if you do, you’ve got another think coming.”

I stood under a yellow streetlight. My Jones Six Roadster, top down, was parked at the curb three steps away. My keys dangled from my fingertips. I glanced at my car. I glanced at my keys. I looked at the cop.

“Wise deduction, Sherlock,” I said. I may have slurred. “How’d you figure that?”

Tom and I had spent the better part of the evening perched on barstools, swapping stories and lies, and lowering the level of a bottle of rye whiskey. We’d discussed our lives, what we’d done, what we hadn’t done, what we wished we hadn’t done. We’d bounced around the country’s problems and agreed the solution to halting the current Depression was to boot out the politicians and replace them each year with whichever team won the World Series. We’d proclaimed that the humblest barbeque in Jerkwater, Kansas tasted better than the finest steak in Delmonico’s Restaurant, never mind that neither of us had

An Excerpt for Celebrating a Happy Book Anniversary

November marks the 5 year anniversary of To Leave a Shadow, the first of the Pete Stone novels by Michael D. Graves. Join us in celebrating by giving the gift of Pete Stone this holiday season.

Friday, April 30, 1937

I was awakened in the morning by clanging bars and voices clamoring for breakfast. I was stiff and sore. I wasn’t hungry, but I needed a cigarette and coffee more than my next breath. I didn’t have either, so I sat up and kept breathing. I heard footsteps followed by a voice. The voice belonged to Lieutenant McCormick. The bars slid back, and he came into the cell and stood over me.

“Jesus, Stone, you look like hell.”

“That makes sense. I feel like hell. It’s a package.”

A deputy was with Mac, standing a few paces behind him. I sat up on the cot.

“Well, you’ve really screwed yourself this time, Stone,” Mac said. “What the hell were you thinking? You’ve pissed off some pretty important people. You’ll probably lose your license, and you may do some time.”

“Aren’t you the bearer of good news?” I said. “Have you got a cigarette?”

He did, and he gave me one. I inhaled deeply.

“Anything else?” I said.

“Yeah, somebody named Veatch wants you put away. He’s some big hotshot at Stearman Aircraft.”

I nodded.

“Yeah, I’ve met him,” I said.

Mac grinned.

“Well, that would explain why he hates you, I guess. You need to work on your manners, Stone. What’s up with you? Why did you break into one of their offices? I’ve got a night watchman who claims he caught you red-handed. Veatch claims you were stealing top secret plans. Veatch says you’re a threat to the security of the United States of America. I think I agree with him. I know you’re a threat to Wichita. This has something to do with that Hamilton suicide, doesn’t it?”

The Meadowlark Reader: Pete Stone, Private Investigator

Each Wednesday we will share an excerpt from a Meadowlark book. Sign up at Feed Burner to receive Meadowlark updates by email. 

---

Little Did I Know

Published: March 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7342477-3-2

• Meadowlark Bookstore 
• Watermark Books (Wichita)
• The Raven (Lawrence)
• IndieBound
• Barnes & Noble

The Municipal University lay in the northeast part of Wichita across town from my place on Lewellen Street. I drove north a couple of blocks and noticed homes decorated in orange and black, early birds ready for Halloween. When I came to the high school, I turned east on Thirteenth. Late morning traffic was light, and I made good time. The weather was on its best behavior, as fall weather often is in Kansas. The buffeting southerly winds had abated as had the summer’s searing temperatures. Clear skies beckoned and gave a soul promise. I drove with the top down on my Jones Six roadster and breathed the crisp autumn air.

October was my favorite month. I’d told the truth to the professor about my intention to knock off for a few days. My plans involved baseball and beer, and I’d earned a break. The World Series was scheduled to open the next day, and my pal Tom would have his Motorola tuned in to the games and a stool reserved for me at the tavern bearing his name. Red Barber and his cronies would woo me with their play-by-play. I’d smoke stogies and kibitz with Tom, dine on peanuts and hotdogs, and quaff mugs of Storz beer until the final pitch signaled the end of the fall classic and the onset of the dark season, those soulless months with no baseball.

