#series – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Unearthed and Betrayed by Anna J. Stewart

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Unearthed and Betrayed by Anna J. Stewart continue the “Circle of the Red Lily” series. Both books have a suspenseful action-filled story.

Book Description

Unearthed’s plot has forensic investigator Dr. Cassia Davis living a life of isolation, after surviving the kidnapping by a serial killer. She has self-imposed to confining herself to her apartment and to online consulting. But after a Hollywood Hills murder mystery exposes a mass grave connected to her past, Cass must confront the man who shattered her trust, FBI Special Agent Mitchell Keaton.

His mistake nearly cost her life. Now, working together on the crime scene investigation, they must unearth the truth about a serial killer tied to The Circle of the Red Lily, a ruthless secret society that controls Hollywood’s darkest corners.

But digging into the past means reopening old wounds. As passion reignites between them, Cass and Mitch must overcome guilt, trauma, and the lies that tore them apart. Because the closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the hunt becomes.

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Book Description

Betrayed highlights Sutton O’Hara, a good friend of the heroines from previous stories. She is raising her orphaned niece and nephew and working as a nutritionist at a retirement home. But when clues among the residents point to the Circle, a powerful secret network linked to decades of missing girls and murder, she refuses to look away.

Former Naval investigator Blake Redford is determined to keep Sutton safe. Posing as her friend gives him the perfect excuse to stay close while they search for answers, but the attraction they’ve both ignored quickly becomes impossible to deny. For the first time since losing his wife and son, Blake can imagine a future again.

Then, Sutton discovers why he really took the job as a building maintenance man, and it rocks everything she thought about him.

Now, with her trust shattered and the enemy closing in, Blake must prove whose side he’s on before the secrets he kept cost him the woman he loves, the family he never expected, and their only chance to expose the truth.

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Author Interview

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

Anna J. Stewart: I knew when I was writing books, one and two, that I was eventually going to have to find the missing women, and they weren’t obviously going to turn up alive. So, I knew that there was going to have to be a mass grave somewhere. And that’s essentially how I came up with the idea for the character of forensic investigator Dr. Cassia Davis (Cass). Although back when I first put her on the page, I didn’t know how complicated she was going to be to write. For me, it was just kind of a natural inclusion into the storyline.

EC: How would you describe the serial killer Jonathan Whittaker, the one in prison?

AJS: Probably a genius and very manipulative. He was powerful because I think there’s an inherent power, good or bad, that comes from believing that you’re always going to get away with something. And I think when he was put away, he always knew he was going to find a way to get out. He managed to find a way to do that.

EC: How would you describe Elliot the dog?

AJS: He’s traumatized and he bonds with Cass. I watch a lot of animal videos on social media just because they’re so healing. There’s a thing in writing called “Save the Cat,” which is how someone knows whether somebody is very good or not, and it usually has something to do with an animal. This allowed me to give Cassia a coping mechanism and another lost soul to bond with to help her through trauma. And dogs inherently know whether or not they can trust you. Elliot himself sensed that Cass needed him as much as she needed him.

EC: What about Mitch, the hero?

AJS: He’s charming, a former FBI profiler, sympathetic, protective, and focused. He’s also dealing with a fair amount of guilt, and guilt is a great motivator when it comes to the rest of your life. Mitch wishes if only he could turn back the clock and make different decisions than he did in the heat of the moment. And this isn’t to say that he made any wrong decisions. When I wrote the prologue to this book and I showed what happened between him and Cass, in the opening pages of that book, that established where she is mentally and even physically. He wishes there was another way he could have done something without breaking her trust, but he doesn’t see it in the same way that she does. He was a safe person for her to strike out against, and to shut out of her life, because it gave her a kind of a sense of control that she needed. But at the same time, I think she really lost something she probably needed.

EC: How would you describe Cass?

AJS: She is reclusive, traumatized, anxious, and wants safety boundaries. She is self-protective, has imprisoned herself, remote, and paranoid. Cass is angry and I think that might even be close to where most of her issues come from is how angry she is. She doesn’t necessarily know what she’s angry at or who she’s angry at. So, I think it all kind of manifests itself in different ways. It is an illusionary control because what she learns through the story is that even though she thinks everything around her is safe, she’s still not safe. And that’s because she’s brought with her the trauma, and she’s been trying to outrun it by locking herself away, but there’s really no way to do that until she faces it.

EC: What about Temple House?

AJS: I think Temple House is honestly the heart of the story, where everybody has built their community. And that was purposeful. I wanted a central location where everybody had a connection to not only the building and the history of the building and the sense of community that it offers, but also a place where everybody who lives inherently becomes family. My stories, no matter what type of story I write, there is always going to be family found including with a circle of friends.

EC: The relationship between Mitch and Cass?

AJS: It’s complicated because they both are keeping secrets from each other. They’re both frustrated and they care about each other. They love each other. But just because you love somebody doesn’t necessarily mean you can be with them, and they really find their way through a lot of previous trauma to make the decision to fight to be together. And that’s really what they do throughout the story.

EC: In all the books the bad guys are in this group, The Circle?

AJS: They’re abusive, they like to kidnap, believe in ritualistic murders, want power and prestige. They’re like a fraternity and a cult. Past stories about events like this really did kind of influence how I approached creating the circle and what it is that they’re about.

EC: Idea for the fourth book, Betrayed?

AJS: This has been the trickiest story to write so far, and I say that getting ready to hit into the last book of the series. Because when I first introduced Sutton O’Hara, she’s a Midwest girl, a cook, a nutritionist, very much a homebody, because she’s built her life and her career around comfort and nutrition and caretaking. And I wasn’t sure exactly what she was going to bring to the story that could equal what the three previous heroines had done. Each of the three previous heroines had an actual role to play in the investigation and were properly motivated to want to see the investigation proceed. It was a puzzle on what to do with Sutton when she’s raising her niece and nephew. And she’s kind of an outlier, and it actually became a plot point of the story where even she’s wondering, ‘well, what do I have to do with any of this,’ even though she’s also being targeted, partly because she lives in Temple House, but also partly because she’s very good friends with the other women who the circle sees as a threat. I really challenged her into stepping up and deciding what she wants to fight for in her own life. Then there was the hero, Blake Redford, who was introducedin the first book of the series, Framed, book one of the series. I knew from the start what his secret was, and that doesn’t usually happen for me because I don’t plot out my books. I’m usually surprised as I’m writing them. Blake’s appearance, when he showed up in that scene in Framed, he was going to be there for reasons other than being there for a job. When I got to the end of book three, and I kind of had that twist ending in the epilogue, that surprised me. I knew there was some connection between Sutton and Blake but I didn’t realize how deep it particularly went.

EC: What about Blake?

