Category: Suspense/Thriller

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Maze by Nelson Demille

Book Description

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nelson DeMille returns with a blistering thriller featuring his most popular series character, former NYPD homicide detective John Corey, called out of retirement to investigate a string of grisly murders much too close to home.

In his dazzling #1 bestseller, Plum Island, Nelson DeMille introduced readers to NYPD Homicide Detective John Corey, who we first meet sitting on the back porch of his uncle’s waterfront estate on Long Island, convalescing from wounds incurred in the line of duty. A visit from the local Chief of Police results in the legendary Detective Corey becoming involved in the investigation of the murders of a married couple who were scientists at the top-secret biological research facility on Plum Island.

Fast forward through six more bestselling John Corey novels and The Maze opens with Corey on the same porch, but now in forced retirement from his last job as a Federal Agent with the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Corey is restless and looking for action, so when his former lover, Detective Beth Penrose, appears with a job offer, Corey has to once again make some decisions about his career—and about reuniting with Beth Penrose.

Inspired by, and based on the actual and still unsolved Gilgo Beach murders, The Maze takes the reader on a dangerous hunt for an apparent serial killer who has murdered nine—and maybe more—prostitutes and hidden their bodies in the thick undergrowth on a lonely stretch of beach.

As Corey digs deeper into this case, which has made national news, he comes to suspect that the failure of the local police to solve this sensational case may not be a result of their inexperience and incompetence—it may be something else. Something more sinister.

The Maze features John Corey’s politically incorrect humor, matched by his brilliant and unorthodox investigative skills along with the surprising and shocking plot twists that are the trademark of the #1 New York Times bestselling author, Nelson DeMille.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

The Maze by Nelson DeMille brings back the wonderful hero John Corey.  It’s been too long between DeMille books.  But the good news is that this story is typical John Corey with plenty of action and non-political correctness.  It also has John hooking up with Detective Beth Penrose both figuratively and literally as a partner.  It was a pleasure interviewing Nelson DeMille.

Now once again, Corey is in Long Island, since his forced retirement from his last job as a Federal Agent with the Diplomatic Surveillance Group. Corey is restless and looking for action, so when his former girlfriend, Detective Beth Penrose, appears with a job offer, Corey decides to become a confidential informant for her, by investigating a private investigation firm, Security Solutions. They are suspicious that corruptness at the highest levels has been covering up the murders of nine prostitutes, a reporter, and a former police detective. With Beth’s help John goes undercover to unravel the maze of crimes from corruptness to bribery to murder.

As with all Nelson DeMille books readers get a fantastic murder plot filled with action. But they also get the bonus of great banter between the characters that is not politically correct. When not laughing at John’s jokes readers will be spell-bound with all the twists and turns.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Did you get any push back on writing John’s humor and statements?

Nelson DeMille:  The Maze is my last John Corey book because of the politically correct crowd at the publishing house. There was some pushback on the John Corey character.  They wanted me to make changes, which I would not make except for a few. Even though I moved publishers and had another editor who seems to be better with the John Corey character, there was still push back.  I am not going to go through this again, a lot of nonsense. In fact, a book club of sixteen ladies, read the book and had no problem with John Corey. They are not easily offended. This is my audience and what they wanted to read. 

EC:  You always play on words?

ND:  You are referring to these examples, Is Amy Lang a “receptionist in distress? Or a deceptionist out to entrap me?”  And the other, “E and E meant escape and evasion, not encounter and engage.” The latter is from my Army days.  Some guys in training tried to take down the guys who were after them.  The former quote is having Amy as a wild card.

EC:  Has Beth changed over the years since the first book, Plum Island, came out in 1997?

ND:  Yes, Beth has changed.  In the first book she was a goody-two-shoes, doing everything by the book.  Now she is more like John, breaking and bending some rules. She, like John, wants to get at the truth and wants justice. Beth is pushing the envelope to get that, something she would not have done in Plum Island. She is more ruthless, goes rogue, and has lost faith in the system because the higher-ups are corrupt and somehow involved.

EC:  Has John changed since Plum Island?

ND:  Ninety percent of what I wrote about him is there. He is still a bullshit artist, a smart aleck, who likes to buck the system and authority.  He does really follow rules and regulations. He has good instincts and is a danger junkie. He is not ready to go out to pasture. He seeks to become relevant again. If I ever wrote another John Corey, he would end up working for a private security firm to keep an American diplomat or businessperson in another country safe.

EC:  What about the relationship between Beth and John?

ND:  Emotionally they are lovers who are realizing they were made for each other. In many of my books, I enjoy superimposing a romance with the action.  Maybe in my next life I will be a romance writer. Beth is more comfortable in her own skin in this book, more willing to stand up to John. I had her in a more powerful position than John, a Detective Sergeant, second in command at the Suffolk Homicide Police. The roles have reversed since the first book. 

EC:  The plot is based on the real Gilgo Beach murders?

