Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Unearthed and Betrayed by Anna J. Stewart

***

Unearthed and Betrayed by Anna J. Stewart continue the “Circle of the Red Lily” series. Both books have a suspenseful action-filled story.

Book Description

Unearthed’s plot has forensic investigator Dr. Cassia Davis living a life of isolation, after surviving the kidnapping by a serial killer. She has self-imposed to confining herself to her apartment and to online consulting. But after a Hollywood Hills murder mystery exposes a mass grave connected to her past, Cass must confront the man who shattered her trust, FBI Special Agent Mitchell Keaton.

His mistake nearly cost her life. Now, working together on the crime scene investigation, they must unearth the truth about a serial killer tied to The Circle of the Red Lily, a ruthless secret society that controls Hollywood’s darkest corners.

But digging into the past means reopening old wounds. As passion reignites between them, Cass and Mitch must overcome guilt, trauma, and the lies that tore them apart. Because the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the hunt becomes.

***

Book Description

Betrayed highlights Sutton O’Hara, a good friend of the heroines from previous stories. She is raising her orphaned niece and nephew and working as a nutritionist at a retirement home. But when clues among the residents point to the Circle, a powerful secret network linked to decades of missing girls and murder, she refuses to look away.

Former Naval investigator Blake Redford is determined to keep Sutton safe. Posing as her friend gives him the perfect excuse to stay close while they search for answers, but the attraction they’ve both ignored quickly becomes impossible to deny. For the first time since losing his wife and son, Blake can imagine a future again.

Then, Sutton discovers why he really took the job as a building maintenance man, and it rocks everything she thought about him.

Now, with her trust shattered and the enemy closing in, Blake must prove whose side he’s on before the secrets he kept cost him the woman he loves, the family he never expected, and their only chance to expose the truth.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?

Anna J. Stewart: I knew when I was writing books, one and two, that I was eventually going to have to find the missing women, and they weren’t obviously going to turn up alive. So, I knew that there was going to have to be a mass grave somewhere. And that’s essentially how I came up with the idea for the character of forensic investigator Dr. Cassia Davis (Cass). Although back when I first put her on the page, I didn’t know how complicated she was going to be to write. For me, it was just kind of a natural inclusion into the storyline.

EC: How would you describe the serial killer Jonathan Whittaker, the one in prison?

AJS: Probably a genius and very manipulative. He was powerful because I think there’s an inherent power, good or bad, that comes from believing that you’re always going to get away with something. And I think when he was put away, he always knew he was going to find a way to get out. He managed to find a way to do that.

EC: How would you describe Elliot the dog?

AJS: He’s traumatized and he bonds with Cass. I watch a lot of animal videos on social media just because they’re so healing. There’s a thing in writing called “Save the Cat,” which is how someone knows whether somebody is very good or not, and it usually has something to do with an animal. This allowed me to give Cassia a coping mechanism and another lost soul to bond with to help her through trauma. And dogs inherently know whether or not they can trust you. Elliot himself sensed that Cass needed him as much as she needed him.

EC: What about Mitch, the hero?

AJS: He’s charming, a former FBI profiler, sympathetic, protective, and focused. He’s also dealing with a fair amount of guilt, and guilt is a great motivator when it comes to the rest of your life. Mitch wishes if only he could turn back the clock and make different decisions than he did in the heat of the moment. And this isn’t to say that he made any wrong decisions. When I wrote the prologue to this book and I showed what happened between him and Cass, in the opening pages of that book, that established where she is mentally and even physically. He wishes there was another way he could have done something without breaking her trust, but he doesn’t see it in the same way that she does. He was a safe person for her to strike out against, and to shut out of her life, because it gave her a kind of a sense of control that she needed. But at the same time, I think she really lost something she probably needed.

EC: How would you describe Cass?

AJS: She is reclusive, traumatized, anxious, and wants safety boundaries. She is self-protective, has imprisoned herself, remote, and paranoid. Cass is angry and I think that might even be close to where most of her issues come from is how angry she is. She doesn’t necessarily know what she’s angry at or who she’s angry at. So, I think it all kind of manifests itself in different ways. It is an illusionary control because what she learns through the story is that even though she thinks everything around her is safe, she’s still not safe. And that’s because she’s brought with her the trauma, and she’s been trying to outrun it by locking herself away, but there’s really no way to do that until she faces it.

EC: What about Temple House?

AJS: I think Temple House is honestly the heart of the story, where everybody has built their community. And that was purposeful. I wanted a central location where everybody had a connection to not only the building and the history of the building and the sense of community that it offers, but also a place where everybody who lives inherently becomes family. My stories, no matter what type of story I write, there is always going to be family found including with a circle of friends.

EC: The relationship between Mitch and Cass?

AJS: It’s complicated because they both are keeping secrets from each other. They’re both frustrated and they care about each other. They love each other. But just because you love somebody doesn’t necessarily mean you can be with them, and they really find their way through a lot of previous trauma to make the decision to fight to be together. And that’s really what they do throughout the story.

EC: In all the books the bad guys are in this group, The Circle?

AJS: They’re abusive, they like to kidnap, believe in ritualistic murders, want power and prestige. They’re like a fraternity and a cult. Past stories about events like this really did kind of influence how I approached creating the circle and what it is that they’re about.

EC: Idea for the fourth book, Betrayed?

