When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.
The morning after Elizabeth’s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah’s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth’s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth’s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every corner of the country’s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth’s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them–and the secrets of Hamilton’s society are lost forever.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman intertwines history within a mystery. The conspiratorial plot involves a secret society established by Alexander Hamilton to protect U.S. gold reserves from foreign and domestic enemies. The question throughout the story is, “Did Alexander Hamilton hide enough gold to prevent anyone from cornering the market and ruining the US?”
The characters need to answer that question to find out what happened to the last heir of Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Walker. The police are wondering if she jumped in front of a subway train or was pushed to her death. Her husband, Ralph, and her best friend Sarah Brockman, know that she was terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days. Sarah received a cryptic message, and Ralph recalls her running mysterious errands to search for a strange antique key including in a piano at the Hamilton Grange (the house Hamilton built in New York City). Then, Sarah receives a box of tattered documents and shows them to Ralph.
Working together to find answers to Elizabeth’s death, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep America safe. Also investigating her death is Detective Deborah Schwartz who knows Sarah and Ralph are hiding something. To make matters worse, Sarah’s co-worker Pierce Burr shares sensitive intelligence about gold reserves with his devious friend Timothy who works for the Treasury Department and is trying to thwart her efforts to find the truth. Pierce and Timothy are trying to involve foreign interference in the international gold market.
The story has a great plot, intriguing characters, and a lot of suspense. Readers will feel they are back in time during revolutionary days and then jump forward to today where the twists add to a riveting storyline.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Jenn Bregman: My husband and I lived in New York for about 12 years. The city lives and breathes Revolutionary era history. I became immersed in it and have a fondness for revolutionary times. The inspiration for the story came at that point. I read the Ron Chernow book and fell in love with Alexander Hamilton. Plus, I always have been interested in legacy issues and how the past continues through generations. Then the story just grew. Most of the historical facts in this book are accurate.
EC: What about the financial aspect of the story?
JB: I went to law school at UCLA where I met my husband. Then I became a Big Law litigator who practiced in Los Angeles and New York. I worked on Wall Street for many years and in banking compliance and trading. This part of the story was my life, so I did not need to do any research.
EC: What was true?
JB: 48 Wall Street, the first bank of New York, does have a raised basement. It is possible the vaults are there. The part about Fort Knox is a basis in speculation. There has never been a full accounting of the gold depositories in the US because the government does not want it. One of the facts that is true. It took the US four years to give the German bank back their gold bars. And it is true there is no accounting. Also, the piano in the story that had a little matchbox draw underneath is still at the Hamilton Grange.
EC: What was the role of Alexander Hamilton, his daughter, Angelica, and the handkerchief?
JB: He has an active and passive role. He put in place the vision for America within a secret society. He set up a trove to set up this secret society. Angelica became mentally disabled through the grief of losing her brother. The only thing that would soothe her is to play the piano over and over. The piano that I speak about is at the Hamilton Grange. The clue was a picture of Angleica with the handkerchief and the piano.
EC: How would you describe Elizabeth?
JB: Charming, stressed, short tempered at a certain point in the story, and feels she has a legacy. She has great virtue, integrity, courage, and strength. Elizabeth always gave of her time to support the Hamilton legacy.
EC: How would you describe Sarah?
JB: Tough, fair, loyal, and courageous with a conscience. She is sometimes conflicted. She has more layers than Elizabeth.
EC: What about Ralph?
JB: Kind, gentle, resourceful, sweet, creative, trusting, and anxious during this point in the story.
EC: What about Pierce?
JB: He is anti-hero, manipulative, and self-centered. He was greedy, someone who wanted to gain money and prominence. He also wanted to save his family legacy. He allowed the greed to cloud his eyes.
EC: What role did Detective Schwartz play?
JB: She is inquisitive, analytical, wise, and suspicious. She is seasoned because she knew that both Sarah and Ralph were hiding something but let it run its course.
EC: Next book?
JB: I am working on it now. Some of the characters will continue including Sarah but not Hamilton. The next book takes place shortly after this book and will be a thriller.
THANK YOU!!
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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.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for HER BURNING LIES (Detective Delaney Pace Book #5) by Pamela Fagan Hutchins on this Bookouture Book-On-Tour blog tour.
