A new thriller about one man’s ice-cold malice, and one woman’s fight to reclaim her life.
Former Army brat Morgan Albright has finally planted roots in a friendly neighborhood near Baltimore. Her friend and roommate Nina helps her make the mortgage payments, as does Morgan’s job as a bartender. But after she and Nina host their first dinner party—attended by Luke, the flirtatious IT guy who’d been chatting her up at the bar—her carefully built world is shattered. The back door glass is broken, cash and jewelry are missing, her car is gone, and Nina lies dead on the floor.
Soon, a horrific truth emerges: It was Morgan who let the monster in. “Luke” is actually a cold-hearted con artist named Gavin who targets a particular type of woman, steals her assets and identity, and then commits his ultimate goal: murder.
What the FBI tells Morgan is beyond chilling. Nina wasn’t his type. Morgan is. Nina was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. And Morgan’s nightmare is just beginning. Soon she has no choice but to flee to her mother’s home in Vermont. While she struggles to build something new, she meets another man, Miles Jameson. He isn’t flashy or flirtatious, and his family business has deep roots in town. But Gavin is still out there hunting new victims, and he hasn’t forgotten the one who got away.
IDENTITY by Nora Roberts is a perfectly balanced romantic suspense that I read straight through in one sitting. This is a standalone story featuring a young, vibrant professional bartender who becomes “the one who got away” from an obsessive serial killer who steals his victims’ identities, drains their accounts, strangles them, and then robs all their valuables.
Morgan Albright has been uprooted her entire life as an Army brat, but now outside of Baltimore, she works two jobs and has a roommate to own her own home. Morgan and Nina have become very close and are more than just roommates, they feel like sisters. When they decide to have a dinner party at their home, Morgan does not realize the charming man she has met at the bar she works at is not an IT executive but a conman and killer, who targets a particular type of woman.
Morgan comes home from work to discover her home robbed, her car gone and her roommate dead on the floor of her office.
Morgan learns from the FBI that the man she knew as Luke, was not, but is a serial con artist, thief, and murderer. Morgan moves home to Vermont to live with her grandmother and mother as she begins to rebuild her life. Her new job introduces her to an interesting new man who helps her enjoy herself again as they build their relationship, but there are messages sent to her from all over the country reminding her that she will not get away forever.
I always look forward to a new Nora Roberts or J.D. Robb book because they just never disappoint. I fell right into this story, the characters lives, the suspense and the romance and I never looked up again until ‘The End’ very late at night or very early in the morning, depending on how you look at it. Morgan is a wonderful heroine with an upbeat attitude towards her customers and life itself. She worked so hard, not once but twice in her life to make her personal dreams come true. I also love how she worked to make herself physically stronger. The generational household showed the deep connections the women had and their love for each other. The dialogue between them was very entertaining. Miles was a swoon worthy alpha hero who shows his love for family and Morgan through what he does for them even when he seems a little overbearing, Morgan stands up to him. The cat and mouse suspense plot between Morgan and Gavin kept me turning the pages.
I highly recommend this great romantic suspense and author!
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About the Author
Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 — The Becoming — the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for COLD LIGHT OF DAY (Missing in Alaska Book #1) by Elizabeth Goddard on this Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tour.
Below you will find a book synopsis, my book review, an excerpt from the book, the author’s bio and social media links, and a Kingsumo giveaway. Enjoy!
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Book Synopsis
Police Chief Autumn Long is fighting to keep her job in the quiet Alaska town of Shadow Gap when an unexpected string of criminal activity leaves her with a wounded officer, unexplained murders, and even an attack on her own father. Despite her mistrust of outsiders, she turns to Grier Brenner, a newcomer who seems to have the skills and training Autumn needs to face this threat to her community.
Grier is in Alaska for the same reason so many others are–to disappear–when Chief Long enlists his help. He emerges from the shadows and proves his mettle, but his presence in her life could be a deadly trap for them both. If his secret is exposed, all will be lost. And he’s not sure even Autumn could save him.
