#thriller – Avonna Loves Genres

Feature Post and Book Review: The Lost Concerto by Helaine Mario

Book Description

A woman and her young son flee to a convent on a remote island off the Breton coast of France. Generations of seafarers have named the place Ile de la Brume, or Fog Island. In a chapel high on a cliff, a tragic death occurs, and a terrified child vanishes into the mist.

The child’s godmother, Maggie O’Shea, haunted by the violent deaths of her husband and best friend, has withdrawn from her life as a classical pianist. But then a recording of unforgettable music and a grainy photograph surface, connecting her missing godson to a long-lost first love.

The photograph will draw Maggie inexorably into a collision course with criminal forces, decades-old secrets, stolen art and musical artifacts, and deadly terrorists. Her search will take her to the Festival de Musique, Aix-en-Provence, France, where she discovers answers to her husband’s death, an unexpected love—and a musical masterpiece lost for centuries.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24767146-the-lost-concerto?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=bzf1D6vGHn&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE LOST CONCERTO (A Maggie O’Shea Mystery Book #1) by Helaine Mario is an exciting, fast moving, intricately plotted mystery/thriller that had me completely engrossed and guessing throughout. I am very glad this is a series, so I am able to follow these characters on future adventures.

Concert pianist Maggie O’Shea was devastated by the death of her best friend and the disappearance of her friend’s young son who is her godson. When her investigative journalist husband goes overseas to look into the murder and disappearance, he is killed in a boating accident. Now withdrawn, unable to play and find solace in her music, she hides away in her music shop.

When a CIA officer drops off an envelope with a recording of a piano concerto and a grainy picture, Maggie and the military officer sent to protect her are drawn into an international mystery and investigation into terrorism, politics, and a historic original music score. Will she find her find her missing godson before an international assassin kills them all?

This is one of those books that are impossible to put down. Maggie is depressed and has suffered so much loss in such a short time and yet she is determined to find her godson. The journey all over the beautifully described European sites made me feel like I was there with Maggie. The classical music content added a special interest for me throughout the story besides just being a fast-paced chase thriller. The mystery/thriller plot was intricately plotted with many red herrings and twists that continually surprised me even knowing that you just cannot always trust your belief in who is a good man and who is an evil man without knowing their pasts and reasons for what they believe in. The good and bad were all fully developed. The romance elements in this story were quite romantic with two broken people finding each other with no sex involved.

I highly recommend this well written, exciting mystery/thriller!

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About the Author

Best-selling author Helaine Mario grew up in NYC and is a graduate of Boston University. Now living in Arlington, VA, this mother of two, grandmother of five, and passionate advocate for women’s and children’s issues came to writing later in life. Her first novel, The Lost Concerto, won the Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal. Echoes on the Wind is her fifth novel and the fourth in her Maggie O’Shea Classical Music Suspense Series. Royalties from her books go to children’s music and reading programs. Helaine recently lost her husband, Ron, after 57 years together. Her new book echoes with loss, grief and, ultimately, the healing power of love.

A personal note to my readers,

There is a lovely quote that says, “Happiness is finding the first good book in a series, and knowing there are more to follow.”

If you want to learn my pianist Maggie O’Shea’s story from the beginning, then begin with THE LOST CONCERTO. DARK RHAPSODY and SHADOW MUSIC follow. ECHOES ON THE WIND, newly available summer 2024, is #4 in my award-winning Classical Music Suspense series. Each story comes from my heart.

My only stand alone is FIREBIRD, a novel of espionage, art, dance and enduring love.

In all of my books, the emotional heartbeat is a strong woman. It’s been said that my books are like music. They take you on a journey, they tell a story, they make you feel something. More than anything, I want my readers to fall into the story, to care about the characters. I want them to ask, What would I have done? While there are too many moments in life that we cannot change or control, I know that it’s how we deal with what happens to us that matters. This always will be a theme in my novels.

I like to say that ‘Music tells our stories.” I want to be a storyteller forever. Beyond grateful.

