#elisesthoughts – Page 13 – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Harm’s Way by John Gilstrap

Book Description

Unstoppable Jonathan Grave uncovers a major threat to American security in the latest action-packed adventure in the long-running, bestselling black-ops series.

Twelve missionaries have been snatched in a remote area of Venezuela and are being held for ransom. The high-priority rescue mission comes as a personal plea from FBI director Irene Rivers. It also carries a Presidential demand: no international incident. Just get in and get out—with hostages who are far from cooperative, but nonetheless precious cargo.

America’s enemies hope to leverage the kidnapping into a major crisis. Fighting his way to the hostages is Jonathan’s first battle. The second is to deliver them, alive and well, to the extraction site – and let no one stand in his way.

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Elise’s Thoughts

One of the best qualities of a John Gilstrap book is his ability to draw readers into the plot and characters. Just like the early Vince Flynn books his plots are intense, his bad guys horrifically violent, and his team heroes hardly politically correct with a determination for justice to be served.

Harm’s Way by John Gilstrap takes place in Venezuela where a vicious drug cartel has kidnapped ten missionaries and are holding them for ransom. FBI Director Irene Rivers has asked the independent contractor, Jonathan Grave, and his team to rescue one hostage. But Jonathan being Jonathan, tells her he will rescue all or none. He plans on doing what he and his team always do, save hostages. The rest of the gang are back that includes Jonathan Grave (Digger), Brian Vande Boxers (Big Guy), Venice Alexander (Mother Hen) and Gail Bonneville (Gunslinger) as well as Jesse Montgomery (Torpedo), a thief and boat driver, and Davey Montgomery (Chief), a former Navy SEAL.

As with most of his books the theme always questions the commitment of Washington, especially the bureaucrats, to put the welfare of the country ahead of personal gain.

Word of warning to readers, the rescue mission is not the only plotline and this book ends with a slight cliffhanger. Anyone who has not read the Grave books should because they have drama, intrigue, and great characters.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for Harm’s Way?

John Gilstrap: It came from a real news story. There was a news item where twelve missionaries were kidnapped in South America. Each were held for different levels of ransom by the bad guys. I thought it was an interesting premise.

EC: Throughout the books, one of the team members, Gail Bonnerville aka Gunslinger has come to grips with her role?

JG: Gail can be passive-aggressive, logical, thoughtful, sarcastic, and very analytical. She is often the only adult in the room when the men team members start to act as boys. She as well as everyone has a strong moral compass. She sometimes has trouble drawing the lines that Jonathan has no trouble drawing since she was a Sherriff and is a lawyer. In Scorpion Strike she realized there was nuisance and balance versus violence and fortitude. She started accepting her role and in the current book Harm’s Way she has reached that threshold. Jonathan is very mission oriented where he wants to have the hostages returned to their family. Gail cannot close down after a mission like Jonathan does. It angers her that she cannot and also angers her that Jonathan can. She will do what she must do but afterwards might not like it, while Jonathan will do what he must do and move on.

EC: You like to have Gail get injured a lot?

JG: In Damage Control she was injured very seriously and two books after that she was gone for a while as she recovered. I almost killed her off, but when I brought her back, I found the handle for her character. Then in Lethal Game, the book before Harm’s Way she had to be rescued after her house was set on fire and she was injured.

EC: The relationship between Gail and Jonathan?

JG: She considers him a crusader and is accepting of him. Just as with Jonathan she now realizes that by fighting, she can have a say in her future, going home alive. Gail realizes that Jonathan’s way of thinking is not as outlandish as she originally thought. She has come to see that the rule of law sometimes comes to slowly for true justice to happen. Because they accept each other they can now have an intimate relationship.

EC: Was President Tony Darmond based on anyone in any political party or is he an equal opportunity politician?

JG: The plot line of this book involving the President’s stepson selling access started in 2014 with the book High Treason. It is pure coincidence that the plot line is still alive. The Darmond administration has been corrupt since 2009. In the Grave books time pretty much stands still and travels very slowly. I do not write politics I write fiction. President Darmond does not have a party affiliation. People read the books and I have received angry letters about Darmond’s corruption from supporters of President Bush 43, President Obama, President Trump, and now President Biden. I get equal levels of hate mail. The Grave books do not work unless Washington is horribly corrupt.

EC: There is a quote that is anti-Washington in Harm’s Way. Please explain.

JG: You are referring to this quote, “In light of recent weaknesses and stumbles from the government of the United States, it was often too easy to lose respect in the effectiveness of American operators. The Border Patrol and the Drug Enforcement Administration had both been thoroughly neutered by President Darmond’s political henchmen, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has neutered itself with political infighting.” This is from a Russian who perceives the weakness of power. The Darmond administration is owned by the Cartels who can do whatever they want on the Southern Border. I believe in the fictional world, Washington’s senior elected leadership can search for Directors to do their will.

EC: Are the Russians really behind bringing drugs into this country?