AJS: This has been the trickiest story to write so far, and I say that getting ready to hit into the last book of the series. Because when I first introduced Sutton O’Hara, she’s a Midwest girl, a cook, a nutritionist, very much a homebody, because she’s built her life and her career around comfort and nutrition and caretaking. And I wasn’t sure exactly what she was going to bring to the story that could equal what the three previous heroines had done. Each of the three previous heroines had an actual role to play in the investigation and were properly motivated to want to see the investigation proceed. It was a puzzle on what to do with Sutton when she’s raising her niece and nephew. And she’s kind of an outlier, and it actually became a plot point of the story where even she’s wondering, ‘well, what do I have to do with any of this,’ even though she’s also being targeted, partly because she lives in Temple House, but also partly because she’s very good friends with the other women who the circle sees as a threat. I really challenged her into stepping up and deciding what she wants to fight for in her own life. Then there was the hero, Blake Redford, who was introducedin the first book of the series, Framed, book one of the series. I knew from the start what his secret was, and that doesn’t usually happen for me because I don’t plot out my books. I’m usually surprised as I’m writing them. Blake’s appearance, when he showed up in that scene in Framed, he was going to be there for reasons other than being there for a job. When I got to the end of book three, and I kind of had that twist ending in the epilogue, that surprised me. I knew there was some connection between Sutton and Blake but I didn’t realize how deep it particularly went.

EC: What about Blake?

AJS: Blake is former military, calm, and strong. He lost his wife and son. He’s honorable. The honorability is really something that was interesting to play with, because he’s extremely honorable, and he’s extremely loyal, but the loyalty shifts as he becomes more involved in the case. The reasons that he’s originally sent to help at Temple House aren’t necessarily on the up and up, but he’s doing a favor for a friend, and he’s the kind of person who’ll always do something for a friend. When he realizes that there’s more to this than he’s been told, his loyalties begin to shift away from his friend and into the new circle of friends that he’s found, that he didn’t expect to find. No matter what he’s done, he always does it with a sense of honor, which is one reason why he really can’t play a victim when the betrayal comes out. He realizes ‘I have to pay the price for what I set into motion.’  And that’s honorable.

EC: How about their relationship?

AJS: When I started with book four, he really is lying to everybody about why he’s there in Temple House and why he came to Temple House. And Sutton is somebody who needs to trust. And that is the one ultimate thing that she would possibly never be able to forgive is being lied to from the start from somebody that she develops feelings for. This book had a heavier romance lean to it than the suspense, but that’s mainly because Sutton’s position within the friendship circle really didn’t lend itself to quite as much suspense and danger as the other three heroines. Their relationship is complicated. She feels disappointed and betrayed by him and he is hurt by her. I think he’s hurt, but I think he also understands because he knew it was going to happen. He was just hoping to stay ahead of it. But as he’s learned through other events in his life, that it doesn’t matter how much he hopes for things, sometimes he just can’t make something happen that he needs to have happen. It was also an element of self- sabotage: ‘if she doesn’t forgive me, then I’m still protected and, I was right to be leery of getting involved.’ But at the same time, he still hopes that something will work its way out for the two of them.

EC: How would you describe Sutton?

AJS: Sutton is impulsive, gives people confidence, organized, smart, snarky, concerned, determined, and must deal with the death of her brother and sister-in-law. Earlier I was talking about trying to figure out the puzzle piece that she has. Her friend tells her, ‘You have a vital part to play in our circle, because you’re who we all come to for logic and reason and stability. You’re the anchor. And if you weren’t here, we’d all be untethered.’ And I think that was an important thing for her to be able to see through somebody else’s eyes, especially since she’s had a lot thrown at her when her brother and sister-in-law died, and suddenly she’s a single parent to two young children. It’s given her a purpose, but it’s also, kind of taken away from whatever she had planned for her own life. But she never resents that. Sutton kind of becomes the soul of Temple House, taking care of everybody. She cooks for them, and she’s always the one who will open the door and say, ‘what do you need?’

EC: There are a lot of quotes in both books from movies. Are you a movie fanatic?

AJS: I grew up on old movies. I grew up with Shirley Temple and Bogey movies and Marilyn Monroe always been a fascination of mine. I have a huge movie collection. I still collect DVDs because I’m a big fan of physical media where I want to watch what I want to watch. I don’t have to find the streaming service that’s on. I love everything about the whole bringing an imagination into the visual world. I was 7 when Star Wars came out, and that’s really the first movie I can remember where I’m like, ‘oh, this is what it’s like to step into somebody’s imagination.’ And that’s really where my lot of storytelling began. When I created this world and set it in Hollywood, it was just a natural fit because I’ve always been so interested in all kinds of things that have to do with Hollywood movie making.

EC: Who is Moxie Temple based upon?

AJS: Moxie Temple, who is Riley Temple’s great aunt, who I kind of created as a combination of Shirley Temple and Debbie Reynolds, because of the way that she moved through Hollywood. She is trying to reinvent herself, starting from the 1940s all the way up to present day and she’s still driving. She’s still trying to find the spotlight, which she always manages to find.

EC: Next books?

AJS: I think the one thing I know for certain is going to happen in book five is Moxie Temple finally going to find that spotlight again. No title yet, but it will be featuring Laurel Fontaine, who’s the character I have been dying to write. She’s the celebrity defense attorney who is very well known nationwide. She has a reputation. She’s very smart. I have no idea right now what her background is. I don’t know how she became what she became or why, so I’m really looking forward to figuring that out. She will be paired off with somebody we meet in book four, Granger Powell. I want to cause as much conflict and tension as I can, and I think putting those two on the page together is going to be really, fun. It should be out next summer, hopefully late June, early July. I am in the dark as much as the readers are right now as far as how the Circle organization is going to work out because the person I thought headed it, that is not the person. But part of the fun of not being a plotter is that I get to be surprised along with the reader. As far as I know, these five will be the only books in the “Red Lily Series.” That said, I am going to be introducing one or two new characters for a new series.