AJS: Blake is former military, calm, and strong. He lost his wife and son. He’s honorable. The honorability is really something that was interesting to play with, because he’s extremely honorable, and he’s extremely loyal, but the loyalty shifts as he becomes more involved in the case. The reasons that he’s originally sent to help at Temple House aren’t necessarily on the up and up, but he’s doing a favor for a friend, and he’s the kind of person who’ll always do something for a friend. When he realizes that there’s more to this than he’s been told, his loyalties begin to shift away from his friend and into the new circle of friends that he’s found, that he didn’t expect to find. No matter what he’s done, he always does it with a sense of honor, which is one reason why he really can’t play a victim when the betrayal comes out. He realizes ‘I have to pay the price for what I set into motion.’ And that’s honorable.

EC: How about their relationship?

AJS: When I started with book four, he really is lying to everybody about why he’s there in Temple House and why he came to Temple House. And Sutton is somebody who needs to trust. And that is the one ultimate thing that she would possibly never be able to forgive is being lied to from the start from somebody that she develops feelings for. This book had a heavier romance lean to it than the suspense, but that’s mainly because Sutton’s position within the friendship circle really didn’t lend itself to quite as much suspense and danger as the other three heroines. Their relationship is complicated. She feels disappointed and betrayed by him and he is hurt by her. I think he’s hurt, but I think he also understands because he knew it was going to happen. He was just hoping to stay ahead of it. But as he’s learned through other events in his life, that it doesn’t matter how much he hopes for things, sometimes he just can’t make something happen that he needs to have happen. It was also an element of self- sabotage: ‘if she doesn’t forgive me, then I’m still protected and, I was right to be leery of getting involved.’ But at the same time, he still hopes that something will work its way out for the two of them.

EC: How would you describe Sutton?

AJS: Sutton is impulsive, gives people confidence, organized, smart, snarky, concerned, determined, and must deal with the death of her brother and sister-in-law. Earlier I was talking about trying to figure out the puzzle piece that she has. Her friend tells her, ‘You have a vital part to play in our circle, because you’re who we all come to for logic and reason and stability. You’re the anchor. And if you weren’t here, we’d all be untethered.’ And I think that was an important thing for her to be able to see through somebody else’s eyes, especially since she’s had a lot thrown at her when her brother and sister-in-law died, and suddenly she’s a single parent to two young children. It’s given her a purpose, but it’s also, kind of taken away from whatever she had planned for her own life. But she never resents that. Sutton kind of becomes the soul of Temple House, taking care of everybody. She cooks for them, and she’s always the one who will open the door and say, ‘what do you need?’

EC: There are a lot of quotes in both books from movies. Are you a movie fanatic?

AJS: I grew up on old movies. I grew up with Shirley Temple and Bogey movies and Marilyn Monroe always been a fascination of mine. I have a huge movie collection. I still collect DVDs because I’m a big fan of physical media where I want to watch what I want to watch. I don’t have to find the streaming service that’s on. I love everything about the whole bringing an imagination into the visual world. I was 7 when Star Wars came out, and that’s really the first movie I can remember where I’m like, ‘oh, this is what it’s like to step into somebody’s imagination.’ And that’s really where my lot of storytelling began. When I created this world and set it in Hollywood, it was just a natural fit because I’ve always been so interested in all kinds of things that have to do with Hollywood movie making.

EC: Who is Moxie Temple based upon?

AJS: Moxie Temple, who is Riley Temple’s great aunt, who I kind of created as a combination of Shirley Temple and Debbie Reynolds, because of the way that she moved through Hollywood. She is trying to reinvent herself, starting from the 1940s all the way up to present day and she’s still driving. She’s still trying to find the spotlight, which she always manages to find.

EC: Next books?

AJS: I think the one thing I know for certain is going to happen in book five is Moxie Temple finally going to find that spotlight again. No title yet, but it will be featuring Laurel Fontaine, who’s the character I have been dying to write. She’s the celebrity defense attorney who is very well known nationwide. She has a reputation. She’s very smart. I have no idea right now what her background is. I don’t know how she became what she became or why, so I’m really looking forward to figuring that out. She will be paired off with somebody we meet in book four, Granger Powell. I want to cause as much conflict and tension as I can, and I think putting those two on the page together is going to be really, fun. It should be out next summer, hopefully late June, early July. I am in the dark as much as the readers are right now as far as how the Circle organization is going to work out because the person I thought headed it, that is not the person. But part of the fun of not being a plotter is that I get to be surprised along with the reader. As far as I know, these five will be the only books in the “Red Lily Series.” That said, I am going to be introducing one or two new characters for a new series.

The new series will take a darker turn, and I’m not sure if traditional publishers would be interested in that. I’d really love to write something where I’m untethered and anything is open to what I want to write. The new series is a story about revenge and justice. I am 90% sure I’m going to be self-publishing it, and if I do, it would probably either be late 2027, early 2028. There’s going to be four books in that series.

The McKenna series is going to end with book four. That’s Aidan’s story and that will be out in February. Readers will meet a bunch of characters for my new series with Harlequin Romantic Suspense, which is called “Deep Current Solutions.” It will revolve around a security agency that deals with aquatic situations working on oil rigs or underwater science facilities. I’m really looking forward to writing those. I believe the first deep current book will be out next fall.

THANK YOU!!

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BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Buried Lies and Deadly Revenge by Kathleen Donnelly

Buried Lies and Deadly Revenge have a layer of realism that elevates the suspense. Both books are fast-paced mysteries with engaging twists and turns, and are hard to put down.

Book Description

U.S. Forest Service law enforcement officer Maya Thompson and her K-9, Juniper, are both ready for a break. Ever since moving to Colorado, it’s been one investigation after another. Murder, arson, kidnapping…they’ve handled it all. Now that her boyfriend, Undersheriff Josh Colton, is coming home, Maya is looking forward to spending some quality time together.

Until she and Juniper find the body of a woman in a pile of forest debris meant to burn, that is. Then Maya’s just looking forward to having Josh’s help in solving the crime.

But when the victim turns out to be Josh’s volatile ex-fiancée, and all signs point to Josh as the main suspect, Maya and Juniper must dig into Josh’s past to uncover the truth…before the killer, fixated on revenge, finds them.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Buried Lies introduces Cook County Prosecutor Elena Perez who discovers that an innocent man was in prison for the murder of a senator’s daughter. When she realized that former Chicago police officer Josh Colton might have evidence relating to that crime, she reached out to Josh’s former fiancée, Amber, to get Josh to turn over the evidence. When Amber called to request his evidence, Josh foolishly agreed to meet with her. Unfortunately, things go drastically wrong and Amber ends up dead, with Josh being framed for her murder. Maya and Juniper must dig into Josh’s past to uncover the truth before the killer, fixated on revenge, finds them.

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Book Description

There’s nothing more terrifying than a trail of smoke over a summer-dry national forest—at least, that’s what Forest Service law enforcement officer Maya Thompson thinks when she and her boyfriend, sheriff’s deputy Josh Colten, spot the first signs of a fire over the Colorado mountains.

But when she learns that a teen girl has been kidnapped and taken deep into the wilderness, a new fear grips her: If she and her K-9 partner, Juniper, can’t reach them fast enough, the fire might not just destroy her beloved forest—it might be the end to an innocent girl’s life.