As the stakes rise and the dangers increase, Autumn and Grier must rely on each other to extinguish the deadly threats.
Genre: Romantic Suspense Published by: Revell Publication Date: February 2023 Number of Pages: 336 ISBN: 9780800742041 (ISBN10: 0800742044) Series: Missing in Alaska, 1
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My Book Review
RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars
COLD LIGHT OF DAY (Missing in Alaska Book #1) by Elizabeth Goddard is a fast-paced Christian romantic suspense and the first in a new series set in small town Alaska. Shadow Gap’s police chief and a mysterious newcomer are enveloped in a crime spree that could cost them everything.
Police Chief Autumn Long is trying to prove herself and keep her job after taking over after her father’s disability retirement, but a crime wave is enveloping their small town. When she witnesses a newcomer to town rescuing a woman from drowning, she wonders why he rejects the attention gained by his rescue.
Grier Brennan is trying to stay under the radar and to himself, but his background will not allow him to let a person drown and he gets tangled up in all the activity happening around the attractive police chief. As bullets fly and the body count grows, Grier reluctantly joins forces with Autumn to find the killer.
Autumn and Grier investigate the murders and discover their pasts have entangled them with the same enemies in this crime wave and could be the death of them both.
The action and investigation plot lines that tie Autumn and Grier together were exciting and fast paced throughout. The stakes continue to rise and kept me turning the pages. The Alaskan wilderness itself is integral to the intensity of the story and provides both beauty and danger. Autumn and Grier are strong characters and believable in their situations, but I had a harder time connecting them as a romantic couple, especially since Grier does not reveal his secret until much to late in the plot for me to believe Autumn could trust him romantically. It is a Christian romantic suspense, but I really did not feel romantic elements pulling these two together. The balance of this story is much more slanted to the suspense and police investigation than a romance. There are mentions of faith and prayer which I did not feel interfered with the flow of the story. I enjoyed this start to the Missing in Alaska series and would be interested in reading more.
Overall, a good start to the series with an exciting suspense plot.
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Excerpt
ONE
Southeast Alaska
August
Autumn Long had no plans to give up without a fight,
even though it might be killing her a little every day. As the bush plane sank lower, her view of the gla cier spilling into the valley behind a forest exploding with reds, oranges, and browns fell away. Lofty mountains on each side of the fjord filled her vision.
“Hold on, Chief. We’re almost there.” Pilot Carrie James flew her bush plane straight up the Lynn Canal—one of the longest, deepest fjords in the world. The snowcapped Kaku han Mountains rose lofty on the right, the Chilkat Range near Haines to the left. And across from Haines to the west—Glacier Bay National Park.
Autumn ignored the mounting dread she felt and focused her thoughts. She had better get her act together and earn back the trust of the city council and the people she swore to protect in the small town of Shadow Gap, one of many communities dotting the Inside Passage of the Alaska Panhandle.
She’d stayed overnight in Anchorage for a meeting that left her drained to her bones. She’d taken an Alaska Airlines flight to and from Juneau, and now Carrie was delivering her up to the northernmost part of the Panhandle. Wearing her brown bomber jacket and a headset, sitting in the cockpit of her Helio Courier—the ultimate bush plane—Carrie was a bush pilot poster child.
The plane flew lower, following the Chilkoot Inlet until Carrie banked east, flying over the Lewis Inlet that branched off. “That’s why I’d better say this before I lose the chance.” Autumn wasn’t sure she wanted to hear it.
Carrie angled her head toward Autumn and arched a brow. “I know you didn’t ask for my opinion.” Carrie looked forward again. “But you didn’t do anything wrong. Out here we take care of our own. The land is harsh. Brutal in ways the lower forty-eight can’t imagine. We have to watch out for each other, and that’s all you’ve ever done for the people of Shadow Gap.”
“Yeah, well . . . thanks, Carrie.” Tell that to Wally. He’d had it out for her from the first day she took her position as police chief.