The new series will take a darker turn, and I’m not sure if traditional publishers would be interested in that. I’d really love to write something where I’m untethered and anything is open to what I want to write. The new series is a story about revenge and justice. I am 90% sure I’m going to be self-publishing it, and if I do, it would probably either be late 2027, early 2028. There’s going to be four books in that series.

The McKenna series is going to end with book four. That’s Aidan’s story and that will be out in February. Readers will meet a bunch of characters for my new series with Harlequin Romantic Suspense, which is called “Deep Current Solutions.” It will revolve around a security agency that deals with aquatic situations working on oil rigs or underwater science facilities. I’m really looking forward to writing those. I believe the first deep current book will be out next fall.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Outage by Mike Trigg

OUTAGE

by Mike Trigg

September 28 – November 6, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for OUTAGE by Mike Trigg on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, and excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a PICT giveaway. Enjoy and good luck!

***

Book Description

Rachel Farrell is working from home in suburban Virginia when the internet goes out. Juggling clients, two restless teenagers, and dinner logistics with her husband, Caleb, a DC lobbyist, she assumes it’s just a routine inconvenience.

Then she finds his note, warning they are in danger and not to trust anyone.

When FBI agents show up looking for Caleb, Rachel realizes something far more sinister is underway: a nationwide internet and phone outage, and Caleb’s biggest client―a powerful Chinese semiconductor company―is at the center of suspicion.

As the night wears on with no word from Caleb, Rachel’s unease shifts into something darker. The man she has been married to for two decades may not be who she thought he was. Fearing for their safety, Rachel and her children embark on a harrowing cross-country journey to find Caleb and hear his explanation. But the more she learns, the more she suspects he may be in on the plot.

Following the clues to a remote compound in South Dakota, Rachel begins to piece together the truth about her husband, his business dealings, and a conspiracy that reaches far beyond anything she ever imagined.

In the end, Rachel has no choice but to uncover the real culprit behind the outage before it costs her everything.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250126148

OUTAGE

Genre: Domestic Suspense; Psychological Thriller
Published by: Montague Books
Publication Date: October 20, 2026
Number of Pages: 344, Pbk
ISBN: 9781646049684 (ISBN10: 1646049683)
Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads  

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

OUTAGE by Mike Trigg is an exciting, fast paced technothriller that puts a mother and her two teenagers into a dangerous race against our government and international threats while trying to find her husband when the internet goes down all over the country. This thriller is based on a very plausible scenario and could be right out of current affairs.

Rachell Farrell is online with a client when the internet goes down. Rachell and her two teens soon discover the outage is affecting everyone. When her D.C. lobbyist husband, Caleb, does not come home, they search for clues to where he might be. Rachell discovers a gun, cash, and a note warning the family they are in danger and not to trust anyone.

The FBI show up at the family home looking for Caleb, as well as a mysterious SUV out front. Rachell is now afraid for her children and fears her husband somehow got them all involved in something life threatening. Rachell and her kids start a harrowing cross-country journey to find Caleb and discover what he has done to have them all running for their lives.

This is a tension-filled thriller that does not let up. The danger is coming at Rachell and her kids from several directions, and she does not even know if she can trust or find her conspiracy theory minded husband. Rachell is a well written protagonist who continually tries to do her best and protect her kids, while also having self-doubt with every dangerous situation they find themselves in. Rachell does give Caleb many more chances than I would have, but it works for this story, even if not for me.

There is a lot of “geek speak” in this book, but it was easy to skim and still understand the basics of the threat while never losing interest or tension because Rachell did not understand it either. Between the FBI, communist Chinese nationals, and a tech billionaire (similar to Elon Musk) and his private security army, you never know who to trust which continually keeps you on the edge-of-your seat. The billionaire’s speech about his beliefs is in line with what I have read about many of the Silicon Valley elites’ beliefs and it is crazy scary.

I recommend this suspense filled technothriller.

***

Excerpt

PROLOGUE

EVERY MARRIAGE EVENTUALLY reaches a decision point. A moment of truth when you either need to trust your partner completely or believe you will be better off on your own.

For Rachel Farrell, that moment is now.

As she lowers her eye to the scope of her rifle, this untimely realization hits her with sudden clarity. Those familiar vows, recited almost two decades ago, constrict her lungs now with the full weight of their significance. To have and to hold, for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health—they all amount to being there, always, no matter what. Doing whatever it takes. Even if that means putting a bullet in someone’s head.

The last week has put those vows to the test. Revealed the cracks that have been growing for years in her marriage to Caleb. After the euphoric whirlwind of falling in love, their relationship survived the trials of parenthood, the stresses of two high-powered jobs, the financial burdens of raising a family. But instead of pulling closer together, they’ve been drifting apart without even knowing it. Differences that once seemed so small have come to feel irreconcilable. Rhetoric that was once so supportive has become laden with microaggressions, harbored grievances, mutual suspicion, strained silence. And yet, their marriage has endured, adapted. They have kept their family together.

Rachel wishes these thoughts weren’t running through her head, not now when she needs to concentrate. But isn’t that what this moment is really about? Does she trust her husband? She knows she must decide. Knows she has put it off. Dreaded the implications, especially for her children. But marriages can’t survive in stasis. They need affirmation, renewed commitment, reinvigoration. Maybe that’s what’s happening. Maybe what seemed like a final straw is actually a newfound spark. Maybe she won’t know what she has until it’s gone.

With tears blurring her vision, she squints through the eyepiece and locates her target. At this close range, his head takes up most of the viewfinder. He’s sitting still, exposed, facing away from her. Then she sees the gun pointed at Caleb’s head. She can’t wait any longer or the decision will be made for her. She has to take the shot. But what if she misses? What will happen next? Whatever it is, she knows her life will never be the same after this moment.

