What if you had to give up your entire life and disappear in order to keep your family safe? Meg Gardiner explores that nightmare scenario to chilling effect in her latest thriller, THE SHADOW TRACER.
The strength of the story is in its protagonist, Sarah Keller: a single mom living the quiet life in Oklahoma with her five-year-old daughter, Zoe. Sarah’s a skip tracer – She hunts down bail jumpers, debt dodgers and people evading arrest. But then a bus accident sends Zoe to the hospital and at the same time exposes a deadly secret that shatters Sarah’s peaceful life. Pursued by the FBI and a group of religious fanatics, Sarah’s only hope is to become like those she has been pursuing – she takes Zoe and disappears.
Sarah Keller is a fascinating character, both a hunter and a guardian. But as Gardiner explains, she didn’t plan her life that way.
“She wanted to explore the world, until a child unexpectedly came into her life,” Gardiner says. “Sarah rebuilt her life around protecting Zoe. She learned how to disappear. She became a skip tracer to learn every trick about staying off the grid – to catch people on the run, and to train herself for the day she might have to run herself.”
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The Genesis of Genesis
What possessed me to write THE GENESIS CODE? Looking back, I can tell you the tale was a long time in the making, and so different layers of inspiration over the years contributed to what eventually became the novel.
To begin with, I’ve always had a fascination with the brain: how it works, what it’s capable of, what’s in it. For example, one of my early short stories, GIFT HORSE, concerned a full body transplant for the main character. The story explored what it might be like to have your head grafted onto another body. Who is the person, really? Does identity fullyand solely reside in the brain?
Combine that brain fascination with the reality that our jobs routinely demand more and more of usin our electronic, always-connected world. My previous career in Information Technology hammered that home to my colleagues and me on a daily basis. Mission-critical software applications are expected to be up and available around the clock. Computer systems are the lifeblood of global businesses, and the financial stakes reach ever higher for those systems to perform to stringent standards. Is there some way to maximize human brain function to help employees support these demands?
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By L.J. Sellers
After her widely praised debut, CHAIN OF COMMAND, Colby Marshall is back with another hair-raising thriller. In THE TRADE, reporter McKenzie McClendon is on the trail of her next hot story, tracking a sadistic serial killer known as the Cradle Robber, who preys on pregnant women to steal their babies.
With a hook like that, it’s no wonder other authors, such as bestselling C.J. Lyons, say the story is “An intricate puzzle that will keep you guessing until the very end!”
Marshall’s full and artistic background—dancer, choreographer, actor, journalist, and novelist—leads her to create complex and compelling characters. In THE TRADE, five people are deeply affected by the killer’s actions, and their stories form the bones of this engaging novel.
Here’s more in the author’s own words:
Where did the idea for the plot come from? And how do you typically develop your stories?
The idea for this story as well as most of my ideas start with a seed planted from something I’ve seen in the news at some time and something watering that seed. Granted, it doesn’t have to be something new—sometimes it will stem from something that was planted in my brain years ago. I’m honestly not sure what got me to thinking about the black market baby trade, but for some reason, I was already thinking about its potential for a story plot. Then, something tickled at my memory about a news story from years ago where a woman was killed and the baby was stolen, I believe by a woman who badly wanted a baby. That sparked the idea for what if this happened, but it wasn’t a woman who wanted a baby, and rather, someone profiting on the fact that some women were desperate for children.
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Research Love
I’m not a cop, I’m not a doctor, or a teacher or a nurse or a bartender or a scientist or a killer. I rely on reading, interviews, and “field trips” for my information.
Reading comes first: I have more than fifty forensic and crime research books. On my desk now is POISON, a Writer’s Digest book that I’ve used many times.
But reading doesn’t always work. Sometimes, I need to visit a place to get the feeling for it well enough to be comfortable writing about it. Because I don’t want to set a scene outside of the character’s experience. Meaning, if I’m going to write about a medical examiner, the M.E. isn’t going to describe every little thing they see because they’ve seen in a million times before. They’re just going to DO, so I want to set the scene through the eyes of the character while giving enough sense of place so that the reader feels that she, too, is there.
Interviews are also an important part of research. While I spend more time with books, interviews provide me with far more valuable information.
