#suspense #thriller – Page 16 – Avonna Loves Genres

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: At Any Cost by Andrea Kane

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on this Partners In Crime Book Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for AT ANY COST (Forensic Instincts Book #9) by Andrea Kane.

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 giveaway. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Aimee Bregman had the perfect life. She had an enviable job as head of marketing for an up-and-coming CBD-infused beer that was taking the tri-state area by storm. She had cultivated a massive social media following that showcased the beer at college campus parties and alumni events―and had fun doing it. She had an attentive, steady boyfriend and friends who believed in her. Everything was going right.

But when her long-time mentor, Rita, sets up a business meeting with an important influencer―her life crashes all around her. The casual meeting over drinks suddenly devolves into a shouting match between all parties, and any chance of a new business relationship is over before it begins. Hours later, when the NYPD shows up at Aimee’s apartment, questioning her about Rita’s abrupt disappearance―foul play suspected―Aimee realizes she’s in way over her head.

Fearing that Rita has been murdered, and that she may be next, Aimee hires Forensic Instincts to keep her safe and figure out what’s really going on.

Forensic Instincts, a brilliant investigative firm who walks the fine line between legal and illegal, solves challenging and high-profile cases when the bureaucratic restrictions imposed on law enforcement get in the way of achieving results. But neither Aimee nor Forensic Instincts realize how ruthless, how connected, their adversaries are. As dangerous and powerful people are threatened with exposure, anyone is fair game for elimination. And when multiple victims die at the hands of a sociopathic serial killer, it gets harder and harder to tell where the battle lines are drawn… and who might die next.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58687663-at-any-cost?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=u1RK9uL8Bh&rank=1

At Any Cost

Genre: Suspense Thriller
Published by: Bonnie Meadow Publishing LLC
Publication Date: March 22nd 2022
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 168232043X (ISBN13: 9781682320433)
Series: Forensic Instincts #9 | Each Can Be Read as a Stand Alone Novel

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My Book Review

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

AT ANY COST (Forensic Instincts Book #9) by Andrea Kane is the latest Forensic Instincts series installment. Forensic Instincts is a private investigative firm that walks a fine line between legal and illegal methods of solving their cases. These books can be read as standalones, but I have enjoyed getting to know all the members of the team throughout the series.

Aimee Bregman is the young, energetic head of marketing for a brewery that has introduced CBD-infused beer to the tri-state market. Aimee contacts her college mentor, Rita who she knows can set up a meeting with a well-known social media influencer. The meeting ends with threats rather than success. Hours later, the NYPD shows up at Aimee’s apartment to tell her Rita is missing and they found signs of foul play. Afraid for her own safety, Aimee contacts Forensics Instincts.

As Forensic Instincts protects Aimee, they discover that this is not a simple case. It involves powerful, ruthless people, big money, and a sociopathic serial killer. As the bodies multiply, so does the threat to Aimee and the entire Forensic Instincts team.

I always enjoy reconnecting with this series and catching up with all the main characters. The crime plot in this book was multi-layered and intricately plotted with a serial killer who mixed personal and professional in his killings which added to the difficulty in finding the solution. But that is also why I had difficulty accepting the solution. Claire’s gift, that she uses as a team member, I feel should have discovered the killer sooner. For me as a long-time reader of this series, this was a big plot hole, but will probably be overlooked by those not familiar with her abilities in other books.

Overall, another entertaining and exciting addition to this investigative suspense series.

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Excerpt

Brightington University

Birchmont, Westchester County, New York

Eight years ago

A kill for a kill.

Weeks of watching and waiting. Plans devised. Soon to be meticulously executed. Mid-November. Football season nearing its peak. Thursday night. Nine p.m. Campus in early-weekend party mode. Undergrads drinking. Smoking up at the frat houses. Athletic building deserted.

Nearly deserted.

His target was there. Alone. Thursday night was his late night during football season. That’s when he reviewed his game strategy and player weaknesses. That’s when he targeted the next eager kid to torture until he broke.

The bastard wouldn’t be breaking anyone ever again. Not the way he’d broken Hank.

As the star quarterback in high school, Hank had gotten a full-ride Division 1 scholarship. Since he’d come from a dirt-poor family, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. A first-rate college education with a shot at the NFL. It was supposed to be a life-changing event.

Instead it turned out to be a death sentence.

His executioner had been Pete Rice. Football coach? Bullshit. Rice hadn’t coached Hank; he’d tortured him, driven him—until he’d blown out his knee on a rain-soaked football field junior year, ending his college career, his dreams. And in the end, his life.

It was first down and goal.

Rice was about to find out the true meaning of payback.

The campus grounds were soggy, leftover patches of wet leaves and an endless span of slick grass, made worse by the cold, steady rainfall. The bare trees swayed as rain pounded their branches. A wet mess. Treacherous, like a wet football field.