Rachel suppresses her inner dialogue of self-doubt and steadies her breath. Chest pressed into the dirt along the ridge. Elbows propped against a rock. Hands clenched on the stock and grip. Shoulder nuzzled against the butt, braced for the recoil. Beads of sweat streak down her face, but she lets them drip onto the dry ground. Her hand stops trembling as she aligns the back of his head in the crosshairs. Then, she counts her exhale, holds her breath, and squeezes the trigger.

CHAPTER 1

Seven Days Earlier

“I KNOW IT’S HARD, but you have to tell him how you feel,” Rachel says into the screen of her laptop.

Easier said than done, she thinks to herself as she adjusts her camera angle. She has been sitting here all afternoon, parked in the same chair at her dining table, holding back-to-back Zoom sessions. Carrie, her last client of the day, is running up against the end of the hour, but Rachel’s best efforts to politely steer their session to a logical conclusion are proving too subtle.

Part of her feels sorry for Carrie. Her husband stopped attending long ago. It’s not a good sign when the husband—or either spouse, but usually the husband in Rachel’s experience—refuses to participate. That’s the whole idea of couples therapy, that it requires with both partners. That it’s a safe, supportive environment for discussing and resolving issues in a constructive manner. When one spouse taps out of the therapy, it usually means they are tapping out of the marriage. The next step is the domain of Rachel’s previous ten-year profession as a divorce attorney, before she found her calling as a couples therapist.

Rachel can tell that, on some level, Carrie knows her marriage may be over, despite complaining about her husband’s lack of affection, short temper, long absences as if those are root problems rather than symptoms. The fact of the matter is, once again this week, her husband isn’t here. Clear evidence that he’s done trying to save the marriage, if that was ever his intention.

Rachel glances at the clock in the upper corner of her screen, hoping Carrie won’t notice—or maybe that she will and finally realize their time is up. Rachel’s butt is getting numb. She’s running out of time to make anything for dinner. Another night of carryout is the likely solution. Without breaking sympathetic eye contact, Rachel slides her phone just underneath the camera’s view and composes a text message to Caleb.

“Last session running long. Can you pick up dinner at Lost Dog? The usual.”

The Old Town Alexandria restaurant isn’t exactly on Caleb’s way home to the Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, but close enough. Plus, Rachel has a low-grade obsession with their bacon-feta pizza that always overrides her latest attempt at a diet. She’ll kick herself later for gorging on carbs, but screw it—it’s been a long day. Hopefully, Caleb won’t be taking clients out to dinner tonight. She knows he spent the day doing the lobbying rounds on Capitol Hill with one of them, some polyethylene manufacturers’ association or something. She needs that pizza. Rachel notes the time on her phone, 6:04 p.m., then covertly places it face down so she won’t be distracted by it again.

“I just really don’t know what else he expects me to do,” Carrie says, abruptly ending her monologue with an expectant look. Rachel snaps out of her pizza lust and forces a compassionate smile.

“Look, Carrie . . .” Rachel begins, choosing her words carefully. “We’ve been working together a long time, so I feel like I can be honest with you. I’m never going to tell you what to do, but the behaviors you’ve talked about just . . . don’t seem to be getting better. In fact, they seem ingrained. It’s very hard to change another person. And the fact Todd is no longer attending these sessions isn’t a good sign of his commitment to making this marriage work.”

Carrie doesn’t respond, but her expression is the definition of despair. Rachel immediately worries that she’s gone too far. “I’m sorry, I’m probably overstepping my bounds as your therapist, but I . . . Carrie?” Mid-apology, Rachel realizes it isn’t Carrie’s expression that is frozen; it is the entire screen. “Carrie? Hello? Can you hear me?”

That’s perfect, Rachel thinks, pushing a strand of hair aside as she clicks around in aggravation. Just when she finally delivers her tough-love message, their connection drops. The internet service at their suburban house has been so spotty lately, and calling customer service is a joke. Did Carrie hear any of that? Rachel types into the chat feature: “You froze on me. I think we lost our connection.” But nothing happens. Everything is frozen.

“Crap,” Rachel says, drumming her fingers on the table. Hopefully, a bad connection is all it is. Not Carrie getting so offended by Rachel’s candor that she left the meeting. Maybe Carrie’s phone number is in her contacts, Rachel thinks. Just as she picks up her phone to check, it buzzes—most likely with Caleb’s reply, telling her why he can’t pick up dinner, that he’ll be home late again, that they shouldn’t wait up for him. Anticipating her aggravation, she flips the phone over to see the screen, but it isn’t the message from Caleb she expects. Instead, it’s just one simple notification. “Message failed to send.”

***

Author Bio

A veteran of Silicon Valley, Mike Trigg writes contemporary thrillers that explore technology’s impact on modern life. Outage is his third novel. His first, Bit Flip, was lauded as a “twisty, acerbic corporate thriller” by the San Francisco Chronicle. His second, Burner, was praised as “a cautionary tale for the digital age” by IndieReader. His work has been featured in Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, and Literary Hub. Born in Kentucky and raised in Wisconsin, Trigg earned a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from the University of California, Berkeley and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Social Media Links

MikeTrigg.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @mike_trigg
BookBub – @mtrigg254
Instagram – @mike_trigg254
Threads – @mike_trigg254
Facebook – @MikeTriggAuthor

Purchase Links

###

PICT GIVEAWAY

https://pictbooks.review/NREkn3fj

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: DOG and The Girl Who Rode the White Lion by Yishay Ishi Ron

DOG and The Girl Who Rode the White Lion by Yishay Ishi Ron are very powerful novels. Both these novels are mirrored in realistic events including October 7th. They have mystery, good versus evil, revenge and resolution, and are page turners that both inform and entertain.