Below you will find an about the book section, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!
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About the Book
As a blazing wildfire rages through Kearny County, homes are destroyed and the town is in turmoil. Amongst the debris, the body of a young woman lies totally still, her eyes looking to the sky, a silver sword pinning her to the ground.
When fire wardens search the scorched remains of an abandoned farmhouse, underneath the rubble, they make a shocking discovery—a young woman, stabbed and left to die in the middle of the fire zone. Detective Delaney Pace andSheriff Leo Palmer are called in to investigate.
Leo takes in the woman’s petite features, his voice shaking as he turns to Delaney. He knows the victim—they had met on an online dating site. How did she end up in the middle of the wildfires, and who would want to kill an innocent young woman?
As a second body is discovered at a remote ranch, also stabbed with a silver sword, Delaney is sure the victims are linked—both young mothers, both looking for love. Could Kearny County have a serial killer preying on single women?
Delaney’s heart pounds when she learns that her close friend, Clara Eckhardt, is missing, last seen driving towards the fires. She ignores the evacuation orders and races towards the inferno. But when shots are fired, she knows the murderer has her in their sight. Will she turn back and save herself or chase the killer further into the fire to save her friend’s life?
HER BURNING LIES (Detective Delaney Pace Book #5) by Pamela Fagan Hutchins is an edge-of-your-seat action packed crime thriller/police procedural featuring Detective Inspector Delaney Pace in Kearny County, Wyoming. This is the fifth book in the series and can be read as a standalone crime thriller, but the main characters’ personal relationships change and grow over the series. I have read them all in order and really enjoy the crime plots and the growing relationship between Delaney and Leo.
Detective Inspector Delaney Pace and Sheriff Leo Palmer have their hands full with a large wildfire raging through the county. When the fire wardens gather to set up a staging area at an abandoned farm, they discover the body of a young women in the stone farmhouse dead and pinned to the ground with a large sword.
A second body is discovered the next day in the burned-out barn. The body is as charred as the barn, and it also is pinned to the ground with a sword. As Delaney and Leo investigate the identities of their victims, they discover they have both given birth, but no babies are found in the apartment building that houses several young women.
When one of Delaney’s friends disappears, she and Leo are racing against the clock to find her and discover if there is a connection between her and the dead young women as the wildfire gets ever closer.
This is another fantastic addition to the Detective Delaney Pace series! I am never disappointed. The crime thriller plot always keeps me guessing to the climax with plenty of twists and surprises throughout. Delaney and Leo’s extended families add relatability and realism to the story. Their personal relationship is a rollercoaster ride that finally, after five books, has left me with good feelings for their future. This is a must-read series for me, and I am always excited to get the next book.
I highly recommend this addictive crime thriller/police procedural book and series.
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About the Author
Pamela Fagan Hutchins is a USA Today bestselling and Silver Falchion Best Mystery winning mystery/thriller/suspense author (and recovering attorney and investigator) who splits her time between an off-the-grid lodge on the face of Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains and a rustic cabin on Maine’s Lake Mooselookmeguntic with her husband, kids and grandkids, rescue pets and sled dog, and draft cross horses.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE ORGAN BROKER by Deven Greene on this Partners-In-Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links and a Kingsumo giveaway. Good luck on the giveaway and enjoy!
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Book Description
A devoted wife and mother faces the unimaginable as her life crumbles.
Crystal Rigler seems to have a perfect marriage. Derek, her handsome and charismatic husband, and their adult daughter, Cordelia, are her whole world. In addition to her already busy life, Crystal supports the volunteer organization she and Derek started: STOP (Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners).
STOP aims to end a new government policy of harvesting organs from executed prisoners. They learn that these organs are not distributed by the national transplant list, established to allocate organs fairly. Instead, a shadowy figure known as Broker Al pulls the strings. He expedites the execution of young and healthy prisoners and sells their organs at a high price to the rich and well-connected.
After Crystal learns a disturbing secret, events are set in motion that will potentially dismantle STOP, change her life, and cost her everything. Unless she is willing to do the unthinkable.