Carrie waved a hand in mock incredulity. “Shadow Gap isn’t even classified as a town, much less an organized borough, so who needs a city council anyway?”
Or a police department, some might say.
Autumn cracked a smile. “Glad to know at least some people still want me around.”
Despite the many limitations of a small-town budget, they’d at least equipped their chief and three officers with loaded Ford Police Interceptor SUVs. After all, her officers were trained to carefully collect and preserve evidence as well as to tend a wounded moose in the road. They had to know how to do it all in small-town Alaska. Because, yeah, she thought of Shadow Gap’s community of 1,252 people as a town. Shadow Gap was just outside of the Haines and Skagway Boroughs. Alaska didn’t have counties, so there were no sheriffs.
Best of all—or worst of all, depending on which side of the law you were on—Shadow Gap had lost their Alaska State Trooper. Not enough crime to support one or budget to afford one if there was enough crime.
Autumn had nothing to complain about, except the results of her trip to Anchorage left a—
“What’s that?” Carrie drew Autumn’s attention to the water. “Someone’s out there, floating in Lewis Inlet. I saw hands wav ing, signaling.”
“Have you got—”
“Here.” Carrie handed off binoculars.
“Fly in close, Carrie. I want to get a better look. We have to help if we can.” Autumn peered through the binoculars and struggled to find what she was looking for, instead only captur ing the deep, dark waters. Then . . . “I see the hands. But, oh no, whoever is out there is going under.”
“But look! Someone’s swimming out to them. So maybe there’s a chance.”
“They won’t last long. Those waters are cold.” Autumn adjusted the binoculars, searching, searching . . . there. “I see what looks like the rescue swimmer.” Was that . . . Grier? “How close can you land?”
“Close enough. Once on the water, I can angle in closer.” “If he can get to the woman, we’ll take them both the rest of the way to get help.”
Because there was no way the woman wasn’t going to suffer from hypothermia in these temps, unless she had on the ap propriate attire. Same for Grier.
Come on, Grier . . . save the girl.
Shadow Gap needed a hero. A ray of hope shot through her, and though maybe she shouldn’t have the thought, it popped into her head all the same. She didn’t mind that a town hero would take the attention away from the police chief’s long list of transgressions.
Though, if she were choosing heroes, she would have chosen a longtime resident over an outsider—or as the locals liked to call them, cheechakos, and meant in a negative way. She wouldn’t go so far as to use that term for this particular man. Grier had shown up in Shadow Gap a few months ago to fish in the Shadow Gap Salmon Derby. A tourist who decided to stay. Wasn’t the first time and wouldn’t be the last.
Autumn dropped the binoculars as Carrie skillfully landed the plane on the water. The pontoons smoothly connected, and Carrie guided the plane, heading toward where they’d last seen the woman in need of a rescue.
Her struggle could well be over.
Please don’t drown . . . don’t die. But Autumn didn’t see her anywhere. A fist squeezed her heart.
***
Author Bio
Elizabeth Goddard is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than 50 novels, including Cold Light of Day and the Rocky Mountain Courage and Uncommon Justice series. Her books have sold nearly 1.5 million copies. She is a Carol Award and Reader’s Choice Award winner and a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, traveling to find inspiration for her next book, and serving with her husband in ministry. For more information about her books, visit her website at www.ElizabethGoddard.com.
“The Fallout Series” by Lisa Harris currently has five books out, The Last Day, Survival, Hunted, Frequency, Deception, and Shattered, which will be out the end of this month.
The plot has the electric grid sabotaged, with technology suddenly no longer available. No one in the small, west Texas town of Shadow Ridge knows what took down the power grid, or when it’s going to be back up, but everyone knows exactly where they were the moment it went down. And now, with no electricity, no internet, and no modern technology, the men, and women responsible for keeping the town safe are going to have to learn how to fight crime all over again. Each book has a different hero and heroine where they meet over some criminal activity.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the series?