An innocent girl who is tied to Maya in ways she never could have imagined. And in ways that will upend everything she’s always believed about her family…and the dark past that haunts her.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Deadly Revenge Maya and Josh are informed that there is a kidnapped girl, Hope. As they try to find her, they are hampered by a raving wildfire. Maya, Josh, and their K9s, Juniper and Finn, need to find the teen before something bad happens to her or the fire catches up to them. However, there is an informant in one of the agencies that are searching for Hope. Worse, the mole is feeding the kidnapper intel that helps them keep one step ahead. Plus, the innocent girl is tied to Maya in ways she never could have imagined.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: With Buried Lies how did you get the idea for the story?

Kathleen Donnelly: It was a mix of several things with just some imagination. And a bunch of what ifs. I knew Josh, the male lead, had a past, and I knew I wanted to have a book that really brought his past into the story. Plus, there was a case here in Colorado with a young man named Timothy Masters who was not only wrongfully convicted, but the prosecution withheld evidence because they felt he was guilty. When evidence came around that proved he wasn’t, they withheld it. He spent 20 years in prison. He’s been in prison a long time. It was another police officer, a detective on his case, who stuck with it and helped overturn the conviction and prove he was innocent of the murder. We always want to think of prosecutors doing the right thing, so just the idea that someone hid evidence was like, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ So, it was a mix of that, and then just a lot of imagination with what ifs.

EC: How would you describe Sydney; the victim Josh is accused of killing?

KD: She was stubborn. She was a drug addict. It was interesting because we want to profile them as coming from various backgrounds, but it can be anyone. Anyone can fall into the lifestyle depending on choices. She was a bit of a wild child. And just kind of didn’t want to have rules, and was still young and free, and didn’t think there would be consequences to her choices.

EC: What role did Amber, Josh’s former fiancé, play in the story?

KD: She’s obsessed with winning him back. She is a manipulator, spoiled, and not a rule follower. She was in Killer Secrets, book 3, so readers can really discover her there. Josh realized his relationship with her was not a healthy one, and he broke it off. But because it wasn’t healthy, Amber wanted to manipulate her way back into his life. Of course, he doesn’t want that.

EC: Do you want readers to feel sorry for her?

KD: I think whenever you have someone who’s been an antagonist, because she certainly was an antagonist in Killer Secrets, it’s more you want readers to understand their motivation and say, ‘I wouldn’t do that, but maybe I understand where this person’s coming from.’ I heard it from Jeffrey Deaver, and I’m sure he heard it from someone else that said, ‘you know, the antagonist is the hero of their own story.’ But, to be that, the goals and motivations must be understandable. Something we might say, ‘I would never do that, but I get where she’s coming from.’ Maybe we’ve had our hearts broken, but would never manipulate the relationship yet, understand a broken heart, and how hard it is to move on from a relationship.

EC: Why have one of the settings in Chicago, because of the violence?

KD: I had Josh come from Chicago. That’s where he grew up. I think with Chicago, I had, my dad grew up in Chicago, and my mom grew up in Illinois, so we have a lot of roots there. When my dad was growing up, it was the mob. But what’s interesting in Chicago is the mob has kind of moved but the gangs have moved in, and have kind of taken over that criminal activity. The other interesting thing, I read in a Chicago magazine about how gang members were looking for political office and getting elected. It was just so fascinating to think that a leader of a gang could become an Alderman. Because the neighborhoods almost feel like they can protect them or understand their interests. It somewhat planted a seed that I went down my own road. I thought, ‘if they’re in politics, what does that mean for all of Chicago politics? How are they influencing things?’ It was just a little seed that turned into a lot worse, and then, I wanted to make it clear, it’s all fiction and all imagination.

EC: How would you describe Elena, the investigative prosecutor?

KD: She survived the killing of her mother. I had her as a cross country runner to be able to escape the bad guys. She is tenacious. I feel like she might come back in future books, but I don’t really know when. We’ll see what happens with her.

EC: You always put in your books tidbits about a law enforcement working dog. In this one you mention a muzzle strike?

KD: This was something I was trying to research, and I have some books on police dog training. A muzzle strike is when the dogs are wearing a muzzle so they can’t bite, but they can hit the person. It’s used in a situation where the handler doesn’t want the dog to maybe apprehend the wrong person, but kind of push them. I did a lot of research and reading, and when I found it, I thought this would work for this scenario.

EC: Idea for Deadly Revenge, book 5?

KD: Where we live, in Colorado, we’ve had nights where we’ve had several fires burning near us, and you can look to the north and see flames. You can look to the south and see flames, which is scary. I thought we need to have a fire in a book to complicate things, and because it’s become such a part of the West, a reality of the West. Tragically, when this book released, we had lost at least four firefighters. So, it’s become a part of our lives, and I just felt the mountains are their own character, and brings with them their own beauty and conflict. The story also had Abigail’s revenge and after she kidnaps someone related to Maya the fire complicated the team looking for her.

EC: What about Abigail?

KD: When I wrote Hunting the Truth, I knew, at the end of that, she’d be back. I didn’t quite know when, and then, as I was writing this, I was like, ‘Oh, it’s time for Abigail to come back.’ I also feel like it was time to start wrapping up some of those storylines. I mean, she killed Maya’s mom, and grandmother. She is a corrupt cop. And obviously we meet her in jail. She met Maya’s mother when Maya’s mother ran away from home, and made some bad choices, which is how she ended up getting pregnant with Maya. So, Abigail was one of the cops that Maya’s mother, Zoe, ran across during that time, and Zoe had evidence on Abigail that made it worth Abigail killing to get it back, Abigail, she always had a plan, an endgame. She knows how to work the system. She’s manipulative, thought she was above the law, persuasive, narcissistic, unhinged, likes to extort people and hires people to do her dirty work.

EC: What was the tidbit in this book about working dog?

KD: Dogs overheating and that sometimes they cannot wear a protective vest because of that. I try to put in the tidbits, but it comes up naturally in the story. As a handler, back when I was working, heat was a huge factor when I was working the dogs. Since we worked at schools in the fall and the spring, I had to really watch the temperature. If the tidbits come up naturally and it’s something I can throw in and something that I find interesting, then I hope the reader finds it interesting. So, I don’t necessarily sit down and think, this is the tidbit I’m going put into this book. It just kind of happens organically.

EC: How would you describe the kidnapped victim, Hope?

KD: She’s a loner, doesn’t have a lot of friends, from divorced parents, and her dad is kind of a deadbeat dad. She can be sarcastic, a fighter, survivor, anxious and stubborn. She is close to her uncle. She’s a teenager.

EC: You said that she has some of Maya in her. What part of her personality, do you think, relates to Maya?

KD: I think they both are fighters and survivors. When we meet Maya in Chasing Justice, she’s a little bit of a loner at that time. It’s really, Josh and Pops, who help pull her through that, but, after she’s come back from the war, she’s a little bit of a loner, so I see them kind of similar, like, in those ways.