I use two types of interviews – emails and personal. Emails to friends who are experts in their field, like fellow ITW authors C.J. Lyons and Dr. D.P. Lyle, are extremely valuable. Recently, I tagged former sex crimes prosecutor turned fabulous thriller writer Allison Leotta for help in my upcoming novella 36 Hours—because she knows the legal system far better than me. I even once sent a list of questions to the fabulous romance writer Kristan Higgins to ask her firefighter husband to answer! Writers understand writers. I can give them the set-up and what I need to have happen, and they help me with the details. Or, better, if I’m stuck—if I have this great crime but haven’t been able to quite make it all work—I can explain what’s going on and we brainstorm.
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When streetwise con man Darnell Sims is busted for a traffic violation, he has no idea how much his life is about to change: he’s now back on the radar of hard-nosed ATF agent Max Bradford. Then Max and Darnell are run off the road by members of a gang headed by drug lord Raoul Garcia, sending Max to the hospital and Darnell into hiding. Raoul is holding a grudge against Darnell for stealing a stash of his money three years before. Max has questions about the accident—who set him up and why?—but suspects Darnell is holding back. It’s a race to save anyone who might have answers when Raoul starts killing them off one by one.
With all that missing money at stake, there are plenty of potential suspects. There’s Armando Hernandez, a vicious killer known as The Vulture; hired thugs Billy Poe and Lester Long; and Alondra Ayala, a young woman with a somewhat ulterior motive for getting to know Max. With everyone coming out of the woodwork, Max and Darnell have to decide: who are the bad guys and who are the really bad guys?
The cop and the con work out their differences while searching the mean streets of South Florida for the killers. Still, they’re on opposite sides of the law. Can they trust each other?
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By Terry DiDomenico
It is nice that in the thriller world there is room for all kinds of characters with plots all their own.
With Lisa Brackmann we are introduced to an unlikely main character named Ellie McEnroe. Ellie who was first introduced in ROCK PAPER TIGER is a Army veteran living in China where she is coping with Traumatic Brain Injury, a shattered leg, a soon to be ex-husband, and being the focus of several groups (Chinese and otherwise) for unclear reasons.
With her return in HOUR OF THE RAT, we find Ellie is acting as an agent for a dissent artist who for the time being at least has charged her with handling his art. It seems she has left her troubles behind or has she?
HOUR OF THE RAT opens with the information her mother who came for a visit still hasn’t left, an Army buddy wants her to look for his missing brother, and men from Domestic Security take her to a business hotel to “have tea and talk.”
From there it gets interesting. A brief synopsis shows her search for the missing brother gets her involved in a conspiracy that might involve a sinister biotech company, eco-terrorists, an art-obsessed Chinese billionaire, and lots of cats juxtaposed with some of China’s most beautiful and surreal places.
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By John Rabb
THE EMERALD SCEPTER is the fifteenth novel by Paul Kemprecos. He collaborated with Clive Cussler, the “Grandmaster of Adventure,” in writing eight books in THE NEW YORK TIMES bestselling NUMA Files adventure series. He is the author of a six books in the Aristotle “Soc” Socarides detective series. His first novel, COOL BLUE TOMB, won a Shamus award for best original paperback from the Private Eye Writers of America. He and his wife Christi live on Cape Cod, Mass. Let’s take a look inside THE EMERALD SCEPTER.
Something bad happened to Matinicus “Matt” Hawkins in Afghanistan.
The ex-SEAL was grievously wounded in an ambush that killed men under his command and almost ended his life. When he pushed for an investigation, he was kicked out of the Navy with a psychiatric discharge. The doctors put his shattered leg back together, but the bitterness destroyed his marriage.
Five years later, Hawkins is jerked out of his tranquil life as a designer of undersea robots. A super-secret government group wants him to go back to Afghanistan on a strange and dangerous mission.
A Georgetown University historian has unearthed evidence that could lead to the fabulous treasure of Prester John, a legendary Christian ruler of an eastern empire.
The historian has disappeared, and the government wants Hawkins to track down the treasure as a matter of national security. The centerpiece of the trove, an emerald-encrusted gold scepter, is the linchpin in the Prophet’s Necklace, code-name for a plot that is intended to kill more people than the attack on the Twin Towers and rally others to the terrorist cause.
Hawkins sees his mission to foil the plot as an opportunity to search for answers. He pulls together an eclectic team that includes his ex-wife, a former comrade-in-arms and a mentally unstable computer whiz.