Slugging through the debris, he approached the athletic building, pausing yards away to don the black ski mask. He then tugged his hood back into place. No point in taking chances. Security cameras were everywhere. He didn’t need his face to be captured. Other than the mask, he could be any college student. A waterproof parka that swallowed up his body. Jeans and combat boots. Standard college garb.

He reached the building and slid Hank’s ID card into the entry slot. The card still worked. Too soon for it to be deactivated.

He was in. He wriggled into his latex gloves.

The office door was unlocked. Rice was at his desk, files spread across it. He was scribbling something on one of them, brows knit in concentration, totally focused on his work.

Clueless that he was about to die.

In one fluid motion, he was inside the office, the door closed behind him. Rice leapt to his feet, snatching the heavy football trophy on his desk as he rounded the front of it to defend himself against the intruder.

Without a word, the killer whipped out a pistol and fired two bullets, one into each of Rice’s kneecaps. Rice howled, collapsing to the floor in pain. The trophy hit the floor beside him with a thud.

The assailant moved quickly—four long strides until he was behind Rice, dragging him back to his chair and heaving him into it. He shoved a rag in the coach’s mouth to stifle his screams, then moved behind him, wrapping a strong arm in a choke hold around Rice’s throat. He pocketed his pistol, pulled out a zip tie, and leaned down to cinch the writhing man’s ankles together. That done, he slapped a digital voice recorder on the desk, with the record feature on. He yanked the rag out of Rice’s mouth, tossed it aside, and anchored his forearm against the left side of the coach’s neck, using his free hand to pull as tight against the carotid artery as he chose to—for now.

A rush of power surged through him. He could taste victory.

But there was work to be done before the final play.

“You killed Hank Bishop,” he growled. “I want details.”

When he got no answer, only a violent trembling of Rice’s body, he tightened the pressure around his neck. “Talk.”

“Car crash…” the coach gasped. “I didn’t…”

“Wrong answer.” His grip tightened still more, enough so Rice was on the verge of losing consciousness. The coach struggled in vain, his struggles weak and fading.

His soon-to-be executioner eased the pressure the tiniest fraction. He knew just what it would take. And he wasn’t ready. Not until he got what he wanted.

“Wanna die?” he asked in a flat tone that was chillingly devoid of emotion.

Terrified, blood oozing down his legs, Rice gave a feeble shake of his head.

“Good. Because this is what it will feel like.”

He increased the pressure until Rice passed out. Slowly, he eased the choke hold until the scumbag came to.

“Now I’ll ask my question again,” he said calmly. “Why is Hank dead? Why was he in that car crash? This is your last chance. I want to hear it all—what you did, how you did it, what you drove him to.”

Rice was drenched in sweat, his entire body shuddering, choking sounds coming from his throat.

No further coercion was necessary.

Between gasps for air, the coach spilled his guts, revealing everything he’d done, everything that had happened—plus a whole lot more that was happening still.

Interesting stuff. Some of which he knew about. Still more of which he didn’t. It was even bigger than what he’d come here to learn. But frankly, he didn’t give a shit. He’d originally planned to take the voice recorder with him to relive Rice’s agonized confession whenever he chose to. But it really didn’t matter. He’d committed the bastard’s words to memory. So instead, he’d leave the recorder here, let the cops hear the entire confession, including the big-picture part that had nothing to do with Hank but that would send their investigation in the entirely wrong direction—a direction his employer wouldn’t appreciate, but that was his problem.

His adrenaline pumping, he tightened his choke hold into a death grip, pressing against the carotid artery, closing it off and squeezing the life out of his victim.

A minute later, Rice was dead.

***

Author Bio

Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty-one novels, including seventeen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge—and keeping her readers up all night.
Kane’s first contemporary suspense thriller, Run for Your Life, became an instant New York Times bestseller.

She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including No Way Out, Twisted and Drawn in Blood.

Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series, At Any Cost, showcases the dynamic, eclectic team of investigators as they square off against a criminal organization with a serial killer as a hit man. The first showcase of Forensic Instincts’ talents came with the New York Times bestseller, The Girl Who Disappeared Twice, followed by The Line Between Here and Gone, The Stranger You Know, The Silence That Speaks, The Murder That Never Was, A Face To Die For, Dead In A Week, No Stone Unturned and At Any Cost.

Kane’s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include My Heart’s Desire, Samantha, Echoes in the Mist, and Wishes in the Wind.

With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages.

Kane lives in New Jersey with her family. She’s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan.