JG: I do not have a firsthand knowledge but people who do, this is what they tell me. From what I heard the Russians have tried to gain a foothold in Venezuela and pre-Ukraine have provided a lot of aid. In my fiction world it just makes sense the Russians are doing it.

EC: Why Venezuela?

JG: Venezuela is in this hemisphere. Because I must get Jonathan and the gang in and out there is only so much of the world where I can do it. In my various previous books, I have used Mexico and wanted a change. Part of the reason for Venezuela, I wanted to criticize socialism, and it is the poster child for where socialism never worked in the practical world. The economic system here has collapsed so it has become a playground for bad guys.

EC: Next book-did you leave this one with a cliffhanger?

JG: Yes, although each book can survive as a stand-alone. In the next book, the Darmond Administration will have a very bad time. It will be titled Heat Seeker, a Jonathan Grave 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.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Robert B. Parker’s Bad Influence by Alison Gaylin

Book Description

Boston PI Sunny Randall investigates the dark side of social media in this exciting new thriller in the bestselling series.

Sunny Randall’s newest client, Blake, seems to have it all: he is an Instagram influencer, with all the perks the lifestyle entails—a beautiful girlfriend, wealth, and adoring fans. But one of those fans has turned ugly, and Sunny is brought on board by Blake’s manager, Bethany, to protect him and to uncover who is out to kill him. In doing so, she investigates a glamorous world rife with lies and schemes…and ties to a dangerous criminal scene.

When Bethany goes missing and the threats against Blake escalate, Sunny realizes that in order to solve this case, she has to find out exactly who Blake and Bethany are, behind the Instagram filters. While digging into their pasts, she is also forced to confront her own, as old friends—and ex-husbands—reappear. With a combination of old-school crime-solving skills and modern internet savvy, Sunny will stop at nothing to catch a killer.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Robert B. Parker’s Bad Influence by Alison Gaylin brings to life his character Sunny Randall. Those who have read Gaylin in the past know she loves to have twisted endings that are very intense. This story is not any different as she takes readers on a roller coaster ride.

In this story Gaylin includes many of Sunny’s supporting characters and attempts to bring her into the modern world. Bethany Rose hires Sunny to protect one of the most popular influencer couples. She offers the services of her influencer couple, Blake James, and Alena Jade, to help Sunny’s BFF Spike gain new customers for his bar and restaurant. Bethany is willing to do it on gratis if Sunny finds out who is sending threatening messages to the couple.

Sunny must come to terms with social media as she tries to figure out who is the stalker. The problem is she must get up to speed because she did not use any online forums. Now she uses it as a tool to research her clients. She is trying to understand how people can base their entire careers on letting strangers into their personal lives.

She can be stubborn at times and is trying to figure out where she stands emotionally.

This mystery/thriller is riveting, and the readers also can learn about the world of influencers, which makes the story even more fascinating.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why write a Parker character?

Alison Gaylin: I have been a longtime fan of the Robert B. Parker books, although I did not read any of the Sunny books. I was offered to write twenty pages and thought this is a terrific opportunity. I had this idea regarding influencers. A month later I heard I got the job and will be writing a second book.

EC: Did you change anything regarding style?

AG: I tried to stay as loyal to Parker as I best I could. His style is different than my style with more dialogue, shorter chapters, and I have a little more internal dialogue. I did try to make it as “Parkeresque” as I could. All the supporting characters of his was like being given a toolbox to make some furniture. There is her good friend Spike, her father, her ex-husband Ritchie, his mob dad, and her dog Rosie. Parker books had more humor than I usually put but I wrote more intensity, especially at the end.

EC: Did you make any imprint on the Sunny character?

AG: It will always be a little different when a woman writes the character. It is a pleasure to be the first woman to write Sunny. I think the way women move through the world and relate to other women is different. In a lot of his books, she called in for help, but in this book during the climactic scene I had her do it on her own.

EC: How would you describe Sunny?

AG: Funny, tough, smart, strong, loyal, but vulnerable. She never let’s go of relationships. She had this dog Rosie who passed away and she got the same kind of dog and named it the same. She does not love change very much. She has been divorced from her ex-husband for years but still has feelings for him and they still maintain a relationship. Sunny is a solid person. In her profession as a private investigator, she is reckless, observant, and calm. She is in her late thirties. She is very good with a gun.

EC: Jesse Stone, another character of Parkers’ is mentioned on the page but does not appear?

AG: Sunny dated him for a while when Mike Lupica was writing this series. But in the last book, Revenge Tour, he broke them up. I decided they probably did not have a lot of contact now. He is still writing the Jesse Stone books and he has Jesse involved with someone else so I cannot write an alternative reality.

EC: What was the role of Rosie?

AG: She is a great companion for Sunny. I love dogs so Rosie will be in a lot of the stories. In this book Rosie is the go between for Sunny and her client, Blake, who she is guarding. His attitude towards Rosie showed a side to Blake readers would not otherwise see, caring and vulnerable. He was deprived of owning a dog during his childhood.