ND:  About ten bodies were dumped on the beach in Long Island., not far from the Hamptons.  This happened eleven years ago. The grisly murders, all sex workers, believed to be the work of a serial killer or killers. It has captivated the public, stumped local police, and frustrated victims’ family members still waiting for an arrest. The Suffolk County Police have not even come up with a person of interest. They are stymied. It is a very active case with the Police Chief refusing to cooperate with the FBI.  There have been a couple of documentaries about it.  I fictionalized it and made it the Fire Island murders with a lot of the elements of the Gilgo Beach murders. I wanted to show how throughout America there is corruption at the highest level, and illuminate the society that it originated in.  What I tried to do in the book is highlight how there is something wrong with the culture and society through the investigation of the murder.

EC:  The real-life police chief is somehow involved?

ND: Then-Suffolk County Police Chief James Burke was busted for the 2012 assault of a handcuffed suspect who swiped a bag of sex toys and porn from Burke’s trunk. The sordid incident was covered up by then District Attorney, but the chief eventually went to jail. The murders have not been resolved, and there are questions if the DA and Burke are involved personally.

EC:  What about your bad guy, Steve Landowski?

ND:  He is a control freak, a liar, cunning, and arrogant. He volunteered to be working for the Vice-Squad while working as a cop. Steve is a rough guy who lives by his wit.  He enjoys the power to corrupt the people around him. He sexually harassed women, which shows how he does not think much of women.

EC:  The role of the Maze?

ND:  It was a figurative way to explain the case with multilayers of interlocking crimes and suspects. I put in this book quote, “a maze of twists and turns…crimes that ranged from simple prostitution to the corruption of public officials and law enforcement people to murder.” I also physically had a maze of hedges for the final scene of a shoot-out.  All Corey books have one. It reminded me of the scene in the movie “The Shining.” The maze can be a creepy place. I know because I have been in one.

EC:  What about your next books?

ND:  The next book, Blood Lines, I am writing with my son. It will be out October of next year. It has the same main characters as the first book, The Deserter. Two members of the Criminal Investigation Division (CID) will be back: Scott Brodie, a former infantry soldier in Iraq, now a top CID investigator is teamed with Maggie Taylor a former Civil Affairs E-5 in Afghanistan, who is working for CID. While Brodie is wise-cracking, arrogant, and someone who has trouble following orders, Taylor is a by the books person who tries to rein in Brodie. The plot has the murder of a CID in Berlin. My third book in this contract might be my last book, October 2024, titled The Explorer’s Club. It is a combination of “Indiana Jones,” “James Bond,” and “Around the World In Eighty Days” where the hero is trying to find an American woman possibly kidnapped.

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 Review: Red Flags by Lisa Black

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

RED FLAGS (Locard Forensic Institute Thriller Book #1) by Lisa Black is an intense and intricately plotted first book in a new forensic thriller series featuring two female forensic experts and the Locard Forensic Institute.

FBI analyst Dr. Ellie Carr from the D.C. Evidence Response Team is called to the scene of a kidnapping. When she arrives, it is to find the missing baby belongs to her cousin, Becca who Ellie has been estranged from for many years. What Ellie discovers is her cousin is now a part of a D.C. power couple of lobbyists on the verge of making millions when their friend’s kid focused on-line gaming company goes public. Ellie has been all over the house and can find no evidence of a break-in.

Becca’s husband, Hunter hires the Locard Forensic Institute and Dr, Rachel Davies. Ellie is reluctant at first to work with Rachel, but in working the kidnapping, they begin to trust each other. As more children are kidnapped, Ellie and Rachel are in a race to discover who the kidnappers are and why they are focusing on the children of the gaming company involved in a Senate hearing on children’s’ on-line gaming regulations.

I always enjoy Ms. Black’s intelligent main characters and her detailed explanations of different types of forensic science. There is a lot going on in this book and while some is extremely interesting, especially the chat and ad regulations in children’s on-line gaming, there are times when the information, especially about IPOs slowed down the pace a bit. The plot is a web of several interconnecting yet different motives and crimes that all come together in an ending that surprised me. Ellie and Rachel’s professional relationship is realistically portrayed and paced throughout from standoffish and suspicious to understanding and the start of a friendship and partnership.

I am looking forward to following both Ellie and Rachel in their personal lives and on their future investigations in this new series.

***

About the Author

Lisa Black’s books have reached the NYT bestsellers list, been translated into six languages and have been optioned for film. Perish was shortlisted for the inaugural Sue Grafton Memorial Award by Putnam and Mystery Writers of America. Lisa will be a Guest of Honor at 2021 Killer Nashville.

She is a certified crime scene analyst in Florida and a former forensic scientist for the Cleveland coroner’s office. She is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Identification, and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts, and has testified in more than fifty homicide trials.

She still aspires to drive Nancy Drew’s convertible and marry Ellery Queen.

