Suspense, Mystery, Horror and Thriller Fiction

January 2014

Meet Up & Coming Authors Jonathan Ryan D. B. Corey Jill Amadio Carla Norton

INSIDE HBO’S John Lescroart & True Detective T. Jefferson Parker Will Write for Cheese “FACEOFF” Daryl Wood Gerber

From the Editor C r e di t s John Raab President & Chairman A new year has started and the question Shannon Raab that always comes up at this time is: How will Creative Director publishing change this year? I really wish I had a crystal ball and could Romaine Reeves CFO tell the future, but hey, if I did, I wouldn’t be doing this, would I? What I can say is that the Starr Gardinier Reina Executive Editor trends that have been going on for the past couple of years will continue this year. There Jim Thomsen is no reason not to think that e-books will Copy Editor again continue to grow, pushing paperbacks Contributors and hardcovers further behind. Amazon, Donald Allen Kirch Apple, and Google are putting more money into technology that will make it easier Mark P. Sadler Susan Santangelo to read e-books, and buy them. If you didn’t know this holiday season, mobile Xmas DJ Weaver buying jumped and Apple’s iPhone led the way. The trend shows that more people are CK Webb Kiki Howell buying products online and that means more e-books. Kaye George But who suffers? Well, certainly not the reader or the author, unless you are not Weldon Burge Ashley Wintters willing to change. Barnes & Noble is in real trouble and it will be interesting to see if Scott Pearson it can stay afloat. Amazon is saying that, aside from having a drone deliver products to D.P. Lyle M.D. Kathleen Heady your house, it is also looking into brick and mortar stores. Stephen Brayton Brian Blocker Marketing for authors will still be a front-and-center issue. We have spoken with Andrew MacRae several authors in recent years and they all say the same thing: You better learn quickly Val Conrad Laura Alden how to connect with readers or you Melissa Dalton simply won’t sell many copies of Elliott Capon J.M. LeDuc your books. The supply of books Holly Price will only increase, allowing readers Kari Wainwright David Ingram to have more and more choices Jodi Hanson on what to read, putting them in Amy Lignor Susan May control of the market. Jenny Hilborne As for the magazine, we are Sharon Salonen Anthony J. Franze cutting the amount of issues this year Jeanine Elizalde to eight, so check out the website for Kristin Centorcelli Jerry Zavada the release dates. This doesn’t mean Ray Palen we will have less content, just fewer S.L. Menear Sherri Nemick issues. Leslie Borghini So yes, 2014 is a year of

Customer Service and transition and change. Just how Subscriptions: much nobody really knows, but one For 24/7 service, please use our website, www.suspensemagazine.com or write to: thing is for sure, it will be fun to SUSPENSE MAGAZINE at watch. 26500 Agoura Road, #102-474 Calabasas, CA 91302 Suspense Magazine does not share our John Raab magazine subscriber list to third-party companies. CEO/Publisher Suspense Magazine ■ Rates: $24.00 (Electronic Subscrip- tion) per year. All foreign subscrip- tions must be payable in U.S. funds. “Reviews within this magazine are the opinions of the individual reviewers and are provided solely to provide readers assistance in determining another's thoughts on the book under discussion and shall not be interpreted as professional advice or the opin- ion of any other than the individual reviewer. The following reviewers who may appear in this magazine are also individual cli- ents of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine: Mark P. Sadler, Starr Gardinier Reina, Ashley Dawn (Wintters), DJ Weaver, CK Webb, Elliott Capon, J.M. LeDuc, S.L. Menear, Leslie Borghini, and Amy Lignor.”

SuspenseMagazine.com 1 CONTENT Su sp e n se M ag a z i n e January 2014 / Vol. 054

Hit and Run By Bill Surdenik ...... 3

Will Write for Cheese By Daryl Wood Gerber...... 7

Special Excerpt: “Rosarito Beach” By M . A . Lawson...... 11

The IllusionistBy Christy Sloat...... 14

Haunting Queen Mary By Ryan Sturm...... 22

Inside the Pages: Suspense Magazine Book Reviews...... 24

Suspense Magazine Movie Reviews...... 38

Best in Film: 2013 By Susan May...... 39

Featured Artist: Ljilja Romanovic ...... 41

Stranger Than Fiction: Conspiracy! By Donald Allen Kirch...... 45

Special Excerpt: “Northern Soul” By Steven Savile and Steve Lockley. . . . . 52

America’s Favorite Suspense Authors: FaceOffBy Anthony J . Franze. . . . 62

Behind the Scenes Look: HBO’s True Detective with Nic Pizzolatto. . . . 68

Science & the Supernatural By Stephen Tremp...... 72

HarperCollins Flies the Friendly Sky's ...... 73

Ghost Train to Babylon By Big Jim Williams ...... 74 Hit and Run

By Bill Surdenik Donald didn’t believe in luck. It he felt himself weightless and free falling. He had no doubt had sentimentality, and he was no sentimentalist. He wasn’t been thrown into the air. Donald sat up and Carlo held onto the guy who wore a lucky jersey to games or knocked on his shoulders, helping him. wood. His belief system went Donald first, the dollar second. “A car hit me,” he said absently, unsure of his own words. Simple. Preparation, plans, timetables, and tools were rigid, He looked around. There was no car on the road now. dependable. His work was the sum of its parts. When a Mailer Street had retaken the ghostly charm of the industrial mission was complete, it always turned out just as he knew wasteland it split into equal halves. There was never traffic on it would. But luck was infamous for asserting itself. Even Mailer. The only cars were driven by the forty or so employees people who didn’t believe in it managed to pick the winning at the paper mill on the opposite side of the street, and it had lottery numbers or get struck by lightning every now and been closed for the holiday weekend. He imagined he’d been then. This stream of consciousness swirled through his mind hit by the only car to lay rubber on Mailer Street all day long. as he realized he was convulsing. How novel. His closed eyes throbbed. He felt tiny remnants of “They just drove off.” fresh asphalt digging into his shoulders and buttocks like “You okay?” bits of glass and realized he was on his back. His head and Carlo’s hat made his seriousness almost laughable. shoulders were rocking like he was in a boat in choppy waves “Just help me up.” and something like his name repeated in a distant garbled Donald got to his feet slowly, Carlo holding his arms. His voice. Carlo’s face was hovering above his, the Manny’s Hot knee, calf, and shin were all discolored and sore. He would Dogs hat like a child’s paper boat perched on his head, his definitely have a limp, but nothing felt broken. Small favors. hands shaking Donald by the shoulders as he repeated his He jerked suddenly as he realized the sun had set. It had only name with pained urgency. A huge sigh blew through his lips been on its way down when he left Manny’s, the sky a dark as Donald’s eyes came to focus on him. orange instead of purplish blue. The face of his watch had “You okay, Donny?” he said. been smashed, the hands frozen between five forty and five “I think so.” Donald raised a slow hand to his head. forty five. “What happened to you?” The Fitzgerald Center. No later than six fifty. Donald considered the question. He was in the westbound “What time is it?” he said. Carlo’s lips parted. His lane on Mailer Street. His brain went into rewind and cued shoulders slowly hitched up. up the last events it could summon up. Carlo had handed “I don’t know, Donny,” he said. “It’s got to be past six, him his dinner to-go in the white paper bag, polish sausage though.” with mustard, French fries, and a Sunkist. He reached into At this, Carlo stood like a well-meaning statue quizzically the bag as he stepped onto the sidewalk and pulled out a watching his patron, one of the few he considered a friend, greasy handful of fries. As he stepped off the curb his head struggle up the road on a leg that had no business trying to snapped to the right as his eye caught something—a sunny, run. It didn’t even occur to him to unhitch his shoulders and red blur. Then there was a tremendous blow against his right lower his hands. knee. What happened afterward took some harder thinking. “You don’t want me to call an ambulance, Donny?” he There was a screeching of brakes around the same time called.

SuspenseMagazine.com 3 Donald didn’t answer. space. The place reminded Donald of a train station. # The Fitzgerald had been a landmark practically since it His plan had been to catch the subway opened in nineteen ninety three and hosted an assortment of at forty seventh, take it to the Keeler stop, and walk the two events all year long. Everything from car shows to political and a half blocks to the Fitzgerald Center. No time for that debates. There were huge stone pillars on either side of the now. His knee stabbed him with each step, but he needed to crowded escalators to and from the second floor. There was a hurry. He didn’t even know what time it was. line of impatient faces streaming out of a Starbucks doorway. After lumbering only two blocks, Donald came upon a All but two of the myriad pay phones against the south cab parked on Jackson Street. The driver was sitting with his wall were in use. Engraved in the far wall was the word head down, reading or napping. ELEVATORS and an arrow pointing to the west corridor. “What time is it?” Donald said, collapsing into the back Donald’s limp was annoying but far from unbearable. He seat and slamming the door. Startled, the driver ruffled the bumped a few people as he hurried toward the corridor and pages of his celebrity magazine. once there, found it empty and dimly lit, completely unlike “Uh, about quarter after six,” he said. the main hall. There were four elevators with no one waiting. “Hundred and third and Keeler please,” Donald said As the doors closed, he saw his reflection in the mirrored settling back in the soft seat. It felt amazing, the weight finally surface, alone in the large but claustrophobic box. He looked off his leg. beaten. His hair was disheveled and his eyes were small and The driver dropped his magazine on the passenger seat sunken beneath his glistening forehead. He took a few deep and started the meter then shifted out of park and rolled away breaths and composed himself. He had made it somehow. from the curb. Donald fixated onto the tiny digital clock on Lucky, he thought. Lucky that Carlo had woken him up. the dash despite the chit chat coming from the driver. Lucky Rondo was waiting with his cab. Just one thing had His name was Rondo. He had three kids: six, four, and a gone wrong, the son of a bitch in the red car, but that hadn’t year and a half. He was Argentinian, had lived in Jersey most stopped him. He rubbed his knee as the elevator doors of his life and had moved here just a year and a half ago with opened to the fifth floor hallway. his wife and mother-in-law. He smelled like a locker room. # And he wouldn’t shut up, making no attempt to draw Donald He held the small sheet with his into the conversation. He was grateful for that. If Rondo instructions in both hands and glanced down at it as he insisted on setting his life story on the table, Donald would walked. The halls were brightly lit, the walls, ceiling, and tile just leave it there to get cold. He was preoccupied. floor all white. Also empty. At each turn were signs giving Mr. Drake would be at the Fitzgerald Center at seven directions. The words Chadwick Balcony West appeared on o’clock. Donald needed to get there at least ten minutes ahead every one, but the room itself was elusive. Donald needed to of him. encircle almost the entire floor to reach it, finding it actually “So what do you do?” Rondo asked. on the north side, not west. “I’m in construction.” He stood at the door written on his sheet, the one “Got a wife?” marked Employees Only between 5564 and 5565. There was “No.” an electronic keypad and keycard slot. He tucked the sheet of Donald squinted at the clock and his head stung. He paper in his pocket and pulled out the plastic passkey. He slid clenched his eyes shut. the card, black strip down, into the slot and waited until the “Can you tell me the time please, Rondo?” green light flashed. As he turned the handle and pushed the “Man you are in a hurry, aren’t you? It’s about twenty door open he found a long hallway ahead of him. The door minutes to seven.” fell behind and he started toward what he had envisioned in Donald stared up at the street sign on the next stoplight his head at least twenty times earlier that day. There would as they sailed through the intersection. Ninety Eighth Street. be a carpeted room about thirty by twenty. The wall opposite Just five more blocks. the door would be a sheet of clear Plexiglas with a bird’s eye He handed Rondo twenty dollars at a quarter to seven view of the fourth floor convention room like a skybox. There and told him to keep the change. Rondo gushed with thanks would be a vent at his feet on the right side of the doorway. as Donald stepped from the cab. The fresh air was heavenly The screws in each corner had been loosened so he could by comparison. He took off his broken watch and threw pull off the cover easily. So he could get at the item he needed it in a trash bin and started his jog north up the sidewalk. to retrieve, and assemble. He’d told Rondo to drop him a block and a half south of his He reached the end of the hall and arrived at the doorway. destination—just so he wouldn’t be reminded of a fare he’d He slid the card in the slot and the light flashed green. The dropped at the Fitzgerald Center later on while he watched room was just as he’d envisioned. It was dark, the nicks and the evening news. imperfections in the Plexiglas visible from the light that # poured up from the convention room below. Donald glanced The lobby was huge, like a smooth, polished down to the right. There was the vent. He knelt down and stone cave. The ceiling was at least fifty feet high and the found the screws were indeed loose. He pulled the cover off shiny floor echoed hundreds of footsteps throughout the the vent with no effort and reached inside.

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 4 # Donald’s knee ached as he slid the barrel through the He left the telescopic sight in the small hole in the glass. case. He wouldn’t need it. There was a bookcase against the “Tonight we have a guest with whom you are all familiar.” wall to his right and a small wooden clock was perched on More applause. The young woman smiled. one of the shelves. He still had nine minutes. The rifle hadn’t “He is a remarkable man without whom none of this taken long to assemble. It was a Remington, same model the would have been possible. So, ladies and gentlemen, it is my cops used. There had been a glass cutter in the vent, too, just great privilege to present to you, Mister Reginald Drake!” as Carter had told him. He cut a small hole in the Plexiglas Donald held the rifle steady. His leg stabbed and tingled. wall after determining the ideal place, and that hadn’t taken His head felt clammy. This was the part of the job he loved long either. most, when the gap between anticipation and the deed was He fixed it so he could prop on his injured knee, lay the at its smallest. The shutter would close and it would be done. barrel on a couple of stacked boxes that were in the room The woman stepped back from the podium staring straight and slip the end of the barrel through the hole he’d cut. The ahead at the doorway at the opposite end of the room. convention room had filled up already and there was a din Then something inexplicable happened. Every guest at growing louder. At the front of the room, a podium was set every table suddenly shot a glance up at Donald. He felt every up on the stage with a microphone. pair of eyes in the convention room fall on him and a lump Drake will be making a speech. He will stand at the of terror like lead fell in his stomach. Even the young woman podium. onstage was suddenly staring up at him, the smile gone from # her face. He withdrew the barrel from the wall and ducked. Donald didn’t know who Drake was and He hadn’t fired. How the hell did they know? didn’t want to. This was a ghost operation, meaning he didn’t The door behind him crashed open and Donald spun know who had called it in and didn’t know the reason. All around on his painful knee, wobbling on it. Two men were he knew, and all he needed to know, was that he had already standing in the doorway pointing rifles at him. been paid half the total bounty up front and Carter would “Freeze!” one of the intruders yelled. “Drop the weapon! pay out the second half upon delivery. Drop it and get on your stomach!” Donald knew Carter liked him. He had only been a part There were three of them now, all in riot gear, all of them of the network for a year and already Carter had handpicked with rifles the size of tank guns pointed at his face. They him for a couple jobs. They’d become something of a stood frozen and repeated their orders two more times as the team. They seemed cut from the same cloth, both of them reality sank into the slow quicksand of Donald’s brain. As he perfectionists. Carter was much older than Donald, but he lowered the Remington to the floor, the men descended on still treated him with an inordinate respect. He saw himself him. He started to lie down, but the men pushed him forward in his young protégé, Donald suspected. Good to have a foot until his chin met the carpet with a dull thud. His leg cried in the door. out. Donald felt cold metal cuffs tighten on his wrists and The last job Carter had assigned him to was a big step up, heard the familiar rights in a deadpan voice. a hit on some city official. That took backbone and everyone # in the network knew it damn well. The funeral had been on Donald sat at a table in a tiny interrogation TV, every local network, in fact. Donald was moving up in room. The one-way mirror reminded him of his perch. The the world. questions had stopped bubbling up in his head and now he He heard the chattering in the convention room begin to just waited. He’d already had one visitor, an officer who was die down and could see the guests gravitating to their seats. in dire need of an education in interrogation techniques. He Everyone was dressed in business suits, even the women. A offered Donald a cigarette. He refused. But the officer still left select few were wearing dull, expensive-looking dresses, but the pack on the corner of the table. Now it lay there, taunting something struck Donald as strange. There were no dinner him. places set at the tables. No plates. No forks, no knives. No All day long I was in the pocket of a cop who knew you glasses. Didn’t matter, he supposed. were being set up. He propped himself into position, aimed, and laid the Donald was used to the drill. He’d been through it too barrel over the stack of boxes. He stared over the length of many times to treat it with too much respect. Just one thing the Remington to the stage, to the podium. He stole a glance made him uneasy though, the drive in the back of the police at the clock on the shelf. Three minutes left. cruiser from the Fitzgerald Center. The cop in the driver’s seat A young woman stepped from the right side of the stage, had mentioned the name of the city official, Councilman So- and the audience all now seated at their tables welcomed her and-So, the one whose funeral had been on every network. with applause. She smiled and waved to some of the front The cop mentioned the name and told his partner that tables. She had short blonde hair and was mildly attractive in Donald might be the one who had fired the shot. You would a black dinner dress. She stepped to the podium and adjusted have thought these two morons had Lee Harvey Oswald in the microphone. the back of their car, but all their crap was wasted on Donald. “Good evening, everyone,” she said. “Thank you all for He sat and stared at the dull silver tabletop. He felt the making it out for this very special event.” pounding of eyes on him through the one-way mirror, just

SuspenseMagazine.com 5 like at the Fitzgerald when his blood suddenly ran cold, as turn over a new leaf. He’s agreed to assist us with a number everyone in the convention room turned and looked up at of open investigations, one of which might be of interest to him. you, Mister Tarlow.” No dinner settings. Not even a water glass. Shultz paused, staring Donald down. The door creaked open, but Donald didn’t look up. He “The shooting of Councilman Patrick Hurt,” he said. didn’t budge. Footsteps came closer and he sensed someone “Ever heard of him?” looming across the table. The legs of the chair opposite his Donald could see Shultz’s lips bending up at the corners. scratched over the floor and a man in a gray suit sat down. He He took another drag of his cigarette and licked his lips. folded his hands and laid them on the table. Donald gathered “I think you have,” Shultz went on. “So why don’t you his wits. He glanced up with his best poker face. help us out? You’re in a very bad spot, Mister Tarlow, so let’s “Mr. Tarlow, I’m Detective Moran. Have you been read talk about your options.” your rights?” Donald leaned back in his chair, trapped. He didn’t want Donald stared, said nothing. to be in this tiny, dark room anymore. He didn’t want Shultz “You have a right to an attorney.” in his face anymore. He didn’t want his halfwit partner in the Nothing. gray suit lurking in the corner. He was starting to sweat and “Do you have an attorney?” his leg was stinging him again. Nothing. “By the way,” Shultz said. “My officers tell me you were Moran turned toward the mirror, a look of bored complaining about your leg when they arrested you. Do you dissatisfaction. Donald expected he had nothing more to say need medical attention?” and that the big guns would be coming in at any moment. So Donald said nothing. far this was a cakewalk. All they had on him was attempted “Is it broken?” Shultz pushed. murder. Nothing more. Luck had nothing to do with any of “I was hit by a car.” Donald grinned and stammered a few this, the car accident, the sting. It was all up to him now, and sniggers through his nostrils. he would find a way out. He always did. A confused look came on Shultz’s face. Donald could The door opened again, but this time Donald turned. picture the whole scenario in his mind. He could imagine Moran stood up and walked to the corner of the room as this Carter sitting at a table just like this one. He could imagine new officer dressed in a navy suit walked in. He was older the cops leaning on him, sweating him, persuading him. than Moran. His full head of hair was white and blow-dried They knew about Carter’s involvement with the councilman back. He sat down and set a folder of the table. He grinned and wanted him to finger the button man. at Donald. They gave him word-for-word instructions to pass along. “Mister Tarlow,” he said. “I’m Lieutenant Shultz.” A Mister Drake will be speaking at the Fitzgerald Center “You look more like a Drake,” Donald smirked. at seven o’clock. Get there ten minutes ahead. Chadwick “That’s funny.” Shultz’s eyes wandered to the cigarette Balcony West. There will be a vent at your feet on the right pack. side of the doorway. There will be a rifle and a glass cutter. “Want a cigarette?” he said. The rifle in the vent was a Remington, the same rifle Donald shook his head. he’d used on Councilman Hurt. He hadn’t wiped it down Shultz opened the folder and took a large photograph afterward, and ballistics would no doubt match the rifle from out of it. He held it up with the blank side facing Donald. the vent to the bullet taken from his body. An attempt at suspense, Donald thought, and wrestled The people in the convention room had been so back a thin, smart-ass grin. He couldn’t help himself. convincing, the woman on the stage introducing the Shultz dropped the photo on the table. enigmatic Mister Drake. It had been a perfect setup, except “Do you recognize this man, Mister Tarlow?” Shultz said. for that one little detail, the thing that made him think twice. It was Carter. Donald sat silent, the residue of his smirk No dinner settings. Donald threw his head back and erupted still on his face. in an outburst of laughter. “His name is Donovan Carter. If you don’t want to answer Luck, he thought to himself. He reached his hands up my question, it’s all right. We already know he knows you.” and shook them like a born-again in a Pentecostal church. Shultz stared at Donald like a hunter stalking an animal. Now I’m a believer! The Monkeys sang one chorus in his “Have you been instructed of your rights?” he said. head and then went silent. The detectives shot furrowed “Yes I have.” glances at one another as Donald continued to laugh at the “Good.” blind stupid luck of it all. The hit and run had almost saved “Mind if I smoke?” him. He’d almost missed an appointment for the first time in “By all means,” Shultz said, taking the pack. He drew a his career, but then Carlo had woken him. Rondo had been cigarette, offered it to Donald and lit it for him. Donald drew waiting with his cab. He’d almost gotten lucky, but not quite. a long breath and let it out in a glorious swirling cloud. No cigar. “As I was saying,” Shultz continued, “his name is Donovan Donald dropped his hands to the table with a flat metallic Carter.” Shultz stood up and began pacing the floor. “Mr. bang that echoed through the small room. He grinned at Carter landed himself in a bit of trouble, but he’s decided to nothing and said, “I’d like my attorney now, please.” ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 6 Will Write for Cheese By Daryl Wood Gerber aka Avery Aames I began my career as an actress, and though I made a nice living as one, I did not have a breakout career. In order to do that, I realized I would need to write something in which I could star. I took classes, I toiled, but alas, that did not come to fruition. However, I enjoyed writing—I’d had visions of becoming a writer way back in seventh grade—so I pursued that avenue. Along the way, I was lucky enough to sell an idea that was turned into a TV series; however, that opportunity did not open other doors for me (long story; too long for this article). After that tidbit of series work, I was eager to become a staff writer on a TV show—and was more than willing to write someone else’s idea—but that didn’t happen either. I returned to the idea that if I was to become a star actress, I needed a good vehicle for myself, so I focused on screenplays. I studied; I toiled; I wrote a number of them. I even won a few screenwriting awards. I did not get a screenplay produced, but I was making headway; I was getting development people (for stars like Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan) to read my material. Timing, as the saying goes, is everything. I was writing romantic comedies, but much to my dismay, both Julia and Meg were making decisions to do dramatic work. That was the end of that. Fast forward: A year later, when my husband’s career at ESPN was on the rise, we chose to move from California to the East Coast. Needless to say, it was hard to “take meetings” in Hollywood from 3,000 miles away. That was when I turned to writing novels. When I decided to write a novel—who hasn’t wanted to write one?—I chose the genre I loved to read: edgy mysteries and thrillers. As I had when I wrote screenplays, I took classes, I joined writers groups, and I honed my craft. When I had written and tweaked my first full-length novel, I searched for an agent. Everyone passed. I rewrote the novel, developed a tough skin, and bearing the tide of rejection well, I submitted it again. The book found an agent who hadn’t sold any fiction. The agent tried to sell it to four different buyers. When he failed, he returned it to me and said he was no longer my agent. Round two. I set that book aside, and inspired with a new idea, I wrote a second novel. It was definitely better written than the first. The idea was unique. I submitted that book to agents and was turned down repeatedly; however, based on previous material that they’d read of mine, a few agents asked me to submit my next book. I wrote another book, this with the intent that it would be a series. It featured a female sleuth; it was set in Lake Tahoe (my favorite place). I submitted the manuscript to many of the same agents. I received many of the same comments (they loved my writing; they loved the character), but no agent was jumping all over me to represent “that” book. They liked me; they appreciated my persistence;

