Detective and Mystery – Retro Radio: Casey Crime Photographer – After The Turkey, The Bill



RETRO RADIO

Casey Crime Photographer – After The Turkey, The Bill. ep213


November 23, 2020. Duration: 29 min 32s

We listen in to a drama of a gal being accused by her boyfriend of cheating on him while he spent time behind bars. Does he have anything to worry about? Cut to the action in the Blue Note and Casey talking with Ethylbert and Ann. Their Thanksgiving evening is interupted with the report of a murder. Might it be the jealous boyfriend? Casey heads out to investigate.

The evidence isn’t looking good for the boyfriend, but Casey isn’t leaving any stones unturned. Is someone trying to set up the young lover? Casey smells a rat in the whole situation. Listen in to get the full set of clues as Casey talks the case over with the cops. Did you catch the twist?

Listen in as Casey tells how the clues worked to tip him off as he shares with his friends in the Blue Note. And will he and Ann ever get their Thanksgiving dinner?



Retro Radio Podcast

Audiobook Blog Tour: Emma Griffin #1: The Girl In Cabin 13 by A.J. Rivers



About Audiobook #1

Author: A.J. Rivers

Narrator: Claire Duncan

Length: 7 hours 32 minutes

Publisher: Altered Path⎮2020

Genre:  Thriller

Series: Emma Griffin FBI, Book 1

Release date: Aug. 15, 2020

Synopsis: Knock…knock…

 

 

When Emma finds a dead body on her porch with her name written on the dead man’s hand, she uncovers a sinister clue to the mystery that has haunted her since childhood.

FBI Agent Emma Griffin is sent undercover to the small sleepy town of Feathered Nest to uncover the truth behind the strings of disappearances that has left the town terrified.

To Emma, there is nothing that can lay buried forever. Even though her own childhood has been plagued by deaths and disappearances. Her mother’s death, her father’s disappearance, and her boyfriend’s disappearance. The only cases that she hasn’t solved. Her obsession with finding out the truth behind her past was what led her to join the FBI.

Now, she must face what may be her biggest case. In cabin 13, there lies an uneasy feeling. The feeling of her movements being watched. When a knock on her door revealed a body on her porch and her name written on a piece of paper in the dead man’s hand. Suddenly, her worlds collide.

With the past still haunting her, Emma must fight past her own demons to stop the body count from rising.

The woods have secrets. And this idyllic town has dark and murderous ones. Either, she reveals them or risk them claiming her, too.

In Feathered Nest, nothing is what it seems. 

The girl in cabin 13 is about to find out that the dead may have secrets of their own.

 

Buy Links for Audiobook #1

Buy on Audible

I’m always a sucker for FBI books. Insert The Girl in Cabin 13! It’s a good mystery with great suspense that’ll keep you turning the pages to find out what happens next. Told in first person point of view, author A.J. Rivers takes you deep into the mindset of embattled FBI Agent Emma Griffin. Good plot, characters that jump off the page, and a narrator that delivers a solid audiobook. Recommended! 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

 

How did you celebrate after finishing this novel? 

I am a major coffee lover, so I really enjoy celebrating wrapping up a book by getting out of my writing room and relaxing with a good cup of flavored coffee. I drink my coffee black all the time, and I’m usually drinking very dark, robust blends. My favorite is actually called Death Wish. So when it’s time to relax and “indulge” a little, it’s with a cup of still black, but flavored coffee. My current choice is S’mores, but we’re getting close to pumpkin season. Since the end of books is always the most intense when it comes to writing, I also love to let off steam when I’m done by bringing my dog Daisy out for a long walk and enjoying the fresh air. 

 

In your opinion, what are the pros and cons of writing a stand-alone novel vs. writing a series? 

There is definitely a time and place for both. A stand-alone novel is a great opportunity to tell one focused, explosive story that doesn’t have to rely on any previous world-building or leave room for other books. It’s a shooting star situation. One bright moment that is contained within itself. Stand-alone is also great for much longer works. A series is all about creating a world for readers to live in. They get to know the characters like friends and family, and go on these adventures with them. It’s a blast to be able to revisit the same places, get to know the people, businesses, and little quirks, and keep up with them as time passes. It makes you want to keep coming back, so you keep reading the books. A series lets you explore big story arcs and delve deeper into the characters. But it also requires organization and attention to detail. You have to be able to come up with layered people and realistic places that readers will care about, as well as complex stories that can unfold a little at a time. 

 

What’s your favorite:

  • Food

I don’t have one set favorite, but I love Indian food. Chana masala is my go-to. I am always in the mood for raw vegetables or fruit salad.

  •  Song

Thriller, by Michael Jackson. 

  •  Book

Dream Boy, by Jim Grimsley 

  • Television show 

Murder investigation shows, Matlock, Murder, She Wrote, Golden Girls, and in the spirit of full disclosure, my guilty pleasure shows include Catfish and anything having to do with Halloween through holiday cooking or baking

  • Movie

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken, Dirty Dancing, Ghostbusters, Nightmare Before Christmas

  •  Band

Beatles. Michael Jackson is my favorite musician, I love girl groups from the 50s and 60s, disco, and 80s music

  •  Sports team

Chicago Cubs

  • City

Richmond, Virginia

 

Are any of those things referenced in appearance in your work? 

All the time. Because I have some pretty obscure tastes in some ways, I sometimes find myself having my characters reference things or make jokes and cultural references I then wonder if the readers will even get, so I have to go back and replace them with something easier to recognize. Especially when it comes to music and movies. I’m not a huge movie person and the ones I particularly love are pretty old school, so when I whip out references to Luther Heggs, I have to remind myself that probably isn’t going to ring a ton of bells. 

 

What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?