EC: Blake, Athena, and Bethany represent what?

AG: They are involved with the influencing world, and I wanted to show how things are not as they appear to be on social media and Instagram. As the book progresses there is more of a filter that will change people’s perception of them.

EC: Why influencers?

AG: I find them fascinating because I see them as a con. Everything is filtered and photoshopped. They have created a character of who they hope to be, not who they are. The goal is to be aspirational, not real. There is an element of artificiality. I thought how Sunny as a single woman in her late thirties she would have a social media imprint. But she does not, and I wondered why. Although she does find it fascinating. I think she wonders if followers have a mind of their own and maybe thinks of influencers as the modern-day commercials/advertisements. The influencers are getting paid with a lot of free products. Commercials have lost their power because people fast-forward them, so influencers have taken their place. They have a whole different level of fame.

EC: Idea for the mystery?

AG: I saw a Netflix documentary on con artists. This inspired me for the book, the different layers to the characters. The essence of the book is that these people were someone who they did not appear to be.

EC: Where are you going with the Sunny/Ritchie relationship?

AG: I put it to the test by having him move to New Jersey, six hours away. It has been on again/off again. Will absence make the heart grow fonder or will she decide to be on her own and independent? She relied a lot on his family. I put more change on her.

EC: Next books?

AG: The next Sunny book should come out this time next year. There is no title. It might involve the Energy Drink king who goes missing and Sunny is hired by his father.

For my next book, the tentative title is We Are Watching, out next summer. A normal family is targeted by a cult like group of conspiracy theorists.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: After the Night by Karin Slaughter

Book Description

Will Trent and Sara Linton are back in an electrifying thriller featuring GBI investigator Will Trent and medical examiner Sara Linton from New York Times bestselling author Karin Slaughter

After that night, everything changed . . .

Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when a celebratory night out ended in a violent attack that tore her world apart. Since then, Sara has remade her life. A successful doctor, engaged to a man she loves, she has finally managed to leave the past behind her.

Until one evening, on call in the ER, everything changes. Sara battles to save a broken young woman who’s been brutally attacked. But as the investigation progresses, led by GBI Special Agent Will Trent, it becomes clear that Dani Cooper’s assault is uncannily linked to Sara’s.

And the past isn’t going to stay buried forever . . .

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Elise’s Thoughts

After That Night by Karin Slaughter is typical of her books. She intertwines a fascinating thriller with a very important relevant subject matter, drawing readers into the story from page one.

Fifteen years ago, Sara Linton’s life changed forever when she was violently assaulted and raped. With a strong support system, she became a successful doctor and is now engaged to Detective Will Trent, a man she dearly loves. She has tried to put her past behind her. But one evening changes everything.

She is now working at Atlanta’s Grady Memorial Hospital when 19-year-old Dani Cooper is admitted with fatal injuries from a car accident. Sara recognizes signs of rape, which Dani confirms with her dying breaths. Having been raped herself 15 years earlier, Sara vows to bring Dani’s assailant to justice.

Fast forward three years and Sara is now testifying in court against Thomas Michael McAllister IV. He is the son of two of Sara’s former medical school peers, pediatric surgeon Mac McAllister and his wife, Britt. Even more surprisingly, Britt McAllister, when Sara encounters her in the courthouse restroom, smugly informs her, “What happened to you. What happened to Dani. It’s all connected.” Sara decides to tell Will and his partner Faith and works with them to take down the bad guys.

As with all her books the story is riveting and touches on important subjects of the day. Slaughter not only shows readers the effect that rape has on victims but shows how predators get away with it. It is gripping and shocking from the very first page. This book had a nice number of twists, turns and revelations. There are plenty of little quips, bickering, and witty banter sprinkled throughout to ease some of the tension of the story.

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Author Interview

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

Karin Slaughter: I write about stuff I have seen going on in the world. It was time to write more about what happened to Sara Linton, a character readers like. Now would be a good time to talk about where she is at. At my heart I am a thriller writer and that has always been my goal, to write thrillers.

EC: Can you talk about why that quote at the beginning of the book?

KS: You are referring to this one, “Remember to speak from the scar, not the wound.” It is from the trauma counseling community. Those sexually assaulted should give themselves some distance. It takes time to process, for a woman to get through it, to recognize and understand it, and to get to a point she can speak about it.

EC: This is like sex trafficking?

KS: Sex trafficking is a good corollary. There was this movie, “Sound of Freedom,” made about it. One of the main investors was just arrested in sex trafficking. People put themselves in the spotlight as advocates for children and women as they speak about family values but are using it to hide their true selves. They have an “alibi” if ever accused because they appear to be such a supportive person. It is the same way for rape where a lot of men hide in plain sight. My point is that a predator is not someone who can be easily spotted.

