Burrowed is Maressa Mortimer’s latest novel.
BLURB
The beautiful island of Ximiu has a plan for a more sustainable future. But not everyone living on the island is on board. Jasira, daughter of the governing matriarch, is determined to uncover the dark forces threatening her home. With the help of her friends, she embarks on a desperate bid to save her island community. When the price is higher than she had bargained for, will Jasira still find faith and beauty in the world around her?
EXCERPT
Prologue
A good mystery was what she needed. And someone to admire her detecting skills. Jasira walked down the path from the ferry office to the harbour wall, her short brown hair glinting blonde in the sunshine. She stared out across the long channel leading to open water. So many exciting changes coming to Ximiu, but she would have to experience them without her best friend. Her dream of becoming a detective seemed to have left with Xandra. After all, every self-respecting detective needed a sidekick.
The sun was too bright for Jasira to see the open sea, but her mind had no problem following the route to the Mainland. She could just make out the small dark shape of the ferry, taking her letter to Xandra.
She leaned over the dark brown blocks making up the harbour wall. Jasira closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the slightly salty breeze on her tanned face, rough stone under her fingers and sighed. She let her eyes wander along the rugged coastline, the hills a green speckled yellow after the hot weeks of summer. Dry. Just like her soul at the moment, she thought. The poetic thought reminded her of Ilori. His mother was the Vice-Xibai and as the Xibai’s daughter, Jasira ended up spending a lot of time with Ilori. If only there was something to work on and practise her detecting abilities.
Jasira looked at the sun. It was time; she’d better go home. She drew herself up, hoping a heroic stance would give her energy to face the changes coming to her island. Jasira spun round, her trainer foot pushing off from the low harbour wall, turning her back to the water. She was in too much of a hurry to notice movement in the shadowy cliff face. Even as she walked, frowning, back to the city, the pale figure watching the ferry launch was too well hidden to catch her eye.
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AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Maressa grew up in the Netherlands and moved to England soon after finishing teaching training college. Married to Pastor Richard Mortimer they live in a Cotswold village with their four children. She is a homeschool mum, enjoying the time spent with family, travelling, reading and turning life into stories, she wants to use her stories to show practical Christians living in a fallen world.
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