Reopening the investigation of her mother’s disappearance puts chief of police Diana Fisher in someone’s lethal sights. As she delves deeper into the mystery, a murderer resurfaces, targeting the Amish community. Detective Micah Nissley, whose fiancée went missing a decade ago, joins forces with Diana to stop the threats and bring the killer to justice. But can they uncover the connection between Diana and the culprit before she becomes the next victim?
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Elise’s Thoughts
Amish Country Killer by Mary Alford features a police chief dealing with an Amish cold case where Amish girls have disappeared. Readers will try to solve the case along with the characters as they second guess the clues.
The plot opens when Diana Fisher decides to return to her childhood town in Rachel’s Crossing Kentucky, to become police chief. She is following in her father William’s footsteps who once was police chief there. Fifteen years ago, Diana’s mother disappeared, and William decided they needed a fresh start, so he moved them to Louisville.
Even though her dad is dead set against it, Diana decides to move there and accept the police chief job. She is determined to try to find out why her mother left them. But once there, she finds trouble is waiting for her. Shortly after arriving she hears a young Amish girl screaming and when trying to rescue her she gets hit over the head and her dog Kit also gets injured. They are rescued by Micah Nissley, once Amish and now living in the English world. He has been coming back to his family’s old home whenever he could to do repairs in thoughts of using it as vacation home. He was shunned by his family, friends and community who blamed him for the disappearance of his fiancé, Tessa, the girl he loved.
He is now working as a detective for the Kentucky Department of Criminal Investigations. He offers to help but before Diana will accept it, she investigates why he was considered a person of interest. After he comes clean and tells her she accepts his help and realizes that he also wants to solve the case to overcome the stigma of being falsely accused of killing the missing Amish girls. The investigation leads them to a serial killer who is elusive and extremely intelligent, since he has been killing women for many years without being caught.
If readers enjoy the Linda Castillo series with Police Chief Kate Burkholder they will enjoy this story. It is an intense read that is intriguing, captivating, powerful and full of suspense with a twist of an ending that is shocking.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Mary Alford: I have been fascinated by the simple life of the Amish. I thought about what would happen in this quiet setting if there was still danger lurking and secrets hidden. I took an old cold case and have a new police chief who must face her own dark past.
EC: Were you influenced by Kate Burkholder from the Linda Castillo series?
MA: I had not thought of it. Maybe in a way. Diana does have a quest and wants to find out what happened to her mother, which is why she took the job as police chief. She wants to do some research as to why her mom disappeared. This police department needs rebuilding after the corruption within it.
EC: How would you describe Diana?
MA: She is strong, resilient, and faces danger head on. She is always on the front line and refuses to let fear stop her. I think she is also guarded and cautious.
EC: How would you describe the hero, Micah?
MA: He has ties to the cold case since his fiancé, Tessa, disappeared and he was the last to see her alive. He is former Amish and is bitter because he was a person of interest a long time ago during the Amish girl’s disappearance. He also feels guilty. When he saw Tessa with this other guy, he left her and felt guilty for making the choice to leave.
EC: What role does Kit the canine dog play?
MA: Diana considers her a friend, protector, and loyal. She is trained in search and rescue plus police work. She stands between Diana and danger. She loves to play with her favorite stuffed animal.
EC: What about the relationship?
MA: It was hampered by suspicion, and she is not trusting. He did have ties to the past case of the disappearance of Amish women. He wants it to have resolution and to come to light about what happened to Tessa. He is stuck with the past hanging over him.
EC: What about the corrupt cops?
MA: They stole, bribed, blackmailed, and harassed. People do not trust the police department.
EC: Why Kentucky?
MA: There are a few Amish communities in Kentucky. I like having a remote mountain setting that creates its own danger and suspense.
EC: Next books?
MA: In July a book will be published, Framed in Amish Country. It is about a DA who is being framed for murdering her best friend. An Amish man helps her find evidence to prove her innocence. In October Shattered Amish Identity comes out. The heroine has a buggy accident where she does not remember her past. Someone is trying to kill her, and a CIA Agent comes to help her.
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.
It starts with the destruction of a US Coast Guard cutter and the loss of her entire crew. But the USCG Claiborne was on an innocuous mission to open a sea lane between an oil field off the coast of South America and the refineries of southern Louisiana. The destruction of the ship, tragic as it is, won’t stop that mission from continuing.
So who would sacrifice twenty-two men and women just to slow down the plan? That’s the question plaguing Jack Ryan Jr. He’s in Guyana to work a deal to get his company, Hendley Associates, in on the ground floor of this new discovery, but Russia’s Wagner Group and a pack of Venezuelan narco-terrorists have other ideas—and will risk war with the United States to see them through. It’s up to Jack to identify the killers before they draw a bead on him, but how can he do that when the line of demarcation between friend and foe is constantly shifting?