Backed by his unlikely team, Hawkins will travel thousands of miles and hundreds of years on an amazing time-space odyssey. He’ll face off against a cold-blooded killer. Probe the underwater secrets of an ancient tomb. Navigate the treacherous stands of an unimaginable conspiracy. And in the process, will discover that there are treasures even more valuable than gold.
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One-time famous child star, Collin Cox is devastated when his mother and her drug-dealing boyfriend are brutally murdered in their Seattle rental home—while he’s sleeping upstairs. He moves in with his grandparents and tries to start over with a new name at a new high school. One night, two of Collin’s new friends hypnotize him, and while under, he becomes someone totally different—someone dangerous, who calls himself Wade Grinnell. When Collin’s friends suddenly turn up dead, he’s terrified this person inside him may be responsible. Desperate, he seeks help from Olivia Barker, a hypnotist and one-time therapist.
Olivia Barker is a therapist with no connection to the murders. But she has heard things; details that only a killer would know—a killer who could be one of her patients. Olivia has no proof for her suspicions. But as the body count rises, so do her fears. A rock is thrown through her window; her car tires are slashed; a chilling message is scrawled on her bathroom mirror. Olivia knows she’s getting closer to the truth, but the truth could be the last thing she’ll ever know.
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If you like your thrillers overflowing with twists and turns, you’ll want to check out EASY SQUEEZY, the new novel from Paul D’Ambrosio. The story tracks a boy’s plot to get revenge on the federal government for killing his father 40 years ago. All that stands between our nation and total economic meltdown is a pair of unlikely heroes – mercenary soldiers who have long been rivals. D’Ambrosio describes his plot as more dynamic than complex, with a theme running along two parallel stories: one happening during the three days before a presidential election, with the other picking up the day after the election.
“Both involve two sets of characters that finally intersect in surprising ways at the climax on Election Day,” D’Ambrosio says. “The undercurrent of the story focuses on unbridled greed and vengeance.”
There’s plenty of psychological tension and mystery, but the story doesn’t skimp on the action either. And this well-researched tale gets into the guts of the Federal Reserve, showing just how vulnerable our economy is to a well-staged attack. But like any good story, this one depends on well-developed characters. In this case, a young nun is the glue that holds the story together, even though a pair of mercenary soldiers appears to drive the action: a disgraced former special ops soldier forced to team with a beautiful former Russian officer who lost the use of her right arm in the Chechen wars.
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By Josie Brown
Fast bikes. Hot women. Lethal weapons. When Marc Cameron‘s legion of loyal readers pick up a Jericho Quinn thriller, they already know they’re in for one hell of a ride.
His latest book in the series, STATE OF EMERGENCY, does not disappoint. As you can imagine, Marc has quite a few things to say about his process for plotting, scheming, and mixing this potent combination…
I love this plot: terrorism involving a motorcycle rally? Brilliant! How did the idea for this book come to you?
Thanks for taking the time to talk to me, Josie.
The Dakar is a 6000 mile desert motorcycle (and 4×4) rally billed as the most dangerous race in the world. What better place for Jericho Quinn? You get the idea a race is dangerous when they make you write your blood-type on all your gear.
It amazes me that the Dakar is third only to the Olympic Games and The World Cup in worldwide fans, and yet most people in the US have never heard of it. The riding season in Alaska is short and the winters are long. Thankfully, the Dakar falls in January, and we can follow the ride vicariously from here to get our winter riding fix.
In STATE OF EMERGENCY, there are several groups after the same Soviet-era nuke–so, Quinn is not only trying to find the bomb, but working to stay alive during the race while battling a psychotic Venezuelan, Yemeni members of Al Qaeda, Columbian drug lords, and Chechen terrorists–all after the same device.
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By Sandra Parshall
Dennis Palumbo’s love of writing took him to Hollywood, where he enjoyed a successful career as a screenwriter, with credits that include the feature film MY FAVORITE YEAR. He was also a staff writer on the television series WELCOME BACK, KOTTER and wrote episodes and pilots for other series.
Eventually, his interest turned to psychotherapy, and after training he developed a private practice specializing in helping show business clients deal with creative issues. He never stopped writing, though. His first novel, CITY WARS, was published by Bantam, and his short fiction has appeared in ELLERY QUEEN’S MYSTERY MAGAZINE, THE STRAND and elsewhere. He contributes articles and reviews to national publications, and his popular Hollywood on the Couch column for writers and other creative artists appears on the PSYCHOLOGY TODAY website. He is also the author of WRITING FROM THE INSIDE OUT and the mystery short story collection FROM CRIME TO CRIME.
