BETRAYED

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A rash of mutated bodies discovered on planet Andaan reveals that someone is killing women in an attempt to turn them into reptiles. Taskforce agent Kylie Sanderson’s passion for her job drives her to discover why this is happening, who's behind the murders, and how to prevent more grotesque deaths.
Shapeshifting alien Griff comes to Andaan to stop his brethren from their deadly experiments. As one of the Okonnan lizard people, he struggles to gain Kylie's trust and to prove that his goal is the same as hers. In her eyes, Griff is an untested enemy.
When Kylie is abducted and subjected to the transformation process, the only one who tries to rescue her is Griff. On the run together with no support, can Kylie and Griff solve the mysteries of her past? How will Kylie deal with a very different passion competing with the one she holds for the job that means so much to her?

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PAPERBACK [EAN 978-1-949187-64-9 | ISBN 1-949187-64-0] 6x9 Library (212 pages) | Average Retail Price: $11.99

HARDBACK [EAN 978-1-949187-65-6 | ISBN 1-949187-65-9] 6x9 Library (212 pages) | Average Retail Price: $19.99

EBOOK [EAN 978-1-949187-66-3 | ISBN 1-949187-66-7] Available in EPUB and Kindle (78,000 words) | Retail Price: $4.99

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READ AN EXCERPT

CHAPTER 1:

KYLIE Sanderson approached the half-lit, reeking alley behind Restaurant Row.
An officer gestured toward the graffiti-scarred brick walls behind him. “Your partner’s already down there. And it’s two of them, ma’am.”
“Understood.” Wearing alpaskin designer boots, Kylie waded through mud, fouled water, and discarded piles of food. Her mother, who must have called in every favor owed just to get her hands on a pair of those books, would be shocked to see her daughter wearing them in stinking garbage. The thought made Kylie smile.
The smile faded as she approached the heavy black dumpster. Behind it, her partner puked up the contents of his stomach. Based on the history of this case, his indiscretion was probably not due to his rookie status.
It’s bad, then. But they always are.
Steeling herself, she climbed onto a wooden fruit crate and looked inside the metal container. The odor rising from the hodgepodge of trash, rotted meat, and spoiled dairy products sickened her, too, but not as much as the two women’s bodies on top. Or at least what used to be women.
Holding one hand over her mouth and nose, Kylie shone her flashlight on the remains. The bodies looked similar to the six others that had been discovered in the last few months in different areas of Muraco there on the planet Andaan. Each was naked and horribly mutated. Their flesh and organs had been transformed by varying degrees into green, scaly reptiles. Others had lost arms or legs to the change, their bones elongated, their hands thin and narrow with nails turned into hard claws.
This was the first time she’d found one with an altered face. Blank yellow eyes stared from a rough-skinned visage. The nose and mouth were distorted into a pointy chunk of mottled green hide. Fangs protruded from under desiccated lips.
Yeah, this one is bad.
Applying an anti-nausea cream to her nose and face, she composed herself while local officers held back clamoring media. Word passed quickly that the elite team from the planet’s Scientific and Investigative Research Taskforce had been called in from the Jescoan subdivision in Andaan’s other hemisphere. The ‘lizard women’ were news.
Straightening her heavy black jacket, she fluffed her pale hair just a little. The only woman in the command structure of SIRT, she knew she’d be judged on her looks as much as her skills. She’d studied six long years to get her criminal-paranormal degree, expecting to be assigned the oddest and most inexplicable cases that came the unit’s way. She’d done it despite her father’s direct and very vocal opposition. Her fierce pride had driven her to defy him. She had inherited that pride from him. He should have expected no less. When she was spokesperson for a case, she remained very conscious that she was a Sanderson.
The Cos-General wouldn’t have it any other way.
She moved past the dumpster to peek into the shadowed recess, keeping her focus on the torn remnants of some ancient plaz concert posters. “Pax, you all right back there?”
Paxton Loring, her partner and most junior on the SIRT squad, gave a noncommittal mutter amid sounds of more vomiting.
She couldn’t resist. “Guess you’ll skip the raw fish next time, huh?”
Several obscenities were added to the muttering.
Poor kid. Rookie mistake.
She passed him some hand wipes, feeling bad for him, even as a brief smile crossed her lips.
In the beginning she’d done it herself. She’d certainly had her own embarrassments in her early months with the squad. When one dealt with aliens, perverts, and psychotics, anything could happen and usually did. Better to laugh than to cry.
She patted his shoulder and then took out her vo-corder to save notes she could refer to when speaking to the press. Nothing too specific. Keep the details private. Enough to feed the hyena pack. She’d save the rest for the SIRT team to pore over until they solved this repulsive mystery.
Two females, unidentified as yet. Similar M-O to the others. Total now is eight. Bodies to be taken for autopsy and ID, families will be notified. Still no clue who our offender might be.
She bit her lip, a sick feeling crawling up her throat. That was the worst of it. Not knowing who or why. The planetary subdivision called Muraco, population 150,000, had its share of sickos, no question. But one DNA experiment might belong to a nutso or a whacker. Two, maybe. Eight? That sounded much too purposeful.
Why in all the netherworlds would someone want women to look like lizards?