EC: Next books?

KD: Book 6 is called Blood Tracker, and comes out August of next year. The plot deals with poaching. There’ll be a book seven, and we’ll get more info later.

THANK YOU!!

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Book Tour/Feature Post and Mini Book Review: Blackout by J. Luke Bennecke

BLACKOUT

by J. Luke Bennecke

September 7 – October 16, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for BLACKOUT (Jake Bendall Thriller Book #3) by J. Luke Bennecke on this Partners In Crime Virtua; Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a PICT giveaway. Godd luck and enjoy!

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Book Description

THE LIES SHINE BRIGHTEST WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT.

The assassination was only the beginning. When the President of the United States is killed in a coordinated drone strike, the nation spirals into chaos. But this isn’t terrorism. It’s strategy.

Behind the attack stands a brilliant and ruthless leader of a shadowy global cabal known only as New3—a group convinced the age of American dominance is already over.

They’re just speeding it up.

Their plan is devastating in its simplicity:

First, kill the president.
Then cripple the nation’s power grid.
Finally, plunge the United States into darkness long enough for rival superpowers to make their move.

Civil engineer Jake Bendel never expected to be part of that war. As one of the architects of America’s AI-driven energy grid, he helped design the very system now being turned against the country.

As blackouts spread and order begins to fracture, Jake teams up with FBI agent Kristi Konnors to follow a trail of digital clues—only to uncover a conspiracy far bigger than a cyberattack. One that could hand America’s collapse to China and Russia.

Then it becomes personal.

Evidence emerges that Jake’s wife, Cynthia—presumed dead for years—may still be alive, trapped inside the organization behind it all.

Now Jake is running out of time. Because if the lights go out across America, the invasion won’t be far behind. And the system he built may be the only thing that can stop it.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/250526767-blackout?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=sBNV3I2oia&rank=2

Blackout

Genre: High-Concept Thriller
Published by: Jaytech Publishing
Publication Date: October 6, 2026
Number of Pages: 436
ISBN: 9798990527386

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My Mini Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

BLACKOUT (A Jake Bendel Thriller Book #3) by J. Luke Bennecke is another fast paced, action-packed techno thriller/geopolitical thriller addition to this series featuring an unlikely hero, civil engineer Jake Bendel. With the character carryover and overarching plot of a global cabal trying to take over the world, I feel this series is best appreciated and enjoyed if read in order of publication.

This plot starts with a bang and does not let up. Jake is once again pulled into a world of super villains, that are a bit over the top, but fun to read about. Even as the characters are exaggerated to the edge of belief, the main terrorist plots are always terrifying and quite believable. Jake is a brilliant engineer and while he is mentally handling fighting the cabal better than in previous books, with the help of a new female FBI character, a huge twist involving his dead wife has been thrown into the mix.

I recommend this addition to this exciting thriller series that always leaves me more informed, but also more worried about terrorist engineering threats to our country.

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Excerpt

FACTS:

1. The United States power grid is divided into three largely independent systems, considered one of the most complex machines ever built with over 160,000 miles of high-voltage transmission lines. Large portions of the grid infrastructure are decades old.

2. Modern societies rely on electricity for nearly every critical system including: water treatment plants, fuel pipelines, telecommunications networks, hospitals, and transportation systems.

3. GPS signals are surprisingly weak and vulnerable to interference.

4. The largest blackout in North American history affected 50 million people in August 2023 involving eight states and Canada.

5. Small inexpensive drones can now carry lethal payloads.

6. The U.S. military (under DARPA’s OFFSET program) have tested drone swarm “curtain” formations.

CHAPTER 1

Friday, September 27 – 8:49 a.m. –

AIRPLANE #1 – Private Gulfstream Jet – Coast of Venezuela

The day was perfect for flying, sipping Russo-Baltique vodka—and an assassination.

In exactly eleven minutes.

Ominous black clouds churned miles beneath the Gulfstream cruising high above the Atlantic. Far away, 1,600 miles north, thick fog rolled across the runway at Tampa International Airport—with Air Force One descending on approach.

Tracy strode the cabin aisle, air thick with sweat and heavy leather. Her smartwatch pinged. Florida ground team: Eight minutes to launch. All good.

Fiddling with her charcoal pearl necklace, she eyed the dozen technicians, each tracking a sliver of the covert op. Right on schedule. She halted behind her lead coordinator, Boris, bent over a pulsing, colorful weather map.

When Tracy placed her hand on his shoulder, Boris stopped typing and adjusted his headset. She stood erect, arms crossed and chin high, her gold silk blouse complementing her team’s black combat uniforms like a leather-banded Swiss watch.

Seeds of anarchy thrive in a nation stripped of electric power.

The enormous gravity of today’s operation weighed on everyone aboard. Their goal: to plant kernels of chaos.

She clucked her tongue, gave a sharp nod and pointed to a green and yellow blob on his screen. “Tell me that’s not fog.”

Successfully executing their mission—polished for years—would bring infamy to her name and enter Tracy Daniela Ciacchella into the history books alongside John Wilkes Booth and Lee Harvey Oswald. Not desirable, but exitus acta probat: the outcome justifies the deeds.

“It is, but ma’am, your yacht is in perfect position in Old Tampa Bay,” Boris said, a hint of a Russian accent slipping through on certain syllables. “All four hundred drones fully programmed, ready for activation and deployment from boat deck. We have new problem.”

A sitting US president hadn’t fallen since ‘63. Today’s mission was the culmination of years of planning, subversion, and digital sleight of hand. No bullets. No lone gunman. Just 400 Semtex-laden drones guided by a matrix of stolen GPS coordinates and a rigged FAA exemption buried three years ago by one of her assets.

A clean kill.

Boris nodded. “Not worried about fog, ma’am, but light rain, not good for drones. Moved in faster than expected.”

Each drone carried a two-pound brick of homemade Semtex.

Washington had talked counter-drone defense for years. But as was typical with US leadership, nothing actually got done. No productive decisions. Only political wrangling and posturing—mixed with unhealthy levels of toxic masculinity.

Incompetent politicians. Yet another reason to raise my curtain of death—weather permitting.

For the final time, Tracy confirmed the ground team in position. On her iPad, she tapped open the video chat app connected with her two generals: first, the captain on her yacht in Old Tampa Bay, Florida; and second, her trusted, longtime friend Bob Huffington—nicknamed

Huff—perched atop the Macy’s roof near I-275. Positioned a mile south, Huff had an unobstructed view of the final approach flight path for runway 1R at Tampa International.

Although Tracy herself was nowhere near Florida, both video feeds from her team streamed clean and crisp via satellite. Rolling fog thickened, obscuring her views.

“Wind speed?” she asked Huff.

“Twenty-two knots. For now, acceptable, but if gusts start pushing above twenty-five, our chances drop to ten percent.”