I’ll repeat the same thing that’s been said over and over, but that is so true. Write. Write. Write. Write all the time. Don’t just rely on your computer. Bring a notebook and pen around with you and write things down. You never know when you’re going to hear a phrase that inspires you, or get an idea, or even just hear a name that you like. Write it down. I also highly recommend talking through dialogue out loud. It can feel awkward at first, but the natural, believable conversations and thoughts are key to really enjoyable books. They make the characters more relatable and the action smoother. The best way to make that happen is to carry on the conversation. If you have a voice-to-text program on your computer, put it on and just talk through the conversation like you are the characters. Don’t worry about the spelling, punctuation, or accuracy at this point. Just talk it through as naturally as you can and let it come out. You can then take what you said and write it out in your draft with proper tags and action. 

I’d also tell aspiring authors to take their writing seriously. There can be a lot of pressure to only seeing writing as art and something that can only be done in the right mood or situation. There is definitely art to good writing and crafting a book, and it’s always easier when the mood and inspiration are right, but if you are going to consistently create strong, enjoyable books, you have to see it as work. You have to work hard, get the words out even when they aren’t flowing smoothly, and be willing to edit mercilessly. The best advice I ever got was from my college professor who told me to kill my darlings. You have to be willing to not see every word you write as precious, but also fight for your voice and your vision when it’s important. 

 

 

About the Author: A.J. Rivers

 

A.J. Rivers loves all things mystery and thriller. Growing up in a sleepy small town, A.J. spent her days enthralled in crime solving novels and movies. She started creating stories at a young age to escape and create adventures for herself. As a child she dreamed of solving crimes and becoming a crime fighter. She dreamed of being as great as her favorite crime solving character Sherlock Holmes. While in college she realized that leading a crime fighting life might be more gruesome than she could stomach. She decided that the best course of action would be to fuse her love of writing with her love of thrilling mysteries together.

She finds inspiration from researching true crimes and is passionate about writing suspenseful novels with crazy twists. Twists that you’ll never see coming. The inspiration for her first novel came when she read a news article about a missing young woman in a small town that was never found. Her question on who, what, and why brought her to her journal to discovering the dark twisted story behind the disappearance and to seek justice for the victim through her writing.

Her thriller novels have elements of mystery, suspense, and romance.

When she’s not absorbed in a novel or working on her next thriller mystery, her favorite past time is spent with her husky. She finds great inspiration while going on hikes with her dog.

 

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About the Narrator: Claire Duncan

 

Claire Duncan is a multi-award winning actress living in NYC.  She has performed Off-Broadway, regionally, and in national tours, and appeared in the Drama Desk nominated revival of The Threepenny Opera. She has played the lead in a dozen films, and received a Best Actress Award for her work as Rosetta in the dark comedy Rosetta’s Blues, which debuted at Cannes. As a singer, she had the honor of performing at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center, and toured the country as a travel host with Visit The USA.

Claire’s broad career has shaped her into an exceptional and flexible voice artist. You can hear her on Nickelodeon and Comedy Central, in hundreds of national commercials, and in over thirty audiobooks. 

“Claire Duncan was a dynamo”  – New York Stage Review

 “Simply side-splitting… a terrific comedic actress” – Show Business Weekly

Proud member of SAG-AFTRA and AEA.

 

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Flame Tree Live Fall 2020 Programming Debut Crime Writers’ Association VINTAGE CRIME Virtual Launch 

 

 

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FLAME TREE PRESS presents… Flame Tree Live Fall 2020 Programming Debut Crime Writers’ Association VINTAGE CRIME Virtual Launch 

Sunday August 16, 2020 

1pm Eastern Daylight Time / 

6pm British Daylight Time 

Facebook Live @FlameTreePress

 

RSVP Here

 

 

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Vintage Crimes will be a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members’ work over the years. The book will gather stories from the mid-1950s until the twenty-first century by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers. The first CWA anthology, Butcher’s Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many award-winning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

 

Amazon | Goodreads

 

 

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Panelists 

★ Martin Edwards – chair of the CWA and Edgar, Agatha,

Macavity, and Poirot award-winning author ★ Dea Parkin – secretary of the CWA & editorial consultant

★ Kate Ellis-Bullock – author & Vintage Crime contributor

★ Andrew Taylor – Diamond Dagger award-winning author &

Vintage Crime contributor

 

About the Event 

Flame Tree Live: CWA and Vintage Crime. A special online panel to launch the new collection, Vintage Crime, and engage in a lively discussion about crime writing, writers, stories and themes. Topics will range from “Working in Isolation – that’s what writers do!”, “Good stories never die, even in crime fiction”, “Stories from the past that resonate today” and “How does the CWA encourage new writers?” Selected questions from readers and fans will also be featured.

 

 

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About the Panelists 

MARTIN EDWARDS is the previous past Chair of the CWA, now the Archivist, He has won the Edgar, Agatha, Macavity, and Poirot awards in the USA, and the CWA Short Story Dagger, CWA Margery Allingham Prize, and the H.R.F. Keating award in the UK. He is the author of eighteen novels, including the Lake District Mysteries, and the Harry Devlin series, as well as the ground-breaking genre study The Golden Age of Murder. He has edited twenty eight crime anthologies, has won the CWA Short Story Dagger and the CWA Margery Allingham Prize, and is series consultant for the British Library’s Crime Classics.

 

DEA PARKIN, a writer and a poet, has been Secretary of the CWA since 2016. She owns and manages Fiction Feedback, an editorial consultancy service that provides constructive critiques on novels and short stories from professional editors, authors, writing specialists and literary agents.