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Elise’s Thoughts
Tom Clancy Line of Demarcation by M. P. Woodward brings back Jack Ryan Jr. There is not just one plot, but three subplots that come together making for a riveting storyline.
The book opens with the destruction of a US Coast Guard cutter and the loss of her 22-member crew. The USCG Claiborne was on an innocuous mission to open a sea lane between an oil field off the coast of South America and the refineries of southern Louisiana. The question is who was responsible for the killings?
Meanwhile, Jack Ryan Jr. is in Guyana trying to get his export license for his oil company Hendley Associates, working undercover as the CEO of Athena Global Shipping Lines. That area of the world is already plagued with corruption and deceit, which proves to increase the burden on those conducting above board business. Jack is lunching with Guyana’s minister of the interior and attorney general when he’s caught in a sudden crossfire. He escapes, but the two officials are killed. The other plotlines are triggered after the attack where separate teams of the Campus, a covert government organization, is now tasked with fighting a Russia-backed Guyanese coup and rescuing Campus operator Domingo “Ding” Chavez, who’s deep undercover with a drug gang.
Per usual, in a Clancy novel, the action and ending are explosive. A bonus is that in the beginning of the book there was a list of characters broken up by American, Russian, Guyanese and Venezuelan along with a 1-to-2-line description.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?
M. P. Woodward: In looking around the world at global flash points Russia uses energy as a source to yield power, leverage, and geopolitical tensions. I also saw that there is a real-world territorial dispute between Venezuela and Guyana with a region very rich in oil. I then thought of a plot line where the Russians and Venezuelans team up to snatch this area away much like the Russians did in Ukraine.
EC: I was wondering how you came to write about that scene early in the book where readers will root for characters, they know very little about?
MPW: It was a prologue which I consider mini novels. Readers are usually left with something that is going to happen. I visited a Coast Guard station and have a son in it where I realized they are the unsung heroes. I wanted to give a shout out to those who maintain waterways. I brought a crew like that into real danger and let it be the spark that lit the fire.
EC: What about crossover with Andrews and Wilson who write the other Clancy series?
MPW: The very nature of both series means they crossover. We have the same editor who makes sure we are on the same page. We do not really collaborate on the plots, but we are aware of each other’s storylines.
EC: What is real in the book?
MPW: Hydrocarbon reserves are what the Russians wanted and what makes Guyan strategically important. The Zircon missile is the Russian hypersonic missile. The SUDS Machine is based on service drones. There are initiatives out there for hydrogen service drones. In this book I had them as a hybrid with actual warriors on them, but they can also be remote control like a loyal dog and return to where they are supposed to be. They are a lot like a jet ski.
EC: What about Lisanne Robetson?
MPW: When I took over the series she had been recruited into the Campus. Jack Ryan Jr. and her fell in love and is now his fiancé. She has a job within the Campus as its logistic coordinator and manages some intelligence feeds, so there is a bridge between the emotions of the couple and the realities of the mission. She has quiet strength.
EC: What about Master Chief Kendrick Moore?
MPW: He was introduced in Shadow State. His backstory is still developing but he is damaged goods after getting a dishonorable discharge. He was angry and on a wayward path. Clark brought him into the Campus as a protege and is now formalized there. He is the foot in the door for Clark with the Naval Special Warfare Community. In this story he is a great part of it because much of the action takes place in the water.
EC: The next books?
MPW: The Clancy book is out in September, and it titled Terminal Velocity. It does not focus on the Russians. CRINK make up many bad guys, China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea with less formal enemies like drug cartels and terrorists. I enjoy writing where a national enemy uses more of a shadow enemy.
EC: Rumor has it that you had a crystal ball while writing Terminal Velocity?
MPW: The plot is about the flash point of India and Kashmir which has been in the news lately. The scenario is almost exactly what happened now. A terrorist unit hits the Indians who accuse Pakistan of sheltering them. Tensions climb.
EC: Any other books besides Clancy?
MPW: Another book coming out in September titled Red Tide. It is a military fiction where China blockades Taiwan with tensions on the high seas. There is a battle like Midway with real naval tactics.
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.
Former London police officer Rose Campbell has been estranged from her daughter, Lou, for almost a decade. But when Lou disappears from a remote beach in Western Australia—and the police suspect her of kidnapping the two young children in her care—Rose is asked to help bring Lou home.
This is the final case in DSS Mal Blackwood’s illustrious career—and there’s a lot riding on it. The missing children are heirs to the Fisher property empire, and while their multimillionaire grandfather is breathing down Blackwood’s neck, the media storm is intensifying. Faced with a deluge of evidence and accusations, Blackwood doesn’t know who he can trust.