EC: There is a scene in the book where Sara says she is not sure how she should feel: Outrage, matter of fact, emotional, or devoid of emotion. Please explain.

KS: Sara is talking about how as a victim she also must manage others’ feelings around rape. It is true that this is one of the few crimes where society puts value judgements, especially other women. I think these women are not nasty, but fearful. Every woman has lived with this fear that they could possibly be raped. The fact is rape can happen no matter what a woman does. Women should not be saying ‘she should not have worn that or done this.’

EC: There is a statistic in the story that fewer than 1% of rapes lead to a felony conviction. Please explain.

KS: A lot of police are driven by numbers. They do not prioritize cases. Sometimes they ignore the cases because maybe the victim was a prostitute. Once again, it is a judgement call. Sara feels this weight to suppress her own emotions and help others in the story work their way through what happened to them. Everyone thinks the system works until they are in the system. Rape consistently gets pleaded down to a lesser offense, so men are not put on a sex offender registry.

EC: How did the rape affect Sara?

KS: I openly write about her rape since book 1, Blindsighted, and how it affected her life. Sara feels however people responded to being rape is how they should respond. She managed to rebuild her life including falling in love with a man and to be able to trust him. She did have her family as a support structure.

EC: What about the relationship between Will and Sara?

KS: I have this quote in the book about her relationship with Will, “This is the miracle of her recovery. She trusted with every fiber of her being that he will always be there. He can pick up her moods.” This is one of the strongest parts of Will’s character that he is intensely loyal. He always has Sara’s back and is very supportive.

EC: How would you describe Britt, one of Sara’s medical school peers?

KS: She is a ‘pick me.’ She always is talking about how she does not get along with other women, but the fact is other women do not like her. She will always choose a man over her women friends no matter what. She has no identity outside of a man. She identifies herself only as being the wife of this powerful man. All her self-worth and power come from the fact that she is married to Mac, a top surgeon. She wants to be the cool girl, one of the guys. It is a sad way to live. She is spiteful, insecure, and bitter.

EC: How would you describe Mac, Britt’s husband, who was also a medical school peer of Sara?

KS: He is a control freak. This is not a bad thing considering he is a surgeon. He needs to pay attention to the important details.

EC: How would you define the rapist?

KS: He uses coercion, control, brainwashes, and false imprisons his victims. He uses charm in the beginning, the brain washing part. He does not show all women that part of himself but only the victims are showed this part of his personality. All this work is put into being the thing that they are not.

EC: Are all the rape victims in the story similar?

KS: Sara later talks with Sloan, another medical school peer who was raped. There were different women from different walks of life. They had different ways they chose to deal with it. There is no one way to recover. Sometimes the police have a hand in it also. When a woman files a complaint there are some who say ‘I do not believe you and I will arrest you for filing a false complaint. I am not going to investigate.’ I wanted to show how all these women had different responses and different outcomes.

EC: Next book?

KS: It will be another Sara and Will story. I am working on it now. It will be out next year this time.

EC: What about the TV series on ABC?

KS: I hope people are enjoying it. There will be a second season out when the strike is over. I look forward to the series continuing.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen

Book Description

Londoner Madeleine Grant is studying at the Sorbonne in Paris when she marries charismatic French journalist Giles Martin. As they raise their son, Olivier, they hold on to a tenuous promise for the future. Until the thunder of war sets off alarms in France.

Staying behind to join the resistance, Giles sends Madeleine and Olivier to the relative safety of England, where Madeleine secures a job teaching French at a secondary school. Yet nowhere is safe. After a devastating twist of fate resulting in the loss of her son, Madeleine accepts a request from the ministry to aid in the war effort. Seizing the smallest glimmer of hope of finding Giles alive, she returns to France. If Madeleine can stop just one Nazi, it will be the start of a valiant path of revenge.

Though her perseverance, defiance, and heart will be tested beyond imagining, no risk is too great for a brave wife and mother determined to fight and survive against inconceivable odds.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Paris Assignment by Rhys Bowen is a story of love and war, bitterness and brutality, bravery, and forgiveness. The setting moves from England to France to Australia.

The heroine Madeline Grant is sent to study overseas at the Sorbonne in Paris. There she meets charismatic French journalist Giles Martin. After the Christmas holiday, she defies her stepmother and returns to Paris to live with Giles. After finding out she is pregnant Giles eventually does the right thing and marries her even though his mother has cut him off from any financial assistance. When Oliver, their child is born, he sends Madeline and Oliver back to England to escape Nazi occupied France, while Giles remains in his homeland to join the Resistance. After the Nazi bombings of London starts Madeline puts Oliver on a train to find safety in the English countryside. Unfortunately, the Nazis bombed the train and Oliver is reported dead.