 

KATE ELLIS’ first novel, The Merchant House, launched the long-running DI Wesley Peterson series set in Devon. She has also written five crime novels featuring another cop, Joe Plantagenet, set in a fictionalised version of York, and a trilogy set in the immediate aftermath of the First World War, as well as many short stories. She won the CWA Dagger in the Library in 2019. The Devil’s Priest is a stand-alone historical mystery set in Liverpool.

 

ANDREW TAYLOR’s crime novels include a series about William Dougal, starting with Caroline Miniscule, which won the John Creasey Memorial Dagger, the Roth Trilogy, which was televised as Fallen Angel, the Lydmouth series, stand-alone novels such as The American Boy, and much else besides. He has won the Historical Dagger three times and in 2009 won the Diamond Dagger, as well as earning awards in Sweden and the US.

 

 

About Vintage Crime and CWA 

VINTAGE CRIME [ISBN 978-1-78758-548-5, released August 11, 2020 in hardcover, paperback and ebook editions] is a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members’ work over the years. Gathering stories from the mid-1950s until the twenty-first century with great names of the past and present, together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers. The aim is to present a wide range of stories which are entertaining in their own right and also demonstrate the evolution of the crime short story during the CWA’s existence, from the Fifties until the early twenty-first century

The first CWA anthology, Butcher’s Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many award-winning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas. This new edition includes an array of incredible and award-winning authors including Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Lesley Grant-Adamson, HRF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons and Andrew Taylor.

The CWA was founded in 1953 by John Creasey – that’s over sixty-five years of support, promotion and celebration of this most durable, adaptable and successful of genres. The CWA runs the prestigious Dagger Awards, which celebrate the best in crime writing, and is proud to be a thriving, growing community with a membership encompassing authors at all stages of their careers. It is UK-based, yet attracts many members from across the world.

 

 

About Flame Tree Press 

FLAME TREE PRESS is the original fiction imprint of Flame Tree Publishing (est. 1992). Led by the Flame Tree publisher Nick Wells in London and executive editor Don D’Auria in NYC, Flame Tree Press was launched in 2018 with the goal of bringing together new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices in horror, suspense, science fiction & fantasy, as well as crime, mystery, and thriller fiction. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at http://www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress 

REVIEW COPIES of VINTAGE CRIME & INTERVIEWS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST 

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Book Review: Texas Ranger by James Patterson & Andrew Bourelle

 

Texas Ranger book image

 

  • Rory Yates Book 1
  • Print Length: 337 pages
  • Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1538713802
  • Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (August 13, 2018)
  • Publication Date: August 13, 2018
  • Sold by: Hachette Book Group

 

Officer Rory Yates is called home to settle deadly scores.

Rory Yates’s skill and commitment to the badge have seen him rise through the ranks in the Texas Ranger division, but it came at a cost – his marriage.

When he receives a worrying phone call from his ex-wife, Anne, Rory speeds to what used to be their marital home. He arrives to a horrifying crime scene and a scathing accusation: he is named a suspect in Anne’s murder.

Rory’s only choice is to find the killer himself. He risks his job, his pride, his reputation among everyone he loves to pursue the truth.

Yates follows the Ranger creed – never to surrender. That code just might bring him out alive.

AmazonGoodreads | B&NAudible

 

 

Book Review  - colorful Neon Sign on brickwall

 

 

This was the best Patterson book yet. I’m totally loving the Texas Ranger Rory Yates in his gun-blazing glory. It has that old wild, wild, west flavor to it. And, if you take the audiobook route, narrator Christopher Ryan Grant does an excellent job ushering you into the full Texas experience. LOVED IT. Felt like I was in the old south. Ranger Rory Yates is drawn back into his hometown where he finds his ex-wife brutally murdered. What’s even worse, he’d been on the phone with her while going to her—but found out she was dead on arrival. In the most horrific way. That’s the hook and premise for the entire story. He has to deal with much more than just the murder investigation though. Family turmoil, past relationships, and conflict with law enforcement just to name a few. Wonderful beginning to a promising series. The follow up Texas Outlaw just came out and I’m looking forward to diving in headfirst.

 

 

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Texas Ranger

Series: Rory Yates, Book 1
Length: 7 hrs and 9 mins

 

“An effective mystery . . . Patterson and Bourelle’s rapid-fire chapters squeeze in plenty of dishy small-town drama on top of the murder case [and] the story is picking up speed like a semi barreling down the Interstate.” -Houston Chronicle

 

 

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Texas Outlaw

Series: Rory Yates, Book 2
Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins

A Texas Ranger is justice. Until he sidesteps the law.

Texas Ranger Rory Yates is not keen for hero status. But it’s unavoidable once his girlfriend, country singer Willow Dawes, writes a song about his bravery. Rory escapes his newfound fame when he’s sent to the remote West Texas town of Rio Lobo, a municipality with two stoplights. And now, according to the Chief of Police, it has one too many Texas Rangers. 

Rio Lobo Detective Ariana Delgado is the one who requested Rory, and the only person who believes a local councilwoman’s seemingly accidental death is a murder. Then Rory begins to uncover a tangle of small-town secrets, favors, and lies as crooked as Texas law is straight.

To get to the truth before more people die, Rory is forced to take liberties with the investigation. The next ballad of Rory Yates may not be about a hero, but rather an outlaw song.

©2020 James Patterson and Andrew Bourelle (P)2020 Little, Brown & Company

Author Interview with Crime Writer Leigh Russell

 

 

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About Leigh Russell

After many years teaching English in secondary school, internationally bestselling author Leigh Russell now writes crime fiction full time. Published in English and in translation in Europe, her Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson titles have appeared on many bestseller lists, including #1 on kindle. Leigh’s work has been nominated for several major awards, including the CWA New Blood Dagger and CWA Dagger in the Library, and her Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson series are in development for television with Avalon Television Ltd. Journey to Death is the first title in her Lucy Hall series published by Thomas and Mercer.