Genre: Psychological Suspense Published by: Panthera Publishing Publication Date: April 2025 Number of Pages: 321 ISBN: 9781964620060 (ISBN10: 1964620066)
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
THE ORGAN BROKER by Deven Greene is a dark thriller which poses many ethical questions surrounding the morality of organ donation from death row prisoners. I have a feeling this is going to be one of those books that the readers either love or hate.
Crystal and Derek Rigler are a married couple with a grown daughter, Callie. They run the local office of a volunteer organization called STOP (Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners). Crystal does a lot of the work and writes all of Derek speeches, but Derek gets most of the attention due to his looks and magnetic personality. An investigative journalist, who helps with STOP, gets insider information about corruption in the distribution of the transplant organs from prisoners facilitated by a shadowy figure called Broker Al.
When Callie comes home from college ill and needs a liver transplant, this sets into motion very personal decisions and moral dilemmas that will change all their lives.
The questions are intriguing and made me interested in reading this book and I was not surprised by the morally bankrupt, money hungry evil antagonists but what I was not expecting was the main characters to be unlikable, also. Derek is a narcissist, and I did not like him from the start, so I was hoping Crystal would be a strong female character to balance his character out, but no, while not evil, I had difficulty with many of her decisions. Usually, this would put me off the book, but the author writes them into so many thought-provoking situations that I could not put it down. I do think the story has too much devoted to their marriage and its problems in the beginning of the book that could have been edited out.
The moral questions surrounding who gets donated organs and in what order have always interested me. You hear about corruption, but supposedly the system is set up for it not to happen, but this author takes you down the rabbit hole of “what if?” There are plenty of plot twists and surprises that do lead to a satisfactory ending even with the slower start.
I recommend this dark thriller for its ability to keep me engrossed with its intriguing concept.
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Excerpt
Chapter 1
The East Texas sun was hotter than usual for September, the few clouds high above providing no relief. A half-hour earlier, overcome by heat and exhaustion, Crystal had let her sign reading “Save Kwami” slip to the ground. Standing near the front of the crowd, Crystal pushed up the visor on her baseball cap to get a better look at her surroundings. She was pleased with the impressive turnout which she estimated to be close to one thousand people. It was the largest they’d ever had. Most of the other protestors continue to hold their placards high, displaying myriad slogans such as “Justice for Kwami,” “Let Kwami Live,” “Impeach Gov. Percy,” and the most popular, “STOP.” She took a deep breath and lifted her sign again, fighting the pain in her fingers as she held it as high as she could.
The crowd of protestors was comprised of a cross-section of the community— young, old, couples, families, Black, White, Hispanic, and Asian. A colorful array of baseball caps, bucket hats, visors, straw hats, and cowboy hats protected most of the heads from the constant flood of the sun’s rays.
The makeshift podium and public address system were rudimentary, and there was the usual milling around often seen in large gatherings, but the audience, for the most part, was paying attention to the pudgy young man with a man bun speaking to them. At times, the crowd burst out in synchronous claps and hoots of approval. The assembly was peaceful, with only a few skirmishes breaking out at the edges where police stood watch.
Still thirsty after having finished her bottle of water, Crystal let her mind wander as the speaker droned on about the immorality of what was about to take place. Her clothes clung to her sweaty body, and despite wearing sunglasses with polarized lenses, the bright sun hurt her eyes. Looking down, she swatted away a bug that landed on her arm. Uncomfortable and impatient, she was eagerly awaiting the next speaker.
Finally, the man at the podium looked up and announced, “And now, the man you’ve all been waiting to hear, the leader of our organization, Mr. Derek Rigler.”
The mood of the crowd changed, and participants started chanting “STOP” in unison as they raised and lowered their signs. A tall, muscular man with tan skin and wavy blond hair, took to the stage next to the previous speaker and scanned the crowd with his magnetic blue eyes. Crystal looked up and smiled. His handsome, chiseled features gave him the look of a confident leader. Although he was nearly fifty years old, he looked at least ten years younger. He hasn’t lost the ability to attract attention whenever he enters a room.
Derek took his place on the podium and held out his arms as if to give a benediction. After almost a full minute of roaring applause, he raised and lowered his hands several times to quiet the crowd.
Crystal looked around, energized by the enthusiasm bubbling over. She noted more press vans set up around the perimeter than in the previous protest. Their organization, STOP, was gaining traction.