I reached Hillside and turned north toward the university. At Seventeenth, I went two blocks east to Fairmount and drove onto the campus. I had a few minutes to spare, so I rolled across campus and admired the architecture and landscaping. Trees had turned scarlet and yellow, and golden mums bloomed in well-tended flowerbeds.

The Administration Building, an imposing redbrick structure not unlike other administration buildings, greeted students and visitors. Morrison Library, where my son had spent much of his time as a student and graduate assistant, boasted columns reminiscent of the Parthenon. A new Auditorium and Commons Building was the university’s most recent addition, a welcome gathering place for students. Many of them entered and exited, smiling and chatting together. I had read that the university president, W.M. Jardine, took pride in the recent addition, and I could understand why.

The semester was fresh and alive. Students wore expressions of hope and optimism. Final exams loomed a lifetime away. The youthful enthusiasm was contagious, and I confessed to myself that the World Series wasn’t all I looked forward to that week. I also intended to call on a certain lady, the widow Lucille Hamilton.

Heartland Book Club Reads a Meadowlark Book

You are invited to join the new Heartland Book Club, led by author/publisher, Curtis Becker, at Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore, 1122 Commercial, Emporia. The inaugural meeting takes place Saturday, January 26, from 1-3pm.

The first book selection for Heartland Book Club is To Leave a Shadow, by Michael D. Graves. Copies of the book can be purchased at the book store.

View the Facebook Event Page.
Visit Ellen Plumb's Website.

Best-selling books at Ellen Plumb’s City Bookstore for the week ending March 17, 2018

Head on over to Ellen Plumb's City Bookstore, 1122 Commercial, Emporia, KS, to get your own copy of Shadow of Death, by Michael D. Graves, and all the other Meadowlark titles!

Coming in at #4!

Shadow of Death, by Mike Graves. Paperback, $15.00
When a cop killer strikes Wichita, Pete Stone, Private Investigator, is on the case. He has to be. He wakes up in jail, battered and bruised and accused of a murder he’s almost certain he didn’t commit. He must prove his innocence before he’s abandoned by his clients, his friends, and one special lady. When Stone is not getting knocked around by cops, he’s getting roughed up by love. Second book in series.

Your favorite 1930s gumshoe, Pete Stone, is back!

Saturday, June 5

The first time I met the cop we had words. You might’ve called it an altercation. Maybe even a fight. It was night, late at night, going into the wee hours of the morning, and I’d been drinking, again. I’d been drinking a lot lately. The cop braced me on the sidewalk down the street from Tom’s Inn, planting a fleshy paw on my chest with a stiff arm. He flashed a grin that bore not a trace of good humor. He leaned in and sniffed my breath and snapped his head back.

“Ugh, man. You smell like a drunken bum. You’re stink-o, you are. Who are you, buddy? What’s your name?”

I fumbled through my pockets and pulled out a card.

“Pete Stone, Private Investigations,” he said. “So, you’re a gumshoe. Well, you’re drunk, gumshoe. I hope you don’t think you’re going to drive your fancy automobile over my city streets in your condition. Cause if you do, you’ve got another think coming.”

I stood under a yellow streetlight. My Jones Six Roadster, top down, was parked at the curb three steps away. My keys dangled from my fingertips. I glanced at my car. I glanced at my keys. I looked at the cop.

“Wise deduction, Sherlock,” I said. I may have slurred. “How’d you figure that?” 

_______________________________

When a cop killer strikes Wichita, Pete Stone, Private Investigator, is on the case. He has to be. He wakes up in jail, battered and bruised and accused of a murder he's almost certain he didn't commit. He must prove his innocence before he's abandoned by his clients, his friends, and one special lady. When Stone is not getting knocked around by cops, he's getting roughed up by love.

_______________________________

To Leave a Shadow, the first Pete Stone novel,

was a 2016 Kansas Notable Book.

Pete Stone returns in Shadow of Death, published December 2017 by Meadowlark Books.

_______________________________

Both books are available at your favorite local bookstore (just ask them to order a copy if they do not already carry it), at any online book retailer, and as ebooks on Amazon Kindle.

Purchase signed copies from the Meadowlark Bookstore!

Click to be directed to the Meadowlark Bookstore

Click to be directed to the Meadowlark Bookstore