 

 

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Your new book Suspicion, is out April 22. What do you enjoy about writing psychological thrillers?

What I enjoy most about writing, is the freedom to explore how other people might respond when they encounter difficulties and challenges. All of my books begin with a “What if” question. In the case of Suspicion, the question was: ‘What might a woman do to preserve her marriage, if she discovered her husband was having an affair?’ Writing psychological thrillers allows me to live someone else’s fictitious life for a while, and experience their story vicariously.

 

 

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How does your approach to writing differ between a psychological thriller versus a police procedural?

My police procedurals are written mainly from my detective’s point of view, but they also include chapters that take readers inside the mind of my killer and other characters. This adds tension for readers, who often know more than the police investigating the murder. My stand alone psychological thrillers are written in the first person. Although readers only know what the narrator knows, they can still deduce information for themselves. Writing in the first person focuses more closely on the character of the narrator, and his or her private thoughts and feelings, which affects the readers’ engagement with the narrative, but writing from different points of view can be more dramatic. Both types of story are fun to write, and I enjoy the challenge of switching between third person and first person narratives.

 

What motivated you to write psychological thrillers?

As a writer, I don’t believe we choose our stories. Rather, our stories find us. So when the idea for this book occurred to me one day, complete with the voice of the protagonist, all I had to do was write the story in her words – although they are my words really, because she is my creation.

 

 

share your story. Coffee mug and wooden letters on wooden background.

 

 

 

What’s a typical writing day like for you?

There is no ‘typical’ day for me. Every day is different. I wake up as late as possible, and most days my husband brings me a cup of tea in bed, by which time I’m usually already working. I write on an ipad with goes with me everywhere, so I can work anywhere. Once I am up and about, if I’m not otherwise occupied my day will be spent writing, but it is extremely rare for me to have a completely free day. Life often gets in the way of my writing, but I consider myself fortunate to have a family who place so many demands on my time. I wouldn’t change anything about my life,       except to have more hours in the day.

 

 

Tell us about the investigation that Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel is working on in Rogue Killer.

In Rogue Killer, a rough sleeper is killed in a seemingly random attack. The killer is careful to leave no clue to his identity, and the police are stumped. Then a second body is discovered. Geraldine is worried some of her colleagues might not investigate these murders as thoroughly as they should, because the victims were homeless. Meanwhile, a young girl has run away from home and witnessed a murder at night on the streets of York. Her eye witness account  could help the police to track down the killer, but she is too frightened to come forward.

 

 

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Who is the man killed in the attack?

The man killed in the first attack is a rough sleeper who is known to the local homeless shelters, but has no family who would miss him or mourn for him. Sharing news of a murder with the victim’s family is the part of her job Geraldine usually finds the hardest, but she is desperately sad about the solitude this victim endured in his life.  

 

 

Name some of your favourite books of 2019.

I haven’t read many books published in 2019 but books I have read so far this year include the weighty Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, a tour de force which he wrote at the age of twenty-eight. Unusually, most of my reading this year has been non-fiction as I am writing a trilogy set in Renaissance Italy. Historical fiction is a completely new departure for me and it has required a lot of research into a fascinating period in history.

In terms of books actually published in 2019, I’m looking forward to reading The Testaments by Margaret Atwood which is published in September, as I enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale .

 

 

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leighrussell.co.uk

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Author Owen Mullen Discusses Crime Thriller Out of the Silence

 

 

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About Owen Mullen

Owen Mullen is a McIlvanney Crime Book Of The Year long-listed novelist. And So It Began earned a coveted Sunday Times Crime Club ⭐Star pick

 

 

Interview

 

How did the idea for Out of the Silence develop into a full novel?

 

Hi Benjamin, and thank you for inviting me here.

I woke up with the idea one morning; it came to me almost whole. The beginning and ending arrived exactly as they appear in the book. After that I pieced the individual character’s stories together, then folded them in and out of each other as I wrote. The original draft underwent many, many revisions until I was satisfied I was telling the tale I’d imagined.

 

 

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Did you decide that Ralph Buchanan would be an investigative reporter early in the process?

Ralph wasn’t in the original run of the story and didn’t appear until my wife read what I’d written and asked ‘Yes, it’s very good, but which part will Leonardo play?’ And Ralph was born.

 

 

Why was he banished to Pakistan by his Newspaper?

He was banished because of his drink-fuelled behaviour. In the original I spent 40,000 words exploring Ralph’s back story until again, my wife Christine asked ‘What story are you telling?’

 

 

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Who is Simone Jasnin and what’s her role in the story?

Simone is the Doctor who treats the injured Afra in a rural hospital. Incensed by what she’s seen she goes to Lahore seeking someone to help her expose these types of injustices. That someone turns out to be Ralph Buchanan

 

How did you determine Pakistan was the setting for the story?

Pakistan was perfect for this story…a beautiful, diverse country rich in culture and history, but like most places when you scratch the surface a darker truth lies hidden.

 

 

 

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What was your research about Pakistan like?

Exciting! I travelled to the region, read many books, spoke to people and spent long hours on the internet.

 

What’s next for you?

I’ve literally just finished the follow-up to In Harm’s Way which picks the story up five years on. Next project is already underway; a story about two South London gangsters.

 

 

 

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When no one knows you are in danger how can you ever be saved…
The Baxter house in the Lowther Hills, in Scotland, has been on the estate agent’s books for decades. Dilapidated and near-derelict, nobody is interested in it. But, for one potential buyer, the remote location and rat-infested cellar are perfect.

For the first year, Mackenzie’s marriage to Derek was ideal. But Derek believes she is having an affair and when she realises her husband is becoming controlling, she knows she’s made a terrible mistake.