SuspenseMagazine.com 7 they liked my writing style. After receiving rejections for all of my novels—more than five, less than ten—I started to wonder if I was any good or if I was fooling myself? Was I reading more into those rejection letters than was there? I considered giving up writing. There had to be something else I could do with my creative passion. During this time, I had joined a group called the Guppies, (The Great Unpublished), an Internet online group for Sisters in Crime. The Guppies shared ideas and thoughts about the industry, about writing, about how to stick with a project, about how to set a project aside and start a new one. I was the president of the group for one year and found that I was a darned good cheerleader. I rooted for everyone to set goals, to believe in themselves, to succeed. The Guppies started a contest called Queen of Rejection. (There are a few guy members in the Guppies, but primarily they are women.) For the Queen of Rejection contest—I preferred Queen of Persistence, but I was no longer the president and couldn’t veto the title—you had to do a mass mailing to agents. Whoever got the most rejections—which, understand, meant you were also sending out the most query letters and exposing your material to the most people—won the contest. Well, guess who won? Right. Me. I sent out over 100 letters in a matter of two months. Because many were agents who had received material from me in the past—a few I’d met at conferences—I heard from all of them. The letters were polite and even encouraging: “No, thank you, but what’s next on your agenda?” They knew I was dogged; they knew I could be prolific. What next? Big sigh. After that contest, I wasn’t sure I had the oomph to write one more book, no matter how much passion I had for a subject. I mean, that last book was the best I could do. I loved the story. I loved the characters. I knew my skill was up to snuff. What was I doing wrong? Why couldn’t I get an agent to ADORE my work and become my champion? At that time, a critique partner (one I’d met through the Guppies) suggested I write to the market. What did she mean? Cozy mysteries were in, she told me. She had sold a series with a three-book deal. I could do it. She told me that some publishers hired writers to write what the publisher believed was a timely theme. Mind you, I was writing edgy mysteries and thrillers. Serial killers and heroes saving the world. I wasn’t sure I could switch genres, but I reminded myself that, in the past, I had been more than willing to adapt. I had written television comedies as well as dramas. I had written romantic comedy screenplays as well as action adventure and thriller screenplays. Heck, I could do it. I could write someone else’s idea if need be. First, I had to prove to myself that I could write a cozy mystery. Think Agatha Christie or adult Nancy Drew. Little violence on the page; not a lot of bad language; not a lot of sex. Some humor. A mainstream whodunit? So I set to work and wrote a number of three-chapter cozies, with outlines and full bibles (the storyline and direction for the series). I really got into the work. I loved my characters. I loved creating new towns, new hooks. I targeted one specific agent whom I’d met at a conference and submitted three of my ideas to her, only to be turned down…again! Except this time, she was very encouraging. She loved my style, just not the hook—the thing that an agent and, therefore, publisher needs to capture an audience. She wanted to see more. Quickly. I sent three more. Quickly. Turned down. I tried again. Three more. Turned down. The upside this time: though she loved some of my hooks, the publisher she had in mind already had those hooks. Frustrated beyond measure, I told the agent that I was putting aside cozy mysteries; however, I’d heard about work-for-hire projects, and I said that if one ever came her way and she felt comfortable putting my name in front of the editor, I’d be open to that idea. She agreed. While I was writing my “last” thriller—truly, if that book didn’t find an agent (it’s still one of my all-time favorite books)—I was going to quit and find something else to be passionate about. That’s when I got “the call.” The agent I’d been pitching cozy mysteries to had a work-for-hire project about a cheese shop. “Can you write about cheese?” she asked. Could I? Yes. I’d been writing for free. I could definitely write FOR cheese! Here’s how the process went. I had to audition. The publisher had a bible, that consisted of a few pages, which included a basic storyline (who gets murdered and who did it), the history of the main character, and two lines about each of the other main characters they expected to see in the manuscript. I had three weeks to write three chapters. Nowadays, work-for-hire auditions can involve many authors; at that time, I had the first stab at it. I wrote, I rewrote, I tweaked, I put the pages past my critique group. Satisfied that I’d captured the voice as well as the tone and setting, I sent them to the agent. My critique partner warned that I might not hear for weeks, if at all. The agent called me the next day and said she loved the pages; she was sending them on to the publisher. She warned me that I might not hear for weeks, if at all. She called me a few days later to offer me a contract for a three-book series. A year later, on the eve of my first book being published, people asked me, “Was giving up on your own story worth it?”

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 8 The answer was a definitive yes. I had become excited about cheese. I had become passionate about my characters and the town I had created—a fictional town set in Ohio. Now, a few years later, I’m still happy that I made the decision. By February, I will have published five books in the Cheese Shop Mystery series, with a contract for at least two more. I also have a new series, published under my own name. It, too, is a cozy mystery: A Cookbook Nook Mystery series, set on the coast of California. The most difficult part of writing under a pseudonym is getting the fans of Avery Aames (my pseudonym) to be fans of Daryl Wood Gerber (my real name). They need to know that the two authors are the same and write in the same genre. Let’s here it for social media. That helps. In the future, if I want to publish thrillers or even mainstream fiction—and I still do—I might have to face that same challenge, getting my fans to know that I write in other genres. Nora Roberts pulled it off; I will, too. So, to wrap up, though I was passionate about my novels and though I’d received many kudos about my work, let’s face it. I couldn’t land on the topic that an agent, let alone a publisher, was passionate about. My publisher had the hook, and I had the passion. The agent had the foresight to match us up. It was a perfect storm. By accepting a work-for-hire job, I was able to build my reputation as a writer. I didn’t suffer monetarily. I was paid what any new author with a three-book deal was paid; I get residuals. I won the Agatha Award for best first novel. I was able to parlay my reputation as a respectable writer into another three-book contract, written under my own name. Both of my series are national bestsellers, with tens of thousands of readers. And I have been contracted for more books. That’s a career. For aspiring authors reading this article, I know the adage is write what you know, and write what you are passionate about, but if you’re facing rejection after rejection, and you feel that you’re on the verge of quitting: DON’T. Write what you feel you must, but be willing to write for…YOU FILL IN THE BLANK. You, too, can be passionate…about anything…if you set your mind to it. Writing a work-for-hire is not a travesty. It’s an opportunity, to get to know your agent, to work with your editor, and to find a fan base. Believe you can…and you will. ■

DARYL WOOD GERBER writes the nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mystery series. She also writes under a pseudonym, AVERY AAMES. As Avery, she pens the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling Cheese Shop Mystery series. Daryl’s short stories have been nominated for the Agatha, Anthony, and other awards. Fun tidbit: as an actress, Daryl has appeared in “Murder, She Wrote” and more. Visit Daryl aka Avery at www.darylwoodgerber.com. Check out recipes on her blog www.mysteryloverskitchen.com and friend her on Facebook.

“Inherit the Word,” release date March 4, 2014 by Daryl Wood Gerber: Jenna Hart moved back to Crystal Cove, California, with the intention to relax and help her aunt, Vera, run the local culinary bookshop and café. But it’s hard to follow a simple recipe for relaxation when murder gets thrown in the mix. The Cookbook Nook is set to host the town’s upcoming Grill Fest, a tasty tradition which pits local amateur chefs against one another to concoct the most delicious dishes. This year’s challenge: Grilled Cheese. But with competing chefs bearing grudges from past years, more mouths are running off than salivating. The expression “too many cooks” proves all too true when the eight-time champ is found murdered in the alley behind the café. Soon a local diner owner (and Jenna’s “second mother”) is suspected of bumping off the competition, and Jenna has to douse the flames before the wrong person gets burned.

“Days of Wine and Roquefort,” release date February 4, 2014 by Avery Aames: Cheese Shop owner Charlotte Bessette’s life seems quieter than ever with her fiancé out of town and her cousin Matthew and his children out of the house. But before she can put up her feet and enjoy a glass of chardonnay, Matthew asks her to play host to Noelle Adams, a bright sommelier visiting to help grow business for the local winery. An affable wine aficionado, Noelle is paired well with cheese expert Charlotte—but something seems to be troubling the secretive houseguest. Charlotte’s life is upended when she finds the sparkling woman dead. Between Noelle’s hotheaded ex, the cagey owners of the winery, its jaded manager, and a wily reporter, Charlotte has her pick of suspects, but she needs to act fast—this is a mystery that only gets more dangerous with age.

SuspenseMagazine.com 9

Special Preview from M. A. Lawson Rosarito Beach By M. A. Lawson Press Photo Credit: Tara Gimmer 1 Kay checked the time. Again. María Delgato was forty minutes late. If María had decided to blow her off, Kay was going to invent a reason for arresting her tomorrow. Kay was sitting alone at a splintery wooden picnic table near a taco stand that was closed for the day. Two middle-aged men in an unmarked Ford Crown Victoria were parked fifty yards away. If Kay hadn’t been so pissed at María, it would have been pleasant sitting there, enjoying the view of the Coronado Bridge and the skyline of San Diego across the bay. Kay had just decided to give her five more minutes when María swung into the parking lot in her boyfriend’s BMW convertible. María stepped from the car, hesitated briefly, and started toward Kay, then stopped when she saw the two men in the sedan. “Come on,” Kay said. “Those guys are with me. They’re okay.” María Delgato was eye candy: twenty-four years old, long black hair, a heart-shaped face, a coffee-and-cream complexion. She had an incredible body. They had surveillance photos of her sunbathing topless on Tito Olivera’s yacht, and there wasn’t a DEA agent in San Diego who hadn’t seen those photos. Kay was surprised they hadn’t been posted on the Internet. “Are you the one who called me?” María asked when she reached the table. She was probably surprised that Kay looked only a few years older than her. “Yeah. I’m Kay Hamilton. Sit down.” “Let me see your ID.” María’s English had just a trace of a Spanish accent. “Sure,” Kay said. Kay was wearing a blazer, and she made sure María could see the .40 caliber Glock in the shoulder holster as she took her badge case from an inside pocket. The Glock intimidated most people, but probably not María. She was used to being around men who were armed. Kay flipped open the case and showed her credentials. “Now, sit down.” María sat. “Okay. What’s this all about? What happened to my brother?” “Did you tell Tito you were meeting me?” Kay said. “No. Of course not. He’d kill me if he knew I was talking to a DEA agent.” She was probably right about that, Kay thought. “So where did you tell Tito you were going?” “I told him I had to go see my mother, that she’s not feeling well. I see her three, four times a week.” “Good. After you leave here, make sure you go see your mother.” “Just tell me about my brother. You said he was in trouble.” “He is. I arrested him this morning,” Kay said. “He was carrying an unregistered weapon and four eight-balls of cocaine. Dealer’s weight.” Miguel Delgato was a year younger than María and almost as pretty. He sold coke to college kids at San Diego State because he looked like a college kid

SuspenseMagazine.com 11 himself. Kay didn’t think he was a bad guy; he just didn’t know any other way to make a living. “Miguel’s now looking at a minimum of five years in the federal pen at Victorville,” Kay said. “Ah, Jesus,” María said. “Yeah, that’s right. When he gets out of jail, he’ll be infected with AIDS and God knows what else, and he’ll look like those washed-up hookers you see on El Cajon Boulevard. You know, María. The ones who look like zombies, all the life gone from their eyes.” “Why are you telling me this?” Kay didn’t answer the question. “To make matters worse, you, your brother, and your mother are all illegals. You’re not U.S. citizens.” “Bullshit. I was born in Arizona and I got papers to prove it. Birth certificate, Social Security number, all that shit. So does Miguel and my mom.” Kay shook her head like she felt sorry for María. “You have forged papers, María, and they’re bad forgeries. You were born in El Salvador, and you and your mother and your little brother snuck into the U.S. twelve years ago, right after your father died. María, I know more about you than I do about my own sister.” Kay didn’t have a sister, but she did know everything there was to know about María Delgato and her family. It looked for a moment like María was going to continue to argue that she was a bona fide citizen, but she gave up. “What are you saying? You’re gonna deport me?” “That’s right. Your mother, too. ICE is going to drag her out of her nice little apartment in National City, stick her on a plane with only the clothes on her back, and ship her back to El Salvador. You’re going to be on the plane sitting next to her. Then I’m going to make sure you never get back into this country again.” “Why are you doing this? All the crime in this fucking country, and you’ve decided to destroy my family. Why?” “Because you’re sleeping with Tito Olivera.” “So what? That’s not illegal. I don’t have anything to do with the things he does.” “You’re right. Fucking Tito isn’t illegal, and I know you don’t have anything to do with his business. But you see, María, my only reason for living is to put Tito Olivera in prison, and I’ve decided that you’re the one who’s going to help me do it.” “You want me to snitch on Tito? Do you know what the Olivera cartel does to snitches?” “Yeah, I know what they do. So we need to make sure you don’t get caught.” “I’m not gonna get caught, because I’m not gonna help you. That would be suicide.” Kay stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. “Okay. Have it your way.” Kay rose from the picnic table and made a Come here motion with her right hand. María turned to see who she was waving at, and saw it was the two guys in the Crown Vic. When they got out of the car, María could see they were two serious-looking white guys wearing suits and aviator sunglasses. They started walking toward the picnic table. “Who are they?” María asked. “ICE. They’re taking you and your mother to a detention center tonight, and tomorrow you’ll be on your way back home. As for your gorgeous brother . . . Well, there’s no point repeating myself.” “Wait a minute!” María said. Kay held up a hand and the two men stopped walking. “My mother’s got a heart condition,” María said. “She could die if you send her back to El Salvador.” “Not my problem, María, but I’m sure they must have some kind of medical system down there.” “Look. I need some time to think about this.” “There’s nothing to think about. You’re either going to help me or I’m going to deport you and your mother, and I’m going to do it so fast that you’re not going to have time to get a lawyer or anybody else to stop me.” “But I can’t help you! I don’t know anything about Tito’s operation. He doesn’t tell me what he’s doing.” “María, we can’t get recording devices into Tito’s house. We’ve tried half a dozen times, but there’s always someone there. I’ve got warrants to tap his phones, but even as dumb as Tito is, he knows better than to say something incriminating on the phone. What you’re going to do is put a few bugs in the house for me. I have them with me. They’re tiny. You’re going to stick one under Tito’s desk, one under that big black coffee table in the living room, and one under the bar by the pool.” “Tito has the house swept every week for listening devices.” “I know that, María. I also know the kind of equipment he uses, and Tito’s equipment won’t detect these bugs.” María was silent, probably trying to think of some other reason why she couldn’t do what Kay wanted. Finally, she said, “And that’s it? I put a couple bugs in the house and you leave my mother alone and you let Miguel go?” Kay laughed. “Come on, María. You think all blondes are stupid? If I let Miguel go, you’ll tell Tito about the bugs and Tito will help Miguel get into Mexico. Then Tito will get a hotshot immigration lawyer for you and your mama, and it’ll take me

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 12 years to deport you.” “So what happens to my brother?” “Your brother is going to be arraigned for intent to distribute narcotics and for carrying a concealed weapon, and the judge will give him bail. We’ll make sure he has enough cash to pay the bondsman. Then we’re going to take Miguel into protective custody. It’ll look like he skipped to keep from going to jail, but we’ll have him. If you do what I want, as soon as Tito’s arrested, we’ll let your brother go and he won’t serve any time. But if you don’t do what I want, then Miguel goes to Victorville.” “This can’t be legal.” “What do you know about legal, María? You’re a wetback, not a lawyer.” “This isn’t right.” “I don’t have time for this,” Kay said. She stood up again and motioned at the two men in suits, who were now leaning against their car. “Guys, she’s all yours. Get her out of here.” “All right! I’ll do it. I’ll plant the bugs. But that’s all I’ll do.” “No, that’s not all you’ll do. I’m going to call you every once in a while from an untraceable phone. The number won’t show up on your cell phone bill, and since we’re watching Tito all the time, I’ll call when he’s not around. Then we’ll just chat. You’ll tell me what Tito’s been up to, who he’s been talking to, that sort of thing. You know, girl talk. If I think we need to meet, we’ll meet.” “You’re gonna get me killed.” Kay placed her right hand gently on María’s forearm. “No, I’m going to take care of you, María. I’m going to take care of your brother and your mother, too. After this is all over, we’ll put you into Witness Protection if we have to. We’ll get you new identities. We’ll relocate you. You want to become American citizens, we’ll take care of that, too. And with your looks, I imagine it won’t take you any time at all to find some rich guy to marry—it just won’t be Tito Olivera. Now I’m going to tell the guys from ICE that you’ve decided to cooperate, and after they’re gone I’m going to show you how to attach the bugs. They’re real easy to attach.” María put her head in her hands and started crying. Kay gave her a pat on the shoulder and said, “Stop that. You’re going to smear your mascara.” Kay walked over to the men leaning against the Crown Vic. One was a nurse at Scripps Mercy Hospital and the other was a yoga instructor. They lived together and were Kay’s next-door neighbors. They were also wannabe actors. When Kay had told them she needed their help in a small sting operation and all they had to do was show up in suits and try to look tough, they were delighted to help. “You guys can take off,” she said to them. “And thanks.” “How we’d do?” one of them said. “Perfect. You looked like two badass federal agents. The sunglasses were a nice touch.” Actually, the sunglasses were over the top. “You want to come over for drinks tonight? Don will make up a pitcher of strawberry margaritas and you can tell us what’s going on.” “Sorry,” Kay said. “I can’t tell you. But I will be over later for the ’ritas.” After what happened to Kay in Miami, she was going to limit the number of people who knew about María Delgato to only one other agent in the DEA—which was why she’d used her nice-guy neighbors to impersonate ICE agents. She was going to do everything she could to minimize the risk of María—or herself—being killed because people couldn’t keep their mouths shut. There was not going to be another Miami. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 13 IllusionistThe

By Christy Sloat It was 7:15 when Keelie arrived at Graham’s house, but it was already so dark that she could barely see her hand in front of her face. The night was unusual in that there were no stars looming overhead. The atmosphere in the air was spooky, making Keelie feel even more excited to attend the circus with her friends. They went every year the circus came to town. Keelie, Graham, Carver, and Hope. Who knew when they became friends so many years ago, that they would all end up dating each other by senior year? Carver and Hope had started dating first. Adam Carver, the ultimate ladies’ man, had fallen for Hope. Who wouldn’t? She was tall, slim, and had a tan other girls would die for. But with Keelie and Graham it had been much different. They had liked each other for years, but neither could find the nerve to ask the other out. Finally last summer, as they walked together on what had become a nightly stroll, he asked her out for dinner. And that was that. Now the four did everything together as couples. So, that was another aspect that made this particular circus trip even more exciting. That, and the new circus event, called The Illusionist. Keelie loved magic tricks, especially the disappearing acts. She had once been on a cruise and watched as a woman disappeared on stage, right in front of her. The magician had been really good back then, and she hoped for an even better show tonight. Graham opened the door as soon as Keelie reached it. His blue eyes looked her up and down, as he stroked his chin. “Looking very nice tonight, Ms. Hayes. I think I may have to take you upstairs for an impromptu make out session first,” he finally said with a wicked grin. “No way! We are not going to be late picking up Carver and Hope,” she admonished. Graham looked pretty hot tonight himself, but Keelie remembered Hope had told her to be on time. Hope didn’t want to miss the acts and Keelie wanted to see the new show. “Fine, but may I have a little kiss?” Keelie jumped in his arms, practically knocking him over, and planted a big kiss on his lips. “How’s that?” she asked as he set her down. “Makes me only want you more,” he replied, ruefully. He grabbed his coat and they got in the car. Luckily, Hope lived only a few blocks away. After a short drive Keelie and Graham arrived at Hope’s. Once they pulled up at the curb, Keelie noticed Carver and Hope looked upset with each other. Hope stood with her arms crossed across her chest while Carver sat on the grass. “Uh oh! I guess they’re fighting again,” Keelie said. “Great, what a way to ruin the night,” Graham sighed. Moments later, Hope got in the car, followed by Carver who appeared sullen. “Is everything okay?” Graham asked Carver. “Yeah, I suppose. Someone I knew died today,” he mumbled. “Olivia Grant, she was battling cancer, remember?”

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 14 They all knew very well who Olivia was and that she had been sick. Carver and Olivia had dated sophomore year. It was a sore subject because Hope was jealous of their closeness. Hope felt awful for her having cancer, but it seemed Carver spent a lot of time by her hospital bed lately. Keelie knew it wouldn’t be long until Olivia passed once the cancer got into her bones. It wasn’t something any of them hoped would happen, but Hope still looked upset. The car ride remained quiet until they reached the circus entrance and the guys got out. “So, what’s wrong Hope?” Keelie finally asked her. Hope unfolded her arms and tears spilled down her cheeks. “It’s like life for him is over, now that she’s gone. He acts like I was nothing and she was his one true love.” Hope wiped her face and sighed. “He said he wants a break after tonight. That he needs to mourn his loss. Keelie, they only dated for six months.” Keelie reached across the seat and held her friend’s hand. She knew Carver was taking this hard, but it was true, Olivia and he only dated for a short time. But then again, when someone passed away it could be hard to focus on anything else. Keelie knew this all too well. She had lost her brother two years ago. He had disappeared, seemingly into thin air. She and her parents knew in their hearts he was dead. “Come on, Hope, let’s see if we can’t cheer you both up. The circus is our thing, and it’s the last time we will be here all together.” It was true they all would be off to college in the fall. Hope and Keelie got out and met the boys by the entrance to the tent.

*****

By the end of the circus show, the girls were exhausted from laughter and the boys were ready to move on. Carver’s mood had gotten a little brighter, but not enough to improve the night’s now ruined plans. Keelie wanted to see the illusionist badly, but the others wanted to check out the new Fat Lady show. “Fine,” she said finally. “I’ll go check his show out and you go see the fat lady.” She left them all and walked off. She wasn’t mad at them, but she was a little disappointed. Especially with Graham, he knew how much she loved that sort of stuff. Sitting and making fun of an overweight lady wasn’t fun to her. “Hey, Keelie, wait up,” Carver called to her. “I want to go see the magician with you.” “Really?” She was happy he was coming and all, but he didn’t seem like the type to like a show like this. “Yeah, why not.” He smiled. They walked across the grounds and looked for the tent. They finally spotted it in the far corner and made their way to it. Once they got close enough, they noticed it was surrounded by an odd fog, that only lurked around the tent. Keelie got goose bumps across her arms and Carver pulled his coat tighter. It wasn’t that cold outside, but for some reason they both felt a chill. No one stood outside to accept tickets nor was there anyone waiting for the show. They were the only two people there. “Maybe we missed it,” Keelie suggested. “It says the show starts in ten minutes. Maybe we are just early, that’s all.” Keelie shrugged and got closer to the entrance hoping to sneak a peek inside. But as she got closer, she noticed a sign in front: “What is the real illusion? Come inside to find the answer.” It was alluring that was sure, but by the looks of the tent it screamed darkness. Sure, she had seen the people on t.v. who did daring acts that would scare her. But this wasn’t a freak show, it was a family circus in the suburbs. This only made Keelie want a look inside even more. She got closer and closer to the opening. Her breath catching in her throat as she touched the velvet rope holding the curtains closed. “Stop!” Carver shouted. She turned to a frightened Carver, and retorted “I only want to peek inside, Carver, calm down.” When she turned back around a woman stood in front of her holding a burning cigarette in her hands ever so delicately. She looked like she had come from another time and place. Her hair was glossy black and pulled up on the sides by clips with black roses on them. “Oh, sorry, nice costume,” Keelie said nervously. “It is not a costume. Boy, aren’t you pretty! What are you doing here?” the woman asked as she took a drag. “I came for the show,” Keelie answered. What else would she be doing here? “And you, boy, you came for the show, too?” she asked Carver. He nodded and his mouth fell open when the woman smiled and winked at him. She was beautiful, in a gothic sort of way. Keelie eyed her suspiciously. There was something strange about her for sure. “Once you enter, there is no going back the way you once came. I need to make that clear,” the woman said.