Social Media Links

AndreaKane.com
Goodreads
BookBub
Instagram – @authorandreakane
Twitter – @andrea_kane
Facebook – @AuthorAndreaKane

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GIVEAWAY

https://kingsumo.com/g/lcft4a/at-any-cost-by-andrea-kane-us-only

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: A Killer View by Roy Johansen

Book Description

Kendra Michaels, blind before gaining her sight via a revolutionary surgical procedure, offers her razor-sharp senses to assist her friend Jessie Mercado in a baffling case. An army vet and former bodyguard for the rich and famous, Jessie has faced all kinds of danger but one thing the motorcycle-riding private investigator has never encountered before is an incarceration consultant.

Preparing wealthy people to go to prison is big business. When Owen Blake of Mamertine Consulting hires Mercado to find his missing partner, their suspect list is filled with recently released white-collar criminals, a few drug kingpins, and a couple of murderers to keep things interesting.

As witnesses turn up dead and car chases leave destruction in their wake, Jessie and Kendra learn just how far someone will go to keep the fate of one man hidden. But why? Together they must hunt down the lethal secrets of Blake’s company, hell-bent on staying one step ahead of disaster.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Killer View by Roy Johansen is a spinoff from the bestselling Kendra Michaels series he writes with the legendary author, Iris Johansen, who happens to be his mom. He has gone solo in writing Jessie Mercado’s story, a private investigator who is a friend and colleague of Kendra.

Kendra Michaels is a San Diego music therapist who uses her powers of observation and deduction to help law enforcement investigators solve cases. In the Michaels’ series Jessie helps in solving some crimes using her own rules.

This bookhas Kendra introducing Jessie to a new client. Owen Blake is the co-owner of an incarceration consultancy, which handles financial and personal needs for people serving prison time. After he hires her to find his missing partner, Jessie becomes suspicious that something bad has happened to the partner. She realizes the suspect list is filled with former and current clients including white-collar criminals, a few drug kingpins, and a couple of murderers to keep things interesting. She’s assisted by her new boyfriend, Jake Brice, considered “the hottest actor on the planet,” who puts the skills he has honed working on Marvel Superhero movies. Together they must hunt down the lethal secrets of Blake’s company, hell-bent on staying one step ahead of disaster.

Readers get to know Jessie’s backstory better. They meet her father, James, a veteran, and her “boyfriend” Jake Brice. In the last couple of chapter Kendra is front and center as she helps Jessie solve the case by using her sensory magic.

This is a fast-paced action-packed story. The plot has humor, charm, and suspense, with a smidge of romance.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Idea for the story?

Roy Johansen: I read an article about a former suspect in a murder investigation who ran a service to help with the logistics of those going to prison. A lot of white-collar people who committed crimes will use someone like that, but also well financed thugs. It is different from person to person regarding the services offered. I had Jessie, a private investigator, have one of her clients who has a similar company, Personal Incarceration Consultant.

EC: How would you describe Jessie Mercado’s resume?

RJ: She has a very colorful past including a war hero in Afghanistan, found fame on this athletic game show, like “American Ninjas,” and became the head of security for a very famous pop star, all this before becoming a PI. Her father is also a veteran.

EC: How would describe her personality?

RJ: Independent, competitive, takes initiative, smart, headstrong, takes risks including driving her motorcycle, very loyal, strong physically and mentally, basically Wonder Woman and Electra. I guess I had DC and Marvel covered.

EC: How about Brice?

RJ: He was a veteran who was tortured in Afghanistan. His new career is a major movie star. He has a sense of humor, independent, determined, persuasive, protective, thoughtful, and sociable. He and Jessie have a lot in common. All these traits also apply to her.

EC: What about the white streak in his hair?

RJ: The white streak in his hair developed after his military service. It is more psychological from his time in the military. It is now a trademark of his. It will be explored more in later books. In a way it is almost a badge of honor for him.

EC: Do they have a relationship?

RJ: They connected originally since they both are US war veterans who fought in Afghanistan. They have mutual respect. He sees in Jessie a lot of his former life. He has a lot of affection and love for her. She cares for him even though she is more hesitant and guarded about stepping into a relationship. She is not ready to admit to herself the way she cares for him. There is more to explore here in future books.

EC: Cameo appearances by Kendra Michaels?

RJ: Kendra plays a significant part in helping crack the mystery. She worked her magic of deductions. She is only in the beginning of the book for a little while, but in the latter part of the book she and Jessie become a team to solve this case. I wanted to take Kendra out of the story for a chunk of the time, so readers get to know Jessie better and those in her life.

EC: You also brought back Delilah (Dee) Winter?

RJ: In the last Kendra book, Blink of an Eye, Dee was kidnapped. In this book, Dee feels the need to keep Jessie safe. I like the relationship between Jessie and Dee. There is a vulnerability there where Jessie is very protective of her. By having Dee around shows the softer side of Jessie, who thinks of herself as Dee’s older sister.

EC: There are a lot of Los Angeles restaurants mentioned in this book?