Lisa Harris: In the past I have written police procedurals. I started thinking, with all this talk about the electrical grids, what happens if the grid goes down and how would it affect law enforcement. The police must go back to the old-fashioned way of policing where they cannot call for backup, have no DNA testing, and no forensics, basically no technology. Plus, the characters lost people they loved. All the books are centered around the McQuaid family, three brothers and two sisters.
EC: Without technology it seems this generation would go nuts?
LH: I depend on it. I do everything from my phone. I order items from Walmart and Amazon. I call my children. For me, it would be horrible as a mother if I could not communicate with my children. We would miss this modern easiness.
EC: Did the stories have a western feel?
LH: Yes. It takes place in West Texas so there were horses instead of cars. More like a contemporary western, like the series “Jericho” and “Longmire” mixed. People had weapons to protect themselves, their family, and their town.
EC: How would you describe the hero, Jace McQuaid, from the book, Survival?
LH: He was broken. He did not want to step up to become law enforcement, but realizes that if the town did not come together, it would not survive. He is intense, protective, former military, and is used to being a leader so he stepped up to the plate.
EC: How would you describe the female lead of Survival, Morgan?
LH: This book takes place a year after the grid goes down. She is also broken because she lost her husband in the beginning of the incident. She supports Jace who interacts well with her son, Noah. Jace realizes he wants Noah and Morgan in his life.
EC: In the next book, Hunted, you describe sex-trafficking?
LH: Because all the towns were totally off the radar, in some ways, the criminals have the upper hand. Law enforcement must catch up.
EC: How would you describe Ava, the heroine in Hunted?
LH: She steps into a role she is not prepared for, becoming a mother to her teenage sister, Josie. The relationship between the sisters have changed. She is spirited, smart, resourceful, and reserved. Her job is to break codes, which she had to use to help find her sister who was taken by the sex-trafficking ring.
EC: What was the role of Josie in the story?
LH: She is argumentative, stubborn, a typical teenager who cannot communicate. She is having a hard time in this new situation and makes some bad choices.
EC: How would you describe Levi McQuaid, the hero in Hunted?
LH: Before the grid went down, he was in the police academy. He does not have the experience of his brother Jace. He is pushed into a situation where he had to grow. He was a classmate of Ava so this story became a friend to lover’s story.
EC: Tess McQuaid, the heroine of Frequency?
LH: She is the youngest of the siblings. She is an artist and now does some crime scene sketches. She must grow up very fast. Tess is smart, resourceful, funny, determined, creative, an artsy type, and a free spirit.
EC: How about the hero, Kellan?
LH: He works for the Sherriff’s department in another town. He is strong, a fast learner, suspicious, protective, and stands up to a challenge. He sometimes ratches down a situation by using humor.
EC: How would describe Rebecca, the heroine in Deception?
LH: She is a Sherriff in yet another town, in New Mexico. She is very strong, guarded, vulnerable, yet anxious because of her depression, and loneliness. I intentionally wanted to make sure there was a woman in law enforcement in this series and made sure that early on she puts her career over any relationship. She is not sure she can ever trust the hero, Sam.
EC: How would you describe Sam McQuaid, the hero?
LH: He was not very settled, loved adventure, and is a part of search and rescue. He also does not think about settling down until he meets Rebecca. He can be daring, stubborn, and brave.
EC: Do they have a lot in common?
LH: Yes. They are both fixers and have been affected by losing someone close.
EC: What about the book coming out this month, Shattered?
LH: Book 5, Shattered, will go into more detail about the bad guys, The Realm. They were cyber-attack bandits from multi-countries. They are thugs, enjoy chaos, and are into drugs, guns, and sex trafficking. They use the criminals to get control of what they want. In the prequel at the very end Chase, the hero, left to do a prisoner transfer. He has not come back and is missing. His fiancé, Hope McQuaid is the doctor of the town and is optimistic they will be reunited.
EC: How about the next book?