Social Media Links

Website: https://lisa-black.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisa.black.3194

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LisaBlackAuthor

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Suspect by Scott Turow

Book Description

For as long as Lucia Gomez has been the police chief in the city of Highland Isle, near Kindle County, she has known that any woman in law enforcement must walk a precarious line between authority and camaraderie to gain respect.  She has maintained a spotless reputation—until now. Three male police officers have accused her of soliciting sex in exchange for promotions to higher ranks. With few people left who she can trust, Chief Gomez turns to an old friend, Rik Dudek, to act as her attorney in the federal grand jury investigation, insisting to Rik that the accusations against her are part of an ugly smear campaign designed to destroy her career and empower her enemies—both outside the police force and within..
 
Clarice “Pinky” Granum spent most of her youth experimenting with an impressive array of drugs and failing out of various professions, including the police academy. Pinky knows that in the eyes of most people, she’s nothing but a screwup—but she doesn’t trust most people’s opinions anyway. Moreover, she finally has a respectable-enough job as a licensed P.I. working for Rik on his roster of mostly minor cases, like workman’s comp, DUIs and bar fights. Rik’s shabby office and even shabbier cases are a far cry from the kinds of high-profile criminal matters Pinky became familiar with in the law office of her grandfather, Sandy Stern. But Rik and Pinky feel that Chief Gomez’s case, which has attracted national attention, is their chance to break into the legal big leagues.    
 
Guided by her gut instinct and razor-sharp investigative skills, Pinky dives headfirst into a twisted scandal that will draw her into the deepest recesses of the city’s criminal networks, as well as the human mind. But she will need every scrap of tenacity and courage to unravel the dark secrets those closest to her are determined to keep hidden.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Suspect by best-selling author Scott Turow turns the victim-harasser relationship on its head. This legal thriller exposes the vulnerability of the legal system where someone with an agenda can use it to their advantage.

The story has Lucy Gomez, the police chief of Highland Isle being accused by three male officers of soliciting sex in exchange for promotions.  Unfortunately, it seems that any woman in law enforcement must gain respect by walking a fine line between camaraderie and respect. Now accused, she hires Rik Dudek as her defense attorney in the federal grand jury investigation.  She insists that the accusations against her are part of an ugly smear campaign to destroy her career and reputation. Working alongside Rik is Clarice “Pinky” Granum, a licensed PI.  Both she and Rik must sort through all the lies, secrets, and claims to find what is true and what is not.

This legal thriller has intense courtroom scenes and shows the process of how an investigation is conducted. Although more of a plot driven story than a character driven story readers will turn the pages to find the outcome.

***

Author Interview

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

Scott Turow: Pinky was a character in the last novel and jumped off the page there. Years ago, when I was a prosecutor, I conducted two police investigations of a police beating. After I left the US Attorney’s office I was hired as a Special Prosecutor to investigate a suburban police department of Chicago where officers were stealing recovered evidence.  I have seen how the disciplinary hearings work and used my experience to write scenes.

EC:  Why did you make the police chief accused of sexual harassment a female?

ST:  I can remember a whippet little thrill when I thought of it. It seemed to me it would turn a lot of things on their head. I thought it was provocative and interesting. The law does not look different when the gender roles are reversed. Pinky says that she does not understand how a female chief can force guys six inches taller than her. The defense attorney and Pinky’s boss replies there would be no question if the sides were reversed. There is still an imbalance of power.

EC:  To me, it does not matter the size of someone but their position of power in a company?

ST:  She was the Chief who made overtures.  It was not right.  At no point does anyone tell her it was a good idea. The Chief does not think it was especially wrong. I do not think people would be as quick to accept that if she was a he.  There is hypocrisy because she was supposed to think about it. She should not walk away from it.  It was wrong. People will see what they are inclined to see. There is no universe on what she did is not a crime.

EC:  How would you describe “The Ritz?”

ST:  I have never written anyone like him before who is bad to the bone. He is Nietzshe-like. He is such an inscrutable human being. His gratification comes from proving he is the smartest guy in the room. He has feelings for his ex-wife but has no moral compass and enjoys the power over everybody. This is another demonstration of how smart he is. Lucy found a way to exert power over him, which really angers him.

EC:  How would you describe the Chief, Lucy?

ST:  She thought of herself as one of the guys, on an equal footing. As a female officer she had to put up with all the jokes and had to be thin-skinned. She is smart, defiant, kind, and a liar.  I admire her but she is a mixed character.  A reformer of a corrupt department who at times plays the system. People in the city of Chicago come into office and then get worn down by the corruption.  This is Lucy. Her instincts after twelve years are less defined than they once were.

EC:  How would you describe Pinky and will you write a series?

ST:  I have no commitment to write another Pinky novel. She is brass, instinctive, never follows the rules, has her own internal sense of right and wrong.  She believes that the ends justify the means. Pinky is coming to terms with the fact that she is different than anyone else, including not looking for a partner.  The pandemic was a great time for her because she does not like to deal with people. She is successful at her job.