The harrowing adventure starts for both Oliver and Madeline. He is thought to be an orphan and is shipped off to Australia while she joins an elite English group of French speaking women who are trained as spies and sent to France. Both she and Oliver must endure abuse and torture. The redeeming quality is how Giles mother rescues Madeline and helps her to escape back to England. After the war Madeline is sent undercover to Australia to find and bring to justice the abusive Nazis. Readers will find her as a courageous mother and resistor who wants to honor her husband’s and son’s memory. She perseveres, is brave, defiant, and a risktaker.

This is an enthralling story of love, survival, sacrifice, and betrayals. Although a rather dark story there is a happy ending which leaves readers hopeful for the future.

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Author Interview

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

Rhys Bowen: I have been very conscious of these women during WWII who risked their lives in the war effort with a survival rate of 25%. I thought what would make someone do it? These young girls of eighteen, where an incredibly diverse group who were incredibly brave. Then in 2019 we rented a house in Fontainebleau France and became aware of the history regarding the Nazi occupation. I went back last fall to fill in the little bits of details for the story.

EC: How would you describe Madeline?

RB: She grew from a naïve English girl to someone who became a fierce mother tiger. She was sheltered, practical, and honest. She feels lost because she is not welcome at home. Madeline is looking for love, adventure, and to belong. But as she matures, she has an inner strength.

EC: How about Giles?

RB: Readers see him through Madeline’s eyes. At first self-centered but he steps up to marry her when she is with child. He becomes very brave and honorable.

EC: How about the relationship between Madeline and Giles?

RB: At first, he sweeps her off her feet but then she becomes the complement to him. He is an idealist, believes in equality. They are perfect for each other when they meet. At the beginning readers see him as a bad playboy. As the relationship grows, they become each other’s true love. At the beginning he was self-centered and domineering as evidenced by the quote, ‘In France people marry for family expectations with a mistress for companionship.’ But after a few years he begins to rely on her strength and stability. The turning point is when he defied his family to marry her.

EC: How would you describe the child of Madeline and Giles, Oliver?

RB: Very smart, brave, very observing, and is not outgoing. While going to school in England, as with most young schoolboys, he was picked on because he sounded different and did not fit in. He is the typical only child that grows up around adults, learning to interact in an adult sort of way. He endured the hardships. People see him as a complex character. Because he changed badges with this other guy his bio says he came from the backstreets of London, yet he appears very well educated. It is war time, so he becomes a small casualty with no one double checking on the discrepancy.

EC: There is a difference between Madeline’s stepmom Eleanor and Giles mom?

RB: I was asked ‘why do I have in each of my books a cold, horrible woman?’ My own mother and grandmother were lovely. But I went to a strict girl’s schools where all the teachers were nasty and spiteful older women. Eleanor is self-centered, uncaring, and very cold. She did not marry for love and is jealous of the fact that the father loves Madeline but does not love her. The father is very much like Mr. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice, shuts himself up in the library.

Giles mother is caught up in the class system, coming from a very important family. She expected her son to behave as she wants. In the beginning her reputation is more important to her than the relationship with her son. But later in the book, after helping to rescue Madeline she confesses that she has gone to Paris to see them, but then still refused to be a part of the family. Giles mother is brave, proud, and spirited, whereas Eleanor never changes.

EC: What is true versus false?

RB: It has a lot of real stuff. The English were anti-French. Also true, every house built a shelter. I was like Oliver having a complete panic attack during the blitzkrieg. My husband told a story how he saw a senseless act of violence when a German pilot machine gunned a bunch of people at a bus stop, so it was not unheard of that they bombed an English civilian train.

Children were moved to Australia, a British colony. They volunteered to take British orphans and children of family members who wanted their own children to be safe. Regarding the Australian nuns I read these first-person accounts of children sent to these farms controlled by the nuns. They were spiteful and cruel. They sought out a way to make money. When the children get old enough, they got a finder’s fee from farmers which was like indentured servants.

EC: Next books?

RB: The book coming out this time next year has a working title, An Abandoned Place. It is about three little girls during WWII who were put on a train to be evacuated and were never seen again. Move forward to 1968 where a girl thinks she has been to a village now abandoned. The protagonist is a journalist who decides to investigate.

March 2024 will be the next Molly Murphy book I write with my daughter. It is titled In Sunshine or In Shadow. It takes place in the Catskills where the Jewish bungalows are.

THANK YOU!!

***

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Hanni Winter Series by Catherine Hokin

Book Descriptions and Elise’s Thoughts

“The Hanni Winter series “by Catherine Hokin has four books, in order they are The Commandant’s Daughter, The Pilot’s Girl, The Girl In The Photo, and Her Last Promise. The first two books have a dual plot line. The interesting premise involves serial killers as well as a reckoning of what happened in Nazi Germany. The time period is in the late 1940s. The third and fourth books center on the characters’ lives, how they were affected by living through the horrors of the Nazis, and can they move forward. The timeline is in the 1950s to 1960s.