Getting Goldberg into place had been her masterpiece. After today, with President Whitehead out of the picture, Vice President Goldberg would give Tracy direct access to the power levers controlling the federal government. Her puppet would be in perfect position for the next phase of world domination.

It was now or never. Time for the all-important decision.

Even if the wind began gusting, the drones might still fly close enough to do catastrophic damage.

Tracy brought her iPad close and announced into the tiny speaker, “Green. Repeat, we are green for Operation Black Flock.”

On her screen, both generals nodded in confirmation. Now—shadowy iPad feeds showed Huff entering the launch code while workers on the boat peeled off a massive blue tarp to reveal a cargo container with four hundred off-the-shelf quadcopter drones—all made in China—packed inside a customized carbon fiber lattice. Each carried a two-pound payload of Semtex and a pre-programmed set of GPS-coordinated waypoints—latitude, longitude and elevation—to travel to.

“Gusts up to twenty-four knots,” Huff said, nervously tugging at his earlobe before giving her a thumbs up, indicating her ground team had programmed the drones and activated them. Assuming the weather cooperated, the small black machines would follow precise paths using exact signals from dozens of GPS satellites—all in working order as of five minutes ago, according to her inside man at the Department of Defense. Her DOD contact had also confirmed the Air Force One plane on descent was, in fact, carrying President Whitehead, not a decoy.

Boris leaned back in his chair, away from his laptop, and squinted at Tracy. “I still think we could have come up with a better name for this op.”

She nodded, anxiety rising, wondering whether the drones would perform as intended. “Perhaps.”

“How about Operation Kill Racist Xenophobic Pedophile?”

“Come now, Boris. Way too long.” Tracy gave a silent smirk.

A tiny matrix of red and green lights blinked on her iPad, communicating status from every craft, as propellers whirred, creating a bee-like buzzing sound crackling from the embedded speaker.

The swarm of drones lifted skyward and disappeared into the gray blur of rolling fog.

***

Author Bio

J. Luke Bennecke is an Amazon #1 bestselling thriller author who writes about what happens when technology gets smarter—and people don’t. A former civil engineer and longtime executive, he spent decades designing real-world systems in California before turning to fictional ones that fail far more spectacularly. His novels explore artificial intelligence, surveillance, memory manipulation, and the dangerous gap between innovation and ethics. He is currently at work on his tenth novel.

Luke lives in Southern California with his wife of thirty-five years and their four spunky cats. When not writing, he enjoys philanthropy, consulting as an engineering expert witness, traveling, playing golf, creating videos, and voiceover acting.

Social Media Links

JLukeBennecke.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @JLukeBennecke
BookBub – @JLukeBennecke
Instagram – @JLukeBennecke
Facebook – @JLukeBennecke
LinkedIn

Purchase Links

Amazon – https://pictbooks.tours/bTG6KcOM
Kindle – https://pictbooks.tours/vkMnLM11
BN – https://pictbooks.tours/ePJXSBnS
BookShop.org – https://pictbooks.tours/rKtj3XMU
Goodreads – https://pictbooks.tours/YhZD1uIB
BookBub – https://pictbooks.tours/ROY9ZFX0
Books2Read – https://pictbooks.tours/5SyUIvZo

###

PICT GIVEAWAY

https://pictbooks.tours/AFdS4HeJ

Feature Post and Book Review: Murder in the Vineyard by Liz Fielding

Book Description

Huge-hearted Abby loves dogs — and doesn’t think twice about swerving to avoid an adorable terrier in a country lane. Or following along, when the troublesome pup goes darting off into a local vineyard.

But she never expects where the runaway dog is leading her — straight to a corpse!

Clementine Courtenay, elegant matriarch of the May Valley Vineyard, lies floating face-down in a stream.

The police say she must have slipped and drowned. But Abby’s not so sure.

As rumors begin to swirl amid the tangled vines, Abby realizes that no one in Clementine’s inner circle is quite what they seem.

Between jilted lovers, greedy offspring and bitter rivals, Clementine kept her friends close and her enemies closer still . . .

What secrets will Abby find — fermenting in the darkest corners of the Courtenay family cellar?

It’s up to Abby to solve the case before this sweetest vintage turns sour .

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256776617-murder-in-the-vineyard?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=P3Z0PZQwgW&rank=4

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MURDER IN THE VINEYARD (Maybridge Murder Mysteries Book #4) by Liz Fielding is another wonderfully engaging addition to the cozy Maybridge Murder Mysteries series featuring an English horticulturist, wife and mother who seems to always find herself embroiled in a murder. This book can be read as a standalone, but the protagonist’s family and all the Cotswolds characters continue to evolve, and I have enjoyed the entire series in order of publication.

Abby Finch finds herself swerving into a hedgerow after barely missing a small terrier that has darted in front of her car. It is wet and trembling, so she puts it in her car to begin the search for its owner. She meets the woman who runs the local dog rescue, Fancy Day, and discovers the dog was homed to Clemintine Courtenay, who is from an old money family and owner of the May Valley Estates Vineyard. When they go in search of Clemie, they find her lying face down in a stream dead. While Abby has questions, the police feel there is no foul play involved.

Abby promises her new husband she will not get involved, but there are rumors and questions that do not add up. Clemintine was entangled in family greed, drama, and rivalries as well as hiding her own secrets. When another body turns up in the same location, Abby and her friends work to untangle the twisted family vines.

I enjoy this series and Abby’s adventures every time I get a new addition to this series. Abby and her family and friends continue to engage me in every outing. Ms. Fielding’s writing of the character interactions and friendships make me feel as though I could walk right into the story and be a part of the group. Scout the terrier’s journey to becoming a part of Abby’s family is a wonderful addition to the story. The mystery plot in this addition to the series is very smartly interwoven with current and generational family secrets, plenty of red herrings, and the always present horticultural tie ins that I enjoy reading about.

I highly recommend this entertaining addition to the Maybridge Murder Mysteries series.

***

Author Bio

Liz Fielding worked as a secretary in Africa and the Middle East and was co-ordinator of the Brecon Jazz Festival before writing full time. Her books are published worldwide in multiple languages, she has won the Romance Writers of America’s prestigious RITA award for both The Best Man & the Bridesmaid and The Marriage Miracle and in 2019 was honoured with an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Romantic Novelists’ Association in the UK.

She is now writing cozy crime for Joffe Books and her first Maybridge Mystery, Murder Among the Roses is available now.

Liz lives in West Sussex.

Social Media Links

Website: http://lizfieldingblog.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lizfieldingauthor/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/liz.fielding/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/murder-in-the-vineyard-a-brand-new-utterly-gripping-english-cozy-mystery-full-of-twists-maybridge-murder-mysteries-book-4-by-liz-fielding

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Murder at Rosecliff by Alyssa Maxwell

Book Description

August 1903. Emma and her husband Derrick are among the men in white tie and tails and the women wearing white gowns from the House of Worth at Tessie Oelrichs’s Bal Blanc, or White Ball, at Rosecliff, her grand cottage on Bellevue Avenue. There to cover the event of the season is young Ethan Merriman, society reporter for the Newport Messenger, the newspaper owned by Emma and Derrick.