[Copyright ©2024 Lyndi Alexander | No unauthorized reproduction or distribution]

READ REVIEWS

NNL 5-Stars

"Can Kylie and Griff stop the abductions and cruel experiments before it’s too late? Can Kylie let her heart do the talking when it comes to Griff? Betrayed is a sci-fi romantic adventure I couldn’t put down. The world-building is impressive. The characters are engaging. The romance is classic science fiction romance with a twist I didn’t see coming. Trust me, you’ll want to read BETRAYED. Let’s start with the world-building. Lyndi Alexander lives and breathes sci-fi and it shows in her world-building. The intricacies of her world are layered throughout. Everything is accounted for to make this book believable. I dove right in and didn’t want to leave. The characters are well-written and relatable. Even with the shifters and aliens, each character has their own set of morals, personality, and emotions. I connected with Kylie and Griff most of all, though. The romance is equal parts enemies to lovers and classic science fiction. The romantic tension is tempered by the action which had me whipping through the pages. An exciting sci-fi romance to be savored." ~ reviewed by Nancy at N.N. Light's Book Heaven [FIVE STARS]

"During a murder investigation on planet Andaan, detective Kylie is captured by alien reptiles and transformed into one of them. Hunted by the police and shunned by her family, the only one who does not abandon her is a shapeshifter called Griff. What has she become? Can it be reversed? Will she be forced to go on alone? Does she dare trust Griff? BETRAYED gives readers a fast-paced, space-age story filled with interplanetary intrigue, bitter betrayals, and the hope of finding real love." ~ reviewed by Amber Sparks [FIVE STARS]

"Once again, Lyndi Alexander has delivered a fast-paced, gripping read. I blew through BETRAYED in three days. Great world building, engaging characters, exciting plot. I always look forward to her books." ~ reviewed by Maggie Fry [FIVE STARS]

"BETRAYED offers good sci-fi world-building from the viewpoint of Kylie, a female police office who gets swept into the investigation of alien genetic engineering. When she becomes the target of transforming humans into reptiles, her only ally is a shape-shifting reptile named Griff. BETRAYED is a well-written and fascinating space age tale of betrayal and hope." ~ reviewed by Allen Dale [FIVE STARS]

"Kylie Sanderson worked hard to become an elite cop in a space age society. When her task force investigates the murders of several women, she gets caught by aliens and transformed from a human into a reptile. The authorities hunt her. Her family shuns her. Only a shape-shifting reptile name Griff offers to help her. Told from Kylie's perspective, BETRAYED is an intimate story of one woman's struggle to find her place in the universe and maybe someone to love. This is a fantastic tale. I love this book!" ~ reviewed by Harmony Byars [FIVE STARS]

"Who can you trust when everything you’ve worked for and believed in turns against you? This science fiction romance book is full of intrigue, aliens, mutants, lizard people, murder and more. Will Taskforce agent Kylie Sanderson succumb or succeed in stopping vicious experiments to change humans into pawns for the Okonnan? Can she trust Griff to help her solve the mysteries of her past? This is a book you can’t put down until the very harrowing end." ~ reviewed by Janyce Brawn [FIVE STARS]

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