Rose arrives in Australia intent on proving her daughter’s innocence, but how can she be sure of that when she’s no longer part of Lou’s life? Meanwhile, as Blackwood begins to expose the Fishers’ secrets, the investigation takes a dark turn. Shadows of the past gather around the Fishers—and Rose—and soon it’s clear that every hour is critical. What has happened to Lou and the children? And can Rose and Blackwood find them in time?
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Elise’s Thoughts
When She Was Gone by Sara Foster brings to the forefront the unusual relationship between a mother and her daughter. This intertwined within a riveting mystery allows readers to understand the mother/daughter dynamics.
Former Detective Rose Campbell who now lives in London is notified that her estranged daughter, Lou, has disappeared from a remote Western Australian beach. They have not spoken in years because of how Lou’s father and stepmother spoke of Rose. Yet, now Rose’s ex, Henry, has called on her to help find their daughter who is suspected of kidnapping the two young children she is the au pair for. The missing baby and toddler are heirs to a high profile and wealthy Australian family, the Fishers. Rose is intent on finding her daughter and proving her innocence.
The detective assigned to the case, DSS Mal Blackwood, on the verge of retirement, is chosen because of his ability to solve some of the most intense and difficult investigations. At first, Rose and Blackwood appear at odds as to what really happened but that all changes when a disturbing piece of evidence is found on a nearby strip of beach, making it clear that they are caught in a race against time to bring Louisa and the children safely home.
This is a very suspenseful novel that readers will not want to put down with well-defined characters that they will either root for or hate.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?
Sara Foster: When She Was Gone came about because I wanted to write a story set in Western Australia, where I live with my family, and so I began dreaming up different thriller ideas. The remote beaches of the southwest are some of my favorite places, and I also like writing about characters with connections to both England and Australia (like me!). Once I had the au pair character of Louisa, and her estranged mother Rose, the rest of the story began to fall into place.
EC: Was the theme retribution, power, money?
SF: I think all the themes of retribution, power and money come into play at different times in When She Was Gone. Power and money are certainly deeply interconnected in this story. Money gives some characters the opportunity to act in ways that others simply cannot with those who don’t have money are much more limited in their choices.
EC: How would you describe the mystery in the story and what was its role?
SF: The central mystery of When She Was Gone is the disappearance of Louisa (Lou) and the children, and this thread runs right through the book. I hope the reader is absorbed in the thriller elements of the story and the way this event has repercussions for so many people
EC: Is domestic violence the center of the story?
SF: I don’t think of domestic violence as the singular center of the story but it’s certainly a core thematic element of the novel. I wanted to look at violence in all its forms. Latent as well as actualized – and to think about how violent tendencies develop when early signs aren’t addressed.
EC: Why this domestic violence book quote, “By the time a victim has been degraded, undermined, and attacked for years, they have lost all sense of control. They exist from one terrified moment to the next, sometimes for years, and reclaiming their lives is a messy, protracted process.”
SF: I think it’s all too easy to judge domestic violence victims without stepping into their shoes, whereas there are many reasons why it’s hard to leave an abusive relationship. I hope my story exposes the complexity and messiness of these scenarios and encourages empathy rather than judgement.
EC: How would you describe Rose?
SF: By the time we come to meet Rose in When She Was Gone, she has gone through a terrible period of grief and depression after a traumatic work event as a young police officer, which readers’ witness at the beginning of the book, leaving her with PTSD. However, she has come through this, rebuilt her career, and is in a much stronger place by the time she needs to search for her missing daughter Louisa.
EC: How would you describe Henry?
SF: Henry, Rose’s husband, has been emotionally abusive to Rose over the years, withholding access to Louisa, making life generally difficult for her, and always putting himself first. This changes when Louisa disappears just as his third wife has given birth to twins, meaning Henry is unable to fly to Australia himself, and must therefore appeal to Rose to help him. He is a bit of a classic, self-centered, and narcissist.
EC: How would you describe Louisa?
SF: We don’t get to see much of Louisa directly in the story, only briefly at the beginning before she disappears with the children, at which point she’s obviously unhappy with the way the Fishers treat her and parent their kids. However, once she’s gone, we can only learn about her
through secondary sources – her diary, her Instagram, and other people’s accounts. Through this we can see her strength and her vulnerabilities, and Rose must pray that Louisa is worldly enough to keep herself together in whatever situation she’s in.
EC: How would you describe the Fishers?
SF: The two young children who disappear with Louisa belong to a very wealthy family called the Fishers, who are used to getting their own way or using their considerable wealth to turn events to their favor. However, when these two very small Fisher children go missing, and no one has any idea what’s happened, for once money cannot buy the family out of this predicament, and they are forced to try to communicate with one another in different ways.