But Mackenzie has a drinking problem so when she threatens to leave Derek and then disappears no one believes she has been abducted.

DS Geddes is handed the case but isn’t convinced anything criminal has taken place until a startling development comes to light.

Has Mackenzie been abducted or has she simply left her husband?

And who has bought The Baxter house and for what purpose?

 

Amazon | Goodreads | Twitter | Facebook | Bloodhound books

 

 

 

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Owen Mullen graduated from Strathclyde University, moved to London and worked as a rock musician, session singer and songwriter, and had a hit record in Japan with a band he refuses to name; Owen still loves to perform on occasion. His great love for travel has taken him on many adventures from the Amazon and Africa to the colourful continent of India and Nepal. A gregarious recluse, he and his wife, Christine, split their time between Glasgow, and their home away from home in the Greek Islands where the Charlie Cameron and Delaney series’, and the In Harm’s Way psychological thriller were created.

My books raise a lot of social issues…If you would like a set of questions for #bookgroupdiscussions please contact me.

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with Heleyne Hammersley Author of Psychological Suspense & Crime

 

 

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About Heleyne Hammersley

Heleyne Hammersley is a British writer based in Cumbria. She writes psychological suspense thrillers and crime novels.

Heleyne has been writing since junior school – her first work was a collection of poems called ‘Give Them the Works’ when she was ten years old. The poems were carefully handwritten on plain paper and tied together with knitting wool.

 

 

How does your writing approach differ between psychological suspense thriller and crime?

One of the main differences between writing psychological suspense and crime is the amount of research.  I find that, now I’m writing a crime series, I need to try to keep the police procedures as accurate as possible.  I also research postmortem techniques and I’ve spent quite a bit of time finding out about how dead bodies decompose in different environments.

For both of my psychological suspense novels much of the plot and the setting was based on my own travel experiences.

 

 

 

Research

 

 

 

Do you still write poetry?

I haven’t written poetry for many years.  I used to write as a teenager but it was all angst-ridden nonsense really.  I feel most comfortable writing longer works now.

 

Who is DI Kate Fletcher?

Kate is a British police detective from South Yorkshire.  She is dedicated to her career and is extremely good at her job.  She was shaped by a difficult childhood during a time of social unrest in the UK.  After a divorce and a promotion she has returned to her old ‘stomping ground’ after living in the north of England for many years.  She inspires loyalty in her team and she has a strong sense of justice.

 

 

 

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What things have you learned in order to write police procedurals?

So much!  UK police ranks, UK police procedures, forensics, the symptoms of a range of medical conditions, how CCTV and ANPR work, how to dispose of a dead body (and how not to)…the list is endless.

 

 

In the third book of the Kate Fletcher series Bad Seed, who is the first victim?

Melissa Buckley.  She’s in her twenties and works for a train company.  Melissa and her husband have been trying for a baby for some time and her death may be linked to their struggles with IVF.

 

 

 

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Who are the members of Kate’s team working the case?

Other than Kate, there’s DC Dan Hollis who’s having some family issues of his own in Bad Seed.  He’s Kate’s trusted ‘side kick’ but she’s starting to doubt him a little in this book. DC Sam Cooper is a computer geek and Kate’s go-to team member for all things technology related.  She ends up in serious danger towards the end of the novel. DC Matt Barrett is the ‘straight arrow’ of the team. He’s extremely reliable and methodical. The final team member is DS Steve O’Connor who has links with the seedier side of Doncaster life.  They’re all supervised by DCI Bill Raymond who’s working his final cases before retirement in Bad Seed.

 

 

What do you enjoy most about writing crime fiction?

I love the plotting stage – figuring out what will and what won’t work and how a real police team would deal with my fictional crimes.  I also quite enjoy the gorier elements of the research – some of the science stuff is fascinating.

 

 

 

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Who are your favorite authors?

Val McDermid, Karin Slaughter, Stephen King, Margaret Atwood, Patricia Cornwell….how many am I allowed?

 

What are you working on next?

I’m currently writing the fourth in the Kate Fletcher series.  After that…who knows?

 

 

DI Kate Fletcher Series

 

 

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Merciless image

 

 

Bad Seed image Heleyne

 

 

www.heleynehammersley.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview with Christine Carbo Author of the Glacier Park Mysteries

 

 

Christine Carbo image

 

 

 

A SHARP SOLITUDE – A GLACIER PARK MYSTERY

Interview for Benjamin Thomas


 

What’s your creative approach to writing a book?

I usually get my ideas from small things that spark my interest: an interesting article, a unique person, a story I’ve heard in the past that sticks with me, a line from a poem or a song…. If that thing of interest stays with me, I know I have the seed of an idea I’m willing sit with during the time it takes to write a novel. Once I have that idea, I will take some notes and brainstorm more ideas around the topic or character, but I’m not much of an outliner. I often simply end up diving in and writing as far as the headlights. Sometimes I’m at a loss for what should come next, get frustrated, and force myself to outline, but I rarely end up writing what I outline anyway, so it always comes out differently than I imagine it will. I also have no set writing schedule. I fit it in whenever it makes sense, sometimes in the morning, sometimes over the weekends, sometimes later in the day after my other job. I realize this is different from many other authors, but it has worked for me so far. I always think, someday I will create and stick to a writing schedule, but so far it hasn’t happened. Ha, I’m reminded of the saying: someday is no day.


 

Creativity

 

 

 

You write great characters in the Glacier Park mysteries. What’s the first thing you begin with? How do you develop them and bring out their flaws?