Elise’s Thoughts

DOG is a poignant and unflinching exploration of the search for meaning after the wreckage of war, told through the eyes of an Israeli combat officer returning from Gaza. Haunted by trauma, he spirals into heroin addiction, finding himself among Tel Aviv’s community of misfit junkies—until a stray dog enters his life and becomes a beacon of hope, guiding him through a transformative journey marked by despair, resilience, and ultimately hope for salvation.

Beyond its deeply personal narrative, DOG offers a raw and immersive examination of PTSD’s mechanisms— how extreme stress, moral injury, and the experience of combat can rewire the brain, making a return to civilian life seem nearly impossible. With sharp social critique and profound emotional depth, the novel sheds light on invisible wounds and those who carry them, while illustrating the therapeutic power of a simple soulful connection, and how the path to redemption can be illuminated in the most unexpected of ways.

###

Elise’s Thoughts

The Girl Who Rode the White Lion shows the cruelty of the Nazi SS. It takes place in two timelines. The first begins in the city of Darmstadt, Germany, on November 9, 1938, during Kristallnacht, and follows the plight of the young girl Sarah Frank and her escape from the SS officer, Hauptsturmführer Hubert Zimmer. She finds refuge in the marvelous circus of Adolf Frey. Adolf, the circus owner and famous lion trainer, is married to Louis, a Jewish French
woman and elephant trainer. The circus has already committed to performances in German cities, but Adolf’s plans are disrupted when the SS officer, searching for Sarah, shows no intention of giving up.

The second timeline of the book takes place in New York City, on January 6, 1957, when Mark Spencer, a veterinarian at the Central Park Zoo, performs a post-mortem examination on a rare white lion named Christmas, and discovers an SS ring made of silver inside its stomach. The mystery of the story has Mark wondering about the ring and searching for clues that has him meet Sarah in Israel.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: The book, DOG, delves into PTSD; can you elaborate on this issue?

Yishay Ishi Ron: Its theme is the horror of the war and what happens when the war is over. A lot of the public attention in Israel now is the after effects of October 7th because so many civilians and soldiers experienced severe PTSD. Some people say that at least one fourth of the population in Israel now has it. Of course, you can see it with soldiers committing suicide, so many, something like 140 since October 7th, and those are only the formal numbers. And of course, survivors, their families, and those injured also have PTSD. Since October 7th, those with PTSD have more than doubled because they were all traumatized. They remember the memories from October 7th, and the anti-Semitism is not helping.

EC: The book, DOG, does it relate to October 7th?

YIR: Although it was written before October 7th, yes. Everybody in Israel knows a family that had a member kidnapped or injured or killed or their son or daughter were killed in the war. PTSD is so common now, and I think that when people read DOG, they should understand deep in their hearts what it means to have PTSD and how it can pull them easily from being a functional normal person to someone that cannot deal with life. They are so haunted by what they’ve seen or what they heard. So, this is the connection to October 7.

EC:  In DOG you have a dedication that reads, “To the combatants whose eyes have seen things that their minds refuse to forget.”  Does this apply to those who saw the horrific acts against the victims on October 7th?

YIR: I’m a PTSD veteran, and I believe that, for many Israelis, veterans, all Israel was traumatized very deeply. Even for me as a veteran I suffered, because I remember those days as very, very traumatic. And I wasn’t there, but it was enough to watch the news and to hear the people who had been there. I remember in my therapy sessions that I was just crying. I couldn’t even deal with my PTSD because I was so traumatized by what happened to us. And I feel that in a way that is how it is with most Israelis. They can’t sleep. It was horrific, what they saw and who were there and what they had to deal with.

EC:  What do you want to say about DOG?

YIR: It’s not about a war, but it’s about what happens when the war is over. What happened to soldiers and to heroes and to people that experience it. As a PTSD survivor, I started to write DOG before I knew I had PTSD. For years I suffered from PTSD and its many manifestations. I couldn’t admit to myself that I’m suffering from PTSD because I did not want to be perceived as weak. So, I started to write DOG a few years before my psychological collapse. I had a breakdown during COVID after my team had a reunion and I met the soldier, a friend of mine, who I accidentally shot during the combat operation. I really collapsed mentally. And that was the first time I really admitted to myself that I had PTSD. I couldn’t work, I didn’t eat, I didn’t sleep. It was very hard for me, very difficult times, so my psychiatrist and my therapist told me ‘You are a writer, go write it to help you to process everything.’ So, I came back to DOG and I started to rewrite it. I wanted to make it more interesting so I wrote it as a novel. I think it’s more reachable for people but also to experience from Geller, my protagonist, his perspective as a Commando officer.

EC: Your other book, The Girl Who Rode the White Lion; how did you get the idea for the story?

YIR: I came upon it many years ago, maybe 10 to 15 years ago, A Jewish acrobat named Irene Danner pleaded for those in the circus to hide her. They accepted to hide her, to give her a job and a new identity. And later, they also took in her sister and grandma. They hid two other families, which was very, very risky for them, because the SS and the Gestapo used to check up on the circus looking for Jews. So, it was very, very dangerous for them, but they decided to do this. As an author I was intrigued by the atmosphere of the circus. I mean, in this insane place that Europe became, and especially Germany, such a place of horrors and of drama and of craziness of what happened. So, it really mesmerized me. I couldn’t get it out of my head and I decided to write the story, but I didn’t want to write the biography so I wrote a fiction novel that deals with this circus, and what happened.

EC: There is a quote in the book that can also refer to today with anti-Semitism. Can you comment?