EC: Anything else you would like to add?
SF: I write weekly on Substack at The Resiient Author (for writers) and Story Matters (for readers).
EC: Next books?
SF: I’m working on another mystery thriller now with a few more puzzle elements to it, set in the Cotswolds in the UK, a place my grandparents lived for a while. I’m having a lot of fun refining the characters and plot, as I try to bring it all together.
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.
Below is an interview with two authors who served in the military. They discussed their books, one a novel, The Guilty Sleep by Baker, and the other a non-fiction, Nothing But Courage by Donovan, as well as what Memorial Day means to them and how they incorporated their experiences into their books.
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Book Description
Afghanistan vet Dexter Grant is broke, reeling from PTSD, and on the verge of divorce when he’s approached by his old Army buddies to help rescue their former interpreter, the man who once saved Dex’s life. It means ripping off a vicious queenpin’s drug proceeds—but not to worry, they have it all worked out. And if anyone can pull it off, it’s Dex’s former team lead, Staff Sergeant Saenz.
Tempted by an easy score that could make his own problems disappear and imbued with new purpose, Dex agrees to play his part in the scheme. But just as in combat, the best-laid plans don’t survive first contact with the enemy. When the heist goes off the rails, his wife and daughter become targets for bloody revenge. Dex must face down his spiraling inner darkness and call on all his strength and training to save his girls. In his quest, he’ll learn there was much more to this heist than he ever imagined.
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Elise’s Thoughts
The Guilty Sleep by Jeremy D. Baker is a riveting novel. Although this book reflects on Baker’s past experiences, both professional, militarily, and personally, the story itself is a suspenseful mystery. The plot has the hero, Dexter, asked by his old army buddies to commit a crime to save the life of their former interpreter. Also, as part of the story, Dexter’s daughter has the same eye disease Strabismus, as the author’s daughter (essentially Lazy Eye), which costs tens of thousands of dollars to fix. He has no health insurance because he was kicked out of the military. He decides to go along with the heist to get the money for his daughter’s surgery. Dex is not a Rambo-type but is trying to do the right thing to make himself better to overcome PTSD. The book is about Dex coming back from war with his life falling apart and he decides to do something to make his life relevant again. After the heist goes off the rails, his wife and daughter become targets for bloody revenge, in which Dexter is determined to save.
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Book Description
In June 1944, German and American forces converged on an insignificant bridge a few miles inland from the invasion beaches. If taken by the Nazis, the bridge might have gone down in history as the reason the Allies failed on D-Day.
The narrow road over it was each side’s conduit to victory. Continued Nazi control over the bridge near an old manoir known as La Fière—one of only two bridges in the region capable of supporting tanks and other heavy armor—would allow the Germans to reinforce their defenses at Utah Beach, one of the five landing areas chosen for Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Nazi-held Europe. But because control of the bridge was also essential to moving U.S. troops inland and off the beach, it could not simply be destroyed: it had to be taken—and held—by the Allies.
This was part of the formidable mission of the 82nd Airborne, whose lightly armed but superbly trained troopers had dropped behind—and into—German lines five hours before the seaborne assault on Utah. While blocking enemy reinforcements, they had to seize and secure avenues of approach from the beaches to the interior of Normandy, including two bridges over the modest Merderet River and the key crossroads village of Sainte Mère Église. Failure would give Hitler enough time, and the opportunity, to build up the resources necessary to defeat the invasion and turn the tide for the Nazis. The village was taken early on D-Day, and the 82nd endured repeated attacks by much larger German forces. But the bridge at La Fière became a bloody three-day standoff against tanks and artillery that culminated in a near-suicidal charge across it and the narrow 500-yard causeway beyond—straight into the teeth of a fierce German defense ordered to hold it to the last man.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Nothing But Courage by James Donovan tells the dramatic story of the courageous paratroopers and glidermen of the 82nd Airborne. They risked their lives to seize and secure a small, centuries-old bridge in France that played a pivotal role in the success of D-Day.
The battle for La Fiere was crucial in the Normandy invasion and afterward was led by Matthew Ridgway and James Gavin, two of the most outstanding commanders in American military history. In June 1944, German and American forces converged on an insignificant bridge a few miles inland from the invasion beaches. If taken by the Nazis, the bridge might have gone down in history as the reason the Allies failed on D-Day. Continued Nazi control over the bridge would allow the Germans to reinforce their defenses at Utah Beach, with supporting tanks and other heavy armor. But the 82nd Airborne’s success helped the allies in defeating the Germans on the Normandy beach.
This is a riveting, brilliantly researched account of one of the most overlooked yet heroic actions of WWII.
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Jeremy D. Baker ————————— James Donovan
Author Interviews
Elise Cooper: Since Memorial Day is coming up what does it mean to you?