It’s an utterly charming affair until a stranger intrudes flaunting a green-striped necktie and matching vest in defiance of their hostess’s theme. But his fashion crime is a mere misdemeanor compared to his intention to blackmail Mrs. Oelrichs by producing a compromising document supposedly signed by Tessie over a decade ago.

Insisting it’s a forgery but terrified of scandal, she agrees to his terms, but the blackmailer will not live to see payday. His body is found face down in a fountain before the party’s end. Beside him stands a very wet Ethan, who was seen being confronted by the man earlier in the evening. Coming to the aid of their luckless cub reporter, Emma and Derrick must sort through the white lies and blackened reputations to discover the identity of the true killer.

***

Elise’s Thoughts

Murder At Rosecliff by Alyssa Maxwell does not disappoint per her other novels.

In August 1903, Emma and her husband Derrick are among the men in white tie and tails and the women wearing white gowns from the House of Worth at Tessie Oelrichs’s Bal Blanc, or White Ball, at Rosecliff, her grand cottage on Bellevue Avenue. There to cover the event of the season is young Ethan Merriman, society reporter for the Newport Messenger, the newspaper owned by Emma and Derrick.

It’s an utterly charming affair until a stranger intrudes, flaunting a green-striped necktie and matching vest in defiance of their hostess’s theme. But his fashion crime is a mere misdemeanor compared to his intention to blackmail Mrs. Oelrichs by producing a compromising document supposedly signed by Tessie over a decade ago.

Insisting it’s a forgery, but terrified of scandal, she agrees to his terms, but the blackmailer will not live to see payday. His body is found face down in a fountain before the party’s end. Beside him stands a very wet Ethan, who was seen being confronted by the man earlier in the evening. Coming to the aid of their luckless cub reporter, Emma and Derrick must sort through the white lies and blackened reputations to discover the identity of the true killer.

The story is riveting from beginning to end with plenty of twists, turns, and red herrings. A bonus is the vivid depictions of Newport’s focus on class and gender division with real-life historical figures.

***

Author Interview

Elise Cooper: The idea for the story?

AM: As with each book in my “Gilded Newport Mysteries,” to develop story ideas I research the family who owned each house. In this case, Theresa Fair Oelrichs, or Tessie, who owned Rosecliff, was the daughter of one of the wealthiest mine-owners in the country. But before he became a millionaire, the Fairs lived in the mining camps of Virginia City, Nevada—as far away from the elegance and beauty of Newport, RI, as can be imagined. It was in these camps that Tessie spent her earliest years, until James Fair moved the family to one of the most fashionable areas of San Francisco. That meant that when she moved to the east coast, there was a lot people in society who didn’t know about her. In my mind, that meant there could be secrets in her past someone could use to blackmail her. And because mining was a rough industry run by ruthless men, it was easy to envision just the sort of scoundrel who might use her past against her.

EC: Was the White Ball true?

AM: Yes! Tessie Oelrichs’s White Ball, or Bal Blanc, occurred in 1904, but I moved it up a year to fit my series timeline. The details I describe were taken mostly from newspaper articles written at the time—written by people with the same occupation as my main suspect, Ethan Merriman, who writes the society page for the Newport Messenger, owned and operated by Emma and her husband, Derrick. The expense for the multitude of white flowers, the white ships anchored just offshore, the food, the swans, etc. could have fed numerous poor families for a year. The female guests spent thousands on pure white gowns from Houses of Worth, Doucet, Lucille, and other famous designers of the times. It all would have created a breathtaking scene, especially with Rosecliff’s huge, airy ballroom with its cloudy sky mural painted on the ceiling, and the many doors on two sides that, when open, brought both the breezes from the ocean on one side and the floral scents from the Italian garden on the other to sweep through the room.

EC: How would you describe Solomon Wheeler?

AM: He is emboldened, insolvent, boorish, rude, unscrupulous, dangerous, no scruples, ruthless, likes to destroy others by using their secrets against them. He is as low an individual as it’s possible to be. He uses people and throws them away without a second thought. He is also a slacker, looking for the easy way to make a buck, along with having a sense of entitlement to a lifestyle he hasn’t earned. He uses his father’s ousting from the Bonanza Kings (made up of James Fair and his three partners who owned the Comstock Lode, the silver mine that propelled them to unimagined wealth), to justify blackmailing Tessie, without ever admitting his father might have deserved what happened.

EC: How would you describe Tessie?

AM: Tessie Oelrichs was very real. She was a renowned beauty and possessed a confidence that paved her way into New York Society. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and how to get it. Although a good twenty years younger than Alva Vanderbilt Belmont and Mamie Fish, she joined those ladies to form society’s “Triumvirate.” As Caroline Astor aged and became less of a leading force in society, the Triumvirate stepped in to take her place. These ladies changed the rules to make society more inclusive (divorcees and people with New Money were more accepted), while at the same time establishing new rules about who would be included and who would be given the cold shoulder. We see examples of that in Murder at Rosecliff where a woman who tries too hard to be accepted is essentially rebuffed.

EC: What about the mansion, Rosecliff?

AM: Like Alva Belmont did with the building of Marble House, Tessie was involved in the design and construction of Rosecliff from start to finish. She spent many a day at the house supervising the work, often changing her mind and ordering the carpenters to rip out what they’d done and start fresh. On one of those days, a carpenter’s tack went flying and hit Tessie in the eye. As a result, she was blind in that eye for the rest of her life. Despite this, she continued to be involved in the building of her summer cottage and remained a formidable figure among society’s Four Hundred. It’s worth noting that Tessie had married Hermann Oelrichs, a shipping magnate, but after the birth of their only child, a son, they lived basically separate lives. They never divorced, however, remaining married in name only until Hermann died in 1906.

EC: How would you describe Ethan and what was his role?

AM: Unlike Emma, who early in her journalism career chafed at being relegated to the society pages (she wanted to report on hard news), Ethan loves recording the details of Newport’s grand affairs. He is a gentle soul who loves beauty and sees it as being as important to life as the more serious matters covered in newspapers. He attends the White Ball as a reporter. His job is to circulate through the crush, document the details of what people were wearing and such, and interview those guests who wished to be interviewed, describing their latest travels, engagements, and soirees for the reading public. On one hand the Four Hundred wanted their privacy, but on the other they enjoyed displaying their wealth, and society columns were one way to do that. When Ethan is accused of murdering Solomon Wheeler based on rather incriminating but circumstantial evidence, Emma refuses to believe he’s capable of such an act. At times she seems to be the only person whose faith is unwavering, but she remains a fierce friend trying to prove Ethan’s innocence.

EC: Once again, this book goes into societal roles: how does it fit with Detective Myers appearing to have a chip on his shoulder towards the wealthy?