YIR: You are referring to, ‘The Nazis taught us to stand up for ourselves. They taught us that no one in the world would volunteer to save a Jew.’ On the contrary, many would step up to kill a Jew just for fun. I think that many a Jew was shocked that their non-Jewish friends looked the other way after October 7th. I was not very surprised. Nothing changed. From the beginning of today’s time, and when Christianity and Islam came, Jews were persecuted, everywhere in the world, in all times. 

EC: How would you describe the female protagonist, Sarah?

YIR: She did not believe in love and attachment. She’s quiet, vulnerable and has PTSD. She drinks a lot. She disassociates from herself when she drinks. She can have unattachable sex, but she cannot have long-term relationships because everyone she counted on was killed, was taken from her, and she even says it to Mark Spencer. She tells him that everyone that comes near her is dead, is killed. She’s seen a man being murdered, her house being destroyed, and her father being taken to a concentration camp and killed. She also saw her new parents being killed in Germany during a bombing and animals also killed. So, it’s very, very, very traumatic for her. And I think that she’s has classic PTSD

EC: How would you describe Mark, the male lead?

YIR: He was born with a silver spoon. In the beginning, he is a very successful American, a peacock. He likes to show off. He likes to have many girlfriends, and he cannot stay with one because he feels that he is the alpha man. 

EC: What about the relationship between Mark and Sarah?

YIR: When he falls for Sarah, it’s not only because she’s beautiful because he had many beautiful women before her. When he meets with Sarah, he has a girlfriend in New York who is very beautiful. I think he falls for her because he falls for her honesty and for the feelings and pain that she carries. Like a lot of us, he had sympathy with someone who was suffering. He went on a journey that changes from this person as not being much more sensitive to being sensitive of what happened to the Jews. Then suddenly he finds himself understanding that there is anti-Semitism around. So basically, I think he starts the book as a peacock and finishes it as someone who is much more sensitive and connected to the pain in Sarah.

EC: What do you think the role of the lion was in your story?

YIR: It’s a symbol. It’s a symbol for Jews for strength and for courage. My protagonist, Sarah, found the courage to deal with the situation. I mean, the lion was so frightening, but when she understood the situation, that the real beast is the Nazis, and compared to them, the lion suddenly is not so frightening to her. She understands suddenly that if she does not succeed in riding the lion, she will be dead and everyone she loves will be dead. So, this was the symbol she had to overcome her deepest fears.

EC: How would you describe the Nazi SS Zimmerman?

YIR: He has an inferiority complex, cruel, a control freak, a predator, and a sadist. I saw him in my mind as a combination of Joseph Goebbels and Adolf Eichmann, who were both pathetic, weak physically, and damaged people. So, it was very important for me to show this aspect that the master race was not always such a master race. He became a classic villain, because he’s such a weak person. His hatred for the Jews is based on jealousy of Sarah’s family. His childhood friend was an officer during WWI in the army, and later became a doctor, had a beautiful wife, and a beautiful home, and they were rich. Zimmerman was unsuccessful in his prior life, and became successful as a Nazi, only because he was so extreme and full of hate. He was jealous of the Jews. 

EC: What was the importance of the ring found in the lion’s stomach?

YIR: I read about the Nazi rings, which were given as a present by Himmler to officers in the SS. And the rings were more important than the officers themselves, meaning if an officer was killed, the commands were to bring back the ring. Or when an officer was dead by nature or by accident or by battlefield, the ring had to be brought back to Himmler. It was a gift only to the time the officer was alive. The ring belonged to the SS, and it was a symbol. So, when I looked for a symbol to connect Sarah, to the SS, to the lion, and to Mark Spencer, it was like suddenly as I saw it as a vision that Mark will find the ring in the lion’s stomach. 

EC: Next book?

YIR: It is titled, Jacob the Birdman. It’s about this guy that was feeling that all his life he was a bird. And, suddenly in the park, in Tel Aviv, he goes to the park and meets a strange man that encourages him to take out the bird inside of him and to become a bird. It’s very Salvador Dali, very dreamy, like.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Feature Post and Book Review: Heartless by Brian Fitzgerald

Book Description

Ten years of frustration and heartbreak caring for his son John, born with a catastrophic heart defect, have convinced Rick Morrow that the world is stacked against his family. And on what should be the best day of their life — the day when John will finally get a new heart – an even worse nightmare begins, when the helicopter carrying the heart crashes, destroying the heart and the hopes of the Morrow family.

Rick’s heartbreak turns to rage as he begins to suspect that the accident was no accident at all. His pursuit of the truth puts him on a collision course with the giant Cera Corporation and the powerful family that runs it, who have an agenda of their own and will stop at nothing to make it come true. The escalating conflict threatens Rick’s reputation, his safety and even his marriage. It reaches its gut-wrenching climax with Rick and his wife Mary facing and even more terrible question; will they sacrifice all they believe in to save their own son, at a cost almost too high to imagine?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58278246-heartless?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Gk87HRvkDc&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

HEARTLESS by Brian Fitzgerald is a tour de force medical thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end. It takes on so many issues revolving around transplants, family stressors, corruption, money, and personal and medical ethics as you follow a couple with a child who needs a heart transplant. I find it hard to believe this book has not made it on to any must read or book club list.

Rick and Mary Morrow have dealt with frustration, fear, and hope of having one of their young sons on the national heart transplant list for ten years. Right when they believe all hope is gone and their marriage is shattering, a heart becomes available. A decision is made to fly the heart between hospitals in a new experimental container. Rick follows the helicopter from the ground but realizes there is something wrong. It is coming down. Rick was a helicopter mechanic in the service and knows something is not right with the scene.

Rick’s heartbreak turns to rage as no one believes him. He continues to question everyone involved, but he runs onto a wall put up by the conglomerate Cera Corporation and the powerful family with their own agenda behind the scenes. With escalating threats, Rick and Mary face the ultimate question of what they will sacrifice to save their son?