EC:  What was the relationship between the Chief and Pinky?

ST:  Pinky hero-worshipped her and wanted her approval. She wanted the Chief to be of a certain ideal and she was not.  Pinky is shocked that the Chief cares what Pinky thinks of her, but she is very honest with her.

EC:  How about Rik?

ST:  He is the most uncompromised character of the book.  He is a good lawyer and dedicated to his client. He does not sell himself out.  He is a good boss.  As a younger person he fell on hard times.  He is a good guy. He knows that clients have done wrong, do not tell the truth, and are trying to hide it. They undermine their lawyers with their process.

EC:  Chapter titles as sentences of first paragraph?

ST:  This is the first book in which I did it.  If you go through my books readers will not find it.  It felt right here, to move the reader from where they were in the last chapter to where they are going in this chapter.

EC:  Any movies/TV shows on the horizon?

ST:  David Kelley who has optioned the book before this, for TV, sees it as a series. Suspect was also optioned by him. Apple TV Plus is remaking Presumed Innocent, in which David Kelley is involved with J.J. Abrams. This is green lighted and is in production now.  They were very faithful to who my characters were. Even though I was the architect of that universe, Kelley had the characters doing things I never expected. The writer is always the last to know. There will be changes. It will be eight episodes and the shooting starts in January. I would guess that it will go on the air in 2023.

EC:  How about your next book?

ST:  I am working on it. It will be out probably two years from now.  I want to get further down the road before I talk about it. This is my own little playground and I do not want to allow anyone else in until it is more fixed.

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.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie

Elise’s Thoughts and Book Description

Please Join Us by Catherine McKenzie delves into secret organizations, hidden agendas, and how someone can take back control over their life.

At thirty-nine, Nicole Mueller’s life is on the rocks. Her once brilliant law career is falling apart. She and her husband, Dan, are soon to be forced out of the apartment they love. After a warning from her firm’s senior partners, she receives an invitation from an exclusive women’s networking group, Panthera Leo. Membership is anonymous, but every member is a successful professional. It sounds like the perfect solution to help Nicole revive her career. So, despite Dan’s concerns that the group might be a cult, Nicole signs up for their retreat in Colorado.

Once there, she meets the other women who will make up her Pride. A CEO, an actress, a finance whiz, a congresswoman: Nicole can’t believe her luck. The founders of Panthera Leo are equally as impressive. They explain the group’s core philosophy: they’re a girl’s club in a boy’s club world.

Nicole is all in. And when she gets home, she soon sees dividends. Her new network quickly provides her with clients that help her relaunch her career, and a great new apartment too. The favors she must provide in return seem benign. But then she’s called to the congresswoman’s apartment late at night where she’s pressed into helping her cover up a crime. And suddenly, Dan’s concerns that something more sinister is at play seem all too relevant. Nicole questions if joining Panthera Leo was the biggest mistake of her life and wonders how to extricate herself from the group.

Readers will be reminded of the problems women face at work, the Me-Too movement, networking, marriage, blending private and public lives, which are all part of this thriller. 

***

Author Interview

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

Catherine McKenzie: I received an email many years ago inviting me to a women’s networking group with different professions. I was told I was recommended by someone although they would not tell me who. I thought if I decided to do it everything would then be made clear to me. However, I did not keep that email. I did not go partly because my husband said it was crazy. Some of the professions are intricate to the plot.

EC:  What is the theme?

CM:  Feminism is a theme.  There is still a long way to go with the old boys’ network. It is underground, but still there. They are less overt now.  I put in this quote, “If you need anything you come to this group.  To your Pride… women don’t need to fight for their dominance; they join willingly to achieve the best result for all.” This is the mantra of the book. There is a stereotype that women are competitive with each other.  This is because usually there is only one woman around the board table.  If another woman comes in, they are perceived as a rival. I do think men pit women against each other. Everyone is socialized to be super critical and observant of women’s behavior. I do not think women are cattier or more aggressive around other women.

EC:  How would you describe Nicole?

CM:  A hard worker who is super smart. Mono-focused.  She has put everything into her career without many friends.  She wanted to be the best for her job.  After her dreams were not realized she felt very vulnerable. She can be self-centered and insensitive at times.  She does like her comforts.

EC:  How would you describe the husband, Dan?

CM:  He goes along to get along.  He is a good person.  Dan is OK with being second fiddle in their relationship and allows Nicole to take control and make decisions. He was the direct opposite of Nicole.  Very easy going and laid back, charming, cautious, and kind.  What I did in this book and other novels is to put women in the roles occupied by men and vice-versa.

EC:  What about the LEO organization?

CM:  It has CULT vibes. The women in charge of it use some of the techniques of a cult to control the others. They become all the people in Nicole’s life and discourage her to go outside the group.  They do the providing. They are manipulative, dominant, demand loyalty, and obedience.