Social Media Links

Website: https://helainemario.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/helaine.mario

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helainemario.author/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-lost-concerto-by-helaine-mario

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman

Book Description

The more they know, the more danger they’re in.

When Elizabeth Walker, the last heir of the Alexander Hamilton line, is tragically killed by a subway train in New York, foul play is immediately suspected. Elizabeth had been terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days, running mysterious errands, searching for a strange antique key, and sending cryptic messages to her best friend, Sarah Brockman.

The morning after Elizabeth’s death, a box of tattered documents lands on Sarah’s doorstep, confirming her suspicions about Elizabeth’s strange behavior and shocking death. She brings the box to Elizabeth’s grieving husband, Ralph. Working together, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep the United States just and free, its influence woven into every corner of the country’s history. As Sarah and Ralph race through the streets of New York to uncover the truth behind Elizabeth’s death, they must stop an ingenious and sinister plot before someone else catches up to them–and the secrets of Hamilton’s society are lost forever.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Last Hamilton by Jenn Bregman intertwines history within a mystery. The conspiratorial plot involves a secret society established by Alexander Hamilton to protect U.S. gold reserves from foreign and domestic enemies. The question throughout the story is, “Did Alexander Hamilton hide enough gold to prevent anyone from cornering the market and ruining the US?”

The characters need to answer that question to find out what happened to the last heir of Alexander Hamilton, Elizabeth Walker. The police are wondering if she jumped in front of a subway train or was pushed to her death. Her husband, Ralph, and her best friend Sarah Brockman, know that she was terrified, frantic, and manic during her last days. Sarah received a cryptic message, and Ralph recalls her running mysterious errands to search for a strange antique key including in a piano at the Hamilton Grange (the house Hamilton built in New York City). Then, Sarah receives a box of tattered documents and shows them to Ralph.

Working together to find answers to Elizabeth’s death, they are stunned to discover that Elizabeth was part of a secret society established by Hamilton himself to keep America safe. Also investigating her death is Detective Deborah Schwartz who knows Sarah and Ralph are hiding something. To make matters worse, Sarah’s co-worker Pierce Burr shares sensitive intelligence about gold reserves with his devious friend Timothy who works for the Treasury Department and is trying to thwart her efforts to find the truth. Pierce and Timothy are trying to involve foreign interference in the international gold market.

The story has a great plot, intriguing characters, and a lot of suspense. Readers will feel they are back in time during revolutionary days and then jump forward to today where the twists add to a riveting storyline.

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Author Interview

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

Jenn Bregman: My husband and I lived in New York for about 12 years. The city lives and breathes Revolutionary era history. I became immersed in it and have a fondness for revolutionary times. The inspiration for the story came at that point. I read the Ron Chernow book and fell in love with Alexander Hamilton. Plus, I always have been interested in legacy issues and how the past continues through generations. Then the story just grew. Most of the historical facts in this book are accurate.

EC: What about the financial aspect of the story?

JB: I went to law school at UCLA where I met my husband. Then I became a Big Law litigator who practiced in Los Angeles and New York. I worked on Wall Street for many years and in banking compliance and trading. This part of the story was my life, so I did not need to do any research.

EC: What was true?

JB: 48 Wall Street, the first bank of New York, does have a raised basement. It is possible the vaults are there. The part about Fort Knox is a basis in speculation. There has never been a full accounting of the gold depositories in the US because the government does not want it. One of the facts that is true. It took the US four years to give the German bank back their gold bars. And it is true there is no accounting. Also, the piano in the story that had a little matchbox draw underneath is still at the Hamilton Grange.

EC: What was the role of Alexander Hamilton, his daughter, Angelica, and the handkerchief?

JB: He has an active and passive role. He put in place the vision for America within a secret society. He set up a trove to set up this secret society. Angelica became mentally disabled through the grief of losing her brother. The only thing that would soothe her is to play the piano over and over. The piano that I speak about is at the Hamilton Grange. The clue was a picture of Angleica with the handkerchief and the piano.

EC: How would you describe Elizabeth?