I often begin by thinking about a character’s childhood. So much of a character’s makeup depends on their upbringing: some important family dynamic (or even the lack of a family), a relationship with a parent, a traumatic event that may have happened. Our upbringings so often shape how we deal with circumstances that pop up later in life. Sometimes they prepare us well or sometimes our pasts leave us ill-equipped to deal with various situations and we end up making them so much worse than we want because of our own baggage. I find it interesting when a certain case or criminal situation that my detective or sleuth finds themselves embroiled in brings up unexpected emotions that have not been fully dealt with because of things that have occurred in their pasts.

For example, in my my first book, The Wild Inside, my main character is a lead detective – a Series 1811 – for the Department of the Interior who is called to the federal land of Glacier National Park to investigate a murder that occurs there. However, Glacier is the last place he wants to be because when he was young, something very traumatic occurred while he was camping there with his father. Right from the get-go, I know my character will be haunted by not only the place but by the crime he’s investigating. In my fourth book, A Sharp Solitude, my main character is a local, resident FBI agent in northwest Montana. She is also a single mom of a daughter she fiercely wants to protect and shield from having the type of childhood she had because when she was young, her father was not present and was even in prison for some time. She does not want her daughter to experience the lack of a father and makes sure she is able to spend plenty of time with her dad. However, he ends being a prime suspect in a local case, and my main character gets tangled up professionally because she is driven to protect her daughter. She gets involved in the case in spite of the professional conflict of interest. So, essentially, the things we throw at our characters can often resonate more deeply if they somehow brush up against past experiences of their lives.



 

 

Welcome to Glacier National Park

 

 

 

What’s the relationship like between Reeve Landon and FBI investigator Ali Paige?

Reeve is someone Ali actually respects. She admires his steady, persistent drive to go into the woods and do the work he does, which is part of the University of Montana’s canine detection program in which dogs are trained to help find the scat of certain wild animals for biologists to study. She does not view him as a deadbeat dad, like she saw her own father, yet, she does get irritated with him for putting his work first at times. Plus, in general, she does not understand how they can make a relationship work because, in fact, she sees him as being a little too much like herself. At one point, she thinks: “We both seemed to be followed by a certain darkness like a stray dog you can’t convince to go away. It was if we were always reminding each other that people never rid themselves of lonesomeness even in the company of a partner.” And of course, they both feel this way because of things that occurred in their lives when they were younger.



 

“We both seemed to be followed by a certain darkness like a stray dog you can’t convince to go away. It was if we were always reminding each other that people never rid themselves of lonesomeness even in the company of a partner.”

 

 

 

The settings are woven perfectly into your books. How important is it in your writing?

Setting is very important to me, but I like to point out that setting does not always have to be an entire area or town, or even nature. A strong setting can be a well-described trailer park, a busy, concrete-laden city, a popular bar, an old Victorian home, a cold cell in a jail, a small house not far from a refinery where the windows need to be shut when the wind is blowing in the wrong direction….

So, for me, the question is less about a particular setting, and more about the entire place that is the larger backdrop, or locale, for my stories which are made up of specific scenes in specific places. I don’t dwell on how to weave it in because I think that occurs naturally for the most part, but I do believe describing place is essential to creating good characters and stories because people are shaped by the places they reside, just as they are by their past experiences. And even past experiences took place somewhere, and that area will often inform how that experience played out and the character’s memories of what happened.

Because I reside in northwest Montana – where the landscape is such a huge part of our lives, where its grandness is obvious, I tend to weave geography and nature into my stories. I think many writers from the northwest and the west in general are well-aware of the area’s exceptionalism and therefore, incorporate it into their stories. I’m only about a half-hour drive from Glacier National Park, and at my house, where I usually write, I often see deer, elk, bear and sometimes a stray moose meander through my yard. Already this spring, I’ve seen a herd of up to seventy or eighty elk pass through about three times a week. It tends to inform our existence when every time we look out a window, we see something wild or dramatic, even if it’s simply the jutting mountains in the distance. When we drive to the store, we see fields with eagles perched on telephone poles looking for prey, reminding us that we’re never far from the wilderness. When I walk my dogs, I wouldn’t think of going into the woods without bear spray when the grizzlies are out of hibernation since I live close enough to fairly undeveloped areas, and even the developed ones have bears that meander through.

Also, Glacier brings millions of tourists to see its grandness, and I love Glacier, so it’s fun to set some of my stories in it or near it. I try not to preach in any of my novels, but I do keep in mind that nature is not something separate from us. And although Glacier is, in essence, an island of undeveloped, unmined, unlogged land – a place of unfettered beauty which is sometimes experienced by people like it’s an amusement park to be enjoyed briefly and then departed to return home where nature is not so obvious – I know that we are all a part of nature, even if we’re surrounded by concrete. I’m thrilled that we have conserved certain areas as we have, and I hope that people understand that these places should not simply be islands for enjoyment for a few weeks out of their lives and then left for their homes that might be viewed as less natural. No matter where we live, we are not separate from nature, and although concrete can create the illusion that we are, it’s important to understand how we are a part of it, even when we’re in the center of a city.

Because I carry these personal beliefs about the natural world, and because I’ve mainly written about characters living in northwest Montana, I tend to make characters that are acutely aware of their natural surroundings. I believe I would do this no matter where my book was taking place, even if not among the wilderness of my state. Over-description can definitely bore a reader, but a little attention to the clouds above and the trees on the sidewalk –even if they’re dying – and how characters notice these things or even the lack of them and how they treat them goes a long way to seat a story in geography, in place, and thereby create atmosphere. I do think that’s essential to a good story with deep characters.


 

 

Grunge state of Montana flag map

 

 

 

Have you been to a lot of sites you write about?

