Honey Kissed Bruises novel is a fictional story whereby the main character, Susan, a white western woman is raised up in a rustic town where ancient beliefs and customs are followed strictly. She is a woman who rarely left her town, Maria Villa in the city of Mercury, a strict catholic setting where a sin is not tolerated, but it is punishable by banishment. Her father, Mr. Nelson is always quick to remind her what he would do to her if ever she could misbehave. Susan knows better than to defy her father, bit deep inside of her a storm is brewing!
Growing up, Susan takes a liking for a local boy and together they run away only for her to return to the place of her birth when things get rough. Ultimately, Susan could not be contained, for she meets a brawny ex-marine of African descent and falls deeply in love with him. He comes into Susan’s life with his young son, Thomas, from his first marriage. Susan, having no child of her own, takes in the child of her new found love and loves him as if he were her own child.
Together Susan and James enter into a marriage that has tongues wagging, but she is determined to make it work. He treats her well, only for a short time at least until he begins to show his true colours. As the years go by, Susan’s husband, James, changes and begins to abuse her in almost any way that a woman can be abused. He beats her up, insults her and becomes an alcoholic that embarrasses his wife in every way through the town. This is not only a story about the sweetness of marriage and retaliation, but it is also about the intrepid escape that a woman who has endured all the brutalities from her husband makes. Questions begin to be asked as to what actually happened to James’ first wife as he now engages in an extramarital relationship with her deceased friend’s widow, Martha, without any care in the world. In the midst of the love triangle, Susan’s first love from her childhood days, Michael, comes back into town and twists Susan’s mind to the beds of lust. Because of the abuse she has been enduring from her husband, she runs away with Michael with dire consequences!
Susan is trapped in a hazy labyrinth of love, lust, abuse, murder, and religious beliefs that know no end. She needs to escape, but in what shape and form will her escape be woven; will it be easy for her to run away and never be seen again in Maria Villa, will she escape through death or will she escape through contentment of her situation? When all seems gloomy and hopeless, Susan gets missing, but then into the picture comes a seasoned and determined Detective Brady who wants to find her after a period of time passes by and people come to make their conclusions that she may be dead. Detective Brady takes the case personally as he makes it his one last act sacrifice of his illustrious career to find Susan alive before he retires. A web of disloyalty and corruption unfolds in the Sheriff’s Department when the search for Susan goes on. Some names in the Sheriff’s Department come into the spotlight as the investigations heat up. Will Detective Brady ever solve the missing case of Susan Smith, or will he retire on a low to the amusement of the perpetrators of the case? Will he ever find Susan, and for that matter alive?