JB: Charming, stressed, short tempered at a certain point in the story, and feels she has a legacy. She has great virtue, integrity, courage, and strength. Elizabeth always gave of her time to support the Hamilton legacy.

EC: How would you describe Sarah?

JB: Tough, fair, loyal, and courageous with a conscience. She is sometimes conflicted. She has more layers than Elizabeth.

EC: What about Ralph?

JB: Kind, gentle, resourceful, sweet, creative, trusting, and anxious during this point in the story.

EC: What about Pierce?

JB: He is anti-hero, manipulative, and self-centered. He was greedy, someone who wanted to gain money and prominence. He also wanted to save his family legacy. He allowed the greed to cloud his eyes.

EC: What role did Detective Schwartz play?

JB: She is inquisitive, analytical, wise, and suspicious. She is seasoned because she knew that both Sarah and Ralph were hiding something but let it run its course.

EC: Next book?

JB: I am working on it now. Some of the characters will continue including Sarah but not Hamilton. The next book takes place shortly after this book and will be a thriller.

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.

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Her Burning Lies by Pamela Fagan Hutchins

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for HER BURNING LIES (Detective Delaney Pace Book #5) by Pamela Fagan Hutchins on this Bookouture Book-On-Tour blog tour.

Below you will find an about the book section, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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About the Book

As a blazing wildfire rages through Kearny County, homes are destroyed and the town is in turmoil. Amongst the debris, the body of a young woman lies totally still, her eyes looking to the sky, a silver sword pinning her to the ground.

When fire wardens search the scorched remains of an abandoned farmhouse, underneath the rubble, they make a shocking discovery—a young woman, stabbed and left to die in the middle of the fire zone. Detective Delaney Pace and Sheriff Leo Palmer are called in to investigate.

Leo takes in the woman’s petite features, his voice shaking as he turns to Delaney. He knows the victim—they had met on an online dating site. How did she end up in the middle of the wildfires, and who would want to kill an innocent young woman?

As a second body is discovered at a remote ranch, also stabbed with a silver sword, Delaney is sure the victims are linked—both young mothers, both looking for love. Could Kearny County have a serial killer preying on single women?

Delaney’s heart pounds when she learns that her close friend, Clara Eckhardt, is missing, last seen driving towards the fires. She ignores the evacuation orders and races towards the inferno. But when shots are fired, she knows the murderer has her in their sight. Will she turn back and save herself or chase the killer further into the fire to save her friend’s life?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/224716409-her-burning-lies?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=hqrJd1ufsg&rank=1

Buy link: https://geni.us/B0DVLF5DMLsocial

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

HER BURNING LIES (Detective Delaney Pace Book #5) by Pamela Fagan Hutchins is an edge-of-your-seat action packed crime thriller/police procedural featuring Detective Inspector Delaney Pace in Kearny County, Wyoming. This is the fifth book in the series and can be read as a standalone crime thriller, but the main characters’ personal relationships change and grow over the series. I have read them all in order and really enjoy the crime plots and the growing relationship between Delaney and Leo.

Detective Inspector Delaney Pace and Sheriff Leo Palmer have their hands full with a large wildfire raging through the county. When the fire wardens gather to set up a staging area at an abandoned farm, they discover the body of a young women in the stone farmhouse dead and pinned to the ground with a large sword.

A second body is discovered the next day in the burned-out barn. The body is as charred as the barn, and it also is pinned to the ground with a sword. As Delaney and Leo investigate the identities of their victims, they discover they have both given birth, but no babies are found in the apartment building that houses several young women.

When one of Delaney’s friends disappears, she and Leo are racing against the clock to find her and discover if there is a connection between her and the dead young women as the wildfire gets ever closer.

This is another fantastic addition to the Detective Delaney Pace series! I am never disappointed. The crime thriller plot always keeps me guessing to the climax with plenty of twists and surprises throughout. Delaney and Leo’s extended families add relatability and realism to the story. Their personal relationship is a rollercoaster ride that finally, after five books, has left me with good feelings for their future. This is a must-read series for me, and I am always excited to get the next book.