LH: In June there will be a new psychological series. Book 6 will come out in the fall, focused on the family.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
In every person’s story, there is something to hide…
The ornate reading room at the Boston Public Library is quiet, until the tranquility is shattered by a woman’s terrified scream. Security guards take charge immediately, instructing everyone inside to stay put until the threat is identified and contained. While they wait for the all-clear, four strangers, who’d happened to sit at the same table, pass the time in conversation and friendships are struck. Each has his or her own reasons for being in the reading room that morning—it just happens that one is a murderer.
THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY by Sulari Gentill is an intricately plotted and intriguing murder mystery story within a suspense story. This standalone is by a new to me author and I am very happy I took a chance on reading it.
The mystery has four strangers sitting at the same table in the Boston Public Library when there is suddenly a blood curdling scream from another room. Winifred “Freddie” Kincaid is an Australian aspiring writer in the U.S. on a scholarship, Cain McLeod (Handsome Man) is a published author, Marigold Anastas (Freud Girl) is studying psychology at Harvard, and Whit Metters (Heroic Chin) is a failing law student who wants to be a journalist. Winifred is the narrator in this murder mystery.
At the end of each chapter of the mystery, a letter is written to Hannah, who is the published author writing the murder mystery in Australia from her fellow aspiring writer, fan, beta reader, Leo who lives in Boston and is giving her information on sites for her book and other suggested corrections. What could go wrong?
Layer upon layer in both the murder mystery and the suspense story are very well written and pulled me into each and it was difficult to put this book down. I feel both stories are clever with plenty of twists and surprises, especially the mystery, but I did anticipate where the suspense plot was heading. The characters are interesting and kept me guessing.
I recommend this mystery in a suspense for a unique and entertaining read.
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About the Author
Once upon a time, Sulari Gentill was a corporate lawyer serving as a director on public boards, with only a vague disquiet that there was something else she was meant to do. That feeling did not go away until she began to write. And so Sulari became the author of the Rowland Sinclair Mysteries: thus far, ten historical crime novels chronicling the life and adventures of her 1930s Australian gentleman artist, the Hero Trilogy, based on the myths and epics of the ancient world, and the Ned Kelly Award winning Crossing the Lines (published in the US as After She Wrote Hime). In 2014 she collaborated with National Gallery of Victoria to write a short story which was produced in audio to feature in the Fashion Detective Exhibition, and thereafter published by the NGV. IN 2019 Sulari was part of a 4-member delegation of Australian crime writers sponsored by the Australia Council to tour the US as ambassadors of Australian Crime Writing.
Sulari lives with her husband, Michael, and their boys, Edmund and Atticus, on a small farm in Batlow where she grows French Black Truffles and refers to her writing as “work” so that no one will suggest she get a real job.
When a cold case in Texas leads to a sinister string of disappearances, a newcomer to the small town helps a detective piece together the clues in this new romantic thriller from New York Times bestselling author Laura Griffin.
Corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of the big city and the daily grind. She grew up with her father, who raised search-and-rescue dogs, in rural Texas and has moved to the small town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park. When she and her dog, Huck, discover an abandoned campsite on a volunteer search-and-rescue mission, she’s perplexed, but she carefully photographs it all the same.
All Grant Wycoff can see when he looks at Ava is a city slicker—with her designer jeans and shiny car—who has no business on a serious team made of seasoned outdoorsmen and retired cops. But when she tells him of her findings on the trail, he sees there’s more to her than meets the eye.
Ava’s discovery reminds Grant of the unsolved case of a young woman who went missing two years ago. As they look into the campsite further, another woman disappears under odd circumstances. With time running out, Ava and Grant must work against the brutal heat from both the Texas sun and their own electric chemistry to solve the case.
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Elise’s Thoughts
Vanishing Hour by Laura Griffin shows why she is the master of suspenseful romance. This plot has cold cases, search and rescue missions, and a loveable black lab.