Mr. Fitzgerald drops you into the lives of Rick and Mary with a writing style that pulls you immediately into their story and does not let go. The thriller plot moves at a fast pace with an ever-escalating tension between the truth and the cover-up with plenty of twists and surprises throughout. You also have the dichotomy between the Morrow’s financial situation and the unlimited funds of the Cera Corporation which leads the reader to ethical and moral dilemmas to contemplate. And then you get hit with a personal moral choice that the Morrow’s are cornered into making for their son. This book will stick with you for a long time after you close the cover because you will continue to think about what choices you would have made.

I highly recommend this medical thriller and hope many, many more people read it!

***

About the Author

Over the course of career in marketing and technology Brian made his living through storytelling, communicating in print, online and national broadcast TV. During that time, as head of communications for a billion-dollar information security firm, he had a role in some of the most tumultuous events in cybersecurity including major breaches and global privacy issues. Brian has worked with (and at times been at odds with) the media, academia and even America’s intelligence and law-enforcement agencies. These experiences have informed his fiction writing, as he strives to bring to life the human consequences of advances in technology, medicine and social media.

Social Media Links

Website: https://brianbooks.com/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Brian-Fitzgerald/author/B0GF45VCP5?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1791144059&sr=8-1&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=1f4ee3f8-1ec4-4e18-be69-344437e21500

Feature Post and Book Review: A Killer for Christmas by Kim Harrington

Book Description

Christmasville, Maine, is the only place where Kelsey Hendricks has ever felt happy. When she loses both her job and her boyfriend, the move is a no-brainer, especially when she sees a listing for a position as Christmasville’s social media manager. Surrounded by twinkling lights and candy canes and with the perfect job, this tinsel town is working its magic on Kelsey. With two heartthrobs vying for her attention, her life is now just like a Christmas movie.

Except for the murders.

The first one is dismissed as an accident. But after the second, and definitely the third, it becomes abundantly clear that Santa is leaving coal in someone’s stocking this year.

Determined to bring back the holly jolly spirit to the town before tourists begin canceling their reservations, Kelsey must sleuth her way out of a chilling murder mystery and back to a holiday rom-com.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/245670642-a-killer-for-christmas?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=EeAnRrD7DE&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

A KILLER FOR CHRISTMAS by Kim Harrington is an entertaining holiday cozy mystery read for all lovers of the combination of Christmas spirit, a possible rom-com holiday romance in cute small-town Maine, and murder. This combination may sound crazy, but you know there is a group of us who are all out here looking for this book…Ho, Ho, Oh no!

Kelsey Hendricks quits her job and flees a bad break-up in Boston to the one place that always brought her joy and happiness, Christmasville, Maine, where it is Christmas every day. She lands the job as the town’s social media manager and checks into a local family-owned inn. It would all be a great start to a new life if she did not continue to come across dead bodies. The first may have been considered an accident by the mayor and police chief, but two, and then three?

Kelsey and her newly made friends must deal with a mayor that will believe anything but the truth to save the town’s tourist income, an on-line troll calling themselves the ChristmastimeKiller, and two men who could either be her rom-com dream or a killer?

This is a fun holiday cozy mystery read with just the right amount of interesting small-town characters and/or suspects, with periods of threat or uncertainty thrown into the mix. Kelsey is a protagonist that is relatable and the dialogue between her and her new friends is fun and believable. I enjoyed the characters, but I did not feel an in-depth attachment to them, except for Kelsey. The murder plot moved well throughout the story after the second murder with a climax I did not see coming. (I like when that happens.)

This is the one, if you are like me, and like a little murder and possible romance to go with your holiday cheer.

***

About the Author

Kim Harrington is the author of A Killer for Christmas, her debut adult mystery coming in 2026 from Crooked Lane Books. She is also known for her teen novels Clarity, Perception, The Dead and Buried, and Forget Me, as well as books for younger readers including Revenge of the Red Club, the Sleuth or Dare series, and Gamer Squad series. Her books have been published in ten countries. She lives in Massachusetts with her family and never leaves the house without a book. Find her online at kimharringtonbooks com.

Social Media Links

Website: https://kimharringtonbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkimharrington

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimharringtonauthor/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/kimharringtonbooks.bsky.social

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-killer-for-christmas-by-kim-harrington

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Beyond Honor by K.B. Brodsky

Book Description

A man forged by war, paramilitary operative Kevin Rhoads is recruited for a solo extraction mission deep inside Siberia. CIA analyst Whitney Skyler’s investigation into a Russian-backed bank on American soil leads to the President of the United States.

Director Cynthia King plays an audacious gambit, leveraging a thirty-year debt of honor to save a captured American agent. But in this world of shifting alliances, even the most careful plans can unravel. Skyler faces an impossible choice: expose her mentor’s dangerous game to protect national security or reveal the truth to Rhoads. Already shattered by loss, Rhoads discovers the devastating betrayal that will transform him into a force of vengeance, leaving death in his wake.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Beyond Honor by K. B. Brodsky (the pen name for the husband-and-wife team of Karen and Bill Brodsky) is a fabulous debut novel.  It has everything that a Vince Flynn/Mitch Rapp novel had including action, great character development, and timely geopolitical scenarios with themes of loyalty, duty, sacrifice, and revenge.

There are multiple sub-plots in the book. Readers meet Kevin Rhoads in the first chapter as a 17-year-old Alaskan hunting guide and pilot who takes two US army veterans bear hunting. The veterans were so impressed with Kevin’s skills they told him to call when he finished school. He does just that, fast forwarding, to become a Delta working in the Special Activities Center. He and his team, joined by rising CIA analyst Whitney Skyler, are sent on an operation to accompany US technicians assisting Ukrainian forces. At the last-minute, Rhoads is pulled from the mission so that he can head to his father’s side, who has been hospitalized, and Skyler is called back to Washington. After hearing the team’s transport has been shot down by Russian forces with all dead, they both feel guilty for surviving.