RJ: Yes. I think because a lot of it was written during the early days of the pandemic when everything was closed. It was my way of visiting them. I did a short video featuring some of these LA restaurants. It is on You-tube and my website.

EC: Next book?

RJ: There will be a new Kendra Michaels book out early next year. It is titled, More Than Meets the Eye. Jessie is not in this one. But characters from previous books are facing some peril. Usually Kendra is a reluctant sleuth, but in this one she goes full tilt to save those who she cares about. There will be a series for Jessie and the next Jessie book will be out in a few years. The next story is hinted at the end of this book.

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.

Book Review: Killing Mind by Angela Marsons

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

KILLING MIND (D.I. Kim Stone Book #12) by Angela Marsons is another great addition the D.I. Kim Stone crime thriller/British police procedural series. While each of these books can stand alone on the crime thriller plot, the main characters continually evolve and develop. This is just one of those series that is best read in order.

Kim and Bryant get called out to check an apparent suicide. While everyone agrees at first, something about the scene just does not sit right with Kim. After checking the crime scene photos, it is discovered to be a murder. This murder and the discovery of a body in a local lake leads Kim and her team to Unity Farm, which is a cult, which at first Kim does not believe or understand. Kim sends Tiffany “Tink” in undercover and they discover the truly manipulative power of the cult.

While they are working the Unity Farm case, Bryant is also entangled in a past case from when he was just an officer guarding a crime scene. A murderer is paroled and all those entangled in the old case are once again fearful of another murder.

The main characters all feel like friends now and the crime plots are always intriguing and realistic. Ms. Marson has a way of keeping everything fresh and interesting even in this twelfth book. I was extremely impressed with the research information on cults throughout the story and the demonstration of the manipulation used in the dialogue of the cult members.

I really am not able to come up with much new to tell everyone how much I love these books! This is an excellent series that I recommend to all.

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Author Bio

Angela is the author of the Kim Stone Crime series. She discovered a love of writing at Primary School when a short piece on the rocks and the sea gained her the only merit point she ever got. Angela wrote the stories that burned inside and then stored them safely in a desk drawer. After much urging from her partner she began to enter short story competitions in Writer’s News resulting in a win and three short listed entries.

She used the Amazon KDP program to publish two of her earlier works before concentrating on her true passion – Crime.

Angela is now signed to write a total of 16 Kim Stone books for http://bookouture.com and has secured a print deal with Bonnier Zaffre Publishing.

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Sierra Six by Mark Greaney

Book Description

It’s been years since the Gray Man’s first mission, but the trouble’s just getting started in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Before he was the Gray Man, Court Gentry was Sierra Six, the junior member of a CIA action team.

In their first mission they took out a terrorist leader, but at a terrible price–the life of a woman Court cared for. Years have passed and now The Gray Man is on a simple mission when he sees a ghost: the long-dead terrorist, but he’s remarkably energetic for a dead man.

A decade may have gone by but the Gray Man hasn’t changed. He isn’t one to leave a job unfinished or a blood debt unpaid.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney is not one story but two stories in one book. Readers are treated to a double helping of the Gray Man, told from a dual point of view, today and 12 years ago. Both stories per usual are compelling and dramatic where readers are treated to a rollercoaster ride of vivid action, a lot of intrigue, and fantastic dialogue.

Twelve years ago, after the Special Activities Division of the CIA loses a man on an assignment, Court Gentry (The Gray Man) is called in as a replacement and given the designation Gulf Sierra Six. Because he had no military background and always worked alone, the members of the team resented him at first. But overtime he proved himself and gained the respect of the team and its leader, Zach Hightower.

Twelve years later Court is hired as a freelance intelligence operator to infiltrate the Turkish embassy property in Algiers and plant a listening device. There he comes face to face with Murad Khan, the head of KRF who is responsible for death and destruction years earlier. This terrorist had been reported killed at the time. Now Court is once again on the hunt to stop Khan as he plans another major attack involving dirty bombs in India.

The story and ending are typical Gray Man, a lot of action, suspense, and tension. As with all his books there are scenes that put the reader in the middle of the intense fight. This book shows why Greaney is one of the best thriller writers today.

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Netflix series?

Mark Greaney: What I hear is that it’s coming out in July. They already have done a test screening in LA, last week. They bring in those who sign up for it and have them fill out a questionnaire of what they liked and did not like. I have only seen fifteen seconds of footage, but I did read the script. I thought it was terrific. It is based on the first book, The Gray Man, but bring in elements that were in later books.

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

MG: I had talked to my editor for years about writing an origin story where readers could see Court Gentry as he develops. I decided to write something that relates in the past and present. Readers can see Court as a younger man and then twelve years later. The stories have two different timelines, two different objectives for the hero, and two different ticking clocks.

EC: How would you describe the young Court versus the older Court?