I highly recommend this addictive crime thriller/police procedural book and series.

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About the Author

Pamela Fagan Hutchins is a USA Today bestselling and Silver Falchion Best Mystery winning mystery/thriller/suspense author (and recovering attorney and investigator) who splits her time between an off-the-grid lodge on the face of Wyoming’s Bighorn Mountains and a rustic cabin on Maine’s Lake Mooselookmeguntic with her husband, kids and grandkids, rescue pets and sled dog, and draft cross horses.

Social Media Links

Website: https://pamelafaganhutchins.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pamela.fagan.hutchins.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pamela_fagan_hutchins/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/her-burning-lies-a-completely-nail-biting-and-absolutely-addictive-crime-thriller-detective-delaney-pace-book-5-by-pamela-fagan-hutchins

Feature Post and Book Review: Kills Well with Others by Deanna Rayburn

Book Description

After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their time off, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone…literally. When they receive a summons from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.

Someone on the inside has compiled a list of important kills committed by Museum agents, connected to a single, shadowy figure, an Eastern European gangster with an iron fist, some serious criminal ambition, and a tendency to kill first and ask questions later. This new nemesis is murdering agents who got in the way of their power hungry plans and the aging quartet of killers is next.

Together the foursome embark on a wild ride across the globe on the double mission of rooting out the Museum’s mole and hunting down the gangster who seems to know their next move before they make it. Their enemy is unlike any they’ve faced before, and it will take all their killer experience to get out of this mission alive.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214537816-kills-well-with-others?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=F7VtTHyVkV&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

KILLS WELL WITH OTHERS (Killers of a Certain Age Book #2) by Deanna Raybourn is another thrilling assignment with the four senior female assassins introduced in Killers of a Certain Age. These books are fast paced, twisted crime thrillers/mysteries with a memorable group of assassins, but keep in mind, the books are in no way cozy.

Since their last adventure to save their own lives, a year has passed. Now, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie “Nat” are called back into action by Naomi, who is the head of the Museum to go after a dangerous European gangster. This hit is off the books though because the Museum has a mole who has traded the ladies’ identities and those, they hold dear up for a trade.

The ladies discover there is more to the threat than they initially believed, and they are now chasing a gangster from Venice to Eastern Europe bent on revenge as well as trying to uncover the identity of the Museum’s mole. It will take their combined years of experience and a whole lot of luck to survive this mission.

I was very excited to read this second book in the series. It is as fast paced, exciting, and twisted as the first. Once again, the story is told from Billie’s point of view. Even though these friends are lethal, they care about each other deeply and their dialogue is sharp and witty. The descriptions of kills are very graphic and not for the squeamish. (I will never look at a wine opener the same way again.) The crime thriller/mystery plotline is well paced and plotted with many twists, fights, and action scenes threaded throughout. The reason I did not give this review five stars like the first book was that the flashback chapters, while giving information, took me out of the story flow. Otherwise, everything else was entertaining, scary, gripping, and edge-of-your-seat thrilling.

I highly recommend this second outing with the ladies and cannot wait for more.

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About the Author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Deanna Raybourn is a 6th-generation native Texan. She graduated with a double major in English and history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of one, Raybourn makes her home in Virginia. Her novels have been nominated for numerous awards including the Edgar, two RT Reviewers’ Choice awards, the Agatha, two Dilys Winns, and a Last Laugh. She launched a new Victorian mystery series with the 2015 release of A CURIOUS BEGINNING, featuring intrepid butterfly-hunter and amateur sleuth, Veronica Speedwell. Veronica’s second adventure is A PERILOUS UNDERTAKING (January 2017), and book three, A TREACHEROUS CURSE, was published in 2018 and nominated for the Edgar Award. A DANGEROUS COLLABORATION was released in 2019, and A MURDEROUS RELATION appeared in 2020 and AN UNEXPECTED PERIL published in March 2021. The latest Veronica Speedwell adventure, AN IMPOSSIBLE IMPOSTOR, will be published in February, 2022. Deanna’s first contemporary novel featuring four female assassins who must band together to take out their nemesis as they prepare for retirement, KILLERS OF A CERTAIN AGE, will be published in September of 2022.

Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Deann.raybourn

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deannaraybourn/#

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/deannaraybourn.bsky.social

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/kills-well-with-others-by-deanna-raybourn

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Hunt for the Peggy C: A WWII Maritime Thriller by John Winn Miller

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE HUNT FOR THE PEGGY C: A WWII Maritime Thriller by John Winn Miller on this Black Coffee Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

John Winn Miller’s THE HUNT FOR THE PEGGY C captures the breathless suspense of early World War II in the North Atlantic. Captain Jake Rogers, experienced in running his tramp steamer through U-boat-infested waters to transport vital supplies and contraband to the highest bidder, takes on his most dangerous cargo yet after witnessing the oppression of Jews in Amsterdam: a Jewish family fleeing Nazi persecution.

The normally aloof Rogers finds himself drawn in by the family’s warmth and faith, but he can’t afford to let his guard down when Oberleutnant Viktor Brauer, a brutal U-boat captain, sets his sights on the Peggy C., Rogers finds himself pushed to the limits of his ingenuity as he evades Brauer’s relentless stalking, faces a mutiny among his own crew, and grapples with his newfound feelings for Miriam, the young Jewish woman whom, along with her family, he must transport to safety.

When Rogers is seriously wounded, Miriam must prove she is as tough as her rhetoric to save everyone as the U-boat closes in for the kill. THE HUNT FOR THE PEGGY C is a masterpiece laced with nail-biting tension and unexpectedly heartwarming moments that any reader, not just fans of naval fiction, will enjoy.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/134916574-the-hunt-for-the-peggy-c

Universal link for the book on Amazon

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE HUNT FOR THE PEGGY C: A World War II Maritime Thriller by John Winn Miller is an edge-of-your-seat suspense filled historical fiction/thriller set on an American tramp steamer with an international crew and secret cargo being relentlessly hunted by a German U-boat captain before America enters the war. Set aside some time for this story because if you are like me, you will keep turning the pages and not be able to put it down until The End.

Captain Jake Rogers is experienced in running his tramp steamer, The Peggy C, through U-boat infested waters as the Germans try to cut off supplies to England and its allies. He takes on everything from vital supplies to contraband as long as the reward for him and his crew is high. As The Peggy C docks in Amsterdam, Rogers is paid to take on unusual cargo, Jewish refugees, which if discovered by the Germans could get his whole crew killed.

Oberleutnant Viktor Brauer is a brutal U-boat captain who has clawed his way through the ranks and is willing to do anything to finally be awarded the Iron Cross. After stopping The Peggy C and losing his boarding party, he is determined to destroy The Peggy C and its captain. The hunt is on.

I loved everything about this story. The maritime setting was an enjoyable change from other WWII historical fiction books. I learned so much while never being bored with the new maritime and nautical information which never bogged down the story or decreased the pace of the suspense. I truly did not know what would happen from page to page. The nail-biting tension throughout at Brauer’s scary determination to destroy Rogers and The Peggy C also kept me turning the pages. The interactions and growing feelings between Rogers and the refugees were heartwarming and gave a few small breaks to the continual overall tension of the main plotline.

I highly recommend this maritime historical fiction/thriller! A fantastic read!

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About the Author

John Winn Miller is an award-winning investigative reporter, foreign correspondent, editor, publisher, screenwriter, indie movie producer and novelist.

Based in Rome for The Associated Press and Wall Street Journal/Europe, he covered wars in Beirut, Chad and Eritrea as well as special assignments in Libya, Bulgaria, Tunis and India ,and traveled with Pope John Paul II.

He was part of a team of reporters at the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader that wrote a series that helped trigger education reform in Kentucky. The series won the 1990 public service award from the Society of Professional Journalists, top honors from Investigative Reporters and Editors and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

He was executive editor of the Centre Daily Times (PA) and the Tallahassee Democrat and publisher of The Olympian (WA) and the Concord (N.H.) Monitor.