The second plot line has real estate developer, Peter Michaels, being blackmailed by Russian spies who bailed him out of financial trouble.  Whitney uncovers a financial trail that leads from Russia back to a Michaels, a close friend of the newly elected US President Kemp.

The third plot line has Skyler also discovering during her investigation that a CIA asset believed dead is alive in a Russian prison. Rhoads is asked to do a solo extraction. Cynthia King, CIA Director of Special Situations, is behind putting Skyler in charge of the investigation and choosing Rhoads for the extraction. Plus, she uncovers a financial trail that leads from Russia and connected to the failed op that killed Rhoads teammates.

The authors have hit the ball out of the park with this debut novel as they pit US and Russian intelligence agencies against each other. Readers will take an emotional journey with the characters as they deal with loss, grief, and complicated relationships. There is a lot of action as the characters are on a quest for vengeance.

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: What’s it like writing together?

K. Brodsky: I think we have a pretty good system where Bill wrote the first draft, and then invited me to join him in the rest of the process. I think we both bring different strengths to it and we have a good system where we write on a Google Doc. All our edits, all our changes, all our thoughts are sort of off to the side in comments and nobody changes anything unless the other person agrees. I think, we got it worked out. What do you think, Bill?

B. Brodsky: I think it’s super fun. You know, putting aside the technicalities of it, we talk about it, and we have a drink over it, and we have a lot of laughs on it.

EC: Idea for the story?

K. B. B: It organically grew, where the components became more complicated, more nuanced as we were going through the story writing process. But we always knew we wanted to make this story about honor and betrayal, and we kind of had the sense that the end of the book will have Kevin and Whitney separated in some way.

EC: What was the purpose of the hunting scene in chapter one?

K. B. B: We wanted to land our character, Kevin Rhodes, in an environment where he can display his talents. We wanted to also show his very deep relationship with his father and the lodge that they work in. The grizzly bears were just a vehicle to show his talents, whether it was the shooting or his resilience when he hurt his ankle, or his confidence in flying a little plane. Once a retired Delta Force and sent to Siberia, readers see a lot of those talents come back, including flying of the plane. So, it was kind of a consistent thing throughout the book. The two hunters he was a guide for were veterans of the army. At the end of the hunt, they were very impressed with him, and they gave him a card and said, ‘When you finish college, call this number, and, there’s a job. We’re in the Delta force.’

EC: How would you describe Kevin, the male lead?

K. B. B: Kevin is determined. A tracker, brave, family minded, calm, laser focused, and went on a mission. He kind of has two sides, one when he’s on a mission, and one when he’s a civilian. We really wanted to show in his character how he is compartmentalized.

EC: Do you think some of the settings was timely?

K. B. B: I think it’s timely, because we tried to paint a geopolitical picture, but we tried to keep it relatively simple and more from the individual’s perspective. In the Ukraine part of the book, while we don’t get into the politics of it, we get into the human cost of it, the people being killed, the toll that it takes on the soldiers, since some of them don’t make it. I think the goal is if you pick up this book 20 years from now, it would still feel relevant, regardless of what was happening in the geopolitical sphere. It would still feel relevant because it’s grounded in characters, versus what was happening in the world at that time. Which is why it wasn’t written to sort of be a rip from the headlines either.

EC: How would you describe Whitney?

K. B. B: She’s is incredibly responsible. I think she carries the weight of what happened to her brother with her, and she doesn’t want to let anybody down. Part of what we really wanted for Whitney was to see growth from her from the beginning to the end. She starts out, not naive, but very earnest, and we wanted her to sort of become more complicated than nuanced as she became more grounded in these situations. But we also made a point to make sure that she didn’t become like a superhero, picking up a gun and turning into a female version of Kevin. We wanted her to have her own skills, which were more of an analyst. She learns from her mentor, Cynthia King.

EC: How would you describe Cynthia King, CIA Director of Special Situations?

K. B. B: She’s willing to do things that go outside of what would be considered good. In all these characters is this concept of being pushed beyond honor. She is pushing people, taking advantage of the debt of honor with Somers, the CIA Director, to get what she believes is necessary.

EC: What role did Daniel Komoroff, CIA asset captured by Russia play in the story?

K. B. B: I think he’s a vehicle to get King really engaged, so that she uses her debt of honor that she feels Somers owes her. So that we really see King manipulating Somers who had no choice but to say yes because of what happened in Berlin 30 or 40 years ago. King pushes Somers beyond her comfort zone. And Komoroff provided a vehicle for King to get passionate, to try to manipulate everybody, because she saw herself in him.

EC: How would you describe President Kemp?

K. B. B: He’s a political animal. I think he’s smart. I think he’s a manipulator and impulsive. He’s a politician, and I think, for better or for worse, whether you’re a Democrat or a Republican, he’s supposed to be kind of an amalgamation of lots of different politicians, really the worst of our politics. It’s hard to figure out exactly what they really believe in. They kind of blow with the wind, depending on their polling numbers. They are trying to manipulate people to get votes, to get money, and do not ask the right questions. I think what they believe in is power, period.

EC: What about Anya the Russian Agent?

K. B. B: We kind of set her up to be disillusioned but she does things to help Russia against the US.

EC: Next book?

K. B. B: We explore Anya more deeply in book two. We had a cliffhanger in book one because we are setting readers up for the next phase. Kevin and Whitney will be back. There is no official title yet. The setting is in Venezuela

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.