MG: The young Court is 25 years old. He has been trained his entire life to operate firearms and move tactically, without any other skills. He has no people skills and is not James Bond with the ladies. At this stage of his life, he does not have a lot of world experience, yet comes across cocky and sure of himself. He gets brought down a few pegs in this story. He does missions he is told to do by the CIA. He is a soldier and a spy.

In the present Court is older, wiser, a little laid back, but not as sure of himself. He seeks justice. Now he will go against the wishes of his bosses. He will break away if necessary, playing to his own tune. He has expanded his skill levels with a lot more years and tradecraft behind him. He is much better at what he does.

EC: Zach was in the past story, but not the present story?

MG: I do not want to ever be tied to having to bring all the secondary characters into every story. There are some books that will not have Zoya, and some not to have Zach. In the present Court is very much on a solo mission although he does call Hanley and Brewer for some help. I do not want to get into a trap into designing my story surrounded by a cast of characters. Instead, I want to pick and choose.

EC: How would you describe Julie Martinez, part of Court’s team as a CIA analyst?

MG: Chatty, nerdlike, direct, attentive, persistent, has integrity. She feels like an outsider. She is focused and has attention to detail. Like Court, she does what she feels is right.

EC: Julie, his first love versus Zoya, his recent love?

MG: I think these two characters are so different. Julie is a young CIA officer analyst who is incredibly intelligent. She is also on the Autism spectrum. She and Court become friends and then more than friends throughout the course of the novel. His naivety and her directness were interesting aspects to put together. Zoya on the other hand is in the same profession as Court, an operative. She is older and a rougher personality. Because he has changed in the past twelve years Julie and present-day Court would not have worked out so well. Both women and Court feel like outsiders. Zoya has integrity but gets there only at the end. She and Court both live lives where they must be distrustful, paranoid. She is a different version of Court, but both are attracted to one another.

EC: Why the War on Terror returning?

MG: I wanted to showcase how different things are today than twelve years ago. Many Gray Man books did not deal with Middle East terrorism. This was a conscious decision because almost all other thriller writers wrote about the ticking timebomb. Now I feel we are removed from it. I wanted to take a recent pass and see how my hero deals with it.

EC: How would you describe the bad guy, Murad Khan?

MG: He is a Kashmirian who went against his own country. He is a member of their intelligence agency but has also created his own organization to fight. Now he is fighting India, his true passion. When I write a villain I must get into their head. He is against humanity and very cruel, a terrible person.

EC: The setting also dealt with CIA bases in Khost and Chapman?

MG: I did some research on where we were twelve years ago regarding the War on Terror. The geography was important. Camp Chapman was a place where very terrible things happened. The other bases including Bagram, Jalalabad, and Salerno are all close to the Pakistani border. I wanted to show how Pakistan is not a real ally of the US.

EC: The Indian Mafia?

MG: The biggest one is D company, which I changed to B company. The real head lives in Pakistan, not India. He has a real chip on his shoulders, bombing government buildings and airlines. They did most of their stuff twenty years ago. I thought that my mafia would form an alliance with a Muslim group. I saw the movie “Hotel Mumbai” and read some books about the terrorist attack there. It played into my story, where a terrorist attack happens at a shopping mall in India.

EC: How would you describe Priya Bandari?

MG: She is someone Court teams up with, out of necessity. She is very wet behind the ears as an intelligence specialist and reconnaissance technician on Court’s freelance job. She is directly out of college. She is motivated for personal reasons to stay in the fight. I hope readers begin to understand her and see her point of view. I hope to use her character in other books. She is brave, somewhat defiant, and daring. None of this comes naturally to her but Priya does rise to the occasion.

EC: Next book?

MG: I am currently plotting out the story. It will come out this time next year. Court, Zoya, Zach, and Brewer will be back along with Hanley to some degree. In July I have another book coming out based on an audio play that was released in December. It is titled Armored. It is about military contractors in Mexico fighting the drug cartel. Josh Duffy is a wounded veteran whose job is to protect a UN delegation that is trying to negotiate a peace deal with a drug lord. There will be a second book, but I do not know what happens after that. Duffy’s wife, Nicole, is a former army officer and a helicopter pilot. I could see Duffy and Nicole taking a lead in another book.

THANK YOU!!

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Margaret Truman’s Murder at the CDC by Jon Land

Murder at the CDC

by Jon Land

February 14 – March 11, 2022 Virtual Book Tour

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tour and I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for Margaret Truman’s MURDER AT THE CDC (A Capital Crimes Novel Book #32) by Jon Land.

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 Rafflecopter giveaway. Enjoy!

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Book Description

2017: A military transport on a secret run to dispose of its deadly contents vanishes without a trace.

The present: A mass shooting on the steps of the Capitol nearly claims the life of Robert Brixton’s grandson.