Miller also was the first Journalist-in-Residence for his alma mater, The University of Kentucky, and taught journalism at Transylvania University.

He has helped produce four Indie movies, written several screenplays and is a partner in a social media marketing company called Friends2Follow.

The Lexington, Kentucky-native is also a second degree black belt. His wife Margo is a former college English instructor and now a potter. Their daughter Allison Miller is an actress-screenwriter-director currently starring in the ABC series A Million Little Things.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.johnwinnmiller.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100076298677356

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnwinnmiller_author/#

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-hunt-for-the-peggy-c-by-john-winn-miller

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Deception Point Series by Candace Irving

Elise’s Descriptions and Thoughts

This is part II of the Candace Irving Q/A talking about the “Deception Point Series.” (https://store.candaceirving.com/)

In part I Candace talked about her “Hidden Valor Series.” (https://avonnalovesgenres.com/friday-feature-author-interview-with-elise-cooper-hidden-valor-military-veteran-k-9-series-by-candace-irving/)

There are similarities between both series in that each has great characters, very unlikeable antagonists, an intense plot, some romance, and a riveting story that readers will not want to put down. The author allows readers to connect emotionally with the characters. The differences are that the “Hidden Valor Series” takes place mainly in Arkansas, with the heroine, Kate, a retired CID officer, now working with the State law enforcement, while in the other series the heroines move around the globe and are active duty, having a partner both romantically and professionally: Kate with Arash, Regan with John, and Mira with Riyad.

With both series, books should be read in order. The Deception Point Series should be read in this order: Aimpoint, Blind Edge, Back Blast, and Chokepoint. These books involve an active-duty Army investigator, Regan, and an active-duty Navy investigator, Mira, both who are women. It is obvious that Irving has done her due diligence, with the research put in making the stories realistic and believable.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Which series came first?

Candace Irving: I wrote Blind Edge of the “Deception Point Series” before the Kate “Hidden Valor series.” Also plotted a few chapters to the next books in the Deception Point Series, Back Blast and Chokepoint. All these books were thought out. Then I was told that many people want plots set inside the US. As I was riding my bike in Arkansas and saw this seat deserted in a field, a brown bag filled with body parts popped into my head. I went home and The Garbage Man was born featuring Kate Holland. This was published first even though I wanted Blind Edge published before the pull out of Afghanistan.

Originally, I was going to write one book in this series and then another book in the other series, but it did not turn out that way. Those reading the Kate series realized that there is another series, “Deception Point,” and began to read it and love it.

EC: What is the big difference between the two series?

CI: Hidden Valor has an overriding arc about the characters’ backstory, but each book has a different plot. Deception Point has a continuing arc throughout the books that is the plot line. Both these series must be read in order.

EC: Do you agree that the similarity between each series refers to the characters’ backstory?

CI: Every character has a bad fathers and a Mother MIA.

EC: How would you classify the “Deception Point Series?”

CI: They involve the military but for me they are really crime thrillers. They are not like Tom Clancy’s books. Some people thought they are like the Jack Reacher series, but they are not. They are women and active duty.

EC: The Hidden Valor series has more PTSD references than the Deception Point Series?

CI: Yes, because Kate was very debilitated at the beginning of the series. She could no longer function in the military. Regan and John do not really have PTSD.

EC: Would you ever write a third series with just Mira, the featured character in Chokepoint?

CI: No, she will remain in the “Deception Point Series.” I consider this the active-duty series with Mira featured in a Navy plotline, any Army story will have Regan featured, and a veteran story will feature Kate from the “Hidden Valor Series.” I will give a heads up that there will be a crossover between Regan and Kate in the “Hidden Valor series.” Regan is undercover as herself and is investigating a case in Arkansas. Remember in the book, In the Name Of, there were a couple of phone calls between Regan and Kate. But in the crossover book, Regan and Kate will be together since Regan is Kate’s protege.

EC: Why did you have Regan get pregnant?