With MIRROR IMAGE (2010), Palumbo began his popular and critically praised thriller series featuring psychologist Daniel Rinaldi and set in the author’s hometown, Pittsburgh. BOOKLIST called the second in the series, FEVER DREAM, “a smart, strong read” and KIRKUS REVIEWS described Rinaldi as “Jack Reacher with a psychology degree.”
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By J. H. Bográn
Let me tell you about David Freed’s new novel FANGS OUT: Moments before he is executed, the killer of famed Vietnam War hero-pilot Hub Walker’s daughter makes a startling allegation: the real murderer is Walker’s close friend, a prominent U.S. defense contractor. Walker wants to hire somebody willing to spend a few days hunting up information that will refute the convicted killer’s groundless but widely reported claims, and help restore his friend’s good name. That somebody, as fate would have it, is sardonic civilian flight instructor, would-be Buddhist and retired military assassin Cordell Logan. Thus begins one of the year’s most suspenseful mystery-thrillers.
A Medal of Honor recipient married to a former Playmate of the Year, Walker resides in the swanky San Diego enclave of La Jolla, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Logan is convinced that working for Walker will be little more than a paid vacation – a chance to rub shoulders with a living legend while rekindling Logan’s relationship with his own enticing ex-wife, Savannah. But after flying to San Diego in his beloved aging Cessna, the Ruptured Duck, Logan is quickly drawn into a vexing and deadly jigsaw puzzle. The deeper he digs, the murkier the truth appears, and the more in danger he finds himself. Who really killed the war hero’s daughter, and why? Somebody in “America’s Finest City,” wants to stop Logan from asking questions, and will stop at nothing to silence him.
What inspired the premise for FANGS OUT?
As a reporter for the LOS ANGELES TIMES, I was once assigned to witness an execution at a prison. Much of the details for the opening scene that I wrote in FANGS OUT were derived from my journalistic observations that night years ago—with one exception. In the execution I watched, the convicted killer was asked if he had any last words. He declined to speak. I’ve always wondered since what he might’ve said if he hadn’t been so reticent. And that’s how FANGS OUT begins, with a man about to die claiming his innocence and fingering who he asserts is the real killer. It was upon that germinal idea that I constructed the book.
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By L.J. Sellers
After the success of his first two thrillers, Daniel Palmer’s third novel, STOLEN, was eagerly anticipated by readers and reviewers alike. In this bold thriller, a young woman faces a life-changing diagnosis and her husband makes a risky move in an attempt to save her. But the consequences could be deadly for both.
“A twisting, suspenseful chiller of a book,” says William Landay, author of DEFENDING JACOB. Here’s more about the novel in the author’s own words:
Sometime stories grow from the smallest seed of an idea, but this concept seems big. How did it originate?
From the start I wanted to write a book about identity theft. The story didn’t come alive for me until I flipped the premise. Instead of writing about a man who has his identity stolen, I decided to write about someone who steals an identity. This opened a lot of interesting possibilities, but I wasn’t about to make my hero a villain. It’s a classic premise in a way, a good man pushed by circumstance to commit an ignoble act. In the case of STOLEN, I created a devoted husband who commits identity theft to obtain health insurance for his cancer stricken wife. What I needed next was the big idea to propel the narrative forward. So I added a twist. What if the main character unwitting stole the worst identity imaginable? All I needed to do from there was set my imagination loose.
Is the issue of medical expenses personal for you?
I think it’s personal for all Americans. A couple big issues came up during my research. Most notable is the ongoing crisis resultant from a massive shortage in generic cancer medications. I used this very concerning trend coupled with the shortcomings of cut-rate insurance to place my characters in truly difficult predicament.
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By Jeff Ayers
Cat Connor lives in the Wellington region of New Zealand with her husband (Action Man), and their youngest children (The Boy Wonder, Squealer, and Breezy). They share their home with a fat grey cat named Missy and Romeo the Greyhound.
When Cat is not writing she is sewing, tie-dying, reading, or hanging out with her family and the Admins. (Admin One, Admin Bubbles and Cat spent April 2011 in the USA, they had a fabulous time and managed not to get arrested…)
The sudden appearance of a familiar man causes SSA Ellie Conway to question her husband’s death and she’s not the only one with questions in Cat Connor’s latest in her Byte series, SOUNDBYTE.