AM: Like many year-round Newporters, Detective Myers sees the wealthy summer set as frivolous and wasteful. As I mentioned, the amount of money spent on the White Ball could have fed entire families over an extended period. Of course, the wealthy did support many charities and were involved in philanthropic projects to better the lives of the poor, but they also created impoverished populations due to how they treated their workers. The Four Hundred controlled all major industry in America at that time, and by general agreement chose to pay their workers poverty-level wages with none of the benefits we enjoy today. This unfairness was seen as the right of business owners, and employees who if they didn’t like it could work elsewhere. The problem was, the situation would be similar wherever they tried to find employment.

EC: What about Detective Myers?

AM: I portray Detective Myers as grouchy, arrogant, condescending, and downright mean at times, but part of his attitude is somewhat justifiable. After all, the wealthy came to Newport each summer to party and have fun, and treated Newport as a kind of private country club, expecting the ordinary Newporters to either serve them or stay out of the way. And they weren’t always held accountable for their actions. In this, some things haven’t changed. Newport is like a small town during the winter months, but come summer there is a population explosion of tourists and summer residents who come purely to enjoy – often without much thought for the people who live there year-round.

EC: Did you also want to point out that the Upper Class appears arrogant to those that have a lower-class status, and deems them unfit, not rich enough, not fashionable, and not clever?

AM: It was easy to fall short of the expectations of others—as it still is today. Let’s face it, people constantly judge each other, finding in others the shortcomings they themselves don’t want to admit to having. It creates an “us and them” mentality in which a group will allow itself to feel superior to others. Especially among the women of the Four Hundred, creating social boundaries was like structuring a business, with upper management lording it over everyone else – much like how their husbands ran their businesses. In a world where women didn’t hold positions of power in the business or political spheres, these social structures allowed them to feel empowered and in control of their lives. Unfortunately, as certain individuals rose to positions of social prominence, those lower down on the ladder were made to feel not as good, second best, and of little importance. It wasn’t until the Suffrage movement truly got going during the second decade of the twentieth century that women managed to see past class boundaries and work for a common cause.

EC: Why were people against Emma building a school for girls?

AM: Schools for girls were not uncommon, but most of them were finishing schools where young ladies were taught deportment and etiquette along with “feminine” subjects such as language, art, and music. Such schools were generally approved of. What Emma has in mind is a high school where all subjects are taught, including higher mathematics and the sciences, where a girl can get the same education as a boy. Coed public high schools did exist, and Newport’s Rogers High School was coed at the time (and integrated), but Emma believes the coed environment puts pressure on girls to take home economics classes while the boys take chemistry. Unfortunately, many people take issue with the idea of a completely non-gender-biased curriculum. They don’t see the sense in educating a girl to such standards when she’ll only marry and have children. They don’t appreciate that the young ladies at Emma’s school will have choices in life that don’t necessarily lead to being wives and mothers.

EC: Is Elizabeth Carter Brooks a real person?

AM: Yes, Elizabeth Carter Brooks was a real person. She was born in New Bedford, MA (not far from Newport) in 1867 to former slaves, and attained degrees in architecture and teaching. She became the first African American woman to teach at a public school in New Bedford, and was involved in local and national organizations to better the lives of African American women and girls, including helping to found the local chapter of the NAACP in New Bedford. In 1897 she helped establish the New Bedford Home for the Aged, the first of its kind in the city, and in 1908 designed its permanent building.

EC: What role does Elizabeth Carter Brooks play in the story?

AM: As Emma became caught up in the dilemma of male architects being unwilling to work with her, I decided to search for whether there were any female architects at that time. I was delighted to discover Elizabeth Carter Brooks and couldn’t imagine a better architect for Emma to work with on the design for her unconventional school.

EC: Next book?

AM: The next “Gilded Newport Mystery” will be Murder at Malbone, a July 2027 release. Although the present house dates to 1848, the property goes back to the mid-1700s, to an original house that burned down. It was owned by a Colonel Godfrey Malbone, a wealthy shipping merchant and slave trader. Because of this history, I explore themes of slavery and its consequences, as well as the notion that unsettled spirits might be haunting Malbone, perhaps even responsible for the death of a young man. The back cover blurb:

A fatal Fourth of July fireworks mishap in Newport, Rhode Island, proves to be no accident, and newspaper editor Emma Cross Andrews must sort out who turned a celebration into an incendiary act of cold-blooded murder.

THANK YOU!!

***

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Fatal Pattern by Kate Angelo

FATAL PATTERN

by Kate Angelo

September 14 – 25, 2026 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for FATAL PATTERN (The King Legacy Book #2) by Kate Angelo on this Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, and excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a PICT giveaway. Enjoy!

***

Book Description

A COVERT INVESTIGATION

A stalker attacks behavioral analyst Dr. Tori Crew at knifepoint, shattering the fierce independence she’s built since her parents’ unsolved murder. Forced into an off-the-books criminal investigation, Tori must push her expertise–and her fiercely guarded heart–to the breaking point as a killer’s pattern emerges.

A LOOMING THREAT

Homicide detective Blade St. James has been Tori’s friend and protector since childhood. Haunted by his own past of parental abandonment, Blade is determined to build a stable life and find the peace that always seems just out of reach. But when Tori’s life is threatened, his guardian reflexes collide with everything he’s been trying to build.

A HIDDEN MENACE

As the conspiracy rooted in Tori’s past pulls them deeper, the boundaries of their friendship blur, and the truth neither can deny becomes impossible to ignore. Can they unmask the sophisticated serial killer before they become the final, fatal piece in the pattern?

In this gripping romantic suspense thriller, Kate Angelo delivers pulse-pounding psychological suspense and forensic investigations threaded with slow-burn romance and a heart-stopping cold case.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249031857-fatal-pattern?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=2DSXG553wU&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

FATAL PATTERN (The King Legacy Book #2) by Kate Angelo is a fast-paced, emotional roller coaster of a Christian romantic suspense that delivers more answers tied to the over-arching criminal conspiracy plot from The King Legacy book #1, Girl Lost, and a new romance between two members of the previously introduced group of friends. I recommend reading book one first because of the large amount of crossover between the two books.

Dr, Tori Crew has a stalker. Detective Blade St. James has been Tori’s protector since childhood when they were taken into Stryker’s Warriors program for troubled and or delinquent children. As the stalker escalates, Tori and Blade receive information that this may all tie back to Tori’s childhood and the murder of her parents.

The conspiracy is even deeper than they imagined. Her parent’s deaths are leading them to clues that grow into a serial killer investigation and conspiracy in local law enforcement agencies that tie into organ harvesting which almost got their friends killed previously. But who can they trust, and will their discoveries lead them to the killer or their own deaths?