She wondered if Derek had picked her out of the crowd. If she were taller, he’d probably see her—she wasn’t far from the front—but she imagined her five-foot two-inch frame made her visage difficult to identify in the sea of people. From what she could glean, Derek hadn’t spotted her. After all, she was just another brunette under a baseball cap, surrounded by many others. Even so, Crystal smiled widely, wondering if anyone nearby recognized her. After all, she was notable as Derek’s wife and the mother of his child, Cordelia.
As Derek started his familiar diatribe against the Texas death penalty laws, Crystal tried to lock eyes with him, but his eyes never found her. Instead, he focused on members of the audience near and far, concentrating his gaze on one person for several seconds before moving on to the next pair of waiting eyes.
Crystal recognized the usual arguments against the event that was scheduled to take place momentarily—the uneven death penalty sentencing, the ugliness of exacting revenge, and the irreversibility of the punishment once meted out. The speech was powerful, and she agreed with everything Derek said. She could recite the words by heart, not only because she had heard them during Derek’s practice sessions, but because she had written them herself. Every time the crowd reacted with hollers and claps, she felt taller, each breath a bit more satisfying. She’d been to over six of these rallies in the past year, each protesting the execution of a prisoner found guilty of a crime deemed fitting for capital punishment.
The death penalty had never sat well with Crystal, but over the past two years, the practice had escalated, with four more executions scheduled over the next six months in Texas alone. Not only was the ultimate punishment meted out more often, but the evidence leading to convictions was frequently less convincing. She’d made up her mind to do something to stop the injustice and had established STOP almost a year earlier. A small, grass-roots collection of like-minded people, it was taking hold, thanks to her speech writing, community outreach, and organizational skills, bolstered by her husband’s charisma. He was the face of the organization.
Derek’s address was interrupted by a loud commotion as the officers stationed around the perimeter began to forcefully clear a path through the protestors to the entryway of the large building looming behind the speaker. Despite shouting and resistance from the crowd, with the most passionate demonstrators being handcuffed and dragged away, the police were able to open a wide berth.
“We are nearing the time,” Derek shouted above the commotion, “the time when our brother Kwami will be taken from us in an act that can only be described as state-sponsored murder. Let all those who have participated in this mockery of justice one day pay for their crimes, and let all those who directly benefit from this violent act realize the wrong they have participated in.”
A police transport moved through the clearing in the crowd as demonstrators chanted “Kwami, Kwami” in unison. Although the windows of the vehicle were covered, all knew who was inside—Kwami McKinney, sentenced to be executed that day. The van didn’t stop until it was a mere five feet from the door to the building. A massive construction of cement and glass six stories high, the structure dwarfed the trees and other buildings nearby. Derek was silent as he turned to watch the Black prisoner, his head shaved, exit the van’s side door.
Dressed in an orange jumpsuit accessorized with ankle and wrist shackles, Kwami was escorted by two armed guards, each holding onto one of his arms. Two more prison officers took up the rear. As the party of five walked towards the glass doors of the building, a Black woman around fifty years old ran towards them screaming. She was forcibly stopped by police, who grabbed onto her arms long before she could interfere.
Everyone there knew the woman was Sally McKinney, Kwami’s mother. She yelled and cried hysterically, flailing against those restraining her as her son was led through the automated doors that opened before him and the guards. They disappeared inside the structure as the glass doors shut.
People in the crowd yelled and cried, drowning out Ms. McKinney’s wails. Frustrated tears filled Crystal’s eyes; their protest had done nothing to dissuade the authorities from carrying out their sentence. She hadn’t expected the proceedings to be halted, but held onto a glimmer of hope until now, irrational as it was.
She looked to Derek for comfort, hoping they might finally lock gazes and convey their sadness to each other, but Crystal’s thoughts were interrupted by a female acquaintance. “Fantastic speech,” the woman said.
“I can’t disagree,” Crystal answered, buoyed momentarily by the woman’s words.
“You must be very proud, being his wife. He’s so handsome, and brilliant to boot. You two are the perfect couple. I’d sure like to be a fly on the wall at your dinner table to hear about all his great ideas.”