Corporate lawyer Ava Burch has had enough of the big city and the daily grind. She grew up with her father, who raised search-and-rescue dogs, in rural Texas and has moved to the small town of Cuervo to spend time in the dry, rugged wilderness near Big Bend National Park. She is also a volunteer working search and rescue with her dog Huck. On a SAR mission, Ava becomes aware that women are missing annually from the hostile desert environment around the town and decides to pursue her own investigation, finding out that there are three missing women, all unsolved cold cases.
Grant Wycoff deputy sheriff and lead investigator reluctantly is paired with Ava since she and Huck can lead him to where there is evidence of the missing women. He does not want her working his case because she is a civilian and might endanger herself. The two of them don’t see eye to eye about the case. They butt heads digging their boot heels in to see who’s stronger willed. Grant sees her as a city slicker, wearing designer jeans and a driving a shiny new car. He thinks she has no business on a serious team made of seasoned outdoorsmen and retired cops. She is too stubborn to listen to him and eventually shows him her worth. In addition, they both realize there is chemistry between them.
This plot has it all: a gripping mystery, a sizzling romance, and plenty of action. It will keep readers on the edge of their seats with plenty of red herrings placed strategically throughout the story along with real clues.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Will this be a series and why a rescue dog?
Laura Griffin: I don’t have plans to make it a series, although the secondary characters have been teed up for more. I might come back to them, even years later. I became a dog owner about ten years ago. My dog is a Weimaraner. We adopted this sweet dog. I did some research for a previous book I wrote, Alpha Crew Dogs, about bomb sniffing dogs. From there I learned about search and rescue dogs. I really wanted to write a story about this type of dog.
EC: What about Huck, the dog?
LG: I started the story with writing about Huck. I wanted to make him an intricate part of the story. Huck is a black lab because I read a book about a park ranger who does search and rescue work. Labs are smart, sweet, good with people, can be playful, and trainable. Yet, I did not write Huck as having the personality as a human. But Huck is so intelligent with very powerful smelling abilities and great instinct. Huck was seen as a danger to the bad guys who tried to eliminate him. Just as with military dogs, the enemy knows they are in trouble because the dog can find ammunition, guns, and bodies. Huck became a threat.
EC: How would you describe Ava?
LG: Determined, smart, and underestimated. She is a woman who grew up in a man’s world of law enforcement. Her dad was a game warden, so she had experience with law enforcement although she is a civilian. She can be overly sensitive
EC: What about the relationship?
LG: Since her dad was in law enforcement she reflects on if she wants a relationship with someone in that profession. The job can be wearing on people, her dad was always working, many times preoccupied by the grim facts of his work, and her mom had to raise the children by herself. This caused a conflict between herself and Grant because he is a workaholic. Ava can read people and is guarded.
EC: How would you describe Grant?
LG: His home and family are important to him. He is protective, wants his town to be a better place, very dedicated and committed. He is sweet with a big heart, at times condescending, has a big ego, and stubborn.
EC: What role did the setting play?
LG: It takes place in West Texas, which is very remote. The town is in transition, going from a little town to a tourist town with more people. There is a lot of outdoor activities in the plot including, climbing, hiking, rock climbing, a dude ranch, and shooting a crossbow. During Covid a lot of people shifted to the National Parks. Many times, they did not understand all the dangers of these types of settings. For example, people don’t take water or the correct supplies. They are a little bit careless with their safety considering the natural dangers, which is why Ava and Huck helped to rescue people who got themselves in trouble. I learned about rock climbing when I did the research for Stone Cold Heart.
EC: Next book?
LG: It is the next book in the “Texas Murder Files Series” and titled Deep Tide. Leyla is the heroine, who runs the coffee shop. It will be out in the spring. Leyla finds one of her employees murdered in the alley behind her coffee shop. The hero is Sean Moran, who is on an undercover mission. Together he and Leyla are trying to solve who murdered her employee and why.
When you’ve already died, there should be nothing left to fear… When Adam Ramsdell pulls Elle’s half-frozen body from the surf on a lonely California beach, she has no memory of what her full name is and how she got those bruises ringing her throat.