Yes, I’ve been to most of them, but every once in a while I make a place up: a landmark, a restaurant or a bar, a house, a campground….  In A Sharp Solitude, I have a scene about a shooting range near Tallahassee, Florida, and I made it up entirely because I have not been to a shooting range in Florida. Of course, even when making up a place, I still try to pay attention to the details that I imagine make that place unique.

 

In A Sharp Solitude, who is officially on the case of Anne Marie Johnson?

The county sheriff’s office has jurisdiction over the case since her body was found on county land, not far from Glacier National Park. She wasn’t found within the park; if she had been, the case would fall primarily under federal jurisdiction. Nor was she discovered in the city limits, so the police department is not involved either. In some instances, the county might ask for help from the city police department or from the resident FBI agents. However, I did not have my county characters corroborating with other agencies in A Sharp Solitude. The county runs the investigation on their own with two Flathead County deputies working for the detective division who are leading the investigation. The police department and the local FBI resident agents, however, would be well-aware of the crime and have access to its developments, which allowed me to have Ali, a resident agent, nudge up closely – too closely – to the investigation in spite of having a conflict of interest. When I was doing my research for the novel, I had called the lead detective from the county, and I asked her, would it be plausible for one of the local resident agents to just pop in to the county building while a detective from the county is interrogating a person of interest for a local crime without any reason other than to see how things are going? I had thought I was stretching things a little too far, but to my delight, she said that it happens all the time and that they all work closely together – that’s it’s not uncommon for the local resident agents to check in and see what’s going on and that they wouldn’t think twice of it. Sometimes, she said, the county asks for their opinion, their advice or for their help.

 

 

 

A Sharp Solitude image

 

 

 

What has helped your writing craft over the years?

Lots of reading, hanging around with other writers, going to workshops and learning to trust my own intuitions about my work. At times, especially when I first began writing, I have been insecure – as all writers tend to be at one point or another – and I have learned that insecurities can be helpful. So often, we think of the feelings of insecurity as awful and unwanted, but insecurities can actually provide fuel to get it right. They helped to keep me wanting to learn more, to never quit trying to do better, and to take advice.

On the other hand, I’m a little bull-headed too, which is also a useful trait in the world of writing. If you’re always taking advice from readers and critique groups, you can revise forever, especially if you can’t parse the good from the bad. It’s important to trust when you think you have it right and to stick to your guns when you do. Knowing when to listen to the critiques and when to shut them out can be a tricky balance. In other words, you need to know when it’s time to fully go with your story and trust in it, and that does take a certain amount of confidence. So, in other words, I’ve learned to use both my insecurities and my bull-headedness to my advantage, which has ultimately led me to be more confident in the process. But, it’s definitely a fluctuating process and some projects go more easily than others.


 

What are you working on next?

I am working on my fifth novel – one that has been a bit of a challenge for me (speaking of projects that go more easily than others). I have heard that sometimes a manuscript will resist us, no matter how much we love a subject, and this is my first experience with that. It doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be written. Quite the contrary – it means we’re onto something that is worth working harder on to get right. It just means we struggle a little more. In this novel, the main character has a very unusual job that not many people are aware of. She is a death-row mitigation specialist, which means she helps research, understand and interpret the dark case histories of criminals destined for death row to present recommendations to judges and jurors with the goal of mitigating their sentence. Only, she is currently taking a break from that job because she has had a crisis of conviction that has compelled her to retreat to a cabin in northwest Montana. A crime occurs in her neck of the woods that draws her back into that world which now haunts her, and she is forced to reckon with who she believes she is as a person.

 

Thanks so much, Benjamin, for asking such great questions!

All best, Christine

 

 

 

Christine Carbo image

 

Christine Carbo is the author of The Wild Inside, Mortal Fall, The Weight of Night, and A Sharp Solitude (all from Atria Books/Simon and Schuster) and a recipient of the Womens’ National Book Association Pinckley Prize, the Silver Falchion Award and the High Plains Book Award. After earning a pilot’s license, pursuing various adventures in Norway, and working a brief stint as a flight attendant, she got an MA in English and linguistics and taught college-level courses. She still teaches, in a vastly different realm, as the owner of a Pilates studio. A Florida native, she and her family live in Whitefish, Montana. Find out more at ChristineCarbo.com.

 

 

www.ChristineCarbo.com

 

 

 

 

Interview with Crime Fiction Author Rachel Amphlett

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Please welcome author Rachel Amphlett a brilliant crime fiction author who I’ve had the pleasure reading and interacting with. I’ve come to love her Detective Kay Hunter series, especially the audiobook versions narrated by Alison Campbell.

 

 

 

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About the Author: Rachel Amphlett

 

Before turning to writing, Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio as a presenter and freelance producer for the BBC, and worked in publishing as a sub-editor and editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction and spy novels, including the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the Detective Kay Hunter series.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel cites her writing influences as Michael Connelly, Lee Child, and Robert Ludlum. She’s also a huge fan of Peter James, Val McDermid, Robert Crais, Stuart MacBride, and many more.

She’s a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag.

 

WebsiteTwitterFacebookGoodreadsInstagram

 

 

 

INTERVIEW

 

Do you outline your books or spontaneous?

I tend to do a bit of both these days. When I first get an idea, I’ll let it go around in my head for a bit, and then I’ll sketch out the opening scene.

From there, I’ll jot down any key scenes that have popped into my head and what Peter James refers to as the “gosh, wow!” moments dotted through the story that will hopefully keep you turning the pages but the rest is pretty spontaneous.

I figure with the detective stories that if I already know who the culprit is, then it spoils the fun for me and the reader trying to work out whodunnit.

 

 

 

Criminal

 

 

 

What’s your creative approach to writing scenes?