The words stung slightly, as Crystal chuckled politely. She was accustomed to being thought of as a mere appendage of her charismatic husband, but, she’d tried to convince herself that a successful protest, with Derek delivering a resounding speech, was all that was important. She didn’t need the admiration of others like he did. “Our dinners aren’t as interesting as you might think. Mostly, we talk about how we’re going to pay our bills.”
Members of the press, who until now had been scattered amongst the protestors while taking notes and silently recording videos, were now talking and interviewing people on camera. The crowd thinned, but Crystal didn’t want to leave. She’d have liked to remain until she knew Kwami had taken his last breath, but that moment was hours away.
She listened as a nearby male telecaster spoke into a camera. “Emotions are again high as another execution is about to take place. While many people feel that the crimes Kwami McKinney was convicted of, armed robbery and hostage-taking, justify the death sentence, some feel the punishment is too severe for the crimes the prisoner was convicted of. Still others believe he is innocent of the charges against him.”
The reporter turned to a middle-aged female bystander and asked, “What do you think of today’s events? Do you think justice is being carried out today?” After posing the question, he shoved the microphone close to the woman’s mouth.
“This is a travesty of justice,” she answered. “The real criminal was wearing a ski mask during the robbery, and escaped capture immediately following the crime. That was made clear during the trial. We also learned that Mr. McKinney was picked out in a lineup by two unreliable witnesses days later. There was a boatload of evidence that the so-called witnesses had drug charges against them dropped shortly after identifying Mr. McKinney. What kind of justice is that?”
The telecaster quickly turned to the camera and continued his reporting. “Despite the controversy, Kwami McKinney is still scheduled to be executed here and now at New Lake Hospital. While we are happy for the families of the six unnamed individuals who will be the recipients of much-needed organs, many are questioning the legality and morality of what is now becoming a common method of organ procurement. The objections are being led by the organization STOP, which stands for Stop Transplants of Organs from Prisoners.”
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Author Bio
Deven Greene lives in Northern California, where she enjoys writing fiction, most of which involves science or medicine. She has degrees in biochemistry (PhD) and medicine (MD), and practiced pathology for over twenty years.
She has previously published the The Erica Rosen MD Trilogy (Unnatural, Unwitting, and Unforeseen), and Ties That Kill, as well as several short stories.
OUTSIDER (Kate Burkholder Book #12) by Linda Castillo is another gripping and intricately plotted suspense/mystery police procedural featuring small town Chief of Police Kate Burkholder in Painters Mill, Ohio. I love curling up on the couch with each book in the series because I know I will get a great smalltown police procedural while also learning something new and interesting about the Anabaptist Amish life in Ohio.
Widower Adam Lengacher is out on a sleigh ride with his children on a snowy afternoon. They discover a pickup truck stuck in a snow drift off the road. When Adam looks inside for anyone who is hurt, the cab is empty, but there is blood on the seat. Further down the road they find a women curled up and almost frozen. Adam calls Katie and tells her what he has found and asks for her help.
Katie is shocked when she arrives at Adam’s farm to find Gina Colorosa, who befriended her when she moved to Columbus after leaving Painters Mill. Katie has fond memories of Gina, but also bad. When they became police officers together everything was fun and exciting, but Gina soon began to work with other officers and detectives on the vice squad that there are serious rumors being whispered about. Now she is in Adam’s home with a gunshot wound, a story of running for her life from corrupt fellow cops in Columbus, and a blizzard raging outside. Kate wants to believe her, but she knows Gina is not telling her everything.
With Tomasetti’s help, Kate attempts to find the truth as she and Gina stay with Adam and his children on their farm, but two determined detectives want to make sure Gina can never talk.
Ms. Castillo’s storytelling completely engaged me in the personal conflict between what Kate feels she owes her old friend, what she knows Gina did wrong in her past, and what she can believe of what Gina is telling her now. Besides all this personal tension in the story, you have Kate worrying if Gina is bringing danger to Adam and his children. While Tomasetti does the investigating away from the farm, there are still surprises and twists brought into the story just with their conversations trading information. When the dirty cops arrive, it is edge-of-your-seat action time and the surprises that happen very close together have Kate reevaluating her life and relationships.
I highly recommend this addition to the series! I am never disappointed when I pull out a Kate Burkholder book to read.