EC:  You were brave for bringing up Covid-19 in this story?

CM:  I struggled with it. I wrote it in 2020 but knew it was coming out in 2022.  I thought about my different options:  do I pretend it never existed, or do I consider it over. I thought that I was not going to skip over it entirely.  I did want it to exist.

EC: Any movies or TV shows on the horizon?

CM:  This book has been optioned for a TV series. My book, I Never Tell was also optioned. Nothing has been announced yet.

EC:  The next book?

CM:  It is titled, Have You Seen Her, about a search and rescue worker in Yosemite. It will be out in June next year.

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: The 13th Hour : Chaos by Richard Doetsch

The 13th Hour: Chaos

by Richard Doetsch

September 5 – 30, 2022  Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE 13th HOUR : CHAOS by Richard Doetsch 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!

***

Book Description

A Mesmerizing Thriller Told in Reverse

On a warm Fourth of July in the quiet town of Byram Hills, Nick Quinn watches as his wife and daughter die in an unprecedented terrorist attack. Amid the disaster, Nick is approached by a dying friend who hands Nick an antique pocket watch.

Emotionally shattered and desperate, Nick takes the watch and is shocked to find himself propelled back in time to where he was an hour ago, before the attack on his town. Quickly stopping the course of events, his relief is shattered as life spirals in an even more tragic direction.

At the top of each hour, the watch sends Nick back two hours to live one hour again, a backwards march to relive each hour of his day. A twelve-hour journey providing precious but limited time to protect Julia and Katy and uncover the source of the ever growing threat.

But each time Nick thinks he’s solved the crime and secured the future, he uncovers new levels of deception, agony, and betrayal, ultimately revealing a far more sinister plot with unexpected players and grim, global consequences.

If Nick hasn’t set things right by the 13th hour, not only will his wife and daughter be lost forever to the chaos, but an even greater catastrophe will be unleashed upon the world.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62353512-13th-hour-chaos?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=PGr3Tqi85h&rank=11

The 13th Hour Chaos

Genre: Time Travel Thriller
Published by: Permuted Press
Publication Date: May 3rd 2022
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 1637583060 (ISBN13: 9781637583067)
Series: A Nick Quinn Thriller; The 13th Hour Series

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE 13th HOUR: CHAOS (The Nick Quinn Thriller Book #2) by Richard Doetsch is an exciting and fast-paced time travel thriller featuring Nick Quinn. This story is the second in the series but can easily be read as a standalone thriller.

Nick Quinn is celebrating with his family and friends at the town’s Fourth of July party when one of his best friends appears telling Nick to take his backpack and pocket watch as he dies from a gunshot wound at his feet. Nick knows what the pocket watch does, but before he can even consider going back in time to save his friend, a terrorist attack leaves everyone he loves dead.

As Nick travels back two hours, he begins to discover betrayal, deception and a plot that will have worldwide consequences. Each time he goes back in time, he discovers another unexpected twist in the hours he repeats. Unless he can set everything right before The 13th Hour his wife and daughter could be lost forever and the world thrown into war.

I really loved this edge-of-your-seat thriller. The time travel plot was unique with the characters only able to go back at two-hour intervals and not just anywhere in time. The plotting was done in a unique way which had Nick and Zane having to keep changing what they were doing in the future because of the changes they caused in the past. It sounds confusing, but as you read it, it is makes sense and keeps you turning the pages. Nick is a likable protagonist with close friends who are always there for him and his family no matter the consequences and the antagonists were all deceptive with personal motives which keep you guessing. Zane is a great pivotal character that I hated, felt sorry for and then was happy for him in the end.

This time travel thriller is well worth the read and I hope there will be more in this series.

***

Excerpt

from Chapter 1

…[A side door opened, and a man stumbled through, looking barely coherent, and fell into Nick’s arms. His clothes were wet, his salt-and-pepper hair damp. Shocked, Nick realized he knew the man and knew him well. It was his close friend Paul Dreyfus, who had been at the top of the guest list and uncharacteristically late.

Nick supported his friend’s sagging weight and led him to a large couch on the far side of the lobby, where Dreyfus collapsed heavily. 

“Are you okay?” Nick asked Paul. “What the hell happened?”

“Listen to me,” Dreyfus whispered.

As Nick let go of his friend, he saw blood covering his hands. Quickly, Nick ripped open Dreyfus’s shirt, revealing what looked like a bullet wound to the chest. 

“Oh my God,” Nick breathed. “Julia?”

Julia was immediately at his side. 

“Bonnie,” Julia turned to the babysitter, “could you take Katy to the bathroom in the back?”

Bonnie averted her eyes as she pulled Katy down through the back hall.

“What happened?” Nick asked his friend again.