CI: At first, I was going back and forth if I should take it out. But then I decided to keep it. I know some people ask why she would have sex without protection, but she really thought she could never get pregnant.

EC: How would you compare your three female heroines: Kate, Regan, and Mira?

CI: Regan can mask her feelings: reading facial expressions, while only to a certain extent, Kate and Mira can, because they were taught that as part of their jobs. Regan can lie and people cannot tell, including pretending she likes someone when she really doesn’t, while Mira cannot quite mask her feelings.

Kate has more compassion because of what happened to her and is more forgiving of others’ mistakes than Mira and Regan. Mira has a chip on her shoulder because she was charged with a crime yet was innocent.

All of them feel guilt. Kate because her best friend was beheaded, and she is determined to prove to her father’s ghost that she is a good investigator. Regan because her dad was a dirty cop; and Mira feels guilty because she never had to deal with the emotional abuse inflicted on her brother by her dad.

All are confident and self-assured. Mira has a temper, especially when people get in her face she gets right back in that person’s face. All are gutsy, if knocked down they all will get back up. They are all loners but are not lonely because they have friends and good support systems.

EC: Why was Kate retired and Mira/Regan active duty?

CI: I took some real elements that are common to those who served and combined them together so a lot of veterans can relate to part of her having PTSD. Because she had so much trauma, she knew she could no longer serve. I also want to differentiate between each series, so she is not active-duty, and the others are. Regan has her arm problems that when stressed she does not have a lot of control over, but it would not force her out of the Army. She did have to learn how to make her left hand her dominant hand.

EC: How would you compare your three male heroes: Arash, John, and Riyad?

CI: I wanted them all to be different although parts of Arash and John are my husband. Many readers think Riyad is a jerk, but it is because of his background. He takes no prisoners and makes no excuses. John is willing to own up to his mistakes. Riyad and John are active-duty Special Forces where they know how to be confrontational, while Arash was in military intelligence, knowing how to get what he wants without getting in someone’s face. Riyad does not consider any other opinions and expects people to do it his way, the SEAL mentality. To a certain extent Riyad has tunnel vision because of what happened to him when he was a SEAL commander. In their own way each are stubborn, sarcastic, but stoic.

EC: How would you compare all three relationships: Kate/Arash, Regan/John, and Mira/Riyad?

CI: Each hero gets under the heroines’ skin. Kate and to some degree Regan will cut Arash and John slack, while there is no way Mira allows Riyad any slack. Riyad would get in Mira’s face and say no and John would do the same things with Regan. Arash is clever on how he approaches his disagreements with Kate. All are driven. John and Riyad blame first and then questioned later regarding Regan and Mira, although John is willing to realize he was wrong, and say he is sorry, for his assumptions. Riyad gets upset with himself for calling Mira ‘woman’ because he cares for her, while she is starting to understand him after knowing his background. All the heroes are chauvinistic. All the heroes and heroines are caring, intense, compassionate, persistent, and protective.

John/Regan and Arash/Kate feel secure in their relationships. I would say that John is on one end of the spectrum of their feelings and reactions, Arash is in the middle, and Riyad is on the other end.

EC: Next Book(s)?

CI: With both series I know what will happen in the current book I am writing, maybe with the next book, but not with other books in the future. I am a linear writer in that I start at the beginning and plot every single chapter in succession. In the next Regan book, Pitch Black, which will come out in January 2026, Mira will be kidnapped after she and Riyad travel to Saudi Arabia for an investigation. Mira and John end up in Yemen with Regan and Riyad working together to find them.

The next Kate book, Blood on the Wire, will be published in August of this year. The relationship with Arash will progress. Also, her former partner Seth’s story will be a part of this story. The case involves a psychologist at a Little Rock VA hospital who was found brutally stabbed to death. In the victim’s house, Kate is stunned to discover a cache of military-grade explosives. Plus, the psychologist was conducting a private investigation into a heinous crime that occurred more than two years ago in an active war zone. Bodies have begun to multiply.

THANK YOU!!

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