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About the Author
Linda Castillo is the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Kate Burkholder series, set in the world of the Amish. The first book, Sworn to Silence, was adapted into a Lifetime original movie titled An Amish Murder starring Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder. Castillo is the recipient of numerous industry awards including a nomination by the International Thriller Writers for Best Hardcover, the Mystery Writers of America’s Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and an appearance on the Boston Globe’s shortlist for best crime novel. In addition to writing, Castillo’s other passion is horses. She lives in Texas with her husband and is currently at work on her next book.
After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their time off, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone…literally. When they receive a summons from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.
Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster with an iron fist, some serious criminal ambition, and a tendency to kill first and ask questions later. This new nemesis is murdering agents who got in the way of their power hungry plans and the aging quartet of killers is next.
Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster who seems to know their next move before they make it. Their enemy is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their killer experience to get out of this mission alive.
KILLS WELL WITH OTHERS (Killers of a Certain Age Book #2) by Deanna Raybourn is another thrilling assignment with the four senior female assassins introduced in Killers of aCertain Age. These books are fast paced, twisted crime thrillers/mysteries with a memorable group of assassins, but keep in mind, the books are in no way cozy.
Since their last adventure to save their own lives, a year has passed. Now, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie “Nat” are called back into action by Naomi, who is the head of the Museum to go after a dangerous European gangster. This hit is off the books though because the Museum has a mole who has traded the ladies’ identities and those, they hold dear up for a trade.
The ladies discover there is more to the threat than they initially believed, and they are now chasing a gangster from Venice to Eastern Europe bent on revenge as well as trying to uncover the identity of the Museum’s mole. It will take their combined years of experience and a whole lot of luck to survive this mission.
I was very excited to read this second book in the series. It is as fast paced, exciting, and twisted as the first. Once again, the story is told from Billie’s point of view. Even though these friends are lethal, they care about each other deeply and their dialogue is sharp and witty. The descriptions of kills are very graphic and not for the squeamish. (I will never look at a wine opener the same way again.) The crime thriller/mystery plotline is well paced and plotted with many twists, fights, and action scenes threaded throughout. The reason I did not give this review five stars like the first book was that the flashback chapters, while giving information, took me out of the story flow. Otherwise, everything else was entertaining, scary, gripping, and edge-of-your-seat thrilling.
I highly recommend this second outing with the ladies and cannot wait for more.
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About the Author
New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation native Texan. She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including the Edgar, two RT Reviewers’ Choice awards, the Agatha, two Dilys Winns, and a Last Laugh. She launched a new Victorian mystery series with the 2015 release of A CURIOUS BEGINNING, featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter and amateur sleuth, Veronica Speedwell. Veronica’s second adventure is A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING (January 2017), and book three, A TREACHEROUS CURSE, was published in 2018 and nominated for the Edgar Award. A DANGEROUS COLLABORATION was released in 2019, and A MURDEROUS RELATION appeared in 2020 and AN UNEXPECTED PERIL published in March 2021. The latest Veronica Speedwell adventure, AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTOR, will be published in February, 2022. Deanna’s first contemporary novel featuring four female assassins who must band together to take out their nemesis as they prepare for retirement, KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, will be published in September of 2022.
Detective John Bowie is one misstep away from being fired from the Auclair Police Department in coastal Louisiana. Recently divorced and slightly heavy-handed with his liquor, Bowie does all that he can to cope with the actions taken (or not taken) during the investigation of Crissy Mellin, a teenage girl who disappeared more than three years prior. But now, Crisis Point, a long-running true crime television series, is soon to air an episode documenting the unsolved Mellin case. Bowie has been instructed by his unscrupulous boss to keep to his grievances and criticisms over the mishandling of the investigation to himself.
Beth Collins, a senior producer on Crisis Point, knows what classifies as a great story and when there’s something more to be told. After working on the show for seven years, Collins is convinced that Crissy Mellin’s disappearance was not an isolated incident. A string of disappearances of teenage girls in nearby areas have only one thing in common: They took place on the night of a blood moon. In a last-ditch effort to find out the truth, Beth enlists Detective Bowie to help her figure out what happened to Crissy and find the true culprit before he acts on the next blood moon—in four days’ time.