GIRL LAST SEEN
Elle finds refuge in Adam’s home on the edge of Gothic, a remote village located between the steep lonely mountains and the raging Pacific Ocean. As flashes of her memory return, Elle faces a terrible truth—buried in her mind lurks a secret so dark it could get her killed.
POINT LAST SEEN
Everyone in Gothic seems to hide a dark past. Even Adam knows more than he will admit. Until Elle can unravel the truth, she doesn’t know who to trust, when to run and who else might be hurt when the killer who stalks her nightmares appears to finish what he started…
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Elise’s Thoughts
Point Last Seen by Christina Dodd blends mystery, action, with a tinge of romance. With her descriptive words she takes readers to the setting of Gothic, off the Big Sur coast. This first in a new series has well developed characters and an intense plot where the setting plays a major role since everyone there has a dark past.
Readers meet Adam Ramsdell, a town recluse by his own choosing. He likes to keep to himself until one of the town’s residents needs help. One of the occupants, Madam Rune, a fortune teller, alerts him that he will find “a lost soul coming to challenge his being.” While at the ocean he finds a body wrapped in plastic. As he carries her over his shoulder Elle starts breathing. Realizing she is not dead he takes her to his place for refuge since she is badly bruised, and it appears she was strangled. Unfortunately, she cannot remember any details of what happened to her. In the meantime, she grows close to Adam and makes friends with other townspeople forcing Adam to come out of his shell. As her memory slowly comes back with the help of Adam and Madam Rune, they all realize how much danger Elle is in.
Fans of Dodd will not be disappointed. She combines into the story twists, emotions, and an edginess that will keep readers turning the pages.
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Author Interview
Elise Cooper: Will this be a series?
Christina Dodd: This is the first book set in Gothic. The setting will be the series, not the characters.
EC: The idea for the story?
CD: I was writing a book set on a cruise line and then Covid hit. Because they were shut down, I realized I was in deep trouble. Then I had an idea about a woman rolling up on the beach unconscious. After she awakes, she cannot remember where she is from. I think this idea came to me because I was working with the ocean and the cruise lines. It was written while I was in Covid isolation.
EC: What was the role of the Gothic setting?
CD: It was a character. I grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and was captivated the first time I went up to Big Sur. This spring my husband and I drove up the coast. I thought how Big Sur seems to be immune to civilization because I wanted a place where people could disappear, and lost souls could come there.
EC: What role did the ocean play?
CD: It creates everything and is very dominant, controlling all the weather. It is so primal and creates atmosphere for the story. One of my earliest memories is standing on a beach and my great aunt said, ‘don’t ever turn your back on the ocean.’ It can be scary and glorious. There are storms, frothy and frosty waves crashing against the rocky cliffs, with different colors, and the great sea breeze. The ocean plays with fate since it brought Adam and Elle together.
EC: How would you describe Elle?
CD: Brilliant but trusted the wrong person. Briefly traumatized. A strong sense of self. She can be resilient, smug, and witty.
EC: How would you describe Adam?
CD: A loner, tragically wounded. I think this is Adam’s story. He has good instincts, very cautious and alert. Protective, stoic, and compassionate. He is grieving and feels guilty.
EC: What about the relationship?
CD: She is Adam’s salvation. Elle makes him interact with people. He ends up terribly invested in her. In the beginning, she is more open to having a relationship than him. He is afraid anyone he cares about will die.
EC: What about the bad guy Penderghast?
CD: He is a bully who enjoys seizing power. His scientific vessel that he financed was a great thing to do. But his personality of being arrogant, cruel, and self-centered overshadows that.
EC: Next book?
CD: It is set in Gothic and titled Forget What You Know, coming out in March of next year. The plot has a car pulled out of a lake with a dead body shot in the head and a precious statue in the back seat. The heroine is a flower breeder, the heir to this statue.
THANK YOU!!
***
BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.