No stranger to high-stakes investigations, Brixton embarks on a trail to uncover the motive behind the shooting. On the way he finds himself probing the attempted murder of the daughter his best friend, who works at the Washington offices of the CDC. The connection between the mass shooting and Alexandra’s poisoning lies in that long-lost military transport that has been recovered by forces determined to change America forever. Those forces are led by radical separatist leader Deacon Frank Wilhyte, whose goal is nothing short of bringing on a second Civil War.

Brixton joins forces with Kelly Lofton, a former Baltimore homicide detective. She has her own reasons for wanting to find the truth behind the shooting on the Capitol steps, and is the only person with the direct knowledge Brixton needs. But chasing the truth places them in the cross-hairs of both Wilhyte’s legions and his Washington enablers.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57693174-murder-at-the-cdc?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=65KXT5tqqv&rank=1

Murder at the CDC

Genre: Political Thriller
Published by: Forge
Publication Date: February 15, 2022
Number of Pages: 304
ISBN: 978-1250238894
Series: Margaret Truman’s Capital Crimes, #32 | Each is a stand alone work.

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MURDER AT THE CDC (A Capital Crimes Novel Book #32) by Jon Land is the latest political/crime thriller in this long running series started by Margaret Truman. This is the second book in the series that Jon Land has written, and he does a great job of giving the reader continuity with the previous books. It is an exciting crime/political thriller filled with “what-ifs” extrapolated from today’s headlines. These books can all be easily read as standalone novels.

Robert Brixton comes close once again to losing a loved one when his grandson in caught up in a mass shooting incident on the Capital’s steps. As he begins to investigate the motive for the shooting, he is also asked by his long-time friend to meet with his daughter who works for the CDC in their Washington office who he believes is in trouble. She ends up in the hospital fighting for her life from an unknown poison.

Brixton joins forces with Kelly Lofton who works for the Capital police and the two discover a scheme to change America forever with a bioweapon believed lost on a long-ago military transport.

I love these types of thrillers when they are well written as this one is. They are just plausible enough to be scarily believable and thank goodness there is always someone of principle to stand in the way of all the evil doers. Fast paced, action packed and full of twists, I could not put the book down. All the characters, good and bad, were well drawn. There are a very few times the pace slows down a bit, but the information given at these times is interesting and adds to the escalating consequences of the protagonists not saving the day.

I really enjoy reading Mr. Land’s additions to this series, and I am looking forward to reading many more in the future.

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Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

“The hand of God is upon You! He is my shepherd and I shall not want!”

Those were the last words high school sophomore Ben McDonald heard before the shooting started. He and the other students clustered around him from the Gilman School in Maryland were on a school field trip to the Capitol Building from their Baltimore prep school, the first such trip taken since academic life returned to a degree of normalcy following the endless coronavirus nightmare. Everyone had shown up in their school uniforms, the buses had left on schedule, and the students felt like pioneers, explorers blazing a trail back into the world beyond shutdowns and social distancing.

The reduction in Capitol tour group size was still in force and had necessitated the two bus-loads of students to be divided into five groups of fifteen, give or take, three chaperones allotted to each. Ben and his twin brother Robbie’s group had gone first and they had found themselves lingering on the Capitol steps, taking pictures and chatting away with their local congressman and senator who’d come out to greet and mingle with the students on the steps at the building’s east front.

“Why are you still wearing a mask?” one of them had asked the congressman, but Ben had already forgotten the answer.

He remembered checking the time on his phone just before he heard the first shots. Ben thought they were firecrackers at first, realizing the truth a breath later when the screams began and bodies started flying.

“I am doing the Lord’s work! I am a sacrifice to his word!”

Somehow Ben gleaned those words through the screams and incessant hail of fire. The shots were coming so fast he wasn’t sure if the shooter was firing on semi or full auto. The boy never actually saw him as more than a shape amid the blur before him, enveloping his vision like a dull haze. The thin sheer curtain drawn over his eyes didn’t keep him from recording bodies crumpling, keeling over, tumbling down the steps. The force of a bullet’s momentum slammed a classmate into him, sparing Ben the ensuing fusillade that turned the other boy’s back into a pin cushion.

My brother!

The panic and shock of those initial seconds had stolen thought of Robbie from him. He wheeled about, covered in the blood of boy who had dropped off the scene.

“Robbie!”

Did he cry out his name or only think it? The steps around him looked blanketed in khaki and blue, pants and blazers that made up his Gilman uniform. The sound of gunfire continued to resound in his ears, but he wasn’t sure the shooter was still firing because no more bodies seemed to be falling. People were running in all directions, crying and screaming, Ben remaining frozen out of fear for his brother.

“Robbie!”