Meanwhile, Ellie is tormented by a song that seems to be everywhere and tied to the murder of a renowned jeweler and most of his family. When the sister of the NCIS Director is abducted from her home and it becomes known she is linked to the dead jeweler – the messy case takes a frightening turn. No one is who they claim to be and Ellie suspects CIA involvement, but to what end?
It becomes a race against time to prove her theory and find the woman.
- Just another day at the office …
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By Terry DiDomenico
You can thank Alaska and Stieg Larsson for Seth Harwood’s latest novel, IN BROAD DAYLIGHT.
“I visited Alaska in 2011 and was just so taken with the landscape there, I knew I had to set a story in it. Also, I’d been really impressed with Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy and loved the Lisbeth Salander character. I wanted to try writing from the point of view of a female detective and Jess Harding was born,” Seth said.
Jess is Seth’s first female lead and he wanted “to focus directly on Jess as a character, perhaps because it was more of a stretch to get into her POV.” He used first person (for the first time) to get even closer to Jess.
Having determined he was going with a female lead, Seth notes the easiest decision he made in creating IN BROAD DAYLIGHT was setting it in Alaska. As he puts it: “Once I got up there, I was just blown away.”
Since Seth is an author who likes to get the story down first (I’m very much NOT an outliner.”). “In general I’m finding my own way through a book as I complete a first draft. I’d compare myself to a reader in the sense of discovering a story as I go. It’s much more fun for me that way. And when I get surprised, I know I’m on the right track.”
Getting and keeping on the right track for Seth requires writing every day and includes keeping track of word counts. He said, “It’s hard, but is also winds up being the most rewarding. Writing can be such a contradiction that way for me!”
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When Florida couple James and Bethany Fenner discover they have won the $161-million state lottery, they must make the three-hour drive from Jacksonville to the state capital, Tallahassee to collect. Fearful that someone might rob them of the winning ticket, they tell no one and hire 29-year-old limousine driver, Riley Lake, to chauffeur them in style. But Lake harbors a secret that he’s hidden since his childhood; a secret that will soon be exposed. As Jacksonville Detective Kay Larsen investigates a series of gruesome murders where the female victims overdose from a powerful hallucinogen, the clues begin to mount against Riley Lake. Only when Larsen digs deeper into Riley Lake’s past will a disturbing question arise: Who is the hunter and who is the prey?
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The extraordinary new Lucas Davenport thriller from the #1 New York Timesbestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner.
Murder, scandal, political espionage, and an extremely dangerous woman. Lucas Davenport’s going to be lucky to get out of this one alive.
Very early one morning, a Minnesota political fixer answers his doorbell. The next thing he knows, he’s waking up on the floor of a moving car, lying on a plastic sheet, his body wet with blood. When the car stops, a voice says, “Hey, I think he’s breathing,” and another voice says, “Yeah? Give me the bat.” And that’s the last thing he knows.
Davenport is investigating another case when the trail leads to the man’s disappearance, then—very troublingly—to the Minneapolis police department, then—most troublingly of all—to a woman who could give Machiavelli lessons. She has very definite ideas about the way the world should work, and the money, ruthlessness, and sheer will to make it happen.
No matter who gets in the way.
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By James M. Tabor
MAKING UP IS HARD TO DO
An interview with T. Jefferson Parker
L.A. native (and lifelong SoCalian) T. Jefferson Parker broke in as a cub reporter and went on to win multiple awards for his reporting in Orange County, California. He wrote his first novel LAGUNA HEAT (1986) during time off from his newspaper work. It earned rave reviews, made the NEW YORK TIMES bestseller list and was made into an HBO movie.
Jeff basically lives on the bestseller lists. He’s earned just about every accolade that reviewers can gin up, not to mention two Edgar Awards and the LOS ANGELES TIMES Book Prize.
His last five novels have featured Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Charlie Hood, who will make his swan song in the series’ sixth novel, THE FAMOUS AND THE DEAD. Jeff graciously took time out from writing in an airplane hangar (really!) to answer a few questions for THE BIG THRILL. (Including why he writes in an airplane hangar.)
Let’s begin at the end. Why did you decide to make this the last Charlie Hood book?