Hanni Winter, the heroine, who is the daughter of the Concentration Camp Theresienstadt’s commandant wants to show the world his wickedness. She feels guilty because she enjoyed the benefits of the Nazi lifestyle. Freddy Schlussel is the Jewish German detective who falls for Hanni but does not realize her real background. Renny is Freddy’s sister who was reunited with him after the war and has the attitude ‘Never Again.’ Leo is the son of Hanni and Freddy who makes readers think a lot about the German morals or lack of. Reineris Hanni’s father, someone who is pure evil, trying to bring back The Third Reich.

All these books will leave a lasting impression as readers become totally absorbed with the characters. These stories will pull at people’s heartstrings and have them take a journey with the characters as they gain courage, achieve redemption, and show the fortitude of the human spirit.

Be aware that these books have only an English publisher, but people can get them in an e-book format or paperback through Amazon.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: The idea for the series?

Cathy Hokin: It is a four-book series. We first meet Hanni in the first book, at the age of ten in 1933 and by the end of the last book she is about 39. The overriding arc has Hanni trying to fulfill the promise she made to herself to bring her father to justice using her photography skills. The idea for the series started because I am interested in photography. I consider myself good, but my father was brilliant. My brother is a professional photographer. Sometimes they don’t seem to realize about the dangers. I wanted to start off with a young photographer, Hanni, in Nazi Germany and then see her development. This last book is set during the Cold War.

EC: The role of photography?

CH: Hanni feels she uses it to tell a story. She grows up in a Nazi household. I have always been fascinated by war photographers and how they walk forward into danger. They have a different way of framing the world. While I am all about words, they are all about pictures. I put in this book quote, “With her heart and feelings and eyes she took pictures of the real Germany.” I wanted the idea of Hanni using the camera to show what it is really like underneath the photograph because the Nazis used photos to manipulate things.

EC: How would you describe Hanni?

CH: Curious, comes from a broken family, very loyal, and guilt ridden. She feels huge guilt because she thinks she did not do enough to stop the Nazis. Her father taunts her with this in the first book, telling her she never published her pictures or joined the resistance.

EC: Is Hanni a complex character?

CH: She has a massive guilt for being a part of the silence, for being complicit. Yet, when offered a scholarship to photography college by Joseph Goebbels, the Minister of Propaganda, she took it. She is not just black and white. Metaphorically she shut the windows and did not shout. She did do an inner search and decided to rectify. She does have a strong sense of justice. She is incredibly naïve about what was being done at the Theresienstadt Camp by her father. She goes on this big learning curve.

EC: How has Hanni grown from book one to book four?

CH: She acquired forgiveness. Hanni had to come to terms that she must take responsibility for what happened in her life. She went along with the Nazi lifestyle. She eventually realizes she had complicity in what happened. Both she and Freddy, the hero, had to learn to be kind. By book four she gained a lot of strength.

EC: Why the murders in the first two books?

CH: In the first book, The Commandant’s Daughter, Freddy meets Hanni at the site of a crime because she is photographing it. This was a way for them to meet. Hanni was a photographer and Freddy was a German detective. As with all photographers Hanni was detailed, obsessed, and can ‘home in on something’ and take a bunch of photographs from different angles. She saw things with an eye Freddy did not see. The book is set between 1945 – 1947. Book 1 and Book 2 are about serial killers.

EC: How would you describe her father Reiner?

CH: A dreadfully horrible individual, a complete narcissist. Pure evil, ruthless, vengeful, and likes to bait and humiliate Hanni. He does not have a moral compass. In book 1, 2, and 3 she tries to bring him down but fails. He ruins her life in book 3. It becomes Hanni versus Reiner but she does not have the skills or contacts to bring him down. He always ends up hurting everyone around her who tries to help her.

EC: Do you want your readers to question how much could an individual have done to stop what was going on?

CH: She should have done more. I did admire the people who did try to do something. In Germany post 1945 no one wants to speak about the war. In the 1940s and 1950s there was no dialogue about what happened. The reason I set the last book in the 1960s is because the Eichmann trial changed everything. This spurred Hanni to do something against her father.

EC: The moral dilemma of the characters?

CH: In book 1, Freddy was a detective yet had to stop a serial killer from murdering Nazi officers. I deliberately wanted the first case of Freddy to be challenged. He had to figure out if he wanted the killer to be caught or to allow the murderer to rid the world of more Nazis. He faced the dilemma of what his job demanded of him and what his conscience demanded. Hanni had to come to grips on what she did during the war and tell Freddy. She did feel guilty all the time but had to realize there is a difference between guilt and responsibility, owning up to what she did. Even the serial killer in the first book had a moral dimension, thinking he did the correct thing by getting rid of people he thought let the army down. Tony, the serial killer in the second book, grieved in a twisted way. All these characters think they are doing the right thing in their strange universe.

EC: But Hanni did try to do the right thing?