I’ve got a really tight process these days for writing. I’ll get an idea going around in my head, and then I’ll scribble that down in a new notebook and keep jotting down basic scenes as they crop up, and then I’ll take that and develop it into an outline of about 30 – 40 key scenes. For each scene, I’ll write a sentence or two about what has to happen in that scene, and then I’ll get stuck in and write. For example, Scared to Death took me nine weeks to complete the first draft using the above process. After that, there were weeks of editing, but I enjoy that as much as the writing because I keep discovering new things about the characters and story.

 

 

 

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When is your next book due?

 

The next Detective Kay Hunter book will be out towards the end of the year. I recommend readers sign up to my Readers Group on my website to be the first to find out the next book title and see the cover before anyone else!

 

 

This from a recent blog tour and book review of  Bridge to Burn, Detective Kay Hunter Book 7

 

 

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Blog Tour: Bridge To Burn by Rachel Amphlett

 

 

Bridge to Burn Cover AUDIO

 

 

 

 

 

 

When a mummified body is found in a renovated building, the gruesome discovery leads Detective Kay Hunter and her team into a complex murder investigation.

The subsequent police inquiry exposes corruption, lies, and organized crime within the tight-knit community – and Kay’s determination to seek justice for the young murder victim could ruin the reputations of men who will do anything to protect their business interests.

But as Kay closes in on the killer, tragedy strikes closer to home in an event that will send a shockwave through her personal life and make her question everything she values. Can Kay keep her private and professional life under control while she tries to unravel one of the strangest murder cases of her career?

Have you discovered the Kay Hunter British detective murder mysteries yet?

 

 

 

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It’s always great detective fiction in the Kay Hunter series. A body is found under bizarre circumstances leaving Hunter and her team scrambling to find answers. Lies, cover ups, deception, family drama–Detective Kay Hunter has her hands full attempting to solve a mind-boggling puzzle. This series is full of creative, entertaining plots that don’t disappoint.

 

 

Interview with Marc Rainer Author of the Jeff Trask Crime Drama

 

 

Mob Rules Jeff Trask

 

 

 

MOB RULES: A Jeff Trask Crime Drama

 

Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Trask moves from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, where he begins an investigation into an international drug ring smuggling the deadly combination of fentanyl and heroin from the southern border to the Eastern Seaboard. In this case, Trask is fighting a rival whose criminal genius rivals Trask’s own intellect, and—while Trask is bound by the legal code and his own set of morals—the mob boss on the other side of this battle is unencumbered by such restrictions. The investigation forces Trask to choose whether to operate within the legal system ot to venture outside it in order to bring down the murderous kingpin.

 

Amazon | Goodreads | Website

 

 

 

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

MARC RAINER

 

 

Mob Rules has a very compelling plot. What was your creative approach to writing it?

As with all my books, I try to mix in quite a few real experiences from 30 years as a federal prosecutor with a plot that is also generated by one or more real cases, changing the names to protect the guilty as well as the innocent. I’m trying to return realism to the crime drama genre. Nobody outrunning machine gun fire or doing superhero stuff or solving the world’s biggest case alone. As in most avenues of life, it’s teamwork that’s essential and that wins for law enforcement. I hop into the heads of my characters and just keep asking myself what each character would do next in the real world. I try not to rush from one mental outline point to the next.

 

 

 

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What was behind the move from Washington, D.C. to Kansas city for Jeff Trask?

That was also somewhat autbiographical. After a few years in DC, I transferred to Kansas City, where I spent the last 25 years of my career as a federal prosecutor. I was tired of “the swamp” in my real life, and actually got tired of fighting it even in my fictional alter ego. It was time to move, both for me and foor Jeff Trask.

 

 

 

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What kind of investigation and what is he dealing with there?

Kansas City has always had a Mafia problem. I was assigned to the organized crime strike force unit when I got to Kansas City, and worked in that unit for a dozen years. It was this unit that made the case agains the Mafia in Vegas, the case upon which the movie “Casino” was based. (They ran that investigation before I arrived.) Trask has the same experience, and his first big case pits him against the mob in KC. The Mafia has always had its own weird and perverse set of loyalty codes, hence the title: “Mob Rules.”

 

 

Who else is helping Jeff on the investigation?

An old friend from the Air Force JAG named Cam Turner who is also a federal  prosecutor (a character based upon a real friend who paved the way for my transfer to KC), and a blended team of federal agents and Kansas City police detectives.  Since KC straddles the stateline between Missouri and Kansas, the investigative team includes detectives from both Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas. I worked several major cases with the KCMO Police Department’s Career Criminal Unit, and that unit is prominently featured in the book. The cooperation between local and federal authorities was a very pleasant change from DC, where all the investigative agencies were constantly stabbing each other in the back. We had a little of that in Kansas City, but nothing like what I saw in Washington.

 

 

 

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What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

This book probably has more humorous episodes included than did all the previous novels put together. That dark cop humor is an essential ingredient in writing a realistic police procedural, because it’s an essential ingredient in police life and culture. All the funny scenes were taken from my time in KC, and all—believe it or not—were real, as I indicated in the author’s notes at the end of the book. Even the funny truth is usually stranger than fiction. At any rate, it was nice being able to build in a few laughs for the audience instead of having to stay in “hard-boiled” or “gritty” mode the entire time.

 

 

 

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Marc Rainer is a former prosecutor in the federal and local courts of the District of Columbia and the Western District of Missouri (Kansas City), and a former circuit prosecutor for the US Air Force’s Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps. A graduate of the US Air Force Academy, he has more than thirty years eperience in the prosecution of major cases. He is married to a former Air Force OSI Special Agent, and lives in a suburb of a major American city. The first book in his Jeff Trask crime drama series, Capital Kill, has been ranked #1 in Amazon’s kindle store’s mystery series sales rankings.

 

MarcRainer.com