Jeremy Baker: Memorial Day, to me, means Remember. Remember the lives given in service of our nation. Remember those who sacrificed their all, who gave their last full measure of devotion, to something greater than themselves. Remember not only those who died in conflict, but those who died during times of peace, and those who died because of injuries–physical, psychological, emotional–that were received in times of war months or years before they died. Memorial Day, to me, means taking the time to honor all those we remember in these ways. It does not necessarily mean the day must be one of total, quiet, somber reflection. I’ve seen some people out there scolding their neighbors for having fun on the day, but in my mind, what could be a better remembrance and reflection of our values than using this sacred, special day for periods of enjoyment, family, community, and yes, even parties to kick off the summer season. Anyone who’s ever served will tell you that there are few things we service members enjoyed more than a good time with friends, a cold drink, and good food. I take absolutely no issue with anyone celebrating Memorial Day in the way they see fit, but I do hope everyone on the day will take at least a quick moment to think about those who gave their all for the rest of us. Every Memorial Day, I take a moment of reflection to think about those I served with who died, whether in combat, peacetime, or after leaving the military. I think about Carrie Ann, Josh, Dave, Brian, and Lee. The list grows over time, and even one name makes the list too long. I guarantee every veteran keeps a list like this in their mind. I’m honored to have served with these people, and their sacrifice, their battles, will not be forgotten.
James Donovan: Memorial Day is a time to reflect on those Americans who gave their lives to keep our country free. In writing this book I interviewed twelve men from the 82nd and thought what a great honor. By the time they made it back to England, after D-Day, they had 50% casualties: injured, missing, and dead. One company that originally had about 175 men returned with only 16 men. Memorial Day is not about the most recent war but about the past wars as well.
EC:Why the 82nd Airborne in the non-fiction book Nothing But Courage?
JD: It was a dream of mine to write a WWII book. The Airborne troops were considered elite Special Forces. Back then they did not really have Special Forces but had two elite parts of the Army, the Rangers and the Airborne. They were trained to a tee. They were given an assignment that lasted a week at the most and were sent back to regroup.
EC: What can you say about this mission?
JD: They were kept in the field for about 32 days. It was to seize and secure strategically important towns and bridges to keep German reinforcements out. Americans dropped two divisions of paratroopers behind the lines on Utah Beach on the French Coast. They were asked to take strategic towns, one of which was Ste-Mere-Eglise, that was controlled by the Germans. They also had to take two bridges to seal the Germans off from getting more men.
EC: Why were the gliders called in?
JD: They were sent in to take the La Fiere bridgehead on June 6th, 1944. They had to deal with the Germans who had machine guns, mortars, and anti-tank guns, basically well dug in. The paratrooper regiments were dropped all over because they lost their bearings. The
idea with glider troops of 20 to 30 men per glider was that they could jump out as a unit. For the most part it worked. After WWII they were not used because they used helicopters.
EC: Describe the leaders Ridgway and Gavin?
JD: General Matthew Ridgway was raised army, went to West Point. He was very inspiring and looked like a Roman Emperor. His deputy commander, Lt. General James Gavin, never went to high school, joined the army when he was 17, and went to West Point with an 8th grade education. He knew a lot about paratroopers. He led by example, very soft spoken. Ridgway was respected but Gavin was loved. These commanders were the first to jump out of the planes to lead their men, instead of how most generals acted, miles from the front. There was an extraordinary collection of men.
EC: Was it a success?
JD: Germans had flooded all these fields. They had to jump in the Swamp Land where dozens of men drowned. Yet, they got the job done because of the leadership, extraordinary training, and courage. After this, Airborne men proved that they could do an astonishing job.
EC: Does this story, The Guilty Sleep, have any reflection on your past service?
JB: I have been writing off and on for about twenty years. There is an awful lot of me and my military experience in this story. What I really wanted to do with this story is talk about the cost of fighting wars. I thought about this story in August of 2021 when the US was pulling out of Afghanistan. It was immediately overrun by the Taliban. As a military veteran who had served there, I had a lot of thoughts and feelings about it. I had a lot of conversations with other veterans about it. It made all the sense in the world to take all my thoughts and feelings about what happened there and put it all together in a novel that also dealt with family, camaraderie, and the cost of fighting wars on those who have fought.
EC: How did your military experience help you to write this?
JB: I was a counterintelligence agent in the army from 2000-2005, serving in Afghanistan. My team was assigned to support the Special Forces team, so we spent a lot of time chasing down the Taliban and Al Qaeda. In many ways there are elements in this story based on my personal experiences. The main character, Dex, is also a counterintelligence agent who was deployed there. He had the same training I did with many of the same experiences. He was impacted with combat induced PTSD that he developed during his deployment.