Dreyfus pulled the strap of a dark leather satchel from about his neck and shoulder and looped it over Nick’s. “Listen to me, Nick. Listen very carefully….” Dreyfus paused to breathe, struggling to get the words out. “Don’t let that bag out of your sight…. He’s coming for you. He’s…coming for Julia.”

“Who? What are you talking about?”

Dreyfus reached into the bag and withdrew a single picture that made Nick’s blood run cold. It was an image of a man floating against the rocky shoreline of a lake, water lapping at his body, his face having lost all color, the skin white and curdled like rotted cheese, lips blue, cracked, and wet. There was no question that the man had died a painful death. In fact, he had almost surely drowned, his wet body and vacant stare leaving little doubt about the means of his demise. 

Nick tried to catch his panicked breath. He knew the man, knew him well, better than anyone: he was looking into his own lifeless eyes.

“You all die….” Dreyfus whispered.

Julia turned to Nick, her skin flushing red as confusion filled her eyes. “Nick?” Her voice trembled.

Nick stared at Dreyfus, the impossibility of his words echoing in his head.

“You, Julia….” Dreyfus struggled to draw another breath. “Katy. Everyone.”

Nick turned and looked through the glass doors at the gathered crowd, which listened in rapt attention to the senator’s speech. Everyone Nick cared about was here, most listening to political rhetoric they couldn’t care less about. They were all attending as a favor to Nick and Julia.

“When?” Nick whispered to his dying friend.

Dreyfus seized Nick’s hand, locking eyes with him. “It’s all in the bag.”

“What’s in the bag?”

“You have to find me….” Dreyfus’s words sounded like a plea. 

“I don’t understand…find you where?”

“I’m so sorry—”

A sudden roar exploded from the room, cheers and applause, as if the senator had concluded the speech of his life. The rising voices of the now-standing audience only amplified Nick’s dread.

And then a rumble shook the world, deep and foreboding. 

Another rumble, an explosion, like a bomb, and then another and another and another….

The crowd fell silent, eyes darting about in confusion. New York was not the land of earthquakes, but the shaking earth said otherwise. Deep heavy rumblings seemed to roll the flagstone floor.

“Nick?” Julia looked around the lobby in fear as a hum began to grow. “What the hell is that?”

As the rumble grew in intensity, a collective panic took over the reception room, chaos filling the air as everyone tried to flee from the unknown with incoherent screams of fear, cramming through the doors to escape whatever danger was approaching.

The deep roar grew deafening, drowning out the screams, shaking the castle’s foundations. And then, as if hell had been unleashed, the reception room’s outer windows shattered; incomprehensibly, a wall of water drove through the space, rising toward the ceiling in seconds. Like a tidal wave, the barrage of water tore the room apart. Tables, chairs, fixtures, and carpets spun into a churning maelstrom. Men and woman were scooped up, helplessly tossed about, bodies hurled and twisted into dark whirlpools.

The light of day dimmed as the wall sconces winked out. Emergency lights reacted to the loss of power, their bright halogen rays flicking on, impervious to the water’s assault within their clear plastic housings, their beams like shafts of lightning, piercing the murky, rising, roiling waters. 

An enormous howl of wind groaned as air was driven from the building, its gusts sweeping the water’s surface into blinding mist. Husbands and wives, friends and neighbors were quickly swept away, their screams doused as they were pulled under and sucked out through the narrow window openings like water through a drain. 

From behind the thick glass doors, Nick and Julia watched in horror as their friends drowned, their twisted bodies becoming human flotsam and jetsam before being sucked out through the shattered picture windows on a violent tide into oblivion.

The lobby had already become a deep pool, the waters rising to Nick and Julia’s shoulders. Then, as if a tornado had struck, the glass doors were torn from their moorings and thrown into the tidal flow. A rush of water quickly rose toward the ceiling, sweeping Dreyfus’s body away.

Water filled the vestibule, its polished granite walls momentarily looking like an Italian pool. The couch where Dreyfus had lain, the tables and chairs splintered in the onslaught, all flushed through the main doors, carried on a raging current. 

“Katy!” Julia screamed. 

In the rising water, Nick swam for the bathroom where Katy and Bonnie had gone, the leather satchel looped about his body complicating the impossible task. The bathroom was at the far end of the vestibule, sequestered in a corner where the water’s attack had been delayed by the turns of the hallway. But the small, high windows now exploded, water pouring through as if from the spigots of heaven. 

Julia swam hard in the same direction, battling the raging waters that rose higher and higher. She fought with all her might, kicking and pulling against the current, but the suction created by the millions of gallons of flowing water took hold of her. Despite all her years of swimming, in spite of her natural strength, she was losing, drawn inch by inch toward the door where death awaited.

Nick caught hold of her hand, his other arm wrapped tightly around a chandelier overhead. They were pulled and tossed by the water as it rose, pushing them up against the ceiling. Holding on with all his strength, Nick pulled her to him, but the suction made her feel like a two-ton weight, straining his arms, his grip.