SuspenseMagazine.com 15 Keelie laughed nervously. Was this was a trick to scare? She wasn’t some little kid entering a haunted hayride. She knew there was an exit, just like there are ways out everywhere. It was dark and eerie outside. She hoped this was just part of the act. “Do you understand?” the woman asked again. They both nodded and the velvet rope fell to the ground while the curtain opened. Keelie strolled in with Carver right behind her. Once she saw the stage in front of her, she was shocked. The inside was almost as big as the circus show tent. The stage in front of her was lit dimly by a small light in the center. The gothic woman circled them a few times, looking them over. Carver stood tall while Keelie shrunk in her nervousness. There was something about this whole place that didn’t feel right. “You know, maybe we can come back for another show. I think we need to find our friends,” Keelie lied as she grabbed Carver’s arm. “I believe I just told you that you must stay. By the way, I am Arianne. Please find your seats.” Arianne gestured towards the rows of seats that circled the stage. Keelie let go of Carver and turned to walk away. “I’m out of here, something’s not right. This isn’t the Ringham’s Circus. You are totally fake and I am not staying here.” When she turned around to walk out she noticed the curtain they just walked through was gone. All that was there were velvet walls. She reached out to find the exit and Arianne laughed wickedly. She searched, but couldn’t find a way out of there. “What brought you here? A flyer perhaps? Not a sign on the Ringham Brothers Circus entrance, am I correct?” Arianne pulled another cigarette out and lit it gracefully. “Yes, a flyer I saw. I don’t even remember where I saw it,” Keelie admitted. “What does that mean? You’re not part of the circus, are you?” Arianne’s shook her head and snickered. “You’re here for a purpose, aren’t you, my dear? And you, boy, you came to find answers about the dead girl you hope to see again. Every breath you take makes you feel guilty about her not being able to do the same.” Carver’s eyes welled up and his fists clenched. If she wasn’t a girl, Keelie was sure he would have hit her. One thing she knew about him was do not press his buttons. “How do you know about Olivia? Who told you?” he spat. Arianne only shrugged and turned towards Keelie. “And you,” she pointed to Keelie. “You don’t feel bad about the brother you lost. You may mourn him, sure. But you were ignored before he died. No one cared about you or your accomplishments. Now, without him here, you get the college money that was meant for him and the brand new car, too.” “No, that’s wrong. You don’t know that!” Keelie screamed. “This isn’t a magic show, this is something evil.” “You’re right, this is no magic show. The illusionist does not deal with magic. He brings back those we wish we could see once more. He has the power to raise the dead. But you don’t want to see your brother again, right?” “I want to leave,” Keelie cried. Arianne laughed at her expense. “This isn’t a show or trick of light. This is real. And you’re here for a reason. Now, sit and wait for the illusionist,” she said as she pointed to the seats in the front row that were now lit up. They watched as a single candle lit itself on the edge of the stage. Once it was lit, several candles ignited themselves all the way around. “What sort of place is this?” Keelie asked Arianne, but when she turned around, Arianne was gone. Keelie felt cold and terrified. She had not expected things to turn out this way. She had only merely been hoping for a good show, not to be scared. She grabbed onto Carver’s arm and yanked on his sleeve. “We need to get the hell out of here, now!” she said to him, frantic. Carver’s now pale face held no expression. He had heard her, but didn’t want to leave. He was enticed and Keelie could see it. She had no idea her friend was so in love with Olivia. If she had, she would have told Hope to give him time to grieve. Hope! She remembered that she had her cell and pulled it out of her purse. The phone lit up once she touched it, but according to the display, she had no service. “How is that possible?” she asked herself. She dialed anyway and nothing happened. It was like she was in the Twilight Zone all of a sudden. “Cell phones won’t work in here, my dear Keelie. And I do not allow them,” said a male voice from the stage, capturing her attention. “Be seated and I will let you out of here once you see.” “See what?” Carver demanded. But the voice did not answer him. Carver held Keelie’s hand and led her to the front row. She could feel his hands tremble slightly. He was scared, just like she was, but he was interested, while she was not.

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 16 As soon as they sat down, a man appeared on the stage. He had a distinguished look about him that drew Keelie in. His hair was an auburn brown mixture and his eyes were piercing green. He wore a black velvet coat with tails that he took off and laid over a chair, one that she hadn’t noticed on the stage. He also wore an ivory shirt with suspenders. Keelie noticed he had a European look to him and she liked it. It settled her mind to be with him and to see he wasn’t scary. He looked kind and gentle, but he still had an edge. He was of course, older than Keelie, by far. But Keelie didn’t mind. She shook her head trying to think of anything else but wanting to kiss the man on stage. Her thoughts of him consumed her momentarily, but she would have to get a hold of herself. It was easy to get lost in your thoughts in a place like this. The red velvet walls held the reflection of the candles and made a soft glow about the room. It helped to make her feel at ease. “I am Holden Dexter, the illusionist. The igniter of flames and deliverer of souls. I will play your mind and win its bet. I will show you how the illusions are met. Are you an illusion? One will find out, the other will stay and live in their doubt.” Once he was done, Keelie was stunned and shocked. She didn’t understand. One will stay, one will leave? If that is what he was saying, she couldn’t believe it to be true. Holden held his pose on the stage waiting for them to reply it seemed. Keelie clapped and Carver joined in, although neither one knew why they did. Holden bowed slightly then the room went completely dark. Keelie let out a slight scream and the candles relit themselves and instead of Holden in the middle of the stage, there sat a fair haired girl with doe eyes. She wore a white nightdress and slippers. She looked terrified until she saw Carver. Once she saw him, her smile rose and her eyes twinkled. “Olivia?” Carver asked stunned. Olivia smiled and waved, but did not move from her spot on stage. Holden joined her and held her hand. It was impossible for Keelie to believe what she was seeing in front of her very eyes. But it, in fact, was Olivia. Keelie didn’t understand how Holden had done it, but then she thought of his rhyme, deliverer of souls. Did he bring back the dead? Arianne had mentioned it earlier. “Now, she is someone you know, correct, Mr. Carver?” Holden asked. Carver nodded vehemently. “She is yours to have. You know you love her. Come on stage and claim her.” Carver stood and Keelie grabbed his arm. “Carver, she’s dead. What are you doing?” “She may be dead Keelie, but that’s her right there. I love her. I always have.” “What about Hope? Do you not love her? She’s alive and Olivia, well, she’s not.” Keelie was desperate. She didn’t want to see her friend make a mistake and get his hopes up. Once he went on stage, it wouldn’t be Olivia, it would be a mirage. “I am not in love with Hope. Not like I am with Olivia. If there is a way for me to be with her, I will.” He yanked his arm from her grasp and walked onto the stage. Olivia reached out for him and he reached for her. Once their hands met they disappeared altogether. Keelie shouted and Holden held his hands to his lips motioning for silence. Keelie was shocked. Where did they go? “Do not despair, my dear Keelie. They are not gone forever. He will return shortly, hopefully.” Keelie was angry now. What the hell did all this mean? She grabbed her hair and pulled. She was upset with herself for bringing this on to her friend. How did this happen? “Why are you talking in riddles and where is my friend?” she screamed. Holden held his hand up and stopped her mid scream. “I am not talking in riddles, my dear, I am only trying to assure you that your friend is not gone, he is merely not here at the present time.” A grin spread across his handsome face. “That is the same thing!” Keelie raked her hands through her hair and felt the frustration flood her body. She knew something wasn’t totally right with this situation. Alarms had gone off in her head at the entrance of this tent, and now they were screaming at her, ‘Get out now.’ “I want to leave, now. And I want my friend back,” she said boldly. Holden came down from the stage slowly and before she knew it he was standing in front of her. His hand reached out and softly touched her cheek. Strange as it was she let him. There was something very comforting about his touch. “Keelie, before you can leave you must answer the riddle. One must stay here and the other can go. I played your mind; do you have what it takes to play back?” His voice was velvety and thick. She felt entranced in his gaze, but the buzz in her pocket snapped her out suddenly. Her phone was ringing. She had to get to it, but how? It seemed like she was not allowed to be part of the outside, since she was trapped here in this lair. “I have to think, give me a moment?” she said as sweet as she could. In a breath he was gone and she was alone. She sighed heavily and ducked down in the dark to answer. “Hello.”

SuspenseMagazine.com 17 “Keelie, where are you?” It was Hope. “Hope, I am in this terrible scary tent. It’s at the edge of the grounds. It was supposed to be the illusionist tent, but I think there’s something wrong,” she said in a rush. “What tent, Keelie? We walked the whole place and we can’t find anything. Carver said maybe you would come find us, so we are waiting by the car.” Carver? Keelie didn’t understand. How could Carver have told her that while he was here? Maybe he got out and he wasn’t trapped after all. “When did you see him?” Keelie asked. “Is he safe?” “What do you mean is he safe, Keelie? He has been here with us the whole time,” Hope said. “I am really worried about you now.” The phone went dead suddenly and left Keelie scrambling for her friend to save her. But one thing Keelie knew was Carver wasn’t with her. Then who was with her? This whole thing was an act! It was an illusion. She thought of the rhyme Holden had told her. ‘The igniter of flames and deliverer of souls. I will play your mind and win its bet. I will show you how the illusions are met. Are you an illusion? One will find out, the other will stay and live in their doubt.’ He was an igniter of flames, that was how the candles were lit on their own. Either that or he was the igniter of her flame; he made her feel helpless with desire. As far as the deliverer of souls, maybe it was really Olivia standing on stage. She shuddered at the thought that he was able to bring the dead back. She kept thinking trying to solve the puzzle. If Carver wasn’t with her, then who was? An illusion no doubt, but how did Holden know so much about Keelie? He knew of her brother as well. Things she never told anyone. Was she an illusion? He had asked the question, hadn’t he? Was she even real? That couldn’t be, he had her doubting things now. Things that were not real. One thing she knew in her heart, if she didn’t answer the question soon she would be stuck here. Forever maybe. “Time is slowly draining my dear, do you have an answer for me?” Holden asked as he was standing on stage, now accompanied by Carver and Olivia once more. “I do,” she said with ease. “You’re not an illusionist, which is clear. You are more than that. You said you’re the deliverer of souls, so you are either dead yourself or you have awesome power.” He nodded and a small smile spread on his lips. “But the question was am I an illusion. The answer is no, I am not, but Carver is. He is not the one standing on the stage with Olivia.” Holden applauded her and Carver’s shape started to turn. Keelie watched in awe as Carver turned into another boy, her brother Kevin. Keelie could not believe her eyes. “Why play this mean trick on me? I only came here to see a magic show. Why is my brother acting like Carver? Why is my brother even here?” she asked Holden. “You are very smart, Keelie, I admire you for that. I really do. Your brother is here with me to do my bidding. You see I need more stagehands and my dear Arianne felt so alone. She saw your brother here two years ago and had to have him for her own.” Keelie watched as Arianne joined Kevin on stage and held his hand. “I feel alone, too. I saw you on the street and I just had to have you. I learned about you over the last few days. Kevin told me all about you. I reeled you into my tent, so that I may have you for my own.” He trailed down the stage and met Keelie as her knees grew weak. He held her by her shoulders tightly. “You have answered the question, but you cheated.” “No, I didn’t! How could I possibly cheat?” she asked feeling sick to her stomach. There was no way out now. He gripped her shoulders tighter and his sweet breathe grew hot on her face. “You got a phone call. Phones are not allowed in the show. If your friends didn’t tell you he was with them you wouldn’t have known. So without their help, you would not have answered correctly. One will find out Keelie, the other will live in doubt. You found out the answer, now your friend Hope will forever live in doubt of what really happened to you.” She could throw up, she was terrified. The thought of Hope never really knowing what happened to her hurt more than anything. Her family, her friends they would all be looking for her. Keelie knew they would never find her. “No…I can’t stay here. Please…” she begged him now. But his eyes transfixed her and she fell silent. There was something about him that did that to her. Something magical in his stare. “But you must, you entered knowing once you did you may not leave the way you came. You will be leaving, Keelie, but with me. We will travel the world, my love and you will love every second of it.” And as he said it, he took her in his arms and she fell into the darkness with Holden Dexter, The Illusionist. ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 18 OUT of the Dark, Into the WRITE Meet Jonathan Ryan Interviewed by DJ Weaver for Suspense Magazine Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author I’ve been friends with Jonathan Ryan for several years, and believe me when I say; this debut author is one you will want to know as well. Not only is he an author, but he’s also a columnist, blogger, and theologian. His hot, new novel, “3 Gates of the Dead,” debuted in October and is a haunting Christian horror that will curl your toes and keep you up all night waiting for that “bump.” He is also making his mark in cinema, and traveling the world doing good deeds to help others. I had a chance to sit down and talk with Jonathan about his writing and how he is taking on the literary world with his fresh new voice. This is what he had to say.

Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): First of all, will you give us the short synopsis of your novel, “3 Gates of the Dead”?

Jonathan Ryan (J.R.): Conflicted with his faith in God and the hypocrisy of the church, Aidan Schaeffer, a young assistant pastor, is in a constant state of spiritual turmoil. When Aiden learns that his ex-fiancée is the first victim in a string of ritualistic killings, he finds himself in the middle of an even deeper fight. Tormented by demonic threats and haunted by spirits, Aidan throws himself into investigating Amanda’s death; all the while supernatural forces have begun to attack the people around him. The more questions he asks, the more he is drawn into the world of a mysterious Anglican priest, a paranormal investigation group and a rogue female detective investigating the murders. As the gruesome rituals escalate, ancient hidden secrets and an evil long buried threaten to rip Aidan’s world apart.

S. MAG.: What made you decide to write this novel?

SuspenseMagazine.com 19 “ My main goal was to creep people out. . .” J.R.: I got really tired of lame “Christian horror” books on one hand, and nihilistic Lovecraftian horror on the other. I wanted to write an “old school” weird fiction book that was mystical, terrifying, and unsettling in the vein of Arthur Machen, Charles Williams, or M.R. James. I felt it was time to really introduce faith back into horror without beating people over the head with a sermon. My main goal was to creep people out, and then, maybe they will think about all the other stuff. In either case, my task as a writer would be fulfilled.

S. MAG.: Have you encountered anyone from the church who doesn’t like your writing theme?

J.R.: I’ve had a few nasty e-mails or reviews, but mostly, people love it. People across the board from those with a lot of faith to those with little to no faith. This is what really makes me happy, and I know I’ve done my job as a writer. Part of me wishes that Westboro Baptist Church would protest my novel.

Hmm…marketing idea…

S. MAG.: Is there anyone who significantly influenced you to write and why?

J.R.: 3 Gates is dedicated to my grandma, because she is the one person who really encouraged me to read. I would spend most of my summers as a kid at her house, and she would just give me her library card. As she lived in a small town, I could walk to the library by myself, and she never looked too closely at my selections. I tended to read “real-life” spooky stories about ghosts, Bigfoot and the Mothman of West Virginia. Truth be told, the latter story still scares me. Without reading, I never would have become a writer. So, there is no doubt my Grandma is probably responsible for all this.

Although, my old high school English teacher is the first person who said, “You can really write when you concentrate.”

The funny thing is, I was an English minor in college, but I quit in disgust. Most (not all) of the English professors at my school didn’t get my style of writing. In one particular class called Creative Poetry, the assignment was to write a poem on a newspaper headline. Naturally, I chose the News of The World headline Bigfoot Took my Baby. She and the class were not very amused. After that class, I gave up formal writing for years, even though the story ideas never stopped.

S. MAG.: Have you had any “fan experiences’ yet and how did that go?

J.R.: Ha, no, not really. I think that’s probably the great thing about being a writer; no one really recognizes you. I get a lot of fan email or messages on Facebook, which I love. As the volume isn’t too bad

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 20 yet, I can answer everyone. 3 GATES OF THE DEAD By Jonathan Ryan Everyone keeps telling me, “When you’re rich and famous, don’t forget the little people.” My response is, “Why should I remember the Leprechauns? They’ve done After the untimely death of his nothing for me.” Takes people a few seconds to get it. parents, and the betrayal by his fiancé Amanda, Assistant Pastor, Aiden S. MAG.: Tell us what you love the most about writing and also what you hate the Schaeffer is having a crisis of faith. most. Then suddenly, Aiden is told that his ex has been brutally murdered in J.R.: I love coming up with new story ideas. There really isn’t a part of writing I an apparent ritualistic manor, and she don’t like, but I’m frustrated when it comes to grammar or sentence structure. I’m may not be the last. Aiden’s life begins passable, at best, and so when I miss something, it really annoys me. to unravel, as he is thrust into a strange world where he, and the people of his S. MAG.: If you could have coffee with one particular author, who would it be and church congregation, become victims of why? supernatural forces, weird dreams, texts, voices, and bare footprints in the snow. J.R.: If we’re talking about living authors, I think Stephen King or Michael Chabon. Aiden meets rogue detective Although, I’m thinking we would get beer instead of coffee. Jennifer Brown, who is working the eerie case, and Father John Neal, a priest who S. MAG.: Have you started on a second book and can you give us some sneak may have more information about what peeks? is going on than he is willing to talk about. Together with a team of paranormal J.R.: I’ve started and finished my second, third, and fourth novels. “Dark Bride,” investigators, they must find the answers the second installment of the 3 Gates series, will be out next fall. I’ve written book to the killings before another life is lost, one of a Young Adult/New Adult series called “Revolution of the Wolf,” and book and evil escapes into the world. one of a Middle Grade series called “The Ghost Bear.” On top of the fiction, I’ve Ryan has written a masterpiece started to delve into the nonfiction realm. I’ve co-written a book with a Catholic thriller that will eat away at your psyche priest called, “Among Friends: Stories from the Journey.” It will be in bookstores April and have you cringing at every turn of 2014. Most recently, I’ve contracted for two more nonfiction projects. The first is to the page. His storyline is exceptionally tell the story of Chief Marvin Yellowbird, leader of the Samson Cree Nation, just frightening with all the paranormal south of Edmonton, Alberta. The other project is top secret, but let me tell you, this darkness and unseen evil the reader can will be talk-show material when it comes out. handle. His characters have that ‘flawed but human’ trait that gives them weight S. MAG.: Give us the names of five favorite authors you have on your shelves. and makes them come alive on the page. Ryan’s excellent writing style and J.R.: Michael Chabon, Stephen King, Walker Percy, Charles Williams, and G.K. attention to detail will have readers Chesterton. (Also love Flannery O’Connor, C.S. Lewis, and Arthur Machen) screaming (literally), and demanding the sequel, placing Ryan squarely in the S. MAG.: Is there anything you’d like for the readers to know about you or your top tier of the horror-writing genre. writing that they may not already know? “3 Gates of the Dead” will scare you to death and make you rethink your ideas J.R.: For a while, I limited myself to just “fiction” stories, but I’ve realized how about ghosts, demons, and the afterlife. compelling creative nonfiction can be for people. I think that’s because we all love a If you are into horror, suspense, and great story, and we love it because it reflects some kind of truth in our lives. On my being thrilled, do NOT miss “3 Gates of best days, that’s what I hope my writing and storytelling does; tell stories to tell the The Dead” by Jonathan Ryan… Horror truth. Awesomeness!! Reviewed by DJ Weaver (WebbWeaver Please check out this up-and-comer in the literary world at http:// Reviews) co-author of “Collecting authorjonathanryan.com/about-jonathan-ryan3. “Gates of the Dead” is available Innocents” published by Suspense from Premier Digital Publishing and may be purchased wherever fine e-books are Publishing, an imprint of Suspense sold. ■ Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 21 Queen MaryBy Ryan Sturm Photo Credit: Ryan Sturm The HMS Queen Mary was completed in 1936 in Clyde, Scotland. She served three years as a liner carrying passengers across the Atlantic until war broke out in 1939. Once the U.S. entered the war, she was converted into a troop ship and painted gray to make her more difficult to detect. She served the military by transporting troops from the U.S. to England in preparation for D-Day. She also set the record for most people on an ocean voyage at one time with 16,683 people. Though many men, women, and children survived the voyages of the Queen Mary, forty-nine people on the ship did not. The Queen Mary is home to many terrifying legends and hauntings. One of the most haunted places aboard the ship is the first-class swimming pool. Although there were many rumors that people drowned in the pool, causing the hauntings, those rumors have been proved false. Instead, it’s been proven that a small girl from third class, swimming in the first-class pool when allowed, slid down the banister of the pool and broke her neck on the fall as a sudden wave upset her course. It’s said that her ghost now wanders the pool area and nursery, calling for her mother and searching for her doll. The pool area also seems to be one of the most haunted places because it’s been reported that the back near the changing rooms holds a negative energy vortex, or perhaps a gateway between dimensions. Another room of the ship, the engine room, is the now permanent home of a young seaman named John Pedder. Also called John Henry, he was a man who worked on the Queen Mary after lying about his age. The legend goes that during the day, there was an emergency. During emergencies, the watertight doors in the “Shaft Alley” would be closed to seal off sections of the ship to avoid sinking. John and his coworkers began playing a game which involved going back and forth through the doorways before the heavy doors would close. Unfortunately, John tried to play the game one too many times and was instantly crushed. Now the ghost of Pedder can be seen wearing blue overalls and sometimes being described as having a beard. He walks down the shaft alley and most of the time disappears at Door 13. The boiler rooms, even creepy to be in now, have their own stories as well. Although most of the actual boilers have been removed, their hauntings have not. The forward boiler rooms are now used as part of the Ghost and Legends special-effects show, the massive middle boiler rooms have been converted into a conference space, and the aft boiler rooms are included on the regular tour and the late night paranormal tours. The boiler rooms were dangerous places and it’s not very surprising with all the stories. The vast amounts of stories continue, all told at the Haunted Encounters tour at the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. With such an intriguing and different past, it’s not surprising that theQueen Mary has been voted one of the Top 10 most haunted places in America. ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 22 “CREEPY! THIS IS ONE OF THOSE INTENSE, MUST READ BOOKS THAT WILL KEEP YOU GUESSING AT EVERY TURN. VOORHEES HAS MASTERED THE ART OF PRODUCING A SPOOKY STORY.” —Amazon Reviewer KARA VOORHEES Before he can retire, he has to face one last monster.

