Alyssa Richards

Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense

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Rembrandt’s Storm of Galilee found on The Blacklist

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On the night of March 18, 1990, a pair of thieves disguised as Boston police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and roamed the Museum’s galleries, stealing thirteen works of art.

Rembrandt's Storm of Galilee
Rembrandt’s
Storm of Galilee

Recently, millions of viewers were shown the secret hiding place of at least one of these precious works of art.

Rembrandt’s Storm of Galilee resides in the home of Raymond Reddington, an international criminal who teams with the FBI to take down nefarious criminals.

Actually, Raymond Reddington is a character on The Blacklist, a fun show on NBC which is headlined by James Spader.

A friend just got me hooked on the show and I’m starting with Season 1 on Amazon Prime. Great show, by the way.  But I nearly dropped my teeth when I watched Episode 6 and saw the James Spader character leaning back in his armchair, absorbing the beauty of Rembrandt’s Storm of Galilee!!

The book I’ve just written, The Fine Art of Deception (coming soon!!!), a paranormal romance mystery, is also the back story to the biggest unsolved art heist in the US. One of the 13 pieces stolen? Rembrandt’s Storm of Galilee.

Well, clearly The Blacklist is a work of fiction…

 

I Believe in Ghosts. Do You?

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Ghosts are everywhere. They’re impossible to escape. Some of us see them. Others don’t. I believe in ghosts. Do you?

 

Following is an excerpt from my new novel The Fine Art of Deception. Coming Soon!

 

“It’s dark except for the moonlight coming in through the window behind his back. I lie in my twin bed in my family home, looking out across the ocean of covers, watching the man across the room stare at me. He’s tall and thin with light brown eyes that seem to glow. His thin lips curl back and I feel like prey as he grins at me.
Family are just down the hall, but they might as well be a mile away as paralyzed as I feel.
He’s watching me. Staring at me. Surprised that I can see him, since most people don’t. But he’s not shocked enough to leave. In fact he seems intrigued by the situation.
He doesn’t blink. Neither do I.
I breathe without moving my body, praying for an outpouring of God’s grace to make this man think I’m dead and just leave. I know that if I move, he’ll move. So I remain still.
He’s sick. Disturbed. Obviously lost. Wrong that he should end up in a child’s room at this hour. Or at any hour. He doesn’t belong here anymore. He’s one of the visitors I told my grandmother about. The visitors that find me – most often when no one else is around.

The dream always begins the same way. And at 3 a.m., caught in a deep and powerless sleep, I have no choice but to let it play out.
It has three parts.
First, I’m a child again and reliving my worst nightmare, which is more horrible because I was never asleep when it happened. This time I’m five. But sometimes I’m seven, eleven or even fifteen. The nightmare goes on for years. The players change. The room changes. But the ordeal is always the same.”

Welcome – Paranormal Romance Books!

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tulipAlong with the hydrangea leaves, the daffodils and the tulips that have pushed their way through the dark to make their debut on this first day of Spring, so my Paranormal Romance Books blog and website have finally found their way to the light of day as well. Like many things in life, the site took a little longer than I expected. But I’m so glad it’s finally arrived.

My itch to write fiction has been with me since before I wrote my first story at 10. But the cork on my creativity didn’t really pop until I received a fateful email from a friend.  “You should write fiction,” she wrote to me. “Lots of it.”  I started writing fiction (again)  that day and have loved *every* minute of it since. It’s just the creative outlet I needed.

I’m launching this site with my first paranormal romance books mystery, The Fine Art of Deception. It’s the story of Blake and Addie, two intriguing characters who have found themselves in the middle of lives they never expected, lives full of romance and danger, haunting ghosts and, much to Addie’s disappointment, psychic gifts that won’t be controlled.

Oh, the trouble Blake and Addie will see… Here’s a sneak peek …

The Fine Art of Deception Alyssa RichardsAddie wants to be like everyone else. Problem is she isn’t. 

Addison Montgomery was born with a very special gift, the kind most people would kill for. She can see things most people can’t. Give something a light touch and its story comes pouring forth. The downside? Seeing things she doesn’t want to see – like vicious ghosts and people’s hidden thoughts and feelings.

Last time someone discovered how deeply she could see, she lost her cherished career – and her fiancé.

People don’t like you when you see their secrets.

Now with a new job and new friends, she’s handling her gifts differently. Determined to fix the problem and be like everyone else. Pretend to be normal. Not see. Trouble is once you see, you can’t not see.

At The Albrecht Firm she works for Otto, her grandfather’s old friend and business partner. Otto is a good man running a solid business. Or is he? His colleague Blake Greenwood is handsome, rich, and dangerous. Addie can’t resist a strong attraction though she doubts she should trust him. Soon she’s caught up in the glamor and excitement of New York’s art world – and, to her dismay, the fine art of deception.

Blake has a secret, one that could kill them both. As Addie begins to uncover it, she falls prey to the sexual electricity that sparks between them.

She realizes she’s in way over her head when she uncovers a huge forgery ring, family secrets, and an angry ghost who has set his evil sights on her. Discovering she’s been conned into being part of the country’s largest art heist, she’s in a fight for her life.