EC: Why the book quote, “The draw down in Afghanistan and the Taliban coming back is like nothing that happened even mattered. Like they died for nothing.” Please explain.
JB: I started writing this book in October 2021 and we pulled out of Afghanistan in August of 2021. I was watching it as a civilian and saw how our Afghan allies fled, and the Taliban took over our equipment. We were there for almost twenty years and so much of the blood and treasures died. I was struggling with what was it all for. There was a scene in the book where there was a veteran support group from Vietnam to Afghanistan. They talked about the Afghan pullout.
EC: How would you describe Dex, the hero?
JB: He is unraveling, a lost soul, sarcastic, a stand-up person, and a loving husband/father.
EC: Why give him PTSD?
JB: Some people who had one deployment like me struggle with PTSD and some people have many multiple deployments and do not seem to struggle with PTSD. Fighting wars and being in combat does have an impact on the human psyche. I found writing was my therapy.
EC: What was the character Dex struggling with?
JB: He had PTSD and struggled with depression, alcoholism, loss, and possibly losing his family. He screams, curses, has fury, some uncontrollable behavior, and sleep deprivation. I drew a lot of his PTSD experience from my own, especially the unexplainable flashes of rage along with the tossing and turning and unable to sleep. But like Dex I was a devoted husband and father. I put in this quote, “anger, booze, nightmares, symptoms, must be cut out like a tumor. And do it by helping people who need help.”
EC: Next book?
JB: I am working on sequel to the book. There will be some characters back. The working title is The Guilty Burn. There is no release date. Dex helps someone who gets into trouble and will do problem solving together.
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.
A missing woman. Two hit men. When every second counts, who will survive?
In the stark but beautiful wilds of northern New Mexico, a couples’ retreat at a luxury resort turns into a chilling nightmare when a woman vanishes. Skip tracer Riley MacLeod and private investigator Greyson Chadwick pose as a couple to hunt for clues that might reveal the missing woman’s location. Those leads uncover a harrowing truth: They’re not the only ones looking for her. What begins as a normal tracking case turns into a deadly chase when they, too, become the hunted.
As Riley and Greyson work together, their partnership ignites a tumultuous attraction, but Greyson’s secrets prevent him from acting on his feelings for her, and Riley can’t bring herself to fully trust him. Delving deeper into the case, they find themselves fighting not only for justice and the chance at a loving relationship . . . but also for their very survival.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Two Seconds Too Late by Dani Pettrey is a romantic suspense novel. In this story the suspense drives the romance between the two main characters that is carefully plotted within the storyline.
The plot starts off with the main female lead, Riley MacLeod, struggling after shooting dead someone who was trying to kill her. Throughout the story readers see her trying to handle the PTSD that includes vivid nightmares.
After one of those nightmares, she finds a mysterious package on her doorstep. Then, a friend of hers calls and asks Riley to investigate the disappearance of someone she knew at a luxury resort. To see what happened, she along with one of her partners, Greyson Chadwick, decide to pose as a couple. They find that others are looking for the disappearing woman that includes some nefarious figures. Each clue pulls them deeper into a mystery that puts them in more danger. As they work together the attraction between Riley and Greyson becomes intense. But Greyson feels that the demons he is battling will be too much for the relationship to survive. He has depression and sees it as a reason to never get involved with anyone.
The book is full of mystery, mayhem, and murder, providing readers with a sense of intrigue.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Rumor has it when you wrote this you also had to deal with the aftereffects of Hurricane Helene. True?
Dani Pettrey: The hurricane took out most of our house and our belongings. We just got back in two weeks ago. It was a little bit crazy in writing this story because there was so much going on and we had to move out. My family felt like nomads since we had to move around to four different B & Bs because of availability dates. This was very distracting as I was writing, and it was a struggle to get the book done.
EC: The idea for the story?
DP: I had an idea for a fancy resort that had yoga and dancing. I thought about having someone go missing from there with two of my characters going undercover. The woman was tracking my main character who was her friend; my main character was tracking others; so, it took on a cat and mouse story.
EC: How would you describe Riley?
DP: She has guilt feelings after killing someone, stubborn, competitive, a risk-taker, someone who goes with her gut feelings, fearful, has PTSD, free-spirit, compassionate, and curious. She can be a little bit humorous and playful.
EC: How would you describe Greyson?
DP: Methodical, a planner, tender, former military, confident, logical, guarded, and witty.
EC: Why the military angle?
DP: When I thought of his background and struggles with life, I thought of those in the military, particularly as he tried, but failed, to help a friend who had gone through PTSD after the war. In my family there is a huge military history, six generations and my husband was military. I do enjoy putting in the military aspect. We had relatives in every war except Korea. They explained how there was those moments that they had to be killed, or they would be killed, which is why the quote in the book. They have some guilt even though they had no choice.