AVAILABLE ON AMAZON KINDLE www.amazon.com/dp/B00HKM3EIG Suspense Magazine Book Reviews Inside the Pages DEEP INTO DUSK COLD SNAP By Laurie Stevens By Allison Brennan The Kincaids are back, and this time around, the amazing author of this series has brought Los Angeles has been readers some true holiday cheer. That’s right; murder, hostages, hired guns, sweatshops— described in many a missive everything you want under the family Christmas tree. with a dark under-belly. In the Written in three separate parts, each focusing on various stars of the Kincaid family, this second novel featuring Detective story is a true thrill ride. First, we head to San Francisco where it’s three days before Christmas. Gabriel McRay, we are certainly P.I. Patrick Kincaid is on a mission in San Fran to check up on a family friend, Elle Santana. He’s frightened for her because she can’t be reached, but he finds her safe, sound, and more than a provided with a front row seat in little annoyed by his presence. the roller coaster ride as it plunges Elle isn’t happy with the visit because she’s not fond of Patrick sticking his nose in her business, but she us through the dimly lit ride of agrees to take him along while she searches for a witness in a trial that’s coming up. Although it seems like an a lifetime—just don’t take your easy task, this particular witness is needed in order to put away a seriously shady businessman. The duo is shot hands off the guardrail or you at, and the once ‘easy’ task, turns into a frantic search as Patrick and Elle go on the run from a lot of men with might be featured as the next guns. victim. Moving on to Denver, readers meet up with Lucy Kincaid and her fiancé Sean. Stranded in a hotel during Struggling to hold his a major storm, a murder suddenly occurs that pulls Kate, a new FBI recruit, into the case. personal life together and As all the thrills and chills continue, the Kincaid family’s hometown of San Diego appears in the mix. maintain somewhat of a It is Christmas Eve and the Colonel, father of the Kincaid clan, is in the hospital having tests when a hostage relationship with the beautiful situation suddenly begins. medical examiner, Ming Li, The Kincaids, as always, are never dull. These stories are all great reads on their own, yet are so carefully McRay never seems to put a foot planned out by the author that this novel becomes a true rollercoaster ride with plot lines galore. The Kincaids right, sleeping with witnesses is a still ROCK! Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by relationship killer and tends to get Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ one disciplined by the superiors on the force, too. Ming is essential CAVE DWELLER to the investigation; however, By William Nikkel a link to several tortured and “Cave Dweller” is an intelligent, sophisticated, action-adventure thriller that will have deceased females comes to light fans of James Rollins and Clive Cussler saying they have a new author to follow. Nikkel’s main when one of the intended victims character Jack Ferrell is rich in depth and “character,” the way an adventure character should be. escapes and is able to provide the From the first chapter, the reader will immediately know they are going on a journey deep in police with details they would research and excitement and that putting down the book won’t be an option. Nikkel starts the never have had otherwise. reader back in 1941 on Pearl Harbor Day with the attack on the United States, thrusting them Walking a tightrope on into World War II. Five Japanese two-man mini subs speed toward the mouth of Pearl Harbor. Four of the a precipitous career path and subs were either sunk or captured; the fate of the fifth sub is still unknown. Jack is pitted with a select team of delving into his own psyche with scientists to uncover the truth, while having to plunge into the subterranean world. the aid of the police psychiatrist, “Cave Dweller” is not just another book in the Jack Ferrell series, it is the defining book showing the McRay pushes forward with all wonderful talent of William Nikkel. Reviewed by John Raab for Suspense Magazine ■ the tact of a bull in a china shop, following a path that leads to WILD JUSTICE a super-secret sex club where By Kelley Armstrong members routinely engage in Nadia ‘Dee’ Stafford is a former cop who works two jobs. Being the owner of a lodge in masochistic habits, all laid out in Canada, she’s also, on occasion, a hit woman who accepts contracts to take out some truly graphic Super 8mm as the end hideous folks, from mobsters to abusers who have gotten away with murder. rushes at us in a crescendo of wild In this final installment of the series (which readers will find heartbreaking to hear), Dee is sex, dead bodies, and betrayal. lying in wait to complete her contract when, out of nowhere, the victim’s wife and child show up Stevens has once again and completely throw her off her game. brought us to the edge of our seats Deciding to stay in the area for another twenty-four hours to try again, is a fatal mistake. with her gift for psychological Sadly, the intended victim uses this time to go after his wife and child, killing himself in the bargain. When Dee finds out that the husband killed his wife, she blames herself for not wiping him off the suspense and leaves us scarred planet when she had the chance. forever. Our relationship with her Jack, her mentor in the killing department, comes to find her and changes the direction of her course. He is tenuous at best, but like Ming wants Dee to find out who killed her own cousin, Amy, twenty years ago. The killer was acquitted of the crime is drawn to the tortured soul of and dropped out of sight shortly thereafter. But Jack has found out where the man is, and the two of them are McCray, we too are drawn in to soon on his trail to deliver the punishment he so rightfully deserves. Yet again, problems arise when they arrive the heat, better to be burned than to find him already dead, and must then head out on the hunt to locate the new killer. to have never known the flame. Personal issues begin to mount up for Dee, but with Jack’s help, she begins to remember things that Reviewed by Mark P. Sadler, happened the day Amy died, facing her own past for the very first time. author of “Blood on his Although Dee is taking her bow with this book, she takes it with style, leaving readers to remember a truly Hands,” published by Suspense fascinating character that added definite thrills to the literary world. Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by Magazine ■ Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 24 INNOCENCE MOVING By Dean Koontz TARGET In this story, Koontz builds an incredible plot that offers his signature ‘eerie’ moments By J.A. Jance and delves into love, loss, and attempting to find one’s identity by dealing with the sins and vices every human carries with them. New to the Ali A man has escaped pain and death from flames to become a social outcast. People can’t Reynolds series, this look him in the eye; if they do, they attempt to kill him on sight. And when facing the loss of extremely interesting his parent, he finds himself in the City walking the streets at night, completely covered, living story has the reader each day in fear, trying to escape any gazes that could find him and cause his immediate death. traveling across the globe for a good A girl: strong, determined, and wealthy, has a great deal of power and is a social outcast. To keep hidden dose of thrills. in plain sight, she uses costumes, dressing up with nose rings and lip piercings so people walk by her and pay Ali is on her way to England her no mind. She can alter the world with her gifts, and her fear of ever being touched makes it impossible with Leland Brooks, her good friend; for anyone to get close to her. Leland is going to see his family that One night, these two meet in the NYPL. He discovers the girl racing away from a man who wants to he’s had no contact with for years. For stop her from her mission. A friendship between the two outcasts is formed, but they both hide behind added pressure, Ali and her fiancé masks trying to find answers. are planning their wedding which is From an evil marionette, who sits in the window of a toy store to the real world that’s filled with the just weeks away, but seeing as that absence of mercy for our fellow man, Koontz has created a stunning, mysterious story that will engross they’re not in the same country, the readers with every word. The most amazing moment is when Koontz opens the door to reveal why people planning has become rather difficult. are so afraid of this duo when they look them in the eyes. Ali learns from her fiancé that Faith, wonder, sadness—this tale offers the gift of sight; as well as the realization that absolute truth is a young man who he helped put in a lot more frightening than any monster a writer could invent. jail a while back, Lance Tucker, has Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by had a very bad accident in the local Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ juvenile hall. His original crime CHILLED TO THE BONE was hacking. But when Lance is By Quentin Bates found brutally burned, hanging off Quentin Bates paints a chilling portrait that encompasses far more than Reykjavik’s a Christmas tree he was decorating, harsh winter weather. As I read this suspenseful story while relaxing in the warm Florida hacking takes a backseat. sunshine, the vivid Icelandic scenes had me craving hot chocolate. Ali’s fiancé is quite broken up Police Sergeant Gunnhildur Gísladóttir (Gunna) struggles to unravel a tangled web of and doesn’t believe that this was an murders, deceit, espionage, high-level thefts, and mysterious bondage muggings. Her search accident. Putting the wedding plans for a felonious dominatrix is hindered by powerful men with dark secrets and a vicious on hold, he begins an investigation. gangster who will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery ahead of Gunna and escape with the prize. Bringing in someone to watch Readers should bundle up when they read this intriguing mystery because Quentin Bates will leave over Lance in the hospital in case them “Chilled to the Bone.” someone wants to harm him yet Reviewed by S.L. Menear, author of “Deadstick Dawn” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of again, Sister Anselm arrives. The Suspense Magazine ■ nun with the kind heart, belief in God, and a taser at the ready, is a NO ONE TO TRUST memorable character to say the least. By Lynette Eason Meanwhile, back in England, Being the first novel in a brand new series, all that can be said for this author is that she Ali has met some of Leland’s mixed- certainly started out with a ‘bang’! up relatives and is not impressed David Hackett, a partner in a NYC construction company, comes into work unexpectedly with any of them. Discovering that on a Saturday to find his partner, Sam Gilroy, brandishing a gun. Sam has murdered a coworker Leland’s father had been murdered because of a threat the man made to basically bring down their firm. David, a former Special years ago and Leland is still Forces soldier, has seen a lot of dead people during his career, but cannot grasp the reason for considered a suspect, Ali soon finds this horrific event. herself in her own investigation. Fast-forwarding fourteen months, readers meet up with Kyle Abernathy, a man who spends a great deal As the soon-to-be-married of time looking over his shoulder waiting for a hit man to appear. When the man finally presents himself, couple delves into crimes on both Kyle immediately tries to get to his wife Summer in order to save them both from a killer filled to the brim sides of the Atlantic, the thrills and with revenge. chills certainly mount up. Summer is more than frightened. Her husband is apparently lost and she must face three frightening This terrific author, as strangers who will do anything to find him. However, the men want something far more than Kyle’s location. always, keeps the action going They are searching for a laptop computer and flash drive they believe Kyle stole from their boss. From this on both continents. Her fast but moment on, the secrets unfold before Summer’s eyes, as she realizes that Kyle has been lying to her about understandable pace and great everything from his past to his real name. characters make this new story one Summer searches for answers, but when she rediscovers Kyle, trust is no longer between them and of the best she’s written in her entire Summer must do her best to find a way out of the madness that has followed her husband for years. career. Enjoy! Embarking on a cat-and-mouse game that will have serious repercussions if the couple is found, Summer Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of soon learns that the identity issue is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her husband’s lies. “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & For any reader looking for ‘edge-of-your-seat’ thrills, this series is the perfect gift. Lowery Book Three” published by Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 25 ALICE CLOSE YOUR SANDSTORM EYES By Alan L. Lee By Averil Dean Talk about a perfect beginning to a book. Former CIA agent, Erica Janway, is killed by an unknown assailant. Immediately Nora Mossa, also an agent, is almost taken out in her apartment For anyone who craves the in Rome. ultimate story of pain and horror, Mossa had been working with Janway and was waiting for a call from her to proceed with this is truly the book for you. a mission that encompasses a conspiracy, the Middle East, and the ultimate plans to build a Alice Croft has had a nuclear weapon. miserable life. Losing her beloved The book blasts forward and readers will need to hold on for the ride of their lives. Various red herrings grandmother when she was just and plots begin that will have readers traveling from D.C. to Paris; Brussels to Tehran, and CIA, FBI, Mossad, nine years old, followed by the FSB, and more, along for the ride. death of her mother only one year The reader is introduced to Alex Koves, a former CIA agent and ex-professional football player. Because later, Alice has felt her fair share of pain. Nora Mossa is his ex-girlfriend, Alex is surprised when she appears on the island of St. Thomas, begging Alex Placed into foster care at the to save her life. tender age of ten, Alice is now in After hearing her intricate story, Alex dedicates himself to helping Nora get away from a group of her twenties and has established businessmen who believe she and her now-deceased friend were onto a very devious and absolutely secret plot a career as the writer of a popular to create nuclear weapons. children’s book series. Although As they begin their own mission to save Nora’s life, the pair finds themselves up against Mossad’s most her professional life is in place, lethal assassin. They must do anything they can to survive while trying to save the U.S. and Israel by keeping an Alice still yearns for that personal enemy’s nuclear strength from growing. world where she can find a All the bells and whistles that come along with the realm of intrigue and misdirection are artfully placed. man who will provide her with And although reviewers will be chomping at the bit to tell the reader more, there are just too many secrets that everything she’s ever wanted. can’t be revealed. Architect, Jack Calabrese, is Pulling readers along for the ride, there is so much non-stop action being delivered on every page that working as a carpenter. He has suspense lovers will be panting for more. Lee has created a fantastic thriller that will quickly make its way to a bit of a struggle when it comes the front of the line. to finding work; because of his Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by criminal past, people are hesitant Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ to hire him. His first introduction to Alice is more than strange, FATAL DESCENT discovering her in his home By Beth Groundwater hiding in his closet. Apparently, One of the things I’ve always wanted to do—still on my bucket list—is whitewater rafting. Alice has broken into his house in But after reading “Fatal Descent,” I know I will take Groundwater’s story with me on the rapids, order to steal a box of mementos. hoping that the thrill of the fiction doesn’t come to fruition. The strangeness continues Mandy Tanner and Rob Juarez, engaged to be married, enjoy the outdoors and own RM when Alice begins to have a Outdoor Adventures. Together, they entertain and guide clients rafting and climbing to and conversation with him regarding through some absolutely fascinating and beautiful places. the box. She doesn’t know Jack at “Fatal Descent” is set in Utah on the Colorado River where beauty lies along with some pretty dangerous all, but her mission is to see if he rapids. But the hazardous whitewater they expect to experience is the least of Mandy and Rob’s worries. The is the kind of person who would rapids—as the reader soon finds out—pale in comparison to the murder that ensues, especially when they actually kill for her. realize that one of their clients is the killer and they may be marked as the next to go. The best way to say it is, To make matters worse, their radio—their only source of communication to the outside world—has been Jack finds that he and Alice have compromised and is completely useless. Mandy and Rob must figure out who killed one of their clients while a certain similar taste when it curtailing further murderous attempts. But another of their customers almost dies rappelling down a cliff and comes to sadomasochism; they the risks become greater. both earn pleasure from inflicting Cascading down the rapids is thrilling, but when there’s a killer in the midst, it becomes horrifying. pain on themselves as well as A very entertaining read with rich depictions of the Utah area. I will be looking forward to more others. Both have abusive pasts, Groundwater escapades. and their new relationship finds Reviewed by Starr Gardinier Reina, author of “The Other Side: Melinda’s Story” published by Suspense them teaming up to target a possible victim who will remain Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ unidentified until the end of the FEAR NOTHING story. By Lisa Gardner The intensity of this book Lisa Gardner delivers an intelligent, sophisticated, psychological thriller in her latest is off the charts; the pain, agony, installment “Fear Nothing” in the D.D. Warren series. Gardner continues to show why she is on sadness, and horror are more the short list of top thriller writers today. Her complex character development, especially with than disturbing at times, as Jack the creation of Adeline and Shana Day, sisters connected by their serial killer father, but taking and Alice delve into a dark and different paths in life only to end up back where it all begin so many years ago, is further proof dangerous realm. that Gardner’s hard hitting style is perfect for any thriller fan. Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author D.D. gets caught up in a game of cat and mouse after she is attacked by the “Rose Killer,” a murderer that is of “The Hero’s Companion: taking what Harry Day, the father of Adeline and Shana, started over thirty years ago and continuing it, putting Tallent & Lowery Book D.D. in the crosshairs right from the start. Three” published by Suspense Gardner, using her own real life situation, brings the emotional level of D.D. and the Day sisters right Publishing, an imprint of Suspense into the heart of the reader. “Fear Nothing” is certainly something the reader should embrace and put on their Magazine ■ reading list today. Reviewed by John Raab for Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 26 SHOW ME THE DEADLY DEER DEAD MAN'S FANCY By Carolyn Mulford By Keith McCafferty A mark of a good mystery series is when you can pick up any volume as a starting place and not feel lost. That test is passed by “Show Me the Deadly Deer,” the second entry in This is a truly fun read starring Carolyn Mulford’s enjoyable Show Me series, set in rural Missouri. Sean Stranahan, a fly-fisherman/ Phoenix Smith had taken leave from her economist job in Vienna to return to her home detective living in Montana, for a town of Laycock, Missouri, while recuperating from gall bladder surgery. At least that’s her third time. cover story. In reality, the deep-cover CIA agent was recovering from wounds received when Wolves they are a-howling an operation went bad three months earlier. Her childhood friend Annalynn Keyser is now the acting sheriff in the stunning landscapes that of Laycock, and is the only one privy to Phoenix’s secret. One other may have sniffed out Phoenix’s secrets, Montana has to offer. This day, but he won’t tell anyone—Achilles, the Belgian Shepherd who has become Phoenix’s close companion. however, clouds appear on the When a wife reports her farmer husband missing, the women and Achilles locate him by a pond in the horizon when out of the blue a horse cattle pasture on their property, dead from a wound in his back. Sticking out of the wound is part of a deer’s returns to its home at the Culpepper antler. Phoenix suspects a human has used the antler to cover the murder. At Annalynn’s insistence, Phoenix Dude Ranch in the Madison Valley, uses the cover story of checking on the local deer population to investigate possible killers. There are no completely rider-less. The missing shortages of suspects, including the widow, a possible eco-terrorist, and a hostile neighbor. Phoenix doesn’t rider is Nanika Martinelli, a fly- mind using her tradecraft to cut investigational corners, though she must figure out legal ways to pass the fisherman/guide who is beyond information to her friend. tough; she’s made a name for The killer ambushes Phoenix and Achilles, coming within a hair’s breadth of killing the dog. Then he herself by going after clients with a strikes again. Phoenix must use all her analytical and observational skills to discover both the who and the vengeance and not caring who she why behind the murders. angers in the process. Carolyn Mulford has crafted a satisfying mystery with enough twists to keep the reader turning the Sean Stranahan and Martha pages. She captures the flavor of the rural life, where everyone knows everyone’s business, but where deadly Ettinger, the Sheriff of Hyalite secrets can still remain hidden. County, return to find themselves Reviewed by David Ingram for Suspense Magazine ■ on a dangerous adventure. Not only must they solve an odd crime DECOUPAGE CAN BE DEADLY but they must also do it while stuck By Lois Winston between the ardent wolf lovers and Poor Anastasia Pollock. This Jersey girl can’t seem to catch a break. Not only is she in debt those who want to rid the area of thanks to her recently deceased louse of a spouse but she’s also forced to provide a home for the beautiful, yet hungry, creatures. her Communist mother-in-law and her about-to-be-married-for-the-sixth-time mother, who To begin, Martha and a deputy hate each other’s guts. follow the trail of hoof tracks, As if all this isn’t bad enough, Anastasia, who makes a meager living as the crafts editor searching for the missing woman. of American Woman magazine, keeps finding dead bodies. This time, Anastasia and her fellow While doing their job, they discover editors are fighting mad when half their trade show booth is usurped by Bling!, the company’s newest a man impaled on the antlers of magazine, headed by the company CEO’s newest girlfriend, ex-rapper Philomena. When Philomena is found a giant bull elk. From the looks dead in the shipping case that held Anastasia’s decoupage crafts, the CEO begs Anastasia to find out who of the elk, the criminals were a dunnit. hungry wolf pack on the prowl. But “Decoupage Can Be Deadly” is the fourth in the Anastasia Pollock Crafting Mysteries by Lois Winston. unless the man was thrown from a And it’s the best one yet. More, please! horse onto the dead elk, it seems Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Class Reunions Can Be Murder” for Suspense Magazine ■ impossible that he could have been impaled on the horns. DEATH HAS ITS BENEFITS With evidence mounting, it By Ronald Aiken seems to the searchers that their If in need of a wonderful one-day read, this is most definitely it! missing woman was most likely Tony Benson and his friend, Leo, are working out one day when all of a sudden Leo comes out and tells also killed by a pack. But when Tony that he’s worried; he knows his boss is going to try and kill him. Sean Stranahan gets involved, the Because Leo has always been a joker by trade, the news basically makes Tony laugh. But as paranoia and mystery grows even darker as the delusion begins to grow greater in Leo, the laughter must stop. Tony becomes more and more aware of the clues lead straight to an animal- fact that either his friend is experiencing mental problems or, frighteningly, he’s absolutely right. rights’ group called the Clan of the Tony’s own life becomes oddly affected. When his house is robbed and a message is left in a book that Three-Clawed Wolf. Not only is the Tony was reading, Leo comes to the conclusion that Tony will be the next victim in line after Leo is taken out. group more than adamant about Remaining a loyal friend throughout the story, Tony has a difficult time with this new information. Leo’s their wolves but the Clan’s leader is accusations get more and more surreal, yet Tony still wants to help him, seeing as that Leo is going through more than a bit over-the-top. everything from being broke to troubles in his marriage. The mental health and criminal worlds are explored This adventure is a true by these two, as Tony tries to help Leo out of his crisis, while also dealing with the fact that his own life is environmental mystery of revenge slowly spinning out of control. that will have both sides of the With each new chapter brings a new surprise, and soon readers will have a hard time telling the bad guys national wolf debate enthralled. from the good. Enjoy! This debut novelist has done a great job offering a new, creative idea for the suspense realm, combined Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of with characters that are extremely believable. If Mr. Aiken continues this path, it won’t be long before his “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & name is among the coveted bestsellers. Lowery Book Three” published by Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 27 HEIRS OF THE BODY TOOTH FOR A TOOTH By Carola Dunn By T. Frank Muir It’s not exactly a great day for Detective Chief Inspector Andrew Gilchrist. This is a day Daisy Dalrymple is a when he’s standing with his children over the grave of his ex-wife; the woman who left him a few character in the world of literature years back to marry another man, taking his children with her. that brings smiles to the faces of Not only is this a hard and difficult time for he and the children but before he has time to many readers. And again, this leave the cemetery, he receives a call from a colleague informing him that a woman’s body has wonderful author has provided been found buried in someone else’s grave. Daisy an adventure that will keep Very soon Andy discovers that the victim was the girlfriend of Andy’s own brother, Jack. Jack was killed in the reader laughing. a hit-and-run twenty years ago, and per the coroner, the girl in the grave has also been dead for about that long. In the beginning, the Honourable Daisy Dalrymple Back when the accident had occurred, the thought was that the woman, Kelly, had left Jack and run away to Fletcher is asked to give her Mexico. But with a few discoveries found in the grave, it now seems that Andy’s brother was actually her killer. help to her cousin Edgar, Lord Andy begins his investigation with the accident that killed Jack. Going through any memories and Dalrymple. She is to return to recollections he can think of, Andy strives to keep Jack from being judged a murderer posthumously. Suspects her old stomping grounds to aid mount, and each new person he interviews leads him on a strange path to finding the killer and learning the Edgar in picking out a suitable truth. Add in a writer who claims she’s psychic and is after Andy to write his life story, and this novel becomes heir who will be granted both the truly unforgettable. estate and the title of Viscount. Modern CSI methods have a big focus in this story, and for those folks who are fans of criminal investigation In 1920’s England, the only work will earn a real thrill as they watch how tiny tidbits of evidence can bring a whole tale to light. person who can lawfully become This is the second time Muir has woven a great suspense tale with plot twists that grab the reader with heir apparent must be of the male every chapter, so enjoy! persuasion. As Edward has no Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by sons and he is now pushing fifty, Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ the task rests on his shoulders to find a male relative who will SIXTY MILES OF BORDER become the heir to the beautiful By Terry Kirkpatrick family estate of Fairacres. From the early days of his career to taking over the Nogales station, Kirkpatrick gives us a blow-by-blow With the help of the family on life as a U.S. Customs agent. lawyer who has been advertising These special agents are the deterrent that stands between the smuggled drugs, guns, and human all over the Empire, he and contraband arriving in America. The marauding street gangs and the more powerful cartels all operate just on Edgar finally come up with four the other side of the street, a fence away in the Nogales neighborhoods in Arizona. To catch them, to stop them credible people. The choices at their own game, takes careful planning and a well-placed snitch. include a South African diamond Told in an amazing array of down and dirty street novellas, Kirkpatrick leads us through the dangerous merchant, and a Jamaican sailor. antics, the undercover work, and sometimes humorous undertakings he and his fellow agents compiled in a Daisy arrives to help the lawyer twenty-year lifetime of law enforcement. interview these prospective Witness for yourself through the entertaining grist, the border stories that demonstrate how corruption is heirs, because one candidate has rampant on both sides, that almost everyone has a price they can be bought for, and how much of a struggle it completely disappeared and no is to maintain law and order during the chaos in a border town. one can seem to find him. An entertaining, true crime drama from the point of view of an agent, who has literally been there and Strange events continue that done it and now, tells you all about the way it really is out there. make Daisy and her husband, Reviewed by Mark P. Sadler, author of “Blood on his Hands,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of who is a Scotland Yard Inspector, Suspense Magazine ■ suspect some tomfoolery is going on. Can there actually be NO ESCAPE legitimate accidents happening By Mary Burton to the list of heirs, or is there one Harvey Day Smith…that’s the killer’s name. A horrific man, Harvey was finally caught and among the mix who will take put away for life. However, now that his life is coming to a swift end because of illness, Smith has Fairacres no matter what the cost? one evil card left to play before he takes his leave. This is truly a wonderful Contacting the man who found him and stopped his brutal attacks on women—which read and everyone from fans of included abducting them before burying them alive—Harvey states that he has information “Downton Abbey” to “Upstairs,” about a new killer out there, but will only speak to psychologist Jolene Granger. “Downstairs,” etc., will be thrilled Texas Ranger Brody Winchester is the man who stopped Smith and put him behind bars; he to jump on the Dalrymple train is also the man who was once very much in love and married to Jolene. He’s frightened about this monster’s of success. With twenty-one motives; apart from a paper Jolene wrote long ago, she’s never even met the man, and it makes no sense why books in print, Daisy is a true Harvey would want to use her to confess. icon that sits right up there with Miss Marple, yet is far more Brody goes to get Jolene who is enjoying her new life. Unfortunately, when Brody arrives, he not only enchanting. The 1920s, the thrusts her into a new killer’s path, but also feels the rekindling of emotions for the beauty that Brody hoped fashion, the humor, the long, long had disappeared long ago. list of cocktail parties, this series Killings begin once again with the same MO as Smith, but finding this killer will not be simple. Not only continues to be a knockout! is he a man who’s on a mission but he’s also a man with a strange personal tie to the past murders that Jolene Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author and Brody know absolutely nothing about. of “The Hero’s Companion: A one-day-read, this thriller takes the audience on a salacious ride offering the heat of romance, and a killer Tallent & Lowery Book who has the ultimate revenge on his mind. Burton has already proven herself to be a master when it comes to Three” published by Suspense thrills, and she sticks to what she does best with this one! Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by Magazine ■ Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 28 NORTH OF BOSTON STANDUP GUY By Elisabeth Elo By Stuart Woods There are gritty, hardcore mysteries and then there are gritty, witty mysteries that bring excellent humor, in-depth storytelling, and truly descriptive scenes together in a combination It never takes long for a new that makes you wish that the novel was playing out on the big screen. This particular debut Stone Barrington novel to arrive on is the latter; an amazing page-turner that brings Pirio Kasparov, an extremely witty girl from store shelves. Apparently, Stuart Boston, onto the literary scene. Woods still owns an imagination Pirio faces a huge challenge. A fishing boat she’s on is rammed, supposedly by a huge that simply won’t quit; he comes freighter, out in the North Atlantic. All alone for four hours, Pirio beats the odds and survives the freezing up with stories so fast that it almost water until the Coast Guard comes to her rescue. Although she is saved, her friend and owner of the boat, seems as if Dumbledore and his Ned, is presumed dead. magic wand are camped out in Pirio feels deep in her heart that she should take care of Ned’s son, Noah—especially since the boy’s Woods’s basement. mother, Thomasina, has problems, least of which is being an alcoholic. She’s not exactly the best mother in This is yet another edge-of- the world and Pirio wants to help as much as possible. your-seat adventure featuring The so-called ‘accident’ weighs heavily on her mind; she feels that the circumstances of the tragedy Barrington, his police pals and his seem to be premeditated. Her father agrees, and tells Pirio to look deeper. Coincidences (which don’t exist) many girlfriends that now—after happen when the Navy calls her to participate in a research project that will focus on the survival of humans all this time—seem like friends and when placed in dangerously cold temperatures; after all, she’s the expert. family. So, sit back and enjoy! Helped by Russell Parnell, a journalist, the duo discovers a plot that will take readers to the shadowed In this installment, Stone’s whaling grounds located off Baffin Island in Northern Canada. Pirio has to trust herself, especially when she newest client is a very gentlemanly, sees that her theory of premeditation was correct: Ned’s death was no accident. Against all odds, she must polite man who is hiring Stone to overcome a betrayal from her past and surge forward to prove a murder has taken place. This is non-stop resolve a very interesting problem. action; a debut read that’s highly recommended to all suspense mavens out there. Enjoy! Stone does the work to a ‘T,’ as Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by always, and sends his client on his Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ way. But this is not going to be an PHOENIX ISLAND easy departure. Surprisingly, Stone By John Dixon hasn’t seen the end of this client or Author John Dixon comes out with “Phoenix Island,” which goes much further than the client’s problem. simply another YA title. Dixon, using his experience in boxing, creates a fascinating young A variety of people known character in sixteen-year-old Carl Freeman, a young man that is wise beyond his years. Having to Stone have become extremely been involved in an altercation, Freeman is sentenced to serve out two years on Phoenix interested in this man and his Island, a military colony for young orphans under the age of eighteen. Freeman soon realizes problems, and sure enough, this that Phoenix Island is much more than a rehabilitation facility when he finds a diary of a past one man will connect all of them inmate detailing events that happen on the island. to a very old crime. Being that Dixon takes the reader on an emotional ride where young men now have to not only grow up quickly some of these people happen to but also do something they are not accustomed to do, count on each other. Freeman is a character that the be categorized as ‘bad guys,’ they reader will root for in each page, tittering on the edge of suspense. are not about to give up their “Phoenix Island” is an excellent book that shows Dixon is well on his way in becoming a great storyteller. mission just because the statute of “Phoenix Island” is one of those YA books that should have no problem transitioning into the adult fiction limitations on this particular crime world, prompting the question from readers, “When will John Dixon bring out his next book?” has run out. Reviewed by John Raab for Suspense Magazine ■ As usual with Barrington novels, the reader is taken on a THAT OLD BLACK MAGIC mysterious ride that’s a whole lot By Mary Jane Clark of fun. This plot leads to the sunny, Murder, mayhem, and voodoo, is the perfect combination for this incredible new sandy beaches of the Sunshine mystery. State, before turning back to the Piper Donovan is a ‘jane-of-all-trades.’ She wants to be an actress, she’s over-inquisitive, magnificent homes of the very and she has just come to New Orleans to take some lessons in the culinary arts in order to wealthy located in the Northeast. improve her skills at pastry making. Piper does this by working at a French Quarter bakery But you can be sure that our hero, called Boulangerie Bertrand (which all readers will wish was a real place). working with all the friends he’s But after only being there a very short time, Piper finds herself in an area that is now home to a horrible made over the years, will come out murder perpetrated by someone known as the ‘Hoodoo Killer.’ The inquisitive side comes out pretty fast for on top. Piper, who makes sure she’s hot on the trail of this stranger. She wants to help find the killer, who she believes Woods is well known for may just be someone working near the bakery. combining thrilling action, fast The people there, you ask? Well…Clark once again offers a menu of amazingly memorable characters: cars, secrets galore, and a last from a hot and hunky guy who works as a tour guide to a jazz musician to a talk show host. All seem to have minute conclusion that keeps his their own odd issues and are a tad bit crazy enough to be the ones who are bringing atrocity of the Quarter. slew of faithful readers very happy. Of course, this is also when Piper’s dream of acting is about to come true. Working to find a madman/ This new offering is no different! woman on the loose while trying to be a better chef is just not enough. Soon Piper lands a small role in Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of a movie that’s filming in New Orleans, which means her work is definitely cut out for her. Naturally, the “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & murderer strikes again, leaving clues behind that speak of all things creepy and voodoo-like. Lowery Book Three” published by Yet again a great read from Clark whose plot lines take the reader by the tail and never let go! Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by Suspense Magazine ■ Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 29 BROKEN SIGIL BAD BLOOD By William Meikle By Arne Dahl There is a serial killer running around Sweden, and adding insult to injury, this particular Joe Connors isn’t the typical psychopath may just be an import from the good, old U.S. of A. hero. He’s not a swoop-in-and- The reason for this thinking by the Swedish law is the fact that the MO of this killer save-the-day cop and no one mirrors that of an infamous felon known as, ‘The Kentucky Killer,’ who supposedly died sixteen would ever mistake him for the years ago. Utilizing special torture devices that were developed during the Vietnam War, this muse in the next blockbuster cop particular killer paralyzed the vocal chords of chosen victims so they could do nothing but flick. He’s barely tolerable to most whisper while under the control of their captor. people, but that’s just fine by him, Paul Hjelm and partner Kerstin Holm are the two detectives assigned to the case. Not only do they have because he hates almost everyone perfect symmetry when it comes to work but they also share strong intuitions regarding killers’ minds. anyway. Everyone that is, except This Intercrime unit is amazing. Jorge Chavez is the youngest member of the group and a wizard when his deceased wife Brenda. it comes to the digital world. Viggo is the team’s aging ladies man; Gunnar is a former Mr. Sweden who’s the Joe is a cop in Internal Affairs power and strength; while Arto is the former lawyer turned cop. With Superintendent Hultin as their leader, and readers are introduced to they come together to form the A-Unit, which is always picked to solve the most serious and frightening crimes. him as he heads to the scene of a All that’s known in the beginning is that a literary critic was found dead, tortured to death back in New crime. An officer has been killed Jersey. The only thing stolen from the corpse was his ticket to Sweden. When the tortures in Sweden begin, the and unfortunately, it was death A-Unit must find a way to discover this monster’s identity before it’s too late. by cop. The scene washes Joe in This fascinating premise does the author’s first book, “Misterioso,” proud. All that needs to be remembered memories as he gazes down at is that there is a great, full cast of characters, so the time to embark on this riveting tale is when the house is the body of his former partner… silent and the outside world has been put to sleep for the night. former brother really, though not Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by by blood. And their relationship Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ might have needed that blood tie KING AND MAXWELL to survive, because once Joe found By David Baldacci out about the affair between his New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci returns with his latest installment in the partner, Johnny Provan, and his King and Maxwell series titled “King and Maxwell.” wife, all bets were off. But when Sean King and Michelle Maxwell are former secret service agents who are now private you spend hours and days, and investigators that capture clients in high profile cases. In Baldacci’s latest book, the two of them months and years with someone accidentally run into their newest client, a high school student Tyler Wingo, outside in the rain and that someone is responsible running away from home. Tyler’s dad is in the Army and involved in something that sends the for your safety and well-being, Pentagon and the White House into turmoil. Tyler hires King and Maxwell to find out if his father is really when they die you still care. dead, as said by the Army. A year can truly change Baldacci weaves a story of intrigue and depth with characters rich in deceit, lies, and complexity. Baldacci people and Joe wonders what has the reader saying to themselves “Just one more chapter” and before the reader knows it, it’s 4:00 a.m. and happened to Johnny when he’s the book is finished, begging for the story to keep going. shown the five-point star roughly King and Maxwell are one of the most exciting characters written today and with each Baldacci book, he carved into Johnny’s chest. It continues to raise the bar in the political thriller genre. would certainly give anyone pause, Reviewed by John Raab for Suspense Magazine ■ but the coroner’s determination KILLER that the star was self-inflicted is a By Jonathan Kellerman surprise. With no clues, he returns When Doctor Alex Delaware reappears in a new suspense novel, you can almost hear the to the scene of the crime. The excited sighs of anticipation. This is not only a character that has enraptured mystery/ thriller shabby brownstone sits in an older aficionados for a good, long time but Kellerman is always that ‘sure bet’ when it comesto neighborhood and Joe is startled creating a plot that is unique and engaging all the way through to the end. to find Johnny kept a room there. A family is presented that everyone will want to learn more about. The oldest sibling, The discovery of what’s inside Constance, is a successful doctor. The middle child, Connor, is an executive. And the youngest, the room is when Meikle tilts the Cherie, is a bit of a ‘flower child,’ and mother of a young child herself. world on its axis and the real fun Constance is suing Cherie for custody of the child, and Delaware is brought into the mix in a role as begins for fans of the supernatural. psychologist/police consultant, to meet with the two women to help settle their suit. Delaware is amazed; even This storyline, which begins as after all he’s seen, he’s never come across such poisonous feelings in his life. a dark-around-the-edges tale, When Delaware receives a call from his buddy, Police Lt. Milo Sturgis, telling Alex that a hit has been put seamlessly runs to full black, and out on him by one of the family members, he’s surprised when he realizes that he knows the hit man personally. readers have a first class ticket A list of victims begins to grow in a world that’s suddenly thrown into turmoil, and Alex realizes that he for a rollercoaster ride in this has gotten knee-deep into a family that may be behind the killings. fascinating novella. As the house Teaming up with Milo to find the murderer, Alex is soon tossed into another mystery when the child at begins to shed its secrets, you’ll be the center of the custody suit disappears, sending Delaware and cohorts into a frenzy trying to save the child spellbound as Meikle intricately before it’s too late. intertwines Joe’s life, the lives of Hit men, some with soft hearts; a family that brings new meaning to the word ‘evil’; and judges who are the other boarders, and a house far more interested in their next appointment than saving a child from harm—what more could you ask for? with an agenda. Alex Delaware and Jonathan Kellerman remain at their very best. Reviewed by Shannon Raab for Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by Suspense Magazine ■ Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 30 CURSED IN THE ACT INNOCENT BLOOD By Raymond Buckland By James Rollins and Rebecca It’s 1881 in London’s theater district. Leading man Henry Irving is poisoned on Hamlet’s opening night at Cantrell the Lyceum Theatre, but in the grand theatrical tradition of “The show must go on,” survives and plays the role as promised. But when his understudy is killed by a runaway carriage the very next day, theater manager Harry As readers’ passion for Rivers and his boss, Bram Stoker, realize the “accident” is not merely an unfortunate coincidence. vampires begins to wane, this Irving himself has a long list of enemies, but who would want to kill his understudy? Other mishaps begin is one series, The Order of the to plague the play, and it soon becomes clear that unworldly, possibly voodoo, methods are being employed to Sanguines, that remains solid; shut down this Hamlet production permanently. Could it be the owners of rival London theater, Sadler’s Wells, most likely because of the brilliant about to open a Shakespeare production of their own? writing and the multiple genres it With more cast and crew members falling victim to the increasingly dangerous accidents on set, and the covers, from history to religion to young son of the leading lady kidnapped, it’s up to Harry and Stoker to figure out who the real target of all this the supernatural. violence is. The characters readers are In this first of the new Bram Stoker series, author Raymond Buckland cleverly employs a similar device introduced to represent the truly to the great Arthur Conan Doyle: although the “great detective” is Bram Stoker, the story’s narrator is Harry evil, old-time monster vamps Rivers, who plays Watson to Stoker’s Holmes. And there’s even a dastardly villain who escapes capture at the who do their jobs happily. Of book’s climax, just like the evil James Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes adventures. The game is indeed afoot, course, now they are searching for and it’s great fun! redemption. Instead of standing in Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Class Reunions Can Be Murder” for Suspense Magazine ■ the sunlight glistening, this Order has a goal in mind; to locate a book HOLY ORDERS that they can use for purposes By Benjamin Black beyond imagination. The case of the body of the canal was how Detective Sergeant Jenkins thought ofit Main character, Erin afterwards. Dublin pathologist Quirke, however, would remember it as the time he had to tell Granger, is a genius archaeologist his daughter that her friend was murdered. who would make Indiana Jones Jimmy Minor had been a crime reporter and a friend of Phoebe’s for years, and his death proud. She’s been working hits her hard. The question of Minor’s sexuality is raised and for the sake of the man’s parents, tirelessly, searching for an ancient Quirke and Phoebe are grateful for the self-censorship of the 1950’s Irish newspapers. artifact that was owned, or at But Minor’s newspaper is now owned by a hard-nosed Canadian businessman who insists that the paper least touched, by Christ. This make a “front-page splash” with stories about the murder. And if not about the murder, then anything that sells hunt led her straight into the web papers. The unmarried couple who found the body, for instance. Why not write a story about them? of the secret order of so-called Quirke and his friend, Inspector Hackett, try to untangle the nearly invisible lines of Minor’s life. They Vatican monks known only as the start with his job, but the only things Minor had been working on involved a camp of tinkers and a Catholic Sanguines. priest, two stories with no apparent connection. Sergeant Jordan Stone is Quirke’s troubled childhood in a church orphanage should have been a help to the investigation, but our hero. Practically kidnapped instead, he’s plagued with what he can only assume to be a…hallucination? A bad hangover? The event is from a burial service at Arlington disturbing and Quirke feels a kind of darkness descending. National Cemetery, he’s taken to He starts to detach from everything and everyone, but a threat to his daughter yanks Quirke back, just in meet up with Erin. He will return time to find himself forcefully confronted with both his past and future. As is typical for Quirke, neither one to Masada, Israel, team with her looks promising. on the hunt for this religious “Holy Orders” is the sixth in Black’s series featuring Quirke. While there are many references to past artifact, and try desperately to events, the plot never hinges on any of them. Black’s lyrical writing sings with sorrow, with heartache, and with keep it out of the hands of a truly Quirke’s naked knowledge that all of us, someday, will end up on a pathologist’s To Do list. We can only hope brutal enemy. When an attack is made on that Quirke’s wry sense of humor will be enough to get him through the day. Erin near Stanford University, Reviewed by Laura Alden, author of “Curse of the PTA” for Suspense Magazine ■ Erin and Jordan head straight back THE LAST DEAD GIRL to the ‘fanged’ Order. Meeting up By Harry Dolan with a man/creature who has a David Loogan is living the good life; he’s engaged to Sophie Emerson, a surgical intern. They have been very familiar name, Erin is faced living together for about six months and are now having a discussion about buying a house. Unfortunately, the with Iscariot, who’s determined to good life ends when David finds out Sophie has been intimate with another medical student and walks out. bring about the end of the world. However, David has a secret of his own. One rainy night about a week before, David was out driving The ultimate work of ‘good when a deer came running out of the woods. No accident happens as the deer runs alongside his car and then versus evil,’ this is a great gothic bolts out of sight. A car appears moving quite fast and races by David. Worried that the deer might still be near thriller for readers who have no the road, he goes back to see if everything’s okay. What he finds is the car with the deer struggling beneath it, qualms about characters that are hazard lights flashing between the raindrops, and a woman sporting a bruise who can not, or will not, explain far more frightening than a simple how she got it. ghost that ‘goes bump in the night.’ Jana Fletcher is the driver—she is also a woman who David begins a romance with even though his To have the best experience, begin fiancée is still at home. Not as lucky as the deer, Jana is murdered and David becomes suspect number one. The at the beginning with “The Blood police are unable to detain him on the evidence they have, so David begins his own investigation to clear his Gospel,” leave the lights on, and name—as well as learn more about Jana’s life. embark on one of the coolest, The surprises keep coming as David finds out about another murder that might have had something to do most riveting journeys you can with Jana’s. Feeling as if he’s being watched, David meets with people in Jana’s life and tries to retrace her steps take. over the last week she was alive, wondering if he will be the next to go. Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author A very interesting plot with good characters that lure the reader into a variety of different worlds. Who of “The Hero’s Companion: could ask for anything more? Tallent & Lowery Book Three” Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by published by Suspense Publishing, Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 31 BLOTTO, TWINKS AND THE ABSENCE OF MERCY THE BOOTLEGGER'S By John Burley MOLL This debut novel is a true psychological thriller down to its very core. By Simon Brett The setting for this disturbing tale is a quaint, peaceful town in Ohio that certainly doesn’t boast terror or horror of any kind. Centering on Dr. Ben Stevenson, the novel begins Author Simon Brett should as the doctor arrives home one afternoon to discover his beloved wife, Susan, in an awful state. be congratulated, because this She is upset after hearing a story about a local boy who has been located in the woods. book #4, is even more entertaining The boy was brutally murdered while walking home from school and the fatal stabbing feels and engaging than all the Blotto & as if a monster has just been unleashed in the ‘perfect’ town. Twinks that have come before. Susan is not only upset because of the stabbing but also beside herself with worry and fear because she This time out, the Dowager and Ben are the parents of two sons, one of them the same age as the victim. Duchess of the family has decided Because he is the medical examiner in town, the worry of the community rests on Ben’s shoulders as that the only way to take care of he dutifully completes the autopsy on the poor victim. Horrified by what he discovers, Ben is pulled into the hardships at Tawcester Towers, the investigation and soon finds out that, as with all small towns, there is a list of shocking secrets and awful including finding a way to get truths that will ruin the peaceful area altogether, as well as give Ben nightmares. money in order to keep the place up, Trying to make the decision of whether he should take his family and run as far and as fast as he can, is to marry off her younger son, the or stay and help catch this killer who is now leaving a trail of bodies behind, Ben must face the ultimate evil. Honourable Devereux Lyminster With so many plot twists and turns, this lovely picture of suburban life will send some folks racing back (commonly known as Blotto), to a to the smog-filled cities for protection. A combination that will both thrill you and cause you to turn away at super-rich American. the same time, this is one debut novel that will definitely make you lock your windows and doors in suburbia This is the Prohibition era in before heading off to bed. the United States, and Blotto, along Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by with his sister the Lady Honoria Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ Lyminster (AKA Twinks), are sent by the Duchess to gangster-filled THE MAN IN THE SNOW Chicago in order for Blotto to meet By Rory Clements what will become his fiancée. Along John Shakespeare, brother of the bard, is called upon to investigate a murder. A body with Chauffeur Corky Froggett, the of a man is found frozen in the snow outside of the Bishopsgate in London. Shakespeare stunning siblings board the ocean immediately recognizes the previously unidentified man. He is a Venetian servant of the Earl liner, SS His Majesty, and set sail for of Oxford by the name of Giovanni Jesu. So begins the mystery of “The Man in the Snow.” America. Rory Clements has written a powerful murder mystery wrapped in sixteenth century It’s not exactly a happy trip, England. I do not normally care for ‘period’ fiction, but Rory Clements did such an amazing considering Blotto feels like he has job of thickening the plot by dropping just enough clues along the way that the period language and feel soon been condemned to death, knowing seemed natural. That is something that I have found to be rare in historical fiction. that waiting for him in Chicago is a “The Man in the Snow” is a novella and moves fast from beginning to conclusion yet never rushes. There very wealthy heiress by the name of is a great blend of action and dialogue as Shakespeare goes about his business of solving the crime. Mary Chapstick. Of course, crime I highly recommend Rory Clements’s “The Man in the Snow,” as well as his other John Shakespeare also becomes an element of their adventures. Chicago journey when Twinks Reviewed by J.M. LeDuc, author of “Cornerstone,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense discovers that the father of Blotto’s Magazine ■ future wife has a father by the name THE SECRET MISS RABBIT KEPT of Hiram P. Chapstick, III who By Robin Cain is up to his ears in a bootlegging Out of school, nothing going on, and wanting to solve the heavy problem of why her birth mother operation run by a notorious dumped her as a baby, teenager Sophie has little patience with the nosey girl down the street. To avoid Chicago mobster. explanations she can’t give answers to, she announces her mother was murdered. Filled with the detectives and the ‘families’ with great names who It doesn’t really help much, so as part of her exploration of why someone can cast off another human, carry violin cases all over the city Sophie takes a job at a nursing home, a place where old people are dropped off and forgotten. Cain takes loaded with machine guns that us on an exploration through a world seen through the eyes of the caregivers who labor to help those less made ‘Prohibition USA’ both scary fortunate than most. and funny, this author puts forward Set in the South, in the race-torn years of the 1970s, it’s a story about where the color of your skin has no a fantastic tale. Although the reader bearing on the status of life, where thrown-away people and adopted girls have little consequence as to what will long for more, the stories of goes on in the lives of those who only live for today—not by choice but by the hand of their creator. As the British Aristocrats and the Chicago town folks’ lives meld, Sophie learns that life is fragile but relationships are stronger, that we all have a place, mob versus the law are great fun! even if it’s not what is hoped or imagined. Twinks is, as always, a mite The community deals with death and divorce, adoption and adaption. The story is reminiscent of the smarter than her brother, and similar-styled time and setting of Fried Green Tomatoes. We see a teenager become a young lady with depth whether or not Blotto becomes a and understanding. We meet Miss Rabbit, who has a story to tell, but has chosen to not speak for the last four ‘taken’ man is a plotline you really years. Can Sophie and her secrets draw out what has been hidden for years, and how will past want to dive right into. revelations affect Sophie’s future journey? Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of The mystique of untold secrets and unsolvable pasts has drawn us to stories forever and “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & this is no different. Cain excels in the presentation of her latest novel and I highly recommend Lowery Book Three” published by taking the time to discover Miss Rabbit’s secrets. Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Reviewed by Mark P. Sadler, author of “Blood on his Hands,” published by Suspense Suspense Magazine ■ Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 32 THE QUIET DON SINISTER By Matt Birkbeck By Lisa Jackson, Nancy Bush, and Unlike the mobsters who wanted to make it known that they were in charge, this chronicle Rosalind Noonan explores the life of a man who ruled with an iron fist, but made hardly any noise while doing it. Russell Bufalino worked for many years to make his ‘crime family’ a factor in the world. When you have one suspense Beginning during the years of Prohibition and leading up to the days of the Carter presidency, powerhouse author behind a he worked diligently building a legacy. book, that’s a great thing, but add When most people think of ‘crime bosses,’ they think of the infamous who ran Chicago and in two more good writers and New York, and the famous who roamed the streets of Las Vegas when it was nothing but a boring you end up with a book that will dirt road in the middle of nowhere. Russell Bufalino, on the other hand, enjoyed quiet, quaint Pennsylvania. literally have you trembling in fear. He kept a low profile while having a say in everything from the nation’s politics to the very powerful Teamsters There is a killer stalking the Union. He also had a hand in running Pennsylvania’s government. Dillinger family. No one seems Even though the name may not sound familiar, Russell Bufalino (allegedly) had final say in the to have the slightest clue what the disappearance of Teamsters’ boss, Jimmy Hoffa, in 1975. killer is doing or why he/she is As the chronicle moves forward, readers will see the danger this man was at one time; even more dangerous working so furiously to take this because he kept quiet and never advertised who would be the next victim of his rage. He gave the orders and family down. But this mysterious his minions simply carried them out. The research also shows that Hoffa went against him more than a few person has plenty of time in the times without actually thinking there would be any dire consequences to his actions. With this information world, apparently, and chooses known, it’s certainly plausible that Hoffa’s loud mouth ended up pushing a ‘quiet’ man into creating the most a specific time to take them out; famous mafia murder in U.S. history. at the wedding of the family Good writing and excellent research, readers will find themselves pulled into this story. The descriptions patriarch, Ira Dillinger. and added photographs are compelling, and the combination certainly proves that the ‘silent’ ones are The bride-to-be, Pilar Larson, definitely the most ‘deadly.’ is a real piece of work. Not only is Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by she the same age as Ira’s daughter Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ but she’s also had an affair with THE MISTAKEN his son. Suffice to say this is not By Nancy S. Thompson exactly the happiest of events Nancy S. Thompson has written a story that will grab you on multiple levels. On first seeing as that this union has some glance, it is a story of undying love in the midst of tragedy, but dig a little deeper and you will of the deepest, darkest secrets find a story of blood vs. water. Which is stronger? Keep digging and you will discover a story of possible. one man’s struggle with ethical and moral fortitude. When does doing the right thing become But Ira is determined to have the wrong thing, and when is it okay to cross that line? all his children by his side on this When Tyler Karras loses everything, he can only think of one thing: revenge. He clings to glorious day. None are happy about the only person he has left, his brother Nick. But not everything and everyone are as they seem. this wedding as their own mother “The Mistaken” is not just a book to read but to linger on. Strangers become more and family begins to rip has not been dead even a year, apart. Thompson will have you guessing who the good guys are up till the last page. and they know this stepmother is A great book for both the romance and the mystery lover. nothing but a gold digger. With Ira Reviewed by J.M. LeDuc, author of “Cornerstone,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense remaining steadfast, all kids come Magazine ■ home to ‘daddy’ for the event and THE TENTH WITNESS a theatrical set of lies and cover- By Leonard Rosen ups come to light. It’s 1977 and civil engineer Henri Poincaré and his business partner are working to recover lost treasure As the wedding plans unfold, from a sunken ship. It’s the stuff of dreams, but when Henri’s new girlfriend, Liesel Kraus, turns out to be one the killer has more than enough of those Krauses, of Kraus Steel, Henri’s not sure he’s ready for the complications that will inevitably come with of his/her own vengeful reasons dating the sister of one of the richest men in West Germany. to take out this illustrious family, But Henri’s problems have only begun. Henri accepts a contract job offer from Liesel’s brother and almost so the fun never stops. There’s immediately, he’s compelled to learn more about the man who hired him; and even more, the Kraus family suspense galore as the scare tactics history during Nazi Germany. Was Otto Kraus, Liesel’s father, the honorable German his biographer made him begin, and the quick plot offering out to be? Or was he simply very good at hiding the truth? up little salacious tidbits along the Henri’s present and past intersect when he’s confronted with proof that an old friend of his family’s—a way will have the reader begging Jewish friend—had worked at a Kraus Steel labor camp during World War II. When Henri crosses paths to know the identity of the killer. with an Interpol agent who’s building a case against Liesel’s brother for labor violations, Henri is even more Although Jackson’s role in conflicted. More and more, he just wants to be with Liesel, but he feels besieged by the growing revelations penning the first part did move about her family. quicker and engage the reader Though Liesel herself is tormented by what she’s learning about Kraus Steel’s brutal practices, her brother on impact, the other two authors shrugs and says, “Dangerous work is dangerous.” For the sake of his family’s old friend, Henri is compelled to did a great job keeping up with discover the truth about the Kraus family, no matter the cost. But it turns out, not all the danger is in a steel what some say is the ‘mistress of factory. Some of it is close, and vicious enough to kill. suspense.’ “The Tenth Witness” explores the effects of war on a generation that wasn’t even alive during the events Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author that are influencing them so deeply. The novel, rife with tensions that have been simmering for decades, of “The Hero’s Companion: eloquently tells the story of a young man coming to grips with a world that is far more complicated than he Tallent & Lowery Book Three” had ever dreamed. published by Suspense Publishing, Reviewed by Laura Alden, author of “Curse of the PTA” for Suspense Magazine ■ an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 33 KILLER'S ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG ISLAND By Chris Marie Green By Anna Jansson This book is literally a wonder. It’s narrated by Jensen Murphy, a girl who was murdered thirty years ago, who’s now working as a ghost to help solve crimes that take place in her California town. Of course, This is the second she wants nothing more than to figure out the identity of her own murderer. tale in the Maria Wern Jensen begins, rightfully so, in a dark place, where all she can do is think over and over again about Police Detective series her own tragic death and attempt to ‘see’ in her mind who her killer actually was. And, as fate would have translated into English. it, she is given the abnormal chance to do something far more than simply remain a statistic on a long list This book continues the incredible of unsolved cases. suspense that book one introduced. The woman who gives Jensen the chance is a psychic by the name of Amanda Lee Minter. Jensen Maria Wern is a Criminal isn’t one of those bright light souls who was taken ‘up’ by an angel, etc. In fact, all she can remember after Inspector living on the picturesque death is staying near the oak tree where she was killed. When Amanda comes along and actually pulls island of Gotland, a place that’s literally Jensen out of her own mind and her own constant search for the face of her killer, the two form a special the Swedish version of Martha’s supernatural bond that will stop others from joining the list of the ‘unsolved’ and forgotten. Vineyard. On her way home from a Their first team-up happens when Amanda needs to unmask the killer of a young girl. Vowing to Jensen that she will find her killer after they catch this one, Amanda convinces the ghost to help her. night of fun with her friend Erika, Jensen agrees, but what the two women soon find out is that vengeful enemies come in all forms; ghostly, the women stumble across a boy and most definitely, human. who is being attacked by three men. Talk about a book worth reading. The characters are sad, lonely, fun, happy, interesting, unique… Maria immediately stops to help him and that’s just an overview. The real upside is that this is the first in a new series that has proved it will be and halt the criminals in their tracks. a true treasure trove of imagination to come. Unfortunately, Maria is injured and has Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published to be hospitalized. Equally unfortunate by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ is the fact that she is unable to investigate the attack because she’s a witness and cannot take on the case SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE By Ian Rankin and track the killers. But as hardheaded Ian Rankin’s latest book, “Saints of the Shadow Bible,” is a fast paced thriller taking as Maria is, she keeps right on going. place in the U.K., where his main character John Rebus is forced to relive a thirty-year- It is only a few days later that a old case all over again. Rankin brings a witty style of writing and it shows through his woman’s body is found in the botanical characters. garden. Oddly enough, the corpse is The pace of the book is excellent, giving readers a short time between scenes to catch wearing a wedding dress, and she just their breath before Rankin turns up the heat again. John Rebus and Malcolm Fox are two happens to be a nurse who worked at characters that fill nicely into a plot surrounded by mystery and history with a group determined to keep the same hospital where Maria was their secret safe from the world. Rankin takes the reader through many twists and turns until he explodes treated. A Nordic mystery comes back with an ending that would be like bullet trains hitting each other at full speed. from the grave as the pieces fall into “Saints of the Shadow Bible” is a winner for any fan that reads historical suspense, with a pace of a place. Maria uncovers a great many thriller. things, including the fact that the nurse Reviewed by John Raab for Suspense Magazine ■ was being treated by a local doctor for insomnia—the same doctor who is the THE WIDOW FILE love interest of Maria’s best friend. By S.G. Redling A captivating prologue begins the rapid-fire pace of this incredible novel. Taking place in Boston, There are many character a man by the name of Booker, whose profession is either terrorist or hit man, is introduced. As he deals connections that enable the authorities with his own scheme, Booker shows his dark side, setting the reader up to take the ride of their lives. to get to the point quickly, going Rasmund is a private security firm that specializes in corporate espionage, extortion, and threat up against a killer who’s extremely assessment. Many of their clients are listed on the stock exchange; these elite companies hire Rasmund technically savvy. when they need their in-house employees looked into and they want absolutely no publicity to come The plot and characters are first from it. rate, and the reader comes to know Dani, and her friend, Fay, are what you would call skilled employees of this elite security company. the police team very well; not just They have jobs that entail looking into trash that people throw away, such as receipts and traffic tickets. It’s as the ‘good guys’ but in-depth. All a fact that Dani can find out anything and everything about anyone Rasmund is investigating, by simply their romances and other foibles are wading through the garbage people throw away on a daily basis. offered to the reader as they get further When a new case involving a corporation with ties to the U.S. military presents itself, Dani’s boss, involved with the mysterious crimes. Mrs. O’Donnell, suddenly tells the workers that the job has been cancelled and they are to gather up all The translation is easily the information they have and turn it over to the client. But before this can happen, a group of assassins understandable, and fans will definitely tear through the firm stealing files and killing employees, before eventually blowing the office building want to go back and get the first book sky-high. that brought Maria Wern onto the Thankfully, Dani had left the office during this siege and is still in possession of some very valuable literary scene. information that the man, Booker, wants. A race begins. Not only must Dani avoid a trained professional Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of to stay alive, but she must also figure out who the real enemy is and learn what his horrific agenda is all “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & about. Lowery Book Three” published by Paying attention is necessary for the amount of action this novel provides. And Redling most Suspense Publishing, an imprint of definitely deserves praise for writing an unforgettable thriller. Suspense Magazine ■ Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Sapphire Storm”The Tallent & Lowery Adventurespublished by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 34 THE MARTIAN LOVE STORY, WITH By Andy Weir MURDERS In the not-too-distant future, the third crewed Mars mission is forced to abort when a dust By Harry Bingham storm threatens to damage the ascent vehicle which will take them back from the surface to their orbiting spacecraft. During the evacuation, crewmember Mark Watney is hit by flying debris and The slightly psychotic, disappears into the blowing dust. Telemetry from his suit indicates he’s dead, and the remaining completely entertaining DI, Fiona crew can’t even find his body before they are forced to launch. Their long journey to Earth will Griffiths, is back. And this time be haunted by Watney’s death. There’s just one wrinkle: Watney survived. around she’s up to her badge in “The Martian” is a page-turning thriller. Imagine Jules Verne novelizing a breezy mash-up of Cast Away some seriously interesting and and Apollo 13. Watney is an engineer, and his problem-solving and jury-rigging skills serve him well in his extremely creepy murder cases. struggle to survive. He knows there is a fourth Mars mission due to land in four years. He has no immediate A human leg wearing only way to contact NASA—all the communication equipment was destroyed in the storm—and so sets himself to a high-heeled shoe is found in a figuring out how he can survive for four years and be rescued. freezer bagged up like tomorrow’s Much of the book is composed of Watney’s journal entries. He concentrates on the details of his plans, beef tenderloin. Then, much to making light of his stumbles along the way. Because of this, the novel stays fairly light; the inevitable moments everyone’s disgust and surprise, of despair, stretches of boredom, and numbing loneliness are not dwelled upon. While this limits the novel’s other discoveries of gruesome emotional depth, it does keep the story moving briskly along, and the wise-cracking Watney is a likeable hero. body parts begin to occur in a Plenty of scientific details and calculations are included, but, as delivered in Watney’s humorous voice, suburb of Cardiff, Wales. Parts they enhance the believability of the plot without turning the story into a textbook. Eventually NASA discovers are being found all over the place; that Watney is still going strong on Mars, adding traditional third-person narrative alongside Watney’s journals. from kitchens to garages to potting This provides a nice change of pace from the journal entries while also adding the excitement of the earthbound sheds. But when the police finally efforts to rescue Watney sooner than four years. succeed in getting the body parts If you have nostalgia for human space exploration, hope for future crewed missions, or, better yet, both, to fit together like a bloody puzzle, this survival tale with a high-tech twist will pull you right in. a crime that happened over ten Reviewed by Scott Pearson, author of “Star Trek: Honor in the Night” and cohost of the Generations Geek years ago finally gets a victim. The podcast, for Suspense Magazine ■ trouble is, the victim has some odd connections to Fiona’s own THE EXECUTION family; long-hidden secrets that By Dick Wolf most definitely have to do with Dick Wolf, the creator of Law & Order, is back with his latest Jeremy Fisk book “The Execution.” Fiona’s own father. Coming on the heels of “The Intercept,” Wolf puts Fisk back in New York during the signing of a treaty Of course, this victim is between Mexico and the United States. Wolf does an excellent job of creating a story that starts with the not the only one. Soon parts of executions of a number of bodies on the border of the United States and Mexico. Each body has a carving of a yet another body start cropping hummingbird, giving Detective Cecilia Garza of the Mexican Federal Police force and head of security for the up, carelessly thrown about the Mexican President while at the U.N. in New York, reason to think that an elusive figure called Chuparosa is the countryside very shortly after the person responsible for the crime. Fisk, coming off the recent threat to New York, is caught in the middle when new victim, a mysterious man, more bodies, beheaded, are found on Rockaway Beach, NY. met his fate at the hands of a brutal Wolf keeps the action flowing and puts the reader on edge while crafting a story that builds with many killer. different layers leading up to the exciting climax with a twist. Wolf, an Emmy award winning writer, producer, The investigation is on, so to and creator, is now putting his stamp in the political thriller genre challenging the likes of Brad Thor and David speak, as Fiona tries her best to Baldacci. Wolf is a master storyteller and it shows perfectly in “The Execution.” figure out what the victims could Reviewed by John Raab for Suspense Magazine ■ possibly have in common. The strange murders will lead Fiona THE MIST IN THE MIRROR in many directions. Links to the By Susan Hill arms trade and sex trade will be For those who devour ghost stories, this author has provided the perfect one. Set in the uncovered and Fiona, herself, will Victorian era in England, where ghosts are always right around the corner and the old estates are become the victim of an attempted veiled by mist and surrounded by secrets, this intriguing tale will most definitely have you happy murder before anything is laid to that you’re sitting in your nice warm room…with the lights on. rest. Sir James Monmouth, a world traveler, returns to England after living away from the British This mystery is beyond fast- Isles for some time. He is planning to research the life of Conrad Vane, also a world traveler, who paced, pulling the reader in and was an inspiration to James. keeping them there until the very Almost immediately upon his arrival, the creepiness begins when a mysterious boy seems to ‘pop’ up last page. Everyone will not only everywhere. As James begins his quest for research, he receives warnings not to move forward. But as all main want to know, but they will need characters do, James puts aside the helpful advice. to know what happens to Fiona, In order to research Vane’s early life, James leaves London for a very remote home in North Yorkshire who’s become a truly beloved called Kittiscar Hall; which is, of course, unbelievably haunted. The familiar boy is there, offering strong character in the mystery realm. suggestions that James leave the project alone and head home. But James comes upon a connection to his own Her quirks make her special, and childhood while researching Vane, and becomes obsessively driven to find out the truth. It seems that Kittiscar when it comes to her investigating Hall is hiding a very big secret that involves both James and his subject…a mystery that James must unravel. techniques, Fiona is certainly in a Susan Hill has forever left satisfied readers in her wake. Her excellent, cold yet not horrific, writing style is category all by herself. This author extremely unique. Many readers who pick up this gem will go back and read Hill’s earlier books, and become has most definitely not let his fans extremely loyal fans. down! This is the Victorian ghost story combined with a truly interesting plot that will pull you in and leave you Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author breathless. So if you own that roaring fireplace, sit down in front of it, curl up, and take this remarkable journey of “The Hero’s Companion: with a truly remarkable writer. Tallent & Lowery Book Three” Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by published by Suspense Publishing, Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 35 THE SECRET CELL HISTORY OF LAS By Robin Cook VEGAS Robin Cook proves again he is the master of medical thrillers. His extensive insider By Chris Abani knowledge of the medical profession is evident in this chilling tale of a Smartphone app known as iDoc that develops a mind of its own. This digital doctor has been programmed to learn from This book offers a bit ofa experiences with doctors and patients and make patient-care decisions. It is available on a 24/7 strange plot and odd twists turns basis, which gives its patients peace of mind and reduces medical expenses. that come together to form an When Doctor George Wilson wakes beside his fiancée and discovers she died during the extremely suspenseful and unique night, he is emotionally devastated. A few months later, he learns about the secret iDoc testing. In one week, story. four of his radiology patients die prematurely under suspicious circumstances. He learns they were all iDoc In the beloved ‘city that patients. He digs deeper and discovers his fiancée had participated in a beta test for the same program. George never sleeps,’ Detective Salazar is heading for his retirement. He fears someone has hacked into iDoc and is killing patients, or worse, the huge health insurance company that is ready (or is he?) to step away owns iDoc may be killing people on purpose to save money. from his tough career and take Desperate to find the party responsible and stop deaths, George enlists the help of a hacker. When he time out for himself. As with all invades iDoc’s secret domain, he realizes his findings will put George’s life in jeopardy. The discovery unleashes ‘good ideas,’ Salazar gets waylaid. a terrifying series of events that leads George to team up with Doctor Paula Stonebrenner. With billions of A recent outbreak of murders has dollars at stake and government Medicaid and Medicare contracts on the line, they are not sure who to trust occurred with homeless people with the damning information. Secret government agencies may be involved as the reality of Obamacare’s as the victims. Although Salazar escalating costs sinks in. can smell freedom, his devotion The computer in Robin Cook’s “Cell” is so scary I no longer sleep with my Smartphone next to my bed. to the job and passion for the I have a new appreciation for my flesh-and-blood doctor as I contemplate the all too real implications of this city leads him in his decision frightening prediction of future healthcare that fits in perfectly with current events. I will also think long and to stay employed until he can hard about the apps I download onto my Smartphone. come up with a solution and stop Reviewed by S.L. Menear, author of “Deadstick Dawn” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of this horrendous murderer from Suspense Magazine ■ continuing on his/her spree. Oddities begin when Salazar STRANGE BIRD comes across a pair of conjoined By Anna Jansson twins wading in Lake Mead; A man who raises homing pigeons on the island of Gotland finds a new addition to his they have a container of blood flock. It has a different coloring, shape, and band than any of his and he is taken with the bird. resting near their car. With his He keeps thinking it will be a great addition to his racing pigeons, not realizing the terrible set cop instinct, he’s immediately of events he has just put into motion. confident that he has found the Panic seizes the island as the bird flu spreads through a series of innocent, neighborly killers. It ends up that the twins— interactions. When a man is found murdered on an abandoned farm, Detective Maria Wern is Water and Fire—are working in a assigned to investigate. She finds there is a link between him and the deadly flu sweeping the island. sideshow called the ‘Carnival of The flu is more concerning to her than the murders, maybe because she has a personal interest in it, but Lost Souls’ that operates on the Maria Wern has a job to do. Added to the panic spreading, there is a vaccine available to those who can afford it. outskirts of the city. Highly believable fiction! The way the flu spreads is just scary, real! Salazar begins to unveil the Reviewed by Ashley Dawn, author of “Shadows of Pain” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of crime as he interrogates the twins, Suspense Magazine ■ but he soon realizes that they have a unique story all their own. Salazar UPON A WINTER'S NIGHT asks for the help of Dr. Sunil Singh, By Karen Harper a medical professional from South Masterfully drawing the reader in, Harper has delivered the best, once again. Africa, whose specialty focuses on Set in Amish country, Lydia Brand is an adopted girl who has no idea who her parents are. the study of psychopaths. Singh is Even though her adoptive family loves her, she never actually feels like she’s a part of them. working on a series of experiments She works for her dad in his furniture store, while listening to her parents constantly jabber regarding violent behavior. about how she should marry the local bookkeeper, Gid. Lydia has absolutely no interest in During the questioning of the man and soon volunteers to feed the animals on the farm next door. She’s a great lover of the odd twins, the fact that Singh has his own demons to deal with animals, and they don’t badger her as much as people do. She especially has fun with the camels. Yes…camels. comes to the forefront. You see, the farm next door is a bit different. The owner, Josh Yoder, has a background where he worked This novel is a gritty, hardcore four years out in the world at a zoo before coming back to Amish country. He brought his passion back with read, and as the pages move him keeping camels, donkey’s, and sheep and also running a petting zoo. It’s a busy time for him because forward, the characters turn from Christmas is nearing and his animals are being rented out for various pageants and events. odd to likeable. A horrible but One day, Lydia finds herself combing the area for a camel that’s gone AWOL. Unfortunately, what she understandable plot, Abani has finds is a woman abandoned in the snow. Not sure whether the woman is alive or dead, Lydia finds a note in written this extremely well. The the woman’s pocket and runs for help. Tragedy occurs and when another woman is found dead, coincidence murder and mayhem are there, but is definitely not in the cards. so is the reality of this world. Lydia’s life is soon encompassed by mystery and shadows. Not only is she determined to find her real Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author parents and keep the bookkeeper far away, but someone begins to threaten her. Leaning on Josh Yoder, she of “The Hero’s Companion: tries to figure out the mystery that’s growing scarier every day. Tallent & Lowery Book Three” Both action and drama plots combine in this book that will keep the reader on their toes! published by Suspense Publishing, Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Hero’s Companion: Tallent & Lowery Book Three” published by an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 36 ADAMADAM MIMITZTZNENERR A u t h o r o f A conflict of interest