CH: In the Concentration Camp Theresienstadt she did take photographs to document what was really happening and show the world. She very much wanted to stand witness, but it took her a long time to get the courage to do it. Her father, a Nazi commandant, is pure evil, and taunted her by saying she did nothing with the photographs for a long time and never joined the resistance. There was a gap between what she wanted to do and the action to do it. She had to get that strength of character.

EC: Leo, Hanni’s child, asked all the correct questions in the book 4?

CH: The book quote by Leo, “Because you say all those things, but I do not know if they are true. Everyone repeats the same number all the time. Six Million Jews were murdered in the war. But then they say nobody in Germany knew what was happening. How can that be right. It does not make sense. Why didn’t somebody stop them? Why didn’t he (Reiner) go to jail at the end of the war? Why aren’t the jails bursting with killers?”

EC: How would you describe Freddy’s sister, Renny, in the books?

CH: She is angry, lonely, and fearful. She becomes a Zionist. The third book is all about her. She was a confused and horrified little girl, yet she recovered. She never trusted those in Germany after the war. Israel became Navana for many. She is the opposite of Freddy who puts his head down and ignores a lot, even after the war. He wants to build a future and not be stuck on the past. She feels it means nothing has changed. She knows how bad it is and wants to fight. She ends up being able to overcome her anger and project it for good. She was a counterpoint to Freddy. He was culturally Jewish but not religiously Jewish. Renny says “I don’t want to live in a pact suitcase anymore.” It was a common feeling for those Jews still in Germany among her age group, that Germany can never be safe. She wanted to move to Israel and did not consider herself German like Freddy did. Even today the right wing is getting stronger in Germany.

EC: What about the relationship between Hanni and Freddy?

CH: She has lied to him and until book four does not come clean with Freddy. This is what ruptures them. He had a lack of trust. There are layers that prevent them from getting together, which they need to overcome. They need to work out their problems. When they first got together, they were not ready for each other. Both had to mature and realize the relationship was worth holding on to. Originally the series was to finish in 1953 ten years earlier than it originally does. But that timeline did not work because they were not mature enough to forgive each other for all the mistakes. In their early twenties they had a very black and white view of the world whereas in the fourth book, in their forties they made the transition.

EC: Next book?

CH: It will be out in January 2024, a stand-alone. It is set in WWII Germany in the early 1970s and 1980s in America. I had three events taking place, partly in America during the 1970s and partly in Nazi Germany. I explore the Office of Special Investigations that was established in 1979 to investigate Nazis living in America. I also bring in Operation Paperclip that had Nazis working on the American missile program, and during Nazi Germany the Lebensborn breeding program. The story is set between 1939 and 1980. There will be a lot of story lines. Although it will be published only in England, all my books are available as paperbacks in the States via Amazon, that includes this series and the book coming out in January.

THANK YOU!!

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Fatal Legacy by Lindsey Davis

Book Description

An unpaid bar bill leads Flavia Albia to her most bitter and complex case yet.

Decades earlier Appius Tranquillus Surus wrote his will: it freed his slaves and bequeathed his businesses to them. He left an orchard to the Prisci, a family he was friendly with, on the condition that his freedmen could still take its harvest.

The convoluted arrangement has led to a feud between the two families, each of which has its own internal strife. Endless claims and counterclaims lead to violence and even death. Lawyers have given up in exasperation as the case limps on. The original will has disappeared, along with a falsified codicil – and might there be another one?

But is there a solution? Two youngsters from each side of the divide, Gaius Venuleius and Cosca Sabatina, have fallen in love, which could unite the feuding families. There is only one problem: were Sabatina’s grandmother and father really liberated in the Surus will? If not, the stigma of slavery will stop the marriage and the dispute will rage on forever.

Reconciliation seems impossible, but Albia will try. Her investigation must cut through decades of secrets, arguments, lies and violence to reach a startling truth.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Fatal Legacy by Lindsey Davis is the 11^th book in the Flavia Albia series. It takes place during the First Century in Rome.

The plot has Flavia Albia, the daughter of Marcus Didius Falco, taking over her father’s business as a private informer. She only has two hard and fast rules – avoid political and family cases because nothing good comes of either of them. Unfortunately, since Albia isn’t good at avoiding either, it’s really more of a guideline. So, when her Aunt Junia demands Albia track down a couple of deadbeats who owe her money, it’s an offer Albia can’t refuse.

It turns out to be a relatively easy job, requiring only some half-hearted blackmail, and it leads to some new work – tracking down some essential paperwork for the debtor family. But nothing is truly easy in Rome – if Albia doesn’t find the paperwork that proves that family’s ancestor was a properly freed slave, the family could lose everything. The more she digs, the more skeletons she finds in their closet, until murder in the past leads to murder in the present. Now, it’s serious, even deadly, and Albia has precious little time to uncover the truth.