“Hold on!” Nick yelled as their heads banged the ceiling, the water continuing to rise around them.

“We have to get Katy!” Julia struggled to hold on as Nick fought with every fiber of his being to not let her slip away.

“Mommy!” Katy’s cry pierced the cacophony of churning waters.

“Katy!” Julia screamed back. “Mommy’s coming!” 

As the water pulled at them, Nick and Julia’s eyes locked in an unspoken understanding of what was happening. In order to get to Katy, to have any hope of saving her….

“Let me go,” Julia pleaded. “Save Katy, please. Please save Katy.”

Nick looked deep into his wife’s eyes; he couldn’t bear to do what she was asking. She was everything to him, his life, his heart. She was his soul.

“No,” Nick said. “Hold on.”

“It’s okay,” she said, holding his gaze. “Let me go.”

With her free hand, she grasped Nick’s fingers and gently pried them loose. 

And with their eyes still locked, she released Nick’s hand. Her body, caught in the suction, instantly disappeared.  

Despite the agony in his heart, Nick turned his body toward the bathroom. He reached and caught hold of one of the brass wall sconces mounted on the granite wall as the water continued its rise, only an inch of breathable air remaining. 

Nick plunged under, into the current. The brass sconces lined the wall leading to the bathroom like a horizontal ladder. Hand over hand he pulled himself along, fighting with all his might, his arms burning with the impossible effort.

He briefly surfaced. “Katy!” he screamed in the narrow airway as he gulped sweet oxygen. “I’m coming!”

But the force of the current, the draw of the millions of gallons of water flowing through the building, had grown tenfold. Sapped of strength, Nick dug deep within himself…he couldn’t let her die, he wouldn’t fail her.

“Peas, Daddy!” Katy cried from up ahead. “Peas.…”

As the rising water squeezed away the last bit of air, Nick took a deep breath and dived under again.

He spotted the door, its giant brass handle gleaming with the refracted beams of the emergency lights. The thick mahogany portal opened outward, seated against a heavy metal frame, its design still withstanding the building pressure of the rising waters. But Nick knew it wouldn’t hold for long, the waters were surely pouring under the door, through any and every crack as it sought the path of least resistance. 

“Daddy!”

Even under the churning water, Nick could hear Katy’s cry.

The violence of the current grew unbeatable. The weight of the satchel around his neck, like a bag of lead; his lungs burning, fighting the rush of water that pulled at him like a colossal magnet.

Nick reached for the handle of the door, his fingertips swiping the brass; straining for purchase, he planted his legs against the wall and used his last bit of strength to grasp the door.

The fire in his lungs pushed him to the brink, twinkling spots dancing before his eyes as his brain thirsted for oxygen.

And the suction caught hold of him, yanking him away, pulling him backwards toward the shattered windows.

With utter despair, his heart broken, having failed his wife and daughter, Nick knew he would join them in death.

Unable to resist, he gasped, and the water invaded his lungs….

And his world fell to darkness.]

***

Author Bio

Richard Doetsch is the author of six international bestsellers published in twenty-eight countries, with several acquired for film and television. He is an adrenaline junkie with a passion for kitesurfing, skydiving, SCUBA diving, triathlons, and defying gravity in Zero G aircraft. He has served as CEO, president, and director in the real-estate industry, managing, creating, and preserving more than 50,000 units of affordable housing with an emphasis on social and community programs.

He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Virginia, who is the impetus and inspiration behind everything he writes.

Social Media Links

RichardDoetsch.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram – @richarddoetsch
Twitter – @richarddoetsch
Facebook – @richarddoetsch

Purchase Links

Amazon  

Barnes & Noble 

Apple Books 

Goodreads

***

KINGSUMO GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/1em5nv/the-13th-hour-chaos-by-richard-doetsch

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Girl, Forgotten for by Karin Slaughter

Book Description

A small town hides a big secret…

Who killed Emily Vaughn?

Prom Night. Longbill Beach, 1982. Emily Vaughn dresses carefully for what’s supposed to be the highlight of any high school career. But Emily has a secret. And by the end of the night, because of that secret, she will be dead.

Nearly forty years later, Andrea Oliver, newly qualified as a US Marshal, receives her first assignment: to go to Longbill Beach to protect a judge receiving death threats. But Andrea’s real focus isn’t the judge – it’s Emily Vaughn. Ever since she first heard Emily’s name a year ago, she’s been haunted by her brutal death. Nobody was ever convicted – her friends closed ranks, her family shut themselves off in their grief, the town moved on – so the killer is still out there. But now Andrea has a chance to find out what really happened…

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter is a follow-up to her 2018 thriller Pieces of Her. Earlier this year, Netflix produced a Pieces of Her mini-series. This book will take readers back to their high school days with a reminder of how cliquey a group of students can be.  Par for the course, Slaughter has a riveting murder mystery and fascinating characters.