“This noirish tale... isis suresure toto keepkeep youyou rivetedriveted fromfrom startstart toto finish.”finish.” —The New York Observer

A t h r i l l e r

available wherever books and ebooks are sold!

And don’t miss: Dan Sorenson was once a high-powered New York defense attorney, but that was before a horrifying accident killed the two most important people in his life. As he approaches rock bottom, Dan is unexpectedly offered the opportunity of a lifetime: defend an up-and-coming rapper who swears he’s innocent of the brutal slaying of his pop star girlfriend.

A powerful and riveting new voice in fiction, Adam Mitzner pulls out all the stops in this gritty, sophisticated thriller that will draw fans of Scott Turow and John Grisham into a world of relentless suspense.

SimonandSchuster.com /PocketBooksFanpage @Pocket_Books Movies LONE SURVIVOR 2013 Genre – Action/Biography (R)

This film is based on The New York Times bestselling memoir novel of the same name. It’s action from the get-go telling the hellish tale of four Navy SEALs on a mission to take out several valuable al-Qaeda operatives in the mountains of Afghanistan. The 2005, “Operation Redwing” goes horribly wrong when the men are discovered and upon trying to escape, end up surrounded and pursued by Taliban who seem to have an endless supply of ammunition and armaments. The SEALS are outnumbered, outgunned, and in unfamiliar territory. Mark Wahlberg stars as Marcus Luttrell, the author of the first-person memoir. His fellow team members, (portrayed by Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, and Ben Foster) display incredible skill and courage as they fight to outwit their pursuers and survive. Action fans, this is the film for you. Some of the scenes will have you cringing with the violence and the pain the men are feeling as they scramble all over the mountain. There were multiple groans from our audience of reviewers as bodies tumbled down embankments. My only complaint is that the title gives away the ending. As military thrillers go, it’s one of the best due to breakneck pacing by Director Peter Berg (Battleship, Hancock, Friday Night Lights) and a compelling performance by Wahlberg. Reviewed by Susan May http://anadventureinfilm.blogspot.com.au ■

THE SECRET LIFE OF WALTER MITTY 2013 Genre – Adventure/Comedy/Drama (PG)

When I check the reviews for The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, I feel as if I saw an entirely different film than the other critics. There appears to be a backlash against the sentimentality of this film, and many unfavorable comments compare it to the 1947 Technicolor version. Well, I would imagine most of the current film-going public didn’t catch that one. This “Walter Mitty” made my favorites list for 2013, and I loved it enough to see it twice. It is a sweet, thoughtful, and inspirational story of Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller), a man who has never done anything “noteworthy or mentionable.” Mitty works in the backroom of Life Magazine managing the photos. Walter is prone to “zoning out.” When he does, he disappears into fantasy worlds where he imagines himself the hero. He also has a crush on colleague Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig), but he can’t muster the courage to talk to her, attempting to make contact via a dating website. When adventure photographer and all round craggy, heroic type Sean O’Connoll (Sean Penn), courier, delivers a special photo—“negative 25”—for the cover, it is decided by snarky “change management” executive, Ted Hendricks (Adam Scott) that it will appear on Life Magazine’s last ever print cover. But when the negative goes missing, Walter must escape his emotional boundaries and embark on an adventure across the world to find it. Ben Stiller directs and stars in “Walter Mitty” and he does a wonderful job with the aesthetics. It’s big and beautiful with a stirring soundtrack and enough laughs and romance to be called a rom-com, but at its heart, it’s an underdog film that finds the right balance of whimsical and sentiment. Reviewed by Susan May http://anadventureinfilm.blogspot.com.au ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 38 By Susan May http://anadventureinfilm.blogspot.com.au/ The year of “meh,” that was 2013. With only a few real standout films and the usual horrible, horrible duds, the rest were just okay. If cinema takings are down, the film studios only have themselves to blame. The scripts have been the problem and you can’t help wondering why some of the cable network AMC writers, who bring us amazing gems like Breaking Bad and Mad Men, can’t write for Hollywood, too. It’s also interesting to note that three of the eleven most bankable people in Hollywood (Brad Pitt, Will Smith, and Johnny Depp) starred in three of my “hates” films, which happened to also bomb at the box office. So, a star does not guarantee a film’s success. This year there was one absolute standout. Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity had people talking everywhere. It needed to be seen in the cinema and on IMAX, if possible. The extremely realistic space scenes required an extension of the technology of filmmaking, and it had many of us almost believing they had found a way to film in space. The Marvel franchise continued on strongly with Iron Man 3 (this year’s box office highest performer) following on linearly from 2012’s top box office earnerThe Avengers. Later in the year, Thor 2: The Dark World followed on nicely with the next chapter of the series. It’s clear from the teasers embedded in the closing credits of Thor that these Marvel films are going to continue on for years or at least until they stop making loads of money. This is also the first year we have experienced life without any Twilight films. There have been a few contenders put up, but no takers so far except for Hunger Games but it hasn’t reached the same level of hysteria as the vampire/werewolf/human love triangle. What is amazing is that you can always count on the tried and true talents to still deliver great entertainment. We’re talking about Woody Allen with Blue Jasmine, Ben Stiller with Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Tom Hanks in Captain Phillips and Saving Mr. Banks, and Leonardo Di Caprio in The Great Gatsby. Here’s my 2013 greats and hates: GREATS Gravity: wild, exhilarating ride in which you won’t breathe until the credits come up. Bravo. Blue Jasmine: Cate Blanchett is divine, and Woody Allen’s wry observation of human nature is again spot on.

SuspenseMagazine.com 39 12 Years a Slave: True life drama that will tear at your heart. My pick as the big winner during the awards’ season. Captain Phillips: A terrifying, gritty story with Tom Hanks at the top of his game. Saving Mr. Banks: Emma Thompson just eats up the role of Mary Poppins’ belligerent author. What a story! West of Memphis: The finest documentary this year, and its proof that fact is stranger than fiction. The Great Gatsby: some loved it; some hated it. It was big, bold, and beautiful. Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa: Funniest comedy this year with the man of the moment, Steve Coogan. Thor 2: The Dark World: It has a bare-chested Thor scene. So it makes my top ten just for that and the very cool Loki scenes. Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Whimsical, wonderful, and the most charming film this year. HATES The Counselor: A boring, arrogantly indulgent film. Easily the worst thing I’ve seen this year. After watching Cameron Diaz interact with a Ferrari, I need counseling. Night Train to Lisbon: A dead-end train to nowhere interesting. It’s appalling in every aspect, from script, to acting, to story. Do not get on. Safe Haven: Am I allowed to call a very popular romance woeful and ridiculous? Why yes, I will. A Good Day to Die Hard: How on earth did they come up with this terrible, unbelievable script? Leave Die Hard alone if this is the best you’ve got. The Host: Cashing in on Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight success with a poorly scripted science fiction disaster was not a good idea. The Call: This was meant to be a drama, but our audience laughed through most of the second half. The script never got past the dial tone. After Earth: Will Smith’s misguided vehicle for his son. “Inept” is the best word to describe this ridiculous, poorly acted, plot-hole riddled mess. The Lone Ranger: Could have been good, should have been good, but in the end it was just a dumb idea. Johnny Depp can’t pull off feathers and white face paint. Runner Runner: Ben Affleck, what the heck? After last year’s fantasticArgo , you follow up with this lame drama. I still don’t understand the title. Diana: Embarrassing grab for dollars from Princess Diana fans. Naomi Watts with a bad hairdo plus speculative, limp, love story = fail.

Reviewed by Susan May, author of “Behind the Fire” for Suspense Magazine ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 40 Featured Artist

LjiljaHobby Romanovicto Happiness

Memories Interview by Suspense Magazine SuspenseMagazine.com 41 As a child, our January featured artist, Ljilja Romanovic, spent her formative years in a small sea town in Croatia where her grandmother lived. Fond memories of watching street artists drawing portraits of tourists left a lasting impression and young Ljilja began to draw every day. When war broke out in Croatia, Ljilja’s family returned to Serbia where she was born and her passion for the arts and appreciation of nature’s beauty followed. Ljilja’s family means a great deal to her and while her professional chess-playing father traveled the world, she spent her time with her mother, sister, and circle of friends where she continued to thrive, enjoying her art and music classes. Digital art was originally just a hobby and one that happily turned into a full time job for this talented artist six years ago. She began working as a freelance photo editor for an Australian portrait studio and Like a Magic now she’s branched out to owning her own business (www.fantasybackgroundsstore.com). Ljilja now lives in Valjevo, Serbia with her husband and two children. We’re sure you’ll agree that Ljilja’s an ideal fit to start off a new year of Suspense Magazine.

Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): Where did your love of art itself come from? A teacher, a parent, a friend, etc.?

Ljilja Romanovic (L.R.): Everything began in my early years when I lived in Porec by the sea. My parents knew a guy who was a street artist (painter) and he drew tourist portraits on canvas on the promenade by the beach. When we walked there, my parents stopped to talk with him and I was really thrilled with his realistic and detailed drawings, so I always asked my parents if I could stay with him to watch how he drew portraits. Sometimes I stayed and watched him for hours.

I asked my parents to buy me sketchbooks so I could learn to draw. I enjoyed drawing so much and began drawing every day. When I was in high school, I started to be interested in Gothic music and mystical things and preferred to draw castles, tribal items, mystical female faces, and all other mystical things that fit with the music I love. I had a lot of drawings on my walls during that time; I was drawing all the time.

S. MAG.: Of all your pieces, which is your favorite and why?

L.R.: Regarding my work, there is more than one piece I like a lot, some of these are older works and not as good technically as the newer ones are.

S. MAG.: How would you describe your process? Do you work on one piece at a time or do you have several projects in various stages?

L.R.: I work on one piece at a time. It’s not easy for me to work on several pieces at once.

S. MAG.: Do you have an idea of what the result will be before you ever begin a new project?

L.R.: Well for most of my work, I don’t know how it will look at the end. I change a lot of things while in the process of creation— changing colors, elements, even models, until I really like the final composition; after that I finalize the details until I’m completely

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 42 Passion

Night Visitor

Hidden Place “ Everything began in my early years when I ”lived in Porec by the sea. SuspenseMagazine.com 43 satisfied.

S. MAG.: What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given? Would you give that same advice to someone new to the artistic realm or would you revise it based on your personal experiences?

L.R.: I didn’t get much advice from anyone. My parents never understood how serious I was regarding my art, so they mostly ignored my art. I ignored that, too and I worked and practiced a lot. The only advice I can give to others would be, if you really like to do something, you will succeed if you try hard enough, like in any other business.

I didn’t know about digital art before six years ago, since I lived in a country where everything comes a little late, so I didn’t have a chance to learn more about it beforehand. When I saw digital art for the first time, it looked to me like some kind of unreal photography. I was interested and started to learn Photoshop by myself using online tutorials and practicing trying to make something interesting. It took a lot of time to learn some things by myself, no one helped me or gave me classes and it was hard but interesting. Now I really enjoy doing what I do. Dark Symphony S. MAG.: What color do you love working with the most? L.R.: My favorite colors I use a lot in my work are blue and green. I just love these colors very much.

S. MAG.: Have you ever done work for book covers or album covers?

L.R.: Yes, I have worked on book and CD covers. I enjoy creating the covers as I really love to see my work printed, and for me, creating cover artworks is very inspirational and an interesting process.

S. MAG.: What is your idea of fun? If given a choice to skip work for a day, how would you spend the entire day?

L.R.: For me it’s fun to create digital art. I love this work and enjoy working. Sometimes you get tired, but only physically, which is not the same as when you do something for a living you don’t like. When I have a day off, I like to take a rest as it’s not easy to sit in front of a computer the whole day. During the summer, I like to go to swimming and enjoy nature.

We’d like to thank Ljilja for spending time with us and if you’d like to see more of this talented artist, we invite you to check out her portfolio at http://moonchild-ljilja.deviantart. World Of Glass com. ■

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 44 By Donald Allen Kirch CONSPIRACY! THE MANY DEATHS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN

On April 14, 1865, America...changed. For the first time, and unfortunately not the last, a president was killed in the name of a lost cause. Upon entering Ford’s Theatre, John Wilkes Booth, professional stage actor, Confederate sympathizer, and sometimes Civil War smuggler, took up a small-caliber handgun and killed the sixteenth President of the United States of America. Like the telltale musket balls that had echoed through the fields of Lexington and Concord less than a century before, his single shot was heard throughout the world. The nation had just suffered a horrible civil war and was looking forward to the promises of peace, albeit shaky and uncertain. Almost from the beginning, whispers were heard rising from the halls of government. One could almost state that the birth of the whispers had started with the agonizing cry that had come from the lips of the First Lady upon the night of her husband’s death. “My God! They’ve killed the President!” she had been heard to scream. Marry Todd Lincoln’s sanity had always been fragile, but...what if she had been right? Was President Lincoln’s assassination just a simple act of a crazed patriot? Or could there have been a few federal snakes mulling out a way to keep a peaceful unification from happening with the former Confederate States of America? Above all, President Lincoln wanted to forget, help heal the wounds of battle, and to forgive those who had once been enemies of the States. Several within his own cabinet hated the man. Few people know that Lincoln had a dream about his own demise several days before the faithful event. Could he have suspected? Like Caesar entering the forum of Rome’s ancient Senate, could the President have simply accepted his fate, realizing that his own usefulness had reached its glorious end? Here are just a few of the theories to arise from the gunpowder cloud of Booth’s musket ball...

SuspenseMagazine.com 45 THEORY #1: ANGRY “NORTHERNERS” KILLED THE PRESIDENT It never escaped Lincoln’s attention that several radical Republicans hated his mild programs aimed toward the South. Reconstruction had been designed as a means to reunite the “Old Republic” and offered, after a time, full control of self- government back into the hands of the former Confederates. This simply could not be tolerated! Revenge was the name of the game. There had to be payment for the blood of those who had sacrificed all. The Civil War had raised the cost of commerce, and at the time, the Southern States were the Saudi Arabia of cotton. Lincoln became aware of certain parties using this fact as a means to rape the South of profits after the war and signed federal orders allowing the existing state governments to sell to the U.S. government as a means to gain funds for meat and shelter for their recovering citizens. One could almost say that Lincoln, a Republican, had created the first welfare program to see to the basic needs of all. This program was NOT accepted well amongst bankers, financiers, businessman, or profiteers. Even future President Ulysses S. Grant tried to warn Lincoln about such a foolhardy action. This particular conspiracy is accepted by some because it came from the personal diary of Lafayette Baker, federal spy and Director of the Union Intelligence Service. He wrote: “There are at least eleven members of Congress involved in the plot, no less than twelve Army officers, three Naval officers and at least twenty-four civilians, of which one was a governor of a loyal state. Five were bankers of great repute, there were nationally known newspapermen and eleven were industrialists of great repute and wealth.” Of course, Baker himself has not left the conspiracy arena unscathed: HE has also been listed amongst the guilty. At the 1864 Democratic National Convention, Benjamin Allen of New York said, “The people will soon rise, and if they cannot put Lincoln out of power by the ballot they will by the bullet!” The crowd was said to have broken out in loud cheers.

THEORY #2: ANDREW JOHNSON HAD LINCOLN KILLED Like the vice president with his surname a century later, Andrew Johnson hasn’t survived the “next guy in line” assumption. Ever since Johnson had been sworn in as the seventeenth president, the man has been darkly connected with Abraham Lincoln’s death. Personally, I think he’s as guilty as Santa Claus, but the politics of the time did all that they could to make the man’s life miserable—after the presidential funeral, of course. What connects Johnson with the assassination is unfortunate happenstance. The vice president resided at the Washington Hotel. John Wilkes Booth had made a social call earlier on the day of the assassination, presumably to make a social visit. After the terror of the president’s death, William A. Browning, Johnson’s private secretary found a card in the vice president’s letterbox, written in Booth’s own hand, which stated, “Don’t wish to disturb you. Are you at home? J. Wilkes Booth.” One has to ask the question: Did Booth and Johnson know each other? Yes. They did. Booth stated in his personal writings that he had met the vice president in February 1864. Booth had been performing in a play and had happened to meet the politician after the performance. Also, when Johnson had been military governor of Tennessee, he and Booth kept a couple of sisters as mistresses! Oftentimes, they were seen, involved in their affairs within each other’s company. As with Lyndon Johnson, during the Warren Commission on the Kennedy assassination, Andrew Johnson was credited for whitewashing the investigation in regards to Booth’s actions.

THEORY #3: INTERNATIONAL BANKERS KILLED THE PRESIDENT In one name: Rothschild.

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 46 The core of this belief was in the way President Lincoln handled his monetary policies. At first, Lincoln looked toward Europe as a means to help finance the war. This took a turn for the worse, when the Rothschilds agreed to help the government of the United States, but at ultra-high interest rates. Lincoln, a shrewd businessman himself, sought other means after studying the details. Such a venture, he stated, would have ruined the credibility of the American government. British bankers strongly opposed Lincoln’s policies. In their view of the world, “British free trade, industrial monopoly, and human slavery traveled together.” The Rothschilds are strongly mentioned in this conspiracy because they had backed a cruel program by the U.S. government on Reconstruction. High prices and opportunities to obtain large plots of land were considered a way for most to make a profit after the Civil War. Lincoln’s soft turn on how he saw a reunification, took away billions in untapped opportunities. Abraham Lincoln, and the Republican Party, was seen as threats to the Democratic order of things. The secret goal, according to some, was for the Rothschilds to weaken the economy of America, thereby taking over. Could John Wilkes Booth have been a hired gun?

THEORY # 4: SECRETARY OF WAR EDWIN STANTON HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT It was openly known that Stanton did not like the policies Lincoln had enacted for the South’s reconstruction, and desperately wanted to replace the President with someone who would see things his way. Although both men never really enjoyed the other’s company, neither saw the other as an outright idiot. In fact, at one particular time, both men had fought to obtain the same office of President of the United States. On the night of the assassination, General Grant and his wife were to attend the play at Ford’s Theatre with the Lincolns. If the Union general had attended, it could be stated with certainty, that his guards would never have allowed John Wilkes Booth to walk near the Presidential Box, let alone enter it. However, the Grants changed their minds at the last minute and failed to show. Some state that Stanton, knowing, had ordered the general not to attend, thereby making sure that the security around the President would have been lax. More likely, Grant’s wife could not stand the company of the First Lady and told her husband that they would not be going. Also, it did not help Stanton’s case when he failed to notify the closing of the Navy Yard Bridge—the only bridge in Washington, D.C. that was not closed after the assassination, and the one Booth escaped the city by! The War Department’s excuse? The communications network around the capital was momentarily down. In point of fact: The same thing happened a century later during the aftermath of the Kennedy Assassination. Also, Edwin Stanton’s case of noninvolvement would have gone a hell of a lot better if, while in his custody, John Wilkes Booth’s personal diary hadn’t mysteriously lost seventeen pages. What could have been written down that would have caused the Secretary of War to suppress so much of the actor’s private thoughts? Stanton’s innocence as a conspirator is at times dubious.

THEORY #5: THE CATHOLICS DID IT In 1886, an ex-priest by the name of Charles Chiniquy brought up a claim that Vice President Andrew Johnson had contacted the Jesuits at the Vatican, offering up a $1 million dollar reward to anyone who would “kill the author of his nation’s bloodshed.” The author, of course, being Abraham Lincoln. Chiniquy went on to state that Booth was nothing more than a Catholic-trained assassin. The word “poppycock” comes to mind, and the ex-priest was never taken seriously in his claims, not even after writing a book entitled “Fifty Years in the Church of Rome.” However, Lincoln KNEW this man! In 1856, Lincoln defended Chiniquy in court on a morals charge. Lincoln had arranged for a compromised settlement between Chiniquy and a local bishop. Chiniquy had always stated that the Jesuits did not approve of the victory against the Mother Church, and they could have held a grudge against the President.

No matter how one looks at the horrific episode of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, it forever changed the way politicians react, look, and indeed interact with those around them. Like John F. Kennedy’s unfortunate end, and all of those other shining leaders of centuries past, it is better to believe in a room full of conspiracies than it is to realize, that at any time in the course of a day, an ordinary nut can pick up a weapon and kill a great man. ■

If you are interested in reading more of this author’s work go to: www.donaldallenkirch.com

SuspenseMagazine.com 47 A missing woman, a survivalist compound, and a doomsday plot — can an undercover agent stop the social meltdown?

“An atmospheric, fast-paced, and intelligent thriller that kept me reading long into the night.” — J Carson Black NYT bestselling author

From the author of the bestselling Detective Jackson series

Available as a $3.99 ebook and in print. http://ljsellers.com © iStockphoto.com/klagyrvik

SUSPENSE-trigger-v3.indd 1 12/12/2013 9:41:13 AM D.B. Corey Takes the “Chains” Off

Interview by Weldon Burge Press Photo: Provided by Author D.B. Corey’s first novel, “Chain of Evidence,” a police procedural/thriller, was published by Intrigue Publishing this past summer. In the story, Moby Truax, an aging detective who is nearing retirement, must investigate a serial killer stalking the streets of Baltimore—and Truax suspects the murders are that of a copycat killer, and that he actually faces two serial killers. After a stint in college, Corey joined the USNR flying aircrew aboard a Navy P-3 Orion chasing down Russian subs. During his time there, he began a career in IT. He didn’t begin writing until his mid-fifties, and had to pay some dues before landing his contract with Intrigue and the subsequent publication of his first novel. I asked D.B. to talk with us about his experiences during the creation, editing, and publication of “Chain of Evidence”, among other things.

Weldon Burge (W.B.): Your novel, “Chain of Evidence,” was published by a new independent publisher, Intrigue Publishing. What have you learned from that partnership?

D.B. Corey (D.B.): I signed with Intrigue in July 2012. The novel was released in August 2013. Had I not missed my first deadline, it would have come out four months earlier. So the first thing I learned was not to miss deadlines. Once the book did come out, I discovered I had a second job—marketing myself, something I was unprepared to do. I found that writing the book was the easy part, that there were not enough weekends in the month, and the publisher designs the cover. He may even want to change the title, but that was OK with me. My title was terrible.

W.B.: The hero in your novel is Moby Truax, an aging detective nearing retirement. The villain, Harvey Morral, is a serial killer who also happens to be a medical examiner who is into necrophilia. How did you research to develop these two characters?

D.B.: With all respect, I consider our military men and women and our first responders to be heroes, so I would never refer to one of my fictional characters a hero. Heroes are flesh-and-blood people who can be hurt, so my good guy is “the protagonist.”

SuspenseMagazine.com 49 W.B.: Couldn’t agree more. Sometimes we forget who the true heroes are!

D.B.: I didn’t want Moby to be a super-cop—some guy who stood six-six, weighed in at two hundred and fifty pounds, was solid muscle, played in the NFL, and had bullets bounce off his chest. Everybody writes those kind of main characters and the movies are full of them. To research Truax, I only had to look at myself. I wanted him to have the same problems I found myself facing; age related problems: diminishing faculties such as memory and eyesight, weight gain, resistance to and resentful of the changing world around him. I used those things as a starting point. As he developed, he had to deal with younger peers with entitlement expectations and a boss who regarded him as taking up space. Moby became cynical, suspicious, arrogant, condescending and proud—lots and lots of flaws; a good main character.

Harvey Morral, on the other hand, is hateable. He is wanting in every social aspect of his life to the point he’s willing to kill to attain the women he covets. He employs a tried and true template of many literary bad guys, but to put just a bit of a spin on him, I made him a coward, who only finds strength when he hides in the shadow of a legitimate killer.

W.B.: Is Moby going to be a series character?

D.B.: God, I hope so. If the novel is well received, I have the second in the series in mind. He’ll be retired, and broke, and maybe I’ll bring back Vecchio (Moby’s female foil in the book) just to drive him nuts. I think that’s as good a place to start as any.

W.B.: What’s been your most pleasant surprise as a debut novelist?

D.B.: I must admit, I am very pleased with the reception the novel has received to date. And if I may share an anecdote; my son mentioned to his neighbor that I wrote a book. She downloaded it and read it in two days; said she couldn’t put it down. She asked my son how she could get a signed copy, so he and I went to visit with a paperback. That’s when I realized how it must be for celebrities, because that’s how she treated me. I felt a bit awkward in that particular role, but she was, and I’m loathed to use this term as applied to me, “star struck.” We sat and talked in her kitchen for thirty minutes or so, I signed the book, and left. Later, I read her Facebook post. I had no idea that small gesture could mean so much to someone.

W.B.: Least pleasant surprise?

D.B.: If I may, I’d like to do what politicians do—change the question. My least pleasant occurrence came before the book published. I corresponded with a writing friend online. We critiqued each other’s work. One day, she was especially harsh on a scene I wrote. I went back to look, and it was obvious she hadn’t read what she critiqued. I commented on her error and suggested that maybe she read too fast. She became belligerent and said that she always skipped over the things I wrote, and maybe I should just give up. That was a bit hard to take, and I actually considered her terse advice. But the longer I thought about it, the more I was determined to prove her wrong, if only to myself.

W.B.: You’ve mentioned that you read “10 or 20” how-to books before tackling the novel. Which ones were the most helpful, that you’d recommend to other first-time novelists?

D.B.: I may have exaggerated just a tiny bit. But of the starter books I read, I found several to be beneficial: “The First Five Pages” by Noah Lukeman, “Hooked” by Les Edgerton, “Goal Motivation & Conflict” by Debra Dixon, and “On Writing” by Stephen King. King’s book is probably the most intuitive of the lot. Those are my four favorites, the books I recommend. Of course, there are many others on query writing, synopsis writing…you get the picture. The point is, if you want to become a writer and if your

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 50 name isn’t Hemingway of Twain, you might want to take a few pointers from those who have gone before you.

W.B.: Do you work from an outline, or just wing it?

D.B.: Actually, I’ve tried both. I wrote from the seat on my pants (known as a pantser in the trade) to begin with, but then I read “Outlining Your Novel,” by K.M. Weiland; another how-to book. It was good and made many points, but every time I tried to outline, I found myself writing entire scenes within the outline.

