Cover Reveal: "Sacrifice of Innocence" by Allison Cosgrove

A cult has been killing children for its rituals and only one cop knows who they are. Detective Stan Brookshire knows, but his past keeps people from believing in him. Can he rise above the stigma that shrouds his past and stop a cult from taking yet another innocent child from her mother’s arms before its too late?

Here's an excerpt:

Prologue

The man in the corner listened in the darkness, the wind whistling through the crack in the window frame, billowing his hair around him. The child in the room with him was invisible in the darkness. Even the power of the sun, let alone the light from the full moon, could not dampen the gloom hidden behind the boarded windows. 

Hearing a sound, the man stiffened. It was the child; the sweet, young child.

"Very soon, my precious, very soon," Joseph whispered, his breath coming in short gasps. Excitement filled his belly; time was drawing closer for the boy.

Footsteps in the hallway caused the boy to whimper in fear, lighting the man's loins on fire. Desperately wanting the forbidden, to touch and play with the boy, he tried to force the urge back down. He wasn't allowed that pleasure, yet. The priests would come soon and the boy would have to be pure. The man's needs would have to wait. The boy would have to wait.

Dreaming of the day he would finally be able to have his way with the boy, the man fixed the delicious whimpers in his memory. The boy would no longer be able to cry and plea.

It was coming soon. So close now.

On the other side of the room, he heard the ominous creak of the door opening. Blinding light silhouetted a figure dressed in long robes.

He hurried over and retrieved his boy-child, his breath coming in gasps so ragged that he thought his lungs would cease to function.

A whimper was all that escaped the gag when the boy tried to scream. Cringing at the man's touch, he fought against the bonds, causing the man's groin to harden once more.

The man smiled. He tightened his grip upon the boy as he tried to wiggle free. The door stood open, waiting for him and the boy.

Suddenly, the door swung closed behind him, plunging the room into darkness once again.

Now for a little tidbit about author of this thrilling mystery:

Allison Cosgrove was born and raised in a suburb of Toronto, Ontario. A married mother of three daughters, she works in accounting by day and creates her own worlds by night. She enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters hiking in the woods or sitting by the fire reading a good book. She has had the love of reading and writing detective mysteries from the age of twelve but it has only been since the birth of her youngest that she has gotten serious about crafting some of her own works for others to enjoy. She credits her family and friends with being the driving force that has given her the strength to breathe life into her books.