The plot starts out with Andrea Oliver graduating as a US Marshal.  Her first assignment is to protect a judge receiving death threats, but she is also asked to secretly investigate the cold case murder of the judge’s daughter, Emily Vaughn, who died forty years ago.  There are dual timelines of Emily’s past and Andrea’s present perspectives broken up by witness statements given in the original investigation. These captivating flashbacks follow Emily in the period leading up to her death as she engages in a Columbo-inspired investigation of her own.

What Slaughter does best is draw readers into the event as they sympathize with the victim.  In this case, Emily had dreams and was going places after high school.  But it all came to a drastic halt after she was ostracized because of what happened to her. She was also murdered because of that event and Andrea is determined to bring her justice especially since the small town moved on with Emily’s friends closing ranks, her family ignoring their grief, and no one was ever convicted.

This plot is a page-turner with many twists. As always, the pacing makes the intensity of the story ratchet up.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: What did you think of the Netflix series, Pieces of Her, based on your book?

Karin Slaughter: It is clearly different than the book.  I just thought that the book is the book, and the show is the show. It was really a lot of fun to watch. We will see if they make more episodes.

EC:  Is this book a continuation of your first book?

KS:  They will market it when the book comes out with a sticker on the book referring to Pieces of Her. This started with a question about Andrea. In the previous book she wonders about her mom and herself.  In this book she is trying to figure out how to be unlike her father, to be a good person. It is really important that she has Leonard Bible, a senior US Marshal, mentoring her.  He shows her how to do things the right way.

EC:  Why a US Marshal?

KS: I found writing about the US Marshals and Andy interesting. I talked with a ton of Marshals.  It was fascinating to see all the cool duties they have. I wanted her to have this profession as a way to rebel against her mother, Laura.  She was in witness protection and feels Andrea joined the enemy. I find it fascinating how people have one kind of life and then must have a new life. Usually someone made a deal to testify.  Many times, they still must go to prison, which is what happened to Laura.  I wanted to show how Andy grows up and becomes her own person. If I decide to write it as a series, having Andy as a Marshal gives me an opportunity to write about a lot of different crimes.  They hunt down and keep track of pedophiles, chase after fugitives, and are responsible for security.

EC:  How would you describe the relationship between Laura and Andrea?

KS: In the beginning it is a little broken. But then I think Laura does what good parents do. She accepts that Andrea will make her own choices even if she does not agree.  By the end of the book, she comes around to that way of thinking.  Andrea learns she can disappoint her mother and that is OK. There has been a transition from the first book to this book between the mother-daughter relationship. 

EC:  Do you think Andrea grew up in this book?

KS:  Andrea had a lot of growing up to do.  I wanted her to go through that evolution to find her strength. She blew everything up to find herself just as her mother did.  There is a line by Laura, “wherever you go, there you are.”  Maybe the world is not the problem, but she is the problem. She ends up as someone who is independent and a survivor.

EC:  What about Judge Esther?

KS:  She would tell you she is a good person who did some bad things.  She only supports a certain type of woman, who must be just like her.  She only gives a hand to people she approves of. She had her and her daughter Emily’s life all planned out. But after the incident, Esther only wanted Emily to disappear.

EC:  Is Wexler evil?

KS:  Calling him evil lets him off the hook. He is an opportunist. He tries to make his life as easy as he can that is directed toward his pleasure. Clearly a cult leader. He seems more nuanced.  Like Jim Jones, Manson, and Koresh, those men in charge of a cult do it just to have sex with young girls. He is a bad guy where a lot of his actions comes from a deep hatred of women. He is a psychopath and a narcissist. 

EC:  Did Emily get cancelled?

KS:  Everyone talks about getting canceled as if it came after the Internet. But those in high school know of someone that got canceled.  Yes, because of what happened to her it put her on the outside of a group. All people wanted to do was punish her and considered her a pariah.

EC:  Why did you mention dementia-like actions in the book?

KS:  Esther’s husband, Franklin, did have a massive stroke.  Esther kept him alive because she was under his thumb for most of her adult life and a lot of it was her wanting vengeance.  There is also the fact that once she was caught in this horrible relationship she does not know how to live outside of this relationship.

EC:  Why did you choose the music in the book?

KS:  I grew up as a teenager in the late 1980s.  I really enjoyed putting these songs in the book.  I really love the Go-Gos. I thought how amazing they were considering they were the first all-female group to get to number one, playing their own music. These are all songs I liked.  I am a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll.

EC: Do you have any other books or characters that are going to be made into a movie or TV series?

KS:  Yes. Will Trent is picked up by ABC and will be made into a TV series. It might come out in January, thirteen episodes.  After watching the pilot, it captures the spirit of my books, gripping with lots of twists and turns. Will is played by Ramon Rodriguez. The earlier books did not have Sara, so they are figuring out when to introduce her. 

EC:  Next book?

KS:  In the summer of next year will be a Will and Sara book.

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.