This second book in The King Legacy series is full of surprises and twists. The characters and the over-arching suspense plot from book one around a criminal conspiracy involved in organ harvesting keeps the plot moving with an ever-increasing sense of dread and peril. The killer’s fascination with fractals made an interesting, and to me, unique plot point. Both Tori and Blade had not only a serious investigation to solve but also had to face many of their childhood traumas to move forward and move from friendship to couple. The romance is a slow-burn romance with no sex scenes due to this being a Christian romantic suspense. The author ties the scripture verse in the preface of the story to the denouement perfectly and does not make the reader feel as if they are being preached at throughout the story. There are still more questions to be answered, and I look forward to reading more books in this series.

I highly recommend this thrilling Christian romantic suspense addition to The King Legacy series.

***

Excerpt

THE COLD EDGE OF THE BLADE kissed Tori Crew’s throat, drawing a rivulet of blood that began its descent down her neck. “Don’t move.” The whisper brushed against her ear. Tori tasted bile at the back of her throat, and for one horrifying moment, she thought she might throw up. Her pulse thumped against the knife pressed to her carotid. Each beat reverberated through the steel and deep into her bones.

The parking lot at the Kingdom MMA Gym stretched dark and empty around her. It was her stupid idea to meet at 4:30 a.m., and now here she was all alone. No witnesses. No help.

Stryker should be here. Setting up folding chairs in a circle near the boxing ring, brewing that industrial- strength coffee that could wake the dead, preparing for morning Bible study with the kids who lived in the residential program.

But Stryker wasn’t coming.

Stryker lay unconscious in a hospital bed, his salt-and-pepper hair loose around his pale face instead of tied back the way he always wore it. Some lunatic had tried to kill her mentor. One of the greatest men she’d ever known, and now—

The blade pressed deeper. “I said don’t move.”

Her knees wanted to buckle, but she locked them straight. Stryker had taught her that. Stay strong. Stay focused. The fighter in her knew what to do. Elbow to solar plexus. Heel to instep. Grab the wrist. Twist. Three seconds and he’d be on the ground. But he had the knife pressed just right. She couldn’t make a move without him slicing through a major artery. One wrong angle, and she’d bleed out before she hit the pavement. She forced her breathing to slow. Fought the adrenaline that wanted to flood her system and make her do something stupid. Assess. Analyze. Act.

The mantra from Krav Maga training steadied her racing thoughts. Observe first. Plan the attack. Strike when the odds shifted.

“You’re bleeding.” His breath was hot against her neck. “I’ve always liked the color of blood.”

She cataloged details. Male. Less than six feet tall, based on the angle of the knife. Maybe 5′9″. Right-handed. Gloves. No discern able accent. No alcohol on his breath. Not impulsive. Calculated. Educated.

He drew in a breath. “Such a pretty shade of red, don’t you think?”

“Who . . . who are you?” She worked to keep her voice steady despite the tremors threatening to overtake her body. “I’m the one who watches. I’m your . . . shadow. A part of you.” His free hand clamped around her chest, crushing her arms against her ribs. The blade pressed deeper, stealing her breath. “You’ve been busy. Two new cases, six trips to the gym, and you changed your coffee order to vanilla instead of caramel.”

Her stalker. The one who’d been leaving notes on her car. The one who’d been calling and hanging up. The one the police wouldn’t pursue because the “non- violent harassment” apparently didn’t meet the threshold for a credible threat.

He’d been watching everything.

Her stomach twisted, not with fear— she could handle fear—

but with fury. “You think that makes you powerful? It makes you pathetic.”

The knife pressed deeper. Not enough to do serious damage, but enough to elicit another drop of blood. His gloved finger caught the droplet sliding down her neck, then traced it back up to the wound.

“Ah. We mustn’t lose too much. Not yet.”

She analyzed his posture. The way he held the knife. How his chest rose and fell against her back. “What do you want?” “To show you that I can kill you anytime I want.” His laugh was soft, almost tender. “This is just the beginning, Dr. Crew. I’m not done toying with you yet.”

Fight instinct coiled through her muscles, but her mind weighed the odds again and overrode them. Information. Get information. Every criminal had a pattern, a motivation. Understanding him meant catching him. And catching him meant ending this night mare.

She strained her eyes to the right, trying to catch even a sliver of his face in her peripheral vision. “Why me?”

“Because you think you understand the darkness,” he said. “But you don’t. Not like I do.”

A pair of headlights sliced through the blackness, white light stabbing her retinas. The blade lifted from her throat. She spun, fist cocked for a power jab at his face, but she only struck air. Gone. The coward had melted into the shadows along the wall, black clothing swallowed by the darkness as he disap peared into the alley beyond. Her chance—blown. She could have ended this right here, right now. Could have put him down and dragged answers out of him. Instead, she was standing here bleeding while he slipped away like the roach he was.

A car screeched to a halt beside her. The driver’s door flew open. Detective Blade St. James erupted from his unmarked Charger with his hand on his holstered weapon. “Tori? You okay?” Her fingers went to her throat and came away sticky with blood. She stared at the crimson smear. A savage anger bubbled up inside her chest. He’d touched her. Cut her. And vanished like smoke.

“What the—” Blade’s eyes widened at her blood- slick fingertips. “You’re bleeding.”

“It’s just a scratch.” Her knees felt shaky. She’d had every skill and training to handle situations exactly like this, and she’d let the stalker get the drop on her.

“What happened? Who was that?”

“My stalker.” She pressed the cut to stem the bleeding. “Stalker?” His voice rose in disbelief. “What stalker? Since when do you have a stalker?”

“Three weeks, give or take.” A crimson droplet had dropped on her knuckle. Perfect. Round. Like a bead of glass. “I’ve always liked the color of blood.”

Ice slid through her veins.

“And you didn’t think to mention this?” Blade had his phone out. “We need to call this in. Get you to a hospital.” “No.” She caught his wrist. “The locals are aware, but you know stalker cases. Nothing they can do.”

“Tori, he had a knife to your throat.” His voice ticked up. “That’s attempted murder.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“It is that simple. Let’s do this right. Get an officer out here. Take your statement, photos, dust for prints, canvass witnesses—” “There are no witnesses at four thirty in the morning!” She swept her arm toward the deserted street and empty parking lot. “And he wore gloves, so no prints. We’ve got nothing.” “All the more reason to report it. You say this guy’s been watch ing you for weeks, and now he’s crossed the line to physical assault. He’s escalating.”

“You think I don’t know that?” She dropped her hand from the cut and stormed over to Blade’s car.

***

Author Bio

Kate Angelo is the Publishers Weekly bestselling author of Hunting the Witness, Selah Award winner of Deadly Holiday Hijack, and Amazon Top 100 bestseller of Driving Force. Kate works alongside her husband championing stronger marriages and families. Her journey from foster care to bestselling author fuels her fast-paced romantic suspense, where flawed characters discover hope and healing through life’s fiercest trials and relationships. When she’s not putting fictional people through the wringer, she’s out creating real-life happily-ever-afters at conferences and events nationwide.

Social Media Links

KateAngelo.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @kateangeloauthor
BookBub – @kateangeloauthor
Instagram – @kateangeloauthor
Facebook – Kate Angelo- Author

Purchase Links