EC: What about the relationship between Greyson and Riley?
DP: She had a teenage crush on him. They like to tease each other. He thinks of her as a light in the darkness. He makes her feel safe. They are passionate. They had to overcome the boundaries since she was his friend’s kid sister. He thinks he is not really the right person for her since he has some baggage. They had to climb some walls to get together.
EC: What about the role of poker in the story?
DP: I have played but not in years. I watched a lot of poker on TV and went into a casino where they answered my questions. Originally it was going to be a heavier role. I had one of the characters winning a lot of money playing poker and suspects grew out of that.
EC: What about the role of cults?
DP: It explained why Riley’s friend was doing what she did. I set it in Las Vegas that has several cults. As I was doing research about Vegas I found out about some underground tunnels. I put that in the story.
EC: Why make Greyson having depression?
DP: I have depression. I wanted to show how he was getting help in a positive light. He was scared to put himself out there with Riley who was very supportive. I wanted to shed light how people with depression feel and how people can work through it together. I showed depression can be overcome. For me, now it is very level.
EC: Next books?
DP: The third book in the series will be coming out next June. The working title is Three Steps Behind. It will feature Riley’s brother Derek and someone he likes, Harper. They worked together in the first book.
I am also writing a novella collection with Lynette Easton out in February.
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.
As an undercover operative for the Office of Strategic Services during World War II, Evelyn Bishop routinely embarked on deadly missions. By contrast, civilian life should be simple. Yet Evelyn, now back in Los Angeles, struggles with the responsibility of being the new president of Bishop Aeronautics, when people see her as nothing more than a beautiful socialite.
With Nick Gallagher, at least, Evelyn can be entirely herself. Once a fellow spy, now her fiancé, Nick works as a private investigator. But the mission that first brought them together is not over. Evelyn receives a call from her former commanding officer, who is overseeing the Berlin Airlift. He is concerned that the Soviets are trying to recruit Kurt Vogel, a scientist Evelyn and Nick smuggled out of Nazi Germany. After six long years, there’s word his wife and daughter may have survived the war. Is this a chance for a long-promised reunion, or a Russian ploy to lure Vogel to their side?
Past and present collide again when a routine case offers Nick a reunion with a childhood friend who runs a high-class “gentleman’s club.” The clientele includes everyone from Hollywood royalty to mobsters—to a hidden enemy who will draw both Evelyn and Nick into a web as twisted and treacherous as any they have ever faced .
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Elise’s Thoughts
An Unquiet Peace by Shaina Steinberg brings back the partners Evelyn Bishop and Nick Gallagher, who are now engaged. Not only are readers treated to the cases Evelyn and Nick are working on but also see the role their wedding will play in the story.
The first book, Under the Paper Moon, shows how Nick and Evelyn fell in love during the war while working together as OSS partners, only to break up over a perceived betrayal. They were first drawn back together as they teamed up as private investigators to solve a murder. This second book has Evelyn and Nick engaged and planning their wedding. Unfortunately, they are not working together, as in the first story, but have separate cases. Nick is searching for a kidnapping victim who works for his long-lost childhood friend, and Evelyn is trying to track down the missing family of a German scientist.
Evelyn, now president of Bishop Aeronautics, is asked by her former boss General Henry Gibson to come back to Europe because Kurt Vogel, a scientist she and Nick spirited out of Germany during the war, has just received a postcard from the wife he thought was dead. The family had been split up, and two different teams were charged with extracting them from Germany, but Vogel’s Jewish wife and daughter never made it to safety. Now he is hoping Evelyn will find and reunite them as she travels back to Berlin during the Berlin Airlift.
Nick’s case reunites him with a childhood friend who runs a high-class “gentleman’s club” and is seeing her employees beaten with one kidnapped. The clientele includes everyone from Hollywood royalty to mobsters to a hidden enemy who is twisted and treacherous.
The supporting characters play an intricate role in the story. There is Hildy, a childhood friend of Nick’s who taught him how to survive on the streets and literally helped him lose his virginity. She now owns a “gentleman’s club,” where Julia, a bartender working for Hildy, has been kidnapped. Kurt, a German scientist, was brought to the allies by Evelyn and separated from his family. Taffy, Evelyn’s aunt, takes the place of her late mother and becomes the wedding planner.
The story has intrigue, plenty of twists, well-developed characters, and a fabulous mystery. The attention to historical detail immerses the reader in the era, making the story both engaging and informative.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?