His story is over and I’ve left him where he deserves to be. I’ve put Charlie Hood through so many trials and tribulations, given him so many victories and accomplishments, I believe it’s time to give him a rest. I think most series lose their punch after a few books, and I didn’t want to be on stage just to repeat myself. You know in your heart when it’s time to move on. I can’t wait to see what’s around the corner for me as a writer. That’s my version of excitement. Truly!
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Tom Bale has written many slick thrillers but his latest is certain to leave you wiping the sweat from your brow. Childhood friendships, treachery and bizarre crimes, this one has as many oil slicked chicanes as a racing track. And the ending will leave you gasping for more. I interviewed him for the ITW.
Tell us about THE CATCH.
It’s a standalone thriller that examines how a childhood friendship can go sour in adulthood. Dan and Robbie are two young men who haven’t yet acknowledged that they no longer have much in common, so they’re together the night that one of Robbie’s business deals goes horribly wrong. A tragic mistake is compounded by their attempts to cover it up, setting off a chain of events that ends with a remorseless predator on their trail…
Who are your literary influences?
The first was Enid Blyton, an immensely prolific and popular children’s author. In my teens, Stephen King was a huge influence: not just because he’s a fabulous storyteller but because he makes the reader care deeply about his characters: that made a big impression on me. As I moved into reading more and more crime fiction, my influences were predominantly American writers: people like John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Martin Cruz Smith, Carol O’Connell, David Lindsey.
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By Josie Brown
In the MONEY KILL, the fourth novel of NEW YORK TIMES best-selling author Katia Lief’s Karin Schaeffer series, the plot twists come at you so quickly that you never see the killer coming.
But isn’t that the point?
Besides learning how this enthralling plot came to her, it’s always a joy to talk to another novelist if for no other reason than, unlike friends and casual acquaintances, they know, and get your life: both as an artist and a person who makes her living as a storyteller.
I love Katia’s take on what makes a great storyteller, and how to stay financially (and emotionally) successful in this crazy business we all love…
How did the plot concept for THE MONEY KILL come to you?
As the country and the world slipped into economic turmoil these past few years, and the idea of an ‘us and them’ bubbled hotly in the popular conversation—the stark disparity between the ‘one percenters’ and ‘ninety-nine percenters’—I found myself thinking about the power of money along with just about everyone else. I became intrigued by the idea of writing about the influence of a billionaire whose ability to pay his way out of trouble almost lets him get away with murder. I named him Godfrey Millerhausen, and what he and his well-heeled wife Cathy don’t realize is that they’ve come up against a team of investigators in Karin Schaeffer and Mac MacLeary who aren’t so easily controlled.
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Stone Barrington finds intrigue abroad in the sensational new thriller by the NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author.
Stone Barrington is no stranger to schemes and deceptions of all stripes—as an attorney for the premier white-shoe law firm Woodman & Weld, he’s seen more than his share. But when he travels to Europe under highly unusual circumstances, Stone finds himself at the center of a mystery that is, even by his standards, most peculiar. Two unexpected invitations may be the first clues in an intricate puzzle Stone must unravel to learn the truth . . . a puzzle that will lead him deep into the rarefied world of European ultrawealth and privilege, where billionaires rub elbows with spooks, insider knowledge is traded at a high premium, and murder is never too high a price to pay for a desired end. It soon becomes clear that beneath the bright lights of Europe lurks a shadowy underworld . . . and its only rule is deadly ambition.
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Lisa has thrilled millions with her emotionally-charged novels that feature strong women exploring the boundaries of family, justice, and love. In DON’T GO, she breaks new ground and delivers the story of a soldier who discovers what it means to be a man, a father, and ultimately, a hero.
When Dr. Mike Scanlon is called to serve as an army doctor in Afghanistan, he’s acutely aware of the dangers he’ll face and the hardships it will cause his wife Chloe and newborn baby. And deep inside, he doesn’t think of himself as a warrior, but a healer.
However, in an ironic turn of events, as Mike operates on a wounded soldier in a war-torn country, Chloe dies at home in the suburbs, in an apparent household accident. Devastated, he returns home to bury her, only to discover that the life he left behind has fallen apart. His medical practice is in jeopardy, and he is a complete stranger to the only family he has left — his precious baby girl. Worse, he learns a shocking secret that sends him into a downward spiral.