He saw his brother’s sandy blond hair draped down from one of the marble steps onto another. Nothing else at first, just the hair. Maybe he had dove atop a friend who’d been wounded to spare that kid more fire—that was Robbie. But there was no one beneath Him, and . . . And . . .

He wasn’t moving, his arms stretched to the sides on angles that looked all wrong. Ben dropped to his knees next to Robbie, his pants sinking into pooling patches of blood which merged and thickened beneath him. He felt something pinching him along right side of his ribcage and saw his blue shirt darkening with a spreading wave of red in the last moment before he collapsed next to his brother.

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Author Bio

JON LAND is the USA Today bestselling author of fifty-eight books, including eleven in the critically acclaimed Texas Ranger Caitlin Strong series, the most recent of which, Strong from the Heart, won the 2020 American Fiction Award for Best Thriller and the 2020 American Book Fest Award for Best Mystery/Suspense Novel. Additionally, he has teamed up with Heather Graham for a science fiction series that began with THE RISING (winner of the 2017 International Book Award for best Sci-fi Novel) and continues with BLOOD MOON, to be published in November of 2022. He has also written six books in the Murder, She Wrote series of mysteries and has more recently taken over Margaret Truman’s Capital Crimes series, with his second effort, MURDER AT THE CDC, to be published in February of 2022. Jon is known as well for writing the film DIRTY DEEDS, a teen comedy starring Milo Ventimiglia and Zoe Saldana, which was released in 2005. A graduate of Brown University, he received the 2019 Rhode Island Authors Legacy Award for his lifetime of literary achievements.

Purchase Links

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RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY

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Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Last Seen Alive by Joanna Schaffhausen

Book Description

The fifth book in Joanna Schaffhausen’s heartpounding Ellery Hathaway mystery series.

Boston detective Ellery Hathaway met FBI agent Reed Markham when he pried open a serial killer’s closet to rescue her. Years on, their relationship remains defined by that moment and by Francis Coben’s horrific crimes. To free herself from Coben’s legacy, Ellery had to walk away from Reed, too. But Coben is not letting go so easily. He has an impossible proposition: Coben will finally give up the location of the remaining bodies, on one condition—Reed must bring him Ellery.

Now the families of the missing victims are crying out for justice that only Ellery can deliver. The media hungers for a sequel and Coben is their camera-ready star. He claims he is sorry and wants to make amends. But Ellery is the one living person who has seen the monster behind the mask and she doesn’t believe he can be redeemed. Not after everything he’s done. Not after what she’s been through. And certainly not after a fresh body turns up with Coben’s signature all over it.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Last Seen Alive by Joanna Schaffhausen shows why she is the master storyteller of serial killers. There is not a book she has written that is not terrifying, intense, and complex. She not only gets into the heads of the murderers, but also the victims. Readers will gain insight into what it is like to become a public figure because of circumstances beyond someone’s control, trying to find normalcy and privacy.

The prologue shows how FBI Agent Reed Markham and Boston Detective Ellery Hathaway have a long relationship. Seventeen years ago, he rescued fourteen-year-old Ellery, then known as Abby, from serial killer Francis Coben. This monster had kidnapped, tortured, and held her hostage in a closet for days. There were seventeen other victims that he tortured, mutilated, and killed.

Fast forward to current day when television celebrity and journalist Kate Hunter wants to interview Coben to supposedly get justice for the victims never found. But his one condition for the interview and to give up the location of the bodies is a face-to-face meeting with Ellery.

Coben is pure evil that lurks behind a normal face. He is one of the most terrifying psychopaths to ever appear in a thriller. Although the violence is not graphic, readers are able to understand his horrific crimes. He loves to get into Ellery’s head and knows that he will always be a part of her soul.

Ellery and Reed had a rocky relationship, first rescuer/rescuee, then friends to lovers, but never able to get out from what brought them together when they first met. Unfortunately, Ellery walked away from Reed to try to free herself from Coben’s legacy. Now they are back working together to find the other victims. The question for readers, will Reed and Ellery have their happy ending?

Although the crimes are dark, the author sets such a great pace that the book becomes a page turner that cannot be put down. There is something about serial killers that draws people to their stories. As with her other series and previous stories, Last Seen Alive, is part mystery, part character study. The conflicting emotions, the pain both physical and emotional, and the reality all play a part in the telling of this captivating thriller.

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Elise’s Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Were any of these characters based on real people?

Joanna Schaffhausen: Ellery, the victim, and Reed, the FBI agent are loosely inspired by two real people. Reed was based on Bob Keppel, the Seattle homicide detective who was on the job for one week when given the Ted Bundy case. At that time, they only knew there were missing women. The Ted Bundy case changed the trajectory of Keppel’s career. He ended up specializing in serial killers. He was one of a few law enforcement people who tried to get Bundy to confess to other crimes that they suspected, to give up the other bodies. Reed, as with Keppel, was a green law enforcement officer attached to one of the cases of the century.