Shaina Steinberg: I was fascinated by the idea that Russia and the USA were allies during WWII, with a very grudging acceptance of each other and partnership. But after the war they showed how they disliked each other, exemplified with the Berlin Blockade. It was such a giant game of chicken and lasted almost a year. I wanted to write the story showing how the city was devasted, suffering, and many people were raped. Yet, a part of me did not feel sorry for the people there because of what the Nazis did. There were many who just stood by and were complacent about the Jews.
EC: I went to UCLA, so “Go Bruins”. Why choose that school?
SS: I chose UCLA for the college because it was one of the only schools that accepted women for undergraduate studies. I put in how one woman was going there studying for an engineering degree and another woman for an economics degree with my main character graduating from there. I also put in this quote about UCLA, “It was beautiful with wide green lawns and neoclassical buildings.”
EC: Through two of the characters, Hannah and Sophie, you show how the Germans were antisemitic not only during but also after the war?
SS: Hitler came in 1933 and announced what he was going to do. The concentration camps did happen because people were complacent, a real lesson for now. In my research I found a lot of Germans after the war denied being Nazis and there was still a lot of antisemitism with the prevalent sentiment that the Jews caused their problems on their own.
EC: What about the women’s issues in the story?
SS: There were women who tried to make it in a man’s world. My main character Evelyn says the true scandal is how “there were not more ways for women to earn a good living.” I talked about how a lot of women in the OSS were relegated to being secretaries. During the war a third of the men left, resulting in open jobs. Many women went to work and saw how they could make a difference and gain independence. After men came back from the war it was expected for women to give up their jobs and the freedom that came with it. Women had that moment of empowerment, but it was taken away.
EC: What about the main character, Evelyn?
SS: She was a CEO of a major company and a pilot. I made her raised by her father who told her anything your brother could do, you can do. He encouraged her to go to school and follow her interests in mathematics and engineering. Her father looked at her as the natural successor. She learned the ins and outs of an aeronautics company so it made sense she would learn how to fly and know her way around airplanes. I love the idea that Evelyn could have existed.
EC: You also speak to the Jewish culture a bit where they talk about wanting to continue the culture?
SS: One of the characters, Gabe, is Jewish and he came here because the European country he lived in became untenable. I think readers can see the different experiences but there are also similarities with people who come to this country. Hannah and Sophie were Germans who tried to hide but because they were Jewish, they were turned over to the Nazis. They thought they could be protected but that was not true.
EC: How would you describe Evelyn’s Aunt Taffy?
SS: She is a society woman who focuses on a very specific world where etiquette is very important. It is so easy to look at her and write her off. She was very disappointed she could not have her own children and never got over losing her beloved husband. She knows Evelyn needs her because her tight knit family has disappeared. She wants to make Evelyn feel that she is not alone and has a deep love for Evelyn. Taffy was like a second mom to her, outspoken, direct, and intimidating.
EC: How would you describe Hildy, Nick’s good friend?
SS: She is practical, humorous, friendly, outgoing, not trusting, and owner of a brothel. She is a good listener but is closed off about herself.
EC: How about another secondary character, Julia?
SS: Responsible, caring, tough, adventurous, organized, independent, and a love for family.
EC: How would you describe the scientist, Kurt?
SS: Bitter, smart, worried, and angry. He is good at placing blame for being displaced from his family. He has an incredible amount of guilt for deciding to leave his family behind.
EC: How would you describe the LAPD officer Brian Caruso?
SS: Corrupt, mean, uncaring, self-centered, and smug. His main thought is what is in it for me?
EC: What about the relationship between Nick and Evelyn?
SS: Nick is enthralled with her, sometimes feels like an outsider. She questions the role of marriage because she wants her independence. They complement each other and are true partners. They feel that each other is family to them. They are truly in love and do bring out the best in each other.
EC: Is Evelyn hesitant because a wife is expected to be a mother and housekeeper?
SS: She does not want that for her life and Nick understands. This is a time of no-fault divorce, where wives don’t have much choice. Evelyn’s friend, Lily, was trapped in a very abusive marriage. If Nick would have left her, she would feel a deep hole inside of herself. I think she would always have the hole if he left her, but she would be able to continue because Evelyn feels she is worthy of love. Nick on the other hand would have a harder time existing without her. He would see Evelyn’s leaving, as confirming he was not loveable. With this said, I have no plans for them to break up.
EC: Why was this book different with the case load than the first book?
SS: They are building a life together. Living and working together can be challenge. In the first book it was about them finding their way back to each other. They have been through so much together. I wanted readers to see how they do their own thing yet have the support from each other at the end of the day. They can talk to each other about their cases even if it is just to listen.
EC: Next book?
SS: I am currently working on it so there is no release date or title. Taffy and Julia will be in it. Evelyn is working on the factory expansion with things going wrong. In this book Nick’s case more closely ties in with her work.
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.