Ultimately, Mike realizes that the most important battle of his life faces him on the homefront and he’ll have to put it all on the line to save what’s dearest to him – his family. Gripping, thrilling, and profoundly emotional, DON’T GO is Lisa Scottoline at her finest.
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High above the earth, death looms. Orbiting slowly and silently, unknown to almost all …
The White House is only starting to suspect the worst. While most of the world’s Intel resources have been tied up in Afghanistan and Iraq, the President of Chechnya has been making plans – and the clock is ticking.
A world away, off Christmas Island, ex-navy operative Lachlan Fox is on a diving trip with this best friend, Alister Gammaldi. From the moment they lift a mysterious metallic object off the sea floor, the two men set in motion a chain of events that will drag them into the corrupt world of international politics and arms races.
From East Timor to Grozny, Washington to New York and Venice to Iran, Lachlan Fox is forced into an adrenaline-fuelled quest to save his friends, himself … and the world.
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By Karen Harper
Author Barbara Taylor Sissel recently took time out of her busy schedule to answers some questions for the BigThrill:
Please tell us a bit about the storyline in EVIDENCE OF LIFE.
On the last ordinary day of her life, Abby Bennett feels like the luckiest woman on earth. But everyone knows that luck doesn’t last forever…
As her husband, Nick, and teenage daughter, Lindsey, embark on a weekend camping trip to the Hill Country of Texas, Abby looks forward to having some quiet time to herself. She braids Lindsey’s hair, reminds Nick to drive safely, and kisses them both good-bye. For a brief moment, Abby thinks she has it all—a perfect marriage, a perfect life—until a devastating storm rips through the region, and her family vanishes without a trace.
When Nick and Lindsey are presumed dead, lost in the ravaging waters, Abby refuses to give up hope. Consumed by grief and clinging to her belief that her family is still alive, she sets out to find them. But as disturbing clues begin to surface, Abby realizes that the truth may be far more sinister than she imagined. Soon she finds herself caught in a current of lies that threaten to unhinge her and challenge everything she once believed about her marriage and family.
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By George Ebey
Philip Donlay is the author of two previous books in his exciting Donavan Nash series. Now he is back with his third installment, ZERO SEPARATION.
This time around, Nash has a secret he’ll do anything to keep. Teetering on the brink of losing everything, he’s caught between an emotionally compromised FBI agent who knows the secret, and a brutal terrorist bent on igniting a new and more terrible war in the Middle East. Held hostage aboard a stolen private jet above the skies over Washington D.C., Nash and the FBI agent will have a single chance at a daring midair plan to stop the attack. Success could cost them their own lives, but failure will cost the lives of millions.
I recently checked in with Philip who gave me plenty of insight into what it takes to create a great aviation-themed thriller.
How did you first get involved in aviation?
I’ve always loved airplanes. It started as a little boy. As far back as I can remember I lived and breathed aviation. When I was sixteen, I started taking flying lessons, became a licensed pilot when I was seventeen, and by the time I was nineteen I was working as a flight instructor. I quit flying in 2008 with almost 14,000 hours in my logbook–12,000 in jets. I still look up if a plane flies overhead.
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Before commencing her career in writing, Diane Hester was a professional violinist. Born in New York, she attended the Eastman School of Music and went on to play in the Rochester Philharmonic. In 1978, she secured a position in the Adelaide Symphony and has lived in Australia ever since.
Since discovering writing, Diane has done little else. When she isn’t hard at work at her latest novel, she’s planning her critique group’s next retreat or a workshop for her local writing club. RUN TO ME, her debut novel, combines a love of Hitchcock-style suspense with memories of summer vacations in New England, her favorite place on earth.
From professional concert violinist to thriller writer is quite a leap, what lead you to do it?
When I married, I left the Adelaide Symphony and moved to Port Lincoln (a small country town on Australia’s south coast) where my husband was teaching. My performing options were limited there so I began to explore other creative outlets. Once I discovered writing, however, I never looked back.
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How did you spend your last six years? If you’re Harlan Coben you had five consecutive #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestsellers, wrote two young adult books that debuted on the TIMES’ children’s bestseller list, and had one of your books made into an award-winning film.
Feeling bad about yourself yet? (I’m thinking about all the TV I’ve watched since 2007.) If so, brace yourself, because Coben’s new book, SIX YEARS, only adds to his hit list. The book is masterful storytelling that combines mystery, action, a love story, and a perfect dose of humor.
