Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day so that I could read all the books that I’m offered. Sadly that isn’t possible, but at least today I can stay in with Bentley Turner to chat about one of his books. Let’s find out more:

Staying in with Bentley Turner

Welcome to Linda’s Book Bag Bentley. Tell me, which of your books have you brought along to share this evening and why have you chosen it?

I’ve brought The File on Thomas Marks.  The reason I’ve chosen it is because it is the first mystery I’ve written that has been accepted for publications.  It will be published in June by the Global Publishing Group.

How exciting. Congratulations. So, what can we expect from an evening in with The File on Thomas Marks?

The File on Thomas Marks is a mystery about a young, intelligent man who is somewhat naïve about those who work in law enforcement or simply has too much confidence in the legal system, or both, because he becomes the leading suspect in the murders of two women, even though he claims he’s innocent.  The question is, is he guilty?

That sounds like a very intriguing question indeed!

What else have you brought along and why have you brought it? 

Sometimes readers are interested in how a writer came up with the idea for the story or novel they’ve read.  At least, this has been my experience.  So, I thought I’d say something about how the idea for The File on Thomas Marks came to me.

Great idea. What happened?

Actually, several years ago I had tried writing a lengthy short story that featured two detectives who investigated two murders.  This was my first story about detectives.  Yet, over the years I had read numerous mysteries―short stories and novels―that featured detectives, but I had never tried writing a story about detectives.  At the time, primarily because I enjoyed the characters in the story so much, I wondered why I had not tried writing about detectives sooner.  Although the short story was entirely different from The File on Thomas Marks, it caused me to try writing a full-length mystery about two detectives investigating at least two or three murders.  I should mention that I enjoyed writing a plot filled with twists and turns, too, which I found out was not necessarily that easy to do―at least, not initially.  Eventually, the process came easier as more “What if . . .?” questions came to me.  Hopefully, readers who buy the mystery will enjoy it.

I think they will Bentley! Thanks so much for staying in with me to chat about The File on Thomas Marks. 

The File on Thomas Marks

In this suspenseful thriller, Thomas Marks, a young, intelligent man, admits to being with two women just before they were murdered.  Though detectives don’t believe him, he claims to be innocent.

The only problem is none of the evidence corroborates his story nor confirms the guilt of anyone else.

When another suspect surfaces, Thomas thinks he’s in the clear, but appearances can’t always be trusted.

Will an arrest stick?

Find out in this mystery mayhem of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the very end.

The File on Thomas Marks is available from Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Kobo and Nook.

About Bentley Turner

Bentley Turner, a pseudonym, has written several short stories and numerous poems that have been published in literary journals and anthologies. Under his legal name he has written several articles for academic journals, numerous chapters for scholarly books, numerous entries for encyclopedias and other reference books, and several books of nonfiction published by academic and reference publishers.