EC: What about Ellery?

JS: She was loosely inspired by a woman named Carol DeRonch. Ted Bundy, pretending to be a policeman in Montana, abducted her at the age of eighteen. She was suspicious after he drove away from the police station. They struggled in the car, and she was able to escape. The day she escaped; Bundy found another woman who he killed. But being his first known living victim, Carol, was able to describe what he looked like and the car. Her survival allowed all the law enforcement officers in different states to put the clues together. Even though this is now more than forty years ago, she is still hounded by Ted Bundy enthusiasts. Although he is dead, he follows her around like a ghost. At this point she prefers to be left alone. People wanted to know more about her, to know more about what it was like, and even pretended to be fellow victims. The idea behind Ellery is that as a young person she was attacked and survived. But somehow her life is still about this horrible man. How do they find an identity for themselves when the worst thing that happened is perceived as the most interesting about them?

EC: How would you describe Ellery?

JS: As with Carol, they both had survivor’s guilt. But there is a lot of differences between Carol and Ellery. Abby was Ellery’s name when she was young, living in Chicago, deserted by her father, with a brother dying of cancer and a mother consumed by it. Abby had to fend for herself. After Coben got her, she grew up quick. She went with her middle name, Ellery, who sees herself as a separate person from Abby. She had dreams that were derailed. Ellery has a sense of loss. Even though Ellery survived, Abby died. They both end up with scars and recover from PTSD as she makes peace with what happened to her. Now for the first time she has healthy relationships. Ellery completes the healing journey for Abby.

EC: How would you describe Francis Coben, the serial killer?

JS: He has some elements that are Bundyesque. The infamy, the hunger for more, abducting young women with a lot of promise in their life. One of the reasons I write my books is that the public wants to make more of these awful men than is there to be found. This desire to imagine they are brilliant and charming when they have done horrific acts and should not be admired. I wanted to show like the others, Coben, is just this killing machine. The normal person and the monster live inside this one person. He compartmentalizes, is a habitual liar, narcissist, egomaniac, and sociopath. Coben is obsessed with Ellery, the one outstanding victim, the one who got away at the age of fourteen.

EC: How would you describe Reed?

JS: A people pleaser who wants to fix everything. Brilliant, charming, wants to be the hero. He grew up as the baby of all sisters. Being adopted, her was raised in a white family but he himself is white Hispanic. He feels the need to prove himself. He is also honest, caring, protective, has a stubborn streak, is a good cook, and enjoys playing the piano.

EC: Relationship between Reed and Ellery?

JS: I wanted to explore how the kidnapping and rescue was the worst thing that ever happened to her and the best thing that ever happened to him. The premise of the first book, The Vanishing Season, has them reunite after a decade and a half. Reed feels he is the hero of the story, catching Coben, and rescuing her. But after they reunite, he gets to see all the ways he did not save her. He participated in perpetuating Coben’s legacy by writing a book off her story. They are the only ones who know the truth about her story. They are a mirror of each other. She never has to explain anything to him. Both she and Reed can be themselves with each other that gives them a unique bond even with a 13 year age difference. Eventually they form a romantic attachment as adults.

EC: The journalistic quote by Ellery?

JS: You are referring to this one, “For years, people like you have sold my story and packaged my pain as entertainment. You set it to scary music and surround it with ads… You justify it by saying there’s a lesson here. We can learn about him. We can protect ourselves better in the future. Well, the fact that we’re here now, that you’re talking about giving him the stage and making him a big, big TV star… that proves you haven’t learned a thing at all.” People should be able to walk away and live their life in peace.

EC: My feeling about journalists is that they are mostly uncaring, self-centered, and ignore the truth. What about you?

JS: I think some can be described that way, but not all. I worked for seven years for ABC national news as an editorial producer. In general, I think they want to get it correct, especially the True Crime people. I have mixed feelings where True Crime runs the gamut from being offensive to being more thoughtful. Kate Hunter, the on-air journalist in the book, wants to milk the story between Ellery and Coben. She is looking for the big ratings grab. But does want to give the families justice for the victims that have never been identified. Readers will get the feeling that this is a secondary want for her.

EC: Next Book?

JS: For now, this is the last book in the series, because Ellery has completed the journey I intended her to complete. I originally conceived the idea for five books so there is no new book on the horizon. But I would like to hear from the readers if they would like more books. Please contact me at https://www.joannaschaffhausen.com/contact/

The new book in my other series, the sequel, is called Long Gone. It comes out in August 2022. Detective Vega blew up her life, both personally and professionally, at the end of the first book. Now she is called to the scene of a weird crime where a fellow police officer is shot dead. Present is his young wife who is unharmed. Vega comes up with a suspect who is dated by her best friend.

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