No self-restraint.

I met Jeffery Deaver (“The Bone Collector”) at a conference earlier this year. Nice guy. We had a few drinks and he told me he spends eight months writing an outline to a novel. James Patterson said in an interview that he does the same, and writes sixty to eighty pages of outline for his. To be honest, I don’t see how they do it. I have to sink my teeth into the story. I can’t do that several weeks down the road, so I employ a combination of outline and writing. I use bullets for notes I want in each scene, and then write it. Maybe not right then, but I don’t wait months either. E.L. Doctorow described novel writing as driving a car at night. You know where it starts and you know where it ends, in between, you can only see as far as your headlights. I tend to agree.

W.B.: You spent twelve years in the U.S. Naval Air Reserves, and flew as aircrew on a Navy P-3 Orion submarine hunter during the Cold War. How did those experiences help you in your writing career?

D.B.: Well, I wasn’t aboard the P-3 the whole twelve years. They did let me out on occasion. But kidding aside, I did many cool things in the Navy, from tracking Russian subs to orbiting a pod of playful whales in the North Atlantic, and from each sea experience, came a sea story. If you ever meet a sailor in a bar, ask them. They’ll keep you enthralled for hours over a couple beers and a bowl of peanuts. I learned how to transform the mundane into the exciting, because after you’ve told the same story half a dozen times, you need a twist, if only to keep it fresh for yourself. That’s what fiction writers do, if you think about it.

W.B.: If you could go back in time to start your writing career all over again, what would you do differently?

D.B.: Absolutely nothing. I couldn’t have done this were I any younger. I didn’t have what it takes.

W.B.: What’s next on your writing agenda?

D.B.: I am working on another thriller, this one with a vigilante theme. A woman is brutally murdered and the killer gets off on a technicality. The sister is not happy about it and…well, hopefully, it should be out next year. After that, I’m going to see what I can do about disassembling the government in a YA thriller.

W.B.: The ultimate villain—Professor Moriarty or Hannibal Lecter?

D.B.: Although I like Moriarty, I just wrote a novel with a very sick antag. Hannibal Lecter—no question.

W.B.: One last question, just for fun. Who is your favorite superhero, and why?

D.B.: I grew up with Superman, The Flash, Batman, Green Lantern, X-Men…but I’d have to flip a coin between Spidey and Iron Man—Spidey because he had true super powers but was damaged, and Iron Man because of his technology, originally purposed just to keep him alive.

W.B.: Well, D.B., thanks for spending a few minutes with us!

D.B.: Weldon, thank you for the opportunity! I enjoyed your thought-provoking questions, as I’m sure you can tell by my rather lengthy answers.

For more on D.B. Corey, visit his website at www.dbcorey.com. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 51 Special Preview from Steven Savile & Steve Lockley NORTHERN SOUL By Steven Savile & Steve Lockley CHAPTER ONE

anny was walking again. He’d be hobbling around like a three-legged dog for a while, but all things considered, that was a win. It also meant I’d have companyD in the passenger seat. Danny Bowen was my Jiminy Cricket. It was good to have him riding shotgun. It meant I had someone to tell me I was about to do something really stupid. Not that I’d listen, of course. That would be too much to ask. Danny was like me, a squaddie, but he’d always been better when it came to getting on with the brass. I’ve always had a bad habit of saying what I’m thinking without a filter. The thing about being army is you’re always army, not ex-army, even when you are out. You have a loyalty to the unit. A debt. It’s not to Queen and Country, you’ve paid that one off. It’s not to the people who made sure your pay cheque was in the bank at the end of the month, either. It was only ever to the men who’d served beside you, and if they were among the unlucky ones who never made it home, or whole, then that debt was conferred onto their families. I’ve heard people call it a family, but it was like no family I ever saw. It brought into stark relief the difference between us and them, them being the friends you’d left behind in what passed for a normal life pre-army. Will Platt was one of those. He was a user, and in more ways than one. He wasn’t one of the Musketeers, but he had been one of the boys before I signed up. We used to play football on a Sunday morning, share a pint on a Sunday afternoon and trade war stories from out on the pitch, but he was never really a friend. Our paths crossed now and again when I came home on leave, but like most friendships formed by a grown-out-of bond, we drifted apart during that natural winnowing of friends that comes hand-in-hand with growing older. When it came right down to it, we had nothing in common. It would have been better for everyone concerned if he’d just stay in the past where he belonged. “Jack, you bastard, I heard you were back.” That was how it all started: a telephone call out of the blue. It took me a moment to place the voice. It was that forced enthusiasm that gave him away, seconds before he said his name. “It’s Will. Will Platt. Long time...” “Not long enough,” I said, knowing he’d take it as a joke no matter how I intended it. The last time I’d seen Will it had been his bright idea to do a runner from an Indian restaurant down by the Quayside rather than settle the bill. I let them go and paid up. That bit of high jinks cost me about two hundred and fifty quid, more than half of that on the drink that had

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 52 convinced the idiots running was a good idea. Chris Drury “Still a bit early for me,” I said. I let him parse that anyway had come home with me that time, our tour up. The whole he wanted. What I really meant was: I’m keeping my wits thing had been acutely embarrassing but Chris didn’t make about me. He didn’t know the more cautious man I’d grown a big deal out of it. He took a hundred quid out of his wallet up to be. In his head I was the same idiot who came home and split the bill with me. That was the night we decided to from basic training and got so drunk I pissed on his mum’s re-enlist for another tour. Three months after that Chris was settee because I didn’t think I could make it all the way to flying into Brize Norton in a coffin. the toilet. People change. And not just in terms of receding How many things were going to trigger that memory for hairlines. me? While he leaned on the bar, I took a look around the “What do you want, Will?” It wasn’t exactly friendly, but room. It was an old habit. Be aware. Stay alive. I never sat he was oblivious. down with my back to the door. I wanted to be able to see the “A little bird told me you were looking for work.” door. I wanted to know who was sharing my space and what “Little birds don’t talk, they chirp.” direction any potential threat was coming from. That caution He didn’t say anything to that. had served me well down the years. “Let me help you: are you offering me a job?” The two old boys in the corner had lost interest in me “Absolutely. I need a driver,” he said. “Nothing too and were studying the form guide in The Racing Post. Their strenuous. A couple of days work at most. Pick up a dog had gone back to sleep. It must have been the best part of consignment and deliver it for me.” twenty years since I’d been in the Red Lion. It hadn’t changed We chatted for a while, Will careful to avoid telling a bit. Even the yellowed gloss of the ceiling was the same. The me what he wanted me to pick up, or why he couldn’t do only real difference was that you could breathe now thanks to it himself. He wanted to save the good stuff for a face-to- the smoking ban. Back then you’d walked into a wall of smoke. face sit-down if I was interested in helping him out. “Decent Maybe that was what had driven the regulars away. That, or pocket money, big man,” he promised. maybe it was just time. People died. especially people who That was how I ended up walking into the Red Lion a spent their entire lives smoking and drinking themselves to little after eleven on a Wednesday morning. Will Platt was death while hunched over the form guide wondering where already there nursing a lager that looked and smelled like to place their bets when the only sure thing was on an early day-old piss. grave. Even in his reduced state, Will Platt didn’t belong here “Jack, fuck but it’s good to see you, mate.” He said as anymore than I did. the door swung closed behind me. The snug was almost So why here? Why not some smug little wine bar in a empty. Not so long ago the bar would have been doing steady better part of town or one of those fancy coffee emporiums business with the lunch crowd and its offerings of brown the world seemed to have fallen in love with? food, two for a tenner, and other temptations but thanks “How’ve you been? Life being kind to you?” Platt said to the austerity measures everyone was going on about the as he put the orange juice down in front of me. He’d brought place was clinging on to life just like the couple of old guys himself another pint. I didn’t intend to be here when he had sitting in the corner lamenting the woes of the world. An old finished it. A drunk is a dangerous animal to do business border collie lay at their feet. The dog had seen better days. with. Its muzzle was grey, its eyes milky with cataracts. It gave me “Good,” I said, keeping it brief. He didn’t need to know the once over and decided I wasn’t worth the effort. about my life. The decor had seen better days. “Glad to be out?” So had Will Platt. “You make it sound like I’ve just come out from a stretch He was dressed in a thrift store suit—it was in decent in Durham County.” nick, not exactly threadbare, but even new it couldn’t have “Can’t imagine what it was like, to be honest.” He leaned been more than a hundred quid off the rack. His white forward and lowered his voice even though there was no-one shirt was open at the neck, with one of those cheap beaded in the room without a hearing aid. “Did you kill anyone?” necklaces you saw hippies wear. It certainly wasn’t the kind of There are some questions I hate answering. That’s one of thing a fat boy with a Bobby Charlton comb-over could pull them. I wasn’t there to satisfy his curiosity. ““What do you off. He looked gaunt, his skin as grey as that dog’s muzzle, want Platt?” drawn, haggard and any other synonym I could think of for “Like I said on the phone, it’s just a driving job. I just ‘like shit’. need a consignment picking up and delivering.” “You look good,” I lied. “Consignment. You keep using that word. Not package. He laughed. A bitter little broken laugh. Not parcel. Not even ‘some stuff’. So, that makes me wonder “Pint?” He was already on his feet and moving towards what this consignment actually is and why you can’t just pick the bar as I sat down at his table. it up yourself?” “Orange juice, thanks.” “Does it really matter?” “On the wagon?” “Probably, or you’d tell me. That’s the way people work.

SuspenseMagazine.com 53 If they don’t want you to know something more often than comfortable and familiar about them. This was where my not it means you really need to know what that something is father had brought me as a child whenever I needed a short before you say yes and end up doing something stupid. I’ll be back and sides. It was a rite of passage. A father and son blunt, if it’s drugs you can fuck off right now.” moment. I’d been so small they’d lifted me up onto a bench Platt looked at me for a moment. I knew that look. It was balanced across the arms of the chair. The barber had been the kind of look you gave when you were trying to decide old even then, so it was hard to imagine he’d still be behind if you could trust someone enough to share something that the scissors now, but as I walked towards the barbershop I would put yourself at risk. saw the sign that promised it still was Soli’s. “Booze,” he said eventually. I wasn’t completely sure that Smiling, I stood and looked through the window for a I believed him. moment, watching the old man in the white barber’s jacket “Where from?” sitting reading the newspaper. I pushed open the door and There was another pause. It could have been a matter of started a small bell ringing. The man put his paper down and trust, but it felt like he was making sure that he told his lie got to his feet. well. “A warehouse. Near Dover. You could be there and back “Mr Mordecai?” in a day, but safety first and all that. A grand for two days He peered at me suspiciously, then realising that he driving. Its good money. And you look like you could do should know me struggled to put a name to the face. I was with a few quid in your back pocket.” about to put him out of his misery but he raised a hand to “A grand? That’s a lot of money to drive to Dover and silence me. “Just give me a moment,” he said. “It will come to back.” me eventually.” “It is, but that’s because I like you.” “Take your time,” I said. “I’m sure you do, but let me tell you what a grand tells “Jacky,” he said at last. “Little Jacky Stone, or not so little me about this job of yours: you’re expecting trouble.” I took a anymore.” sip of orange juice and saw the first beads of sweat break out “Good to see you, Mr M.” on Platt’s forehead—another joy of the receding hairline, it “I never forget a face no matter how much it changes. offered a built in lie-detector. It’s still the same underneath. Women now, that’s a different “You’ve got a suspicious mind, Jack. Do you want the job matter. Sometimes I don’t even recognise my own wife.” He or not? I’ll be honest— I thought I was doing you a favour.” grinned at that. “Sit yourself down. Let me give you a shave.” “Funny, I’ve got a feeling it’s the other way around.” I He motioned me to the chair. It was just about battered drained the orange juice and got back to my feet. “Thanks enough to be the same leather chair I’d not-quite sat in as a for the drink.” boy. “You don’t want the job?” He set to, applying a soapy lather with a badger hair “Find some other poor bastard to do your dirty work,” brush. “I hear you’ve just come out of the army.” It seemed I said and headed for the door. I could see his face in the that everyone knew my business. mirror as I walked out. I nodded. Then stopped nodding just in case he was It wasn’t pretty. about to use the cutthroat razor, given the last thing I wanted was a cut throat. “News travels fast.” CHAPTER TWO “Your Uncle Trevor was in a couple of weeks ago. Telling us all about your adventures. Very proud of you, he was.” ore honesty: I was never going to take Platt up on the “Really?” I didn’t know which surprised me most, that job. If he’d said “Here’s two hundred quid, two days Uncle Trevor was still living around here, that he knew I was work,” I might have been tempted, but factoring in his sweat back or that he was proud. I hadn’t seen him since my dad’s and the ridiculous offer of a thousand pounds to drive a few funeral. That had been more than a decade ago. I suppose he Mhundred miles there and back, it wasn’t happening, even if could be proud of me. Theoretically. We’d never exactly been he tried to reel me in with talk of our old friendship to get close. He’d never been particularly welcome in the house me on the hook. I don’t like that. I really don’t. As far as I was when I was growing up—no one had ever told me why and I concerned when that door closed behind me, we were done. wasn’t all that interested in knowing. Some things belonged The pub wasn’t the only building in the street that had in the past. seen better days. Half of the shops were boarded up while the “Good to see you’re still here, Mr M,” I said, settling rest were a mismatch of charity shops and junk shops with back into the chair. “Everyone seems to be in such a hurry handwritten signs proclaiming that everything cost a pound. to change these days this is like finding a little bit of my At the end of the road I saw the familiar red and white striped childhood waiting for me.” pole of an old fashioned barbershop. It wasn’t turning. I “Soli please. I think you’re old enough now.” always liked those poles. There was something so safe and “OK, Soli, but only if you call me Jack. If you don’t mind

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 54 me saying, I thought you would have retired by now.” a smile at the newcomer. There was no smile. If anything, his “And do what? Get under the wife’s feet? Do all the odd skin turned greyer and he shrank a couple of inches. jobs she’s been nagging me to do all this time? Not a chance. “You got something for me Soli?” I own the shop and we live in the flat upstairs so the bills are “Not today,” he said. His hand was trembling. Not a good small.” thing considering how close the cutthroat razor was to my “All very valid points,” I said with a smile. face. The blade prevented me from turning my head to see “Besides if I retire there’s no one to take over the the newcomer. business. My sons are off doing some IT thing I don’t really “That’s what you said last week old man.” understand. I’d have to close the shop and that’d be another “I can’t give you what I haven’t got.” empty window along the street. There’s no money around,” “I know you’re getting on, but I’m hoping Alzheimer’s Soli said as he sharpened the cutthroat on a leather strop. hasn’t got you yet. You do remember what we said last time, “When there’s no money and not a lot of hope it gets hard.” don’t you?” And with that damning summation of society, the old man “I remember.” changed tack. “So what brings you home?” “I’d hate for your wife to be upset.” I felt the first press of the steel against my skin and knew “Leave my wife out of this,” Soli snapped. “This is nothing that I was completely in his hands. to do with her.” “I had to see someone about a job.” I lifted my hand and took hold of Soli’s arm to ease it His hand paused for a moment. “What kind of job?” away from me. “Driving. I turned it down.” “Is there a problem, Soli?” “That’s good to know.” “Keep out of this,” the man in the doorway snarled, any “That’s a strange response.” pretence of civility completely melting away in four short “The only driving jobs around here are working for words. “This is between the old man and me.” people you don’t want to be working for.” He didn’t ask any “That’s not going to work for me,” I said. I gave Soli a more about it but it was good to know my instincts had been glance. He looked dead on his feet. I helped him back to the right. chair and turned my attention back to the new comer. “So “You know a guy called Platt? Will Platt?” what’s the problem?” Soli stopped what he was doing. “Is that who offered you “The problem is that you’re interfering in stuff that a job?” doesn’t concern you.” “He seemed to think we were old friends.” “I don’t like people who bully old men.” “And were you?” “Then he should pay his debts. It’s just business.” “Not really, he was just someone I knew once.” “How much?” I asked. “He’s a nasty piece of work, Jack. Drinks too much, and “Four hundred quid.” word is he used to take his temper out on his wife until he “Let me get this straight: you come threatening someone eventually hurt her so bad she found the courage to leave. for a lousy four hundred?” The apple didn’t fall far from the tree there.” “That’s just what’s overdue. He owes a couple of grand. I tried to remember if I had known his father but drew The interest is piling up. So, if it’s your problem now, you a blank. might want to open your wallet, big man.” I wasn’t even sure how Platt had come into our group, I took another look at Soli. The old man was shrinking but back then friends of friends would tag along and make by the moment. There were tears in his eyes. Not for himself. up the numbers when we were a player short. A few hung He was thinking about what they’d do to his wife and how it around for a while then introduced a friend of their own. I was all his fault. knew what Soli meant though. Young men either tried to be “Who’s your boss?” I asked. like their fathers or to be the opposite. It was the way of the “My boss?” world. Fathers and sons. “You’re the monkey. I want to talk to the organ grinder. “I don’t think I knew his dad.” You don’t frighten me, son, but out of respect for Soli I’ll ask “An absolute bastard of a man. He’s wasted most of his again. Who do you work for?” life going in and out of prison. This is a better place without He wasn’t big on conversation. Bullies seldom are. They him.” preferred to threaten those who wouldn’t or couldn’t fight It was hard to imagine that it could be that much worse, back. I used the towel that Soli had draped over me to wipe but I took Soli’s word for it. “Sounds like I made the right call the last remnants of soap away. Nice and slow, dictating the then.” pace of the exchange. Before Soli could answer someone else entered the shop, “It really doesn’t matter who I work for. I’m here to setting the tiny bell ringing. I expected the old man to flash collect. Soli knows who he’s doing business with.”

SuspenseMagazine.com 55 “Well if he hasn’t got the cash, he hasn’t got it.” I said, ahead of you. You don’t want to be messing with people like reasonably. this.” “Not my problem. He owes. He’s got to pay.” I wanted to tell Soli that this wouldn’t be my first dance. The chances were good that his understanding was I’ve got a character flaw. I can’t turn my back on someone limited to two things: cash and violence. I had no intention who needs my help. It’s a weakness. There’s probably even of giving him any cash. a word for it. Instead, I just touched a fingers to my lips to “Soli?” silence him as the monkey set the bell ringing again. His face “He’s right, Jack. He’s collecting for Lenny Parker.” had changed. He was on edge. I’d guessed right, Lenny Parker “Jesus, Soli! Lenny Parker? What the hell were you knew exactly who I was. thinking getting into bed with Parker?” The Parkers had “The boss wants to talk. Says he’s got a proposition for been loan sharking for as long as I could remember. He you. He’ll be here in ten minutes.” was another one that had stepped into his old man’s shoes, “Fair enough. Soli, how about you finish my shave while though his reputation was a lot tougher than his father’s and our new friend here waits for his master at the door?” rates of interest much higher. Parker senior had began by “Fuck you, Stone,” the collector said, but was already selling televisions on the never never, but you always knew heading for the door. that the worst thing that would happen if you didn’t make “Not on a first date.” the payments was that he’d take the television away and make Soli rubbed a lotion into my face. sure all your neighbours knew about it. They were proud His hands were trembling. people around here back then. They’d rather do without than I was glad that he wasn’t holding the razor. ■ risk the shame. “I wanted to do something special for Anna...” Steven Savile has written for Doctor Who, Torchwood, It was a familiar story. Money borrowed with the best Primeval, Stargate, Warhammer, Slaine, Fireborn, Pathfinder, of intentions, probably an anniversary. “How much did you Arkham Horror, Rogue Angel, WarMachine, and other popular borrow?” game and comic worlds. His novels have been published “Fifteen hundred pounds. It was so I could take her on a in eight languages to date, including the Italian bestseller cruise. She’s always wanted to do it, Jack.” “L’eridita.” He won the International Media Association of “And you reckon he owes a couple of grand? I’m not Tie-In Writers award for his Primeval novel, “Shadow of good at maths, but even I can see that doesn’t add up. How the Jaguar,” published by Titan, in 2010, and The inaugural much have you paid back so far, Soli?” Lifeboat to the Stars award for “Tau Ceti” (co-authored with “Nearly two thousand pounds. Things have got tight International Bestselling novelist Kevin J. Anderson). “Silver,” though. It’s been hard lately.” his debut thriller reached #2 in the Amazon UK e-charts in the “OK,” I said. “Two grand paid back on a fifteen hundred summer of 2011, selling over 75,000 copies. His latest books debt. This is what’s going to happen. You’re going to give include “HNIC” (along with the legendary Hip Hop artist Lenny a call now and tell him that I want a sit down. I’m sure Prodigy, of Mobb Deep) which was Library Journal’s Pick of that he’s a reasonable man.” the Month, the novelisation of the computer game RISEN 2: “Jack....” Soli tried to stop me but I ignored him. I’m good DARK WATERS, and “2084,” a young adult science fiction at ignoring people when I don’t want to listen to what they’ve novel for Cambridge University Press which as part of their got to say. Maybe I take after my old man, too? Coding Club/Raspberry Pi initiative, will be the first original The collector didn’t look like he was about to move. I stood my ground. We weren’t exactly old-fashioned novel the press has published in the 500 years since it received gunslingers, but we were both waiting for the other to blink. its Royal Charter from Henry VIII. He caved in first. “He’s going to want to know who he’s dealing with.” Steve Lockley spent far too many years working in banking “Perfectly reasonable. Tell him Jack Stone would like to and insurance, but now writes full time. His first novel “The have a word.” Ragchild,” written with Paul Lewis, was nominated for the “Is that supposed to mean anything to me?” British Fantasy Award for Best Novel. He is responsible for “Not particularly, but then you’re just the monkey so I more than a hundred short stories and writes the popular Sally don’t give a shit if it does or doesn’t. Call Lenny. I’ve got a Reardon Supernatural Mysteries and Jack Stone series with feeling he’ll know exactly who I am.” Steven Savile and Mike O’Driscoll, Steve was awarded the BFS The thug pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped Special Award in 1995 for their work on the horror convention, outside to make the call. Welcome to my Nightmare. He has also served as a judge for “Don’t get yourself involved, lad, it’s not worth it. I’m an the World Fantasy Awards. Steve lives in Wales with his two old man, what can he do to me? You’ve got your whole life children.

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XOXOAfterDark.com Available wherever ebooks are sold Jill AmadioDigs Deep Into Mystery Interview by Suspense Magazine Press Photo: Ryan Sturm ill Amadio has been a journalist, columnist, and non-fiction novelist for over twenty-five years, but now she has stepped Jinto the fictional novel arena with her latest book “Digging Too Deep.” She’s from Great Britain and was born to write. She has been a ghostwriter and collaborator with several autobiographies to her credit, even if her name is not on the front cover. Her book “Gunter Rall: Luftwaffe Ace and NATO General,” was received with great reviews, but it was writing mystery fiction that kept calling Jill. For most authors the first book is the longest to write because you have no deadline on it, and for Jill, it took more than five years of finding time between work and family to pen “Digging too Deep.” The book very much fits into the cozy range with the Agatha Christie mystery who-dun-it style. Her main character, Tosca Trevant, is sent to the U.S. at the request of Buckingham Palace. She must overcome a past that had her in the middle of a scandal, but uses her skills and her knack for snooping to jump headfirst into a murder. Don’t just take my word for it; let’s see a little more about what Jill has in store for us in “Digging Too Deep,” followed by an exclusive interview with her.

Death is discovered on an idyllic southern California island when feisty British gossip columnist Tosca Trevant is banished to the U.S. at the request of Buckingham Palace. Idly snooping out of sheer boredom, she stumbles across what she believes to be human remains in a recently widowed music professor’s rock garden. Tosca asks a retired U.S. Secret Service agent for help, and by solving the riddle of a coded music score, the two sleuths bring a serial killer to an unexpected end.

Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): Explain a little about “Digging Too Deep.”

Jill Amadio (J.A.): The murder mystery takes place on a small island. It’s actually Balboa Island, Newport Beach Bay. I had to change the name because I