Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Choose Me by Tess Garritsen and Gary Braver

Book Description

Taryn Moore is young, beautiful and brilliant…so why would she kill herself? When Detective Frankie Loomis arrives on the scene to investigate the girl’s fatal plunge from her apartment balcony, she knows in her gut there’s more to the story, especially after the autopsy reveals that the college senior was pregnant. It could be reason enough for suicide-or a motive for murder.

To English professor Jack Dorian, Taryn was the ultimate fantasy: intelligent, adoring, and completely off limits. But there was also a dark side to Taryn, a dangerous streak that threatened those she turned her affections to–including Jack. And now that she’s dead, his problems are just beginning.

After Frankie uncovers a trove of sordid secrets, it becomes clear that Jack may know the truth. He is guilty of deception, but is he capable of cold-blooded murder?

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Elise’s Thoughts

Choose Me by Tess Gerritsen and Gary Braver delve into the world of adultery.  The story conjures up feelings of betrayal, deception, guilt, and personal responsibility.

The novel opens with the death of college student Taryn Moore, who supposedly plunged to her death from the balcony of her apartment.  But Boston Detective Frankie Loomis wonders if the death really was a suicide, or could it be possibly a murder.  For her, the clues do not add up, knowing how college age girls act (considering she has raised twin daughters). After discovering additional and sordid secrets, the detective is even more convinced that Taryn’s death is not what it seems.

The narrative works backwards from the discovery of Taryn’s body and is delivered in alternating chapters by Taryn, Jack, and Frankie. The suspects include Professor Jack Dorian, his wife, Dr. Maggie, Taryn’s seminar nemesis, mean girls Jessica and Caitlin, Cody Atwood, the shy seminar student who has a crush on Taryn, and Liam the ex-boyfriend who Taryn is stalking.

As the book progresses, readers will also realize that Taryn is not the innocent victim. She has a dangerous streak where she can be ruthless and selfish.  This shows in her two relationships, one with Liam, a childhood sweetheart who outgrew her, and the other with Jack, her college professor. With both, Taryn becomes a stalker, unwilling to accept the relationship is over. 

Taryn sees herself as a victim and becomes obsessed with that feeling.  After taking a college seminar, “Star Crossed Lovers,” she realizes the similarities between herself and women in Medieval and Greek mythology. All have been betrayed and abandoned by men in relationships. Whether it was Abelard and Heloise, Tristan and Isolde, Romeo and Juliet, or Jason and Medea, the men said the words “I love you,” but not for a lifetime. 

The many twists and turns make for an exciting read.  The authors turned the characters on their heads making the supposed victim unlikeable and the adulterer, the one people root for.

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Elise’s Author Interview

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

Tess Gerritsen: It occurred to me these kinds of events that are a “he said, she said,” always have two points of view.  The man sees it differently than the woman.  I thought how interesting it would be to base a story on an illicit affair.  I talked about it with Gary, and he agreed to write the male point of view, while I wrote the female view.

Gary Braver:  I wrote Jack and Tess did Detective Frankie Loomis and Taryn.  We wrote by going back and forth with email. 

EC:  As the book progressed, I did not see Taryn as a victim and even disliked her.

TG:  People are not supposed to like her just because she is a victim.  There are shades of gray.  We wanted to show how a victim can also be a villain. What readers want and what they desire are two different things.  They think they want a likeable character but really want a fascinating character.  I point to Scarlett O’ Hara.  She is not a likeable character, but we cannot walk away because she is so interesting.  

EC:  I actually thought of Jack as the victim.

TG: Jack was the one person in the book who needed to be liked because he is our hero.

GB:  I liked Jack and identified with him.  I think he became a sympathetic character because of his sense of guilt and regret.  He knew what he did was wrong when he violated his martial vows and professorial obligations.  Title IX says professors should not date their students.  Jack had an adulterous affair and was tormented with what he did.

EC:  How would you describe Taryn?

TG:  Brilliant, charming, and beautiful.  She was like a train wreck because of her obsessiveness and how damaged and hurt she was.  In the beginning she was vulnerable, betrayed, hurt, and damaged, but as the story went on, she became selfish. Her personality is like peeling an onion.  As readers get deeper and deeper into knowing her, they realize she is not who she seems to be at the beginning. 

EC:  How would you describe Jack?

GB:  Sensitive, needy, and longs for romanticism. At times he wants to believe that circumstances at home pushed him into Taryn’s arms because his wife is on a treadmill with her practice.  We did not want to vilify either character or exonerate them.

EC:  What role does Jack’s wife Maggie play?

TG:  Is she an innocent victim or possible suspect?  She is the anchor to Jack.  We wrote her to show the consequences of a mistake and how lives are destroyed.  Jack sees it as possibly losing the love of his life, Maggie.

GB:  She is smart, dedicated, and a professional. She would never have an affair.  Both she and Jack are devoted to and love each other. 

EC:  How would you describe Detective Frankie Loomis?

TG:  She is a middle-aged mother of two teenage daughters with the wisdom of motherhood.  She can sniff out trouble.  I see Frankie as Jane Rizzoli in twenty years.

EC:  What about the relationship between Taryn and Jack?

TG:  Jack fulfills a romantic need as well as a parental lead for Taryn.  Her father abandoned her, so she sees Jack as a romantic hero, the man to protect her. 

EC:  Medieval literature and Greek Mythology?

GB:  In his seminar, “Star Struck Lovers,” Jack uses classical stories where men used and abandoned women.  It is the unity that holds the book together.  These ancient classics are still being debated by feminists today regarding what is an accurate and inaccurate way to interpret them.  It is a history of men who do wrong and fall on their swords.

TG:  Taryn feels closest to Medea who gets revenge.  I would have taken this seminar if I were in college.  The stories we found are ones where Taryn would see herself of being abandoned or losing a lover.  They were role models for her on how she would behave.  She put herself into their lives to help her live her life.

EC:  Can you explain this quote from Taryn.  “But if you believe entirely in fate, then you believe we have no control over our futures.  That some higher power decides everything for us, good and bad.  That means there are no coincidences in life, no accidents, no laws of nature, and no free will… People are ultimately responsible for their own actions.”

GB:  It was referring to Romeo and Juliet and based on the notion ‘I am fated to be your lover.  We are to be with each other for the rest of our lives.’

TG:  Gary wrote that part of fate versus self-control.  I agree that a lot of people feel they are not responsible anymore.  Fate made someone do it or some politician.  We need to take responsibility for our own actions.  We also need to face the consequences for our actions without blaming anyone else.

EC:  What do you want readers to get out of the book?

TG:  It is not just a murder mystery, but also an exploration of how flawed people are.  A mistake can destroy someone’s life and that we are responsible for the things we do. 

EC:  What about your next books?

TG:  I just finished Rizzoli & Isles book thirteen.  It is titled, Listen To Me and will be out in June 2022.  It features Jane’s mom, Angela, who has an ex-cop boyfriend.  She is frustrated because she feels no one listens to her concerns.  People do not necessarily believe her instincts that something is really wrong in her neighborhood.

I am working on a spy novel.  The protagonist works for the CIA and I got the idea from many retired CIA agents that live in my neighborhood. 

I am also in negotiations to do a TV movie for Lifetime with a screenwriter friend of mine.

GB:  My next book is titled Served Cold.  It is about a mystery writer who thinks they have a breakout book until it is trashed in the New York Times by a reviewer.  The author goes after the reviewer.

THANK YOU!!