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Author Interview

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

Lindsey Davis: After writing twenty books in my much-loved Falco Roman detective series, I fought to be allowed a new direction. ‘Master and God’ examined the reign of the paranoid emperor Domitian, which I then used as a new, darker background to extend my Roman detective idea – only this time using a female protagonist. After twenty years, I felt that readers were more familiar with Rome than when I started, so I could now face them with a woman’s life in the Golden City. I thought this would be a refreshing nuance, good for me as a writer too.

EC: How did you get the idea for the character Flavia Albia?

LD: She was originally seen in a Falco story that was set in Roman Britain; I made her a tragic survivor of the Boudiccan Rebellion. Falco and his wife rescued her and brought her to Rome, adopting her as a daughter. Then I realized that I had created an interesting, very feisty character. In the Falco series I had great fun showing her as a troubled adolescent, but very perceptive about the new society she has joined.

EC: How did you get the idea for this story?

LD: It starts with a small everyday event, when two people fail to pay their bill for lunch. Albia is called in to chase them down and retrieve the money – so first, I had to work out how she might do that as a debt collector. She is hired to find some family documents. Slowly, lives are explored, leading into an extraordinarily complex family saga, covering several generations, and every kind of trouble that might afflict warring relatives. It’s a kind of mad soap opera plot, where eventually everything is found to lock together. Behind the events we laugh at, however, is a poignant discussion of ancient slavery: how it worked in a domestic situation, the vital importance of acquiring freedom, then the terrible consequences if someone who believed they were free could not prove it, or were they mistaken. I knew that if Albia could not provide a happy legal solution, she would have to obtain justice for the victims.

EC: Can you please describe Flavia?

LD: she is smart, determined, cynical. And a London Street urchin, but she is also the beneficiary of a good Roman education. She gives us a new perspective from that of the true Roman. Falco: sees Rome as a woman, an outsider, and someone who must fight hard to be accepted. She has a wild courage. And although no longer a scavenger herself, she never forgets how it felt, which gives her profound sympathy for others who are suffering or under threat of losing everything. Privilege will not spoil her. She has been slow to trust her new security, but I think she’s got there.

EC: Why the Roman Empire for the setting in the 1^st Century?

LD: Because my first Roman novel was about the Emperor Vespasian and his mistress, Antonia Caenis (The Course of Honor). I came to know that period, then Vespasian’s accession after the madness of the Julio-Claudians made a suitable background for Falco, also striving to impose some order on the world he lives in. There is surviving Latin literature from this period, and of course the time capsule of the Vesuvius eruption. And I use archaeology as my starting point; there has been lots of good information discovered during my lifetime. That is still continuing, which keeps up the interest.

EC: How did Flavia grow since the first book in the series?

LD: She found mature true love, primarily. She stabilized, and accepted domesticity, where she takes responsibility for others and ruefully sees herself, with Tiberius, as the sensible center of a household and a family business. It makes her even angrier about anything that threatens the peace of people’s domestic environment and their right to personal ambitions. After a bad start in life and the tragic end of her youthful first marriage, she now accepts that even she may be allowed happiness.

EC: What role did women play in the Roman Empire?

LD: Much, much more than men have always said! Never mind the small aristocracy, who were as different and peculiar then as they are now (though not always: Vespasian was heavily influenced by his grandmother, mother, and obviously Caenis). It is evident from tombstones and inscriptions that in most of Roman society, women, especially as part of a domestic couple, were equal partners in the basic family unit. They were not supposed to go to law (but could do so) yet they could hold their own property, run businesses, and their influence is greater than the old established view. I am having fun exploring how females could fight what was supposed to be a patriarchal system. Sadly, the one profession that doesn’t seem to have been open to them is my own: we know of no successful female novelists!

EC: Did you intentionally make this story not as gruesome as the last?

LD: Yes. Absolutely. ‘Desperate Undertaking’ was based on known examples of horrible events on the Roman stage; some readers loved it, but I know some felt squeamish. I’m none too keen on live deaths in theatre myself. So next, I set out to write a story where it might appear nobody had died by foul play at all; I even make a running joke about the lack of a body. Of course, in the end it turns out that this is not the case, because in a crime novel there has to be murder. In fact, there are two killings, but one was a long time ago and the other happens very quickly!

EC: Why did most characters lie in the story?

LD: Because they are bad people! Or, you could say, normal people with secrets.

EC: What about the next book?

LD: Death on the Tiber published in April 2024 UK; July 2024 USA.

The plot has a group of well-heeled tourists arrive in Rome; when they leave, one is no longer with them. The body of a drowned woman is dredged from the Tiber, clearly the victim of foul play. It is believed she came to Rome from Britain. Rome is descending into serious gang warfare. A key mobster figure has died and will have a spectacular funeral; all the city crime lords – and their indomitable women – will be jostling for power in the aftermath. As Albia reluctantly investigates, she comments on the complex organization Rome uses to defeat the criminal underworld. She herself has allies, but they may be no help when she must confront an old enemy. She then faces a hard personal decision. Will she be consumed by the need for revenge, jeopardizing her new-found happiness?

THANK YOU!!

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