SIX YEARS begins with college professor Jake Fisher watching as the love of his life, Natalie, marries another man. At the wedding, Natalie pulls Jake aside and makes a single request: “Promise me you’ll leave us alone . . . . Promise me you won’t follow us or call or even e-mail.”
Six years go by and Jake kept that promise; six years of pining for the one that got away. But then Jake stumbles upon an obituary—for Natalie’s husband Todd. Jake soon finds himself at Todd’s funeral. And when Todd’s grieving widow appears . . . it isn’t Natalie. In fact, the eulogies reveal that Todd had been married for two decades and had a teenage son.
Where’s Natalie? And what the hell is going on? Jake embarks on a search for the woman who broke his heart. As he digs into Natalie’s past and their ill-fated romance, things he thought he knew about Natalie, their relationship, and even his own friends and colleagues, don’t add up. And he learns that someone else is looking for Natalie—someone willing to commit unspeakable acts to find her.
SIX YEARS arguably is Coben’s best book to date. Coben was kind enough to answer some questions about the book—and much more:
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Harry Beck lives the good life in the Bahamas, with plenty of free time and just enough money to enjoy the Caribbean’s sultry pleasures. Then intrigue and a string of murders, among them the slayings of cherished colleagues, points to Harry’s childhood friend, the millionaire Alan Lancaster. As Harry unravels the clues, he finds himself in the deadly crosshairs of an international child sex-trafficking ring. Maynard-Sims pump out a hard-driving tale of treachery and heroism set in the dangerous undercurrent beneath the sun-dappled waters of paradise.
They recently took time to answers questions for the BigThrill:
The novel is a pinball machine of drama and plot twists. How did you develop the plot? Are you plotters or pantsers?
The book tended to grow organically from the opening chapter. The situation Harry Beck found himself in suggested the direction the plot would go, and after that we let the book develop often with no clear idea where it was going to end up. The mystery Harry had to solve was as much a puzzle to us as it was to him.
We are firm believers in letting the subconscious do the work and solve the puzzle, and often we can sit down to write with no clear idea of what’s going to happen next, and just let it flow. It’s only after the plot strands are developed that we put some thought into how they’re going to be resolved. Ideas are accepted and rejected, until, finally, the plot is resolved satisfactorily. So we suppose “pansters” is the answer.
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By L.J. Sellers
A mystery set in Afghanistan—you don’t read that description very often. But after a decade of US presence in the faraway country, journalist and novelist Susan Froetschel felt compelled to get inside the mind and culture of the Afghan people to see if she could find more similarities with Americans than differences.
The result, FEAR OF BEAUTY, is an “exceptionally well-written tale of love, loss, trust, and greed with appeal that reaches far beyond mystery fans”—according to PUBLISHERS WEEKLY.
The premise, a mother’s loss of her son, is a universal theme that Froetschel hopes readers around the world will relate to. In the story, the boy’s mother, Sofi, must learn to read to unravel the mysterious circumstances surrounding his death. But she must hide her developing literacy—as well as her doubts and investigative steps—from everyone, including her husband and children. In that climate of secrecy and suppression, she digs for the truth about her son’s murder.
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By Thomas Pluck
Waking up one wintry morning in her farmhouse in the Adirondack Mountains, Nora Hamilton’s world is shattered: Her husband, Brendan, has committed suicide. The first hours following Nora’s devastating discovery pass in shock. Why would a rock-solid police officer and husband suddenly kill himself? Having spent a lifetime avoiding hard truths, Nora must now start facing them.
Unraveling Brendan’s final days, Nora searches for an explanation—but finds bewildering resistance from everyone in town. Nora realizes that she is asking questions no one will answer. For beneath the soft cover of snow lies a conspiracy that will do anything to keep its darkest secrets hidden.
Jenny Milchman is the author of COVER OF SNOW due out January 15th from Ballantine Books. With a starred review from PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY, and effusive praise from Harlan Coben, Laura Lippman, Lee Child, and Hank Philippi Ryan, it may be set in the frigid winters of the Adirondacks but it is white hot.
First, let’s get everyone on the edge of their seats. Tell us about COVER OF SNOW.
The book came to life when one question grabbed me around the throat and wouldn’t let go. What would make a good man do the worst thing he possibly could to his wife? And what would that thing be?
OK. Two questions!
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THE BIG THRILL:…