With their jobs and their lives at risk, Bowie and Collins band together to identify and capture a perpetrator, while fighting an irresistible spark between them that threatens to upend everything.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Blood Moon by Sandra Brown has her usual style. The plot is intense, dark, and raw, intertwined with a love story that includes sexual scenes, where the chemistry between the hero and heroine starts from the first page.
Readers will get to know John Bowie, an angry detective haunted by his failure not to solve the cold case disappearance of Crissy Mellin; Beth Collins, the producer of a true crime show, and Tom Barker, the corrupt boss of John.
Crisis Point, the true crime TV series, is going to air an episode documenting Crissy Mellin’s unsolved disappearance. Collins is convinced that Mellin’s disappearance was not an isolated incident. A string of disappearances of teenage girls in nearby areas have only one thing in common: they took place on the night of a blood moon. Detective John Bowie has been instructed by his boss not to talk to Beth or anyone else about the crime he has determined solved and closed. Not listening, he meets Beth and listens to her theories, because he has never felt comfortable with the outcome of the case and didn’t agree with the resolution. They decide to work together realizing that in four days there will be another blood moon, which can mean another girl disappearing or being murdered. They race against the clock to find the antagonist and possibly save another girl, but in working together they also realize there is an attraction between them that cannot be denied.
This novel is intense, intriguing, and has a thrilling twist.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Did the plot or title come first?
Sandra Brown: I first came up with the title. Then I thought, what is a blood moon? The next one comes out March 13th. They only occur every 3 and a half years. It is a strange phenomenon. My editor and I wanted a spring book, so this was perfect.
EC: How did you come up with a story centering on the title?
SB: I watched true crime shows and thought what a cool job it is to be a producer on one of these shows. This is the profession I gave to my heroine, Beth. I then came up with my hero, a reluctant police officer, John, who is haunted by a cold case.
EC: What is a blood moon since it plays such an intricate role in the story?
SB: It is an astrological anomaly every 3 and a half years. To understand, hold both your hands up. The sun is in your left hand. The moon is in your right hand. Right in the middle of them, in perfect alliance, is earth. The sun reflects light onto the moon. But the earth forms a perfect shadow on a full moon, totally covering the moon. The reason it turns an orangish red is that the sunlight is being filtered through the earth’s atmosphere. The bad guys wanted to make sacrifices to the moon goddess, Luna.
EC: What is numerology?
SB: It goes hand in hand with the blood moon regarding the cases concerning the disappearance of the girls. A person has a core number that guides a person’s decision making. Like an astrology sign. There are religious and cultural connotations.
EC: How would you describe John Bowie?
SB: He was a dedicated police officer and is haunted by the cold case. I wanted to write about his relationship with his teenage daughter and his brotherly-like friendship with Mitch. He is arrogant in a sarcastic and cynical way, intense, outspoken, sarcastic, edgy, stubborn, and cynical.
EC: What is the difference between John and Mitch?
SB: They could not be more different. John is very serious and contemplative. Mitch always cracks jokes. He is arrogant, humorous, a smart-aleck, loyal, and caring.
EC: How would you describe Beth?
SB: Determined, loyal, savvy, gutsy, ambitious, confident in her abilities, but feeling tenuous toward her career.
EC: How would you describe the relationship between Beth and John?
SB: They met their match in each other. They both got under each other’s skin and are frustrated with each other. The have chemistry from chapter one. He puts her totally out of her element. They both were obsessed with this case.
EC: What is the role of the Crissy Mellin case?
SB: Her disappearance messed up Detective John Bowie’s life. He became remorseful and regretful. He knew there was more to it but was forced to give in to his boss. This has eaten at him. He desired to get to the bottom of it and find answers. Beth is frustrated and impatient. She is not getting answers from John because he is not filling in the blanks.
EC: How would you describe the boss Lt. Thomas Barker?
SB: Incompetent, sadistic, arrogant, egotistical, and obnoxious. He knows John has his number and is superior to him.
EC: Next book?
SB: The next book will feature Mitch, the DEA officer who decides to change jobs and work with John. They are best friends. John and Beth will be in the next book as secondary characters. This story takes place two years after the end of Blood Moon and will be published spring of 2026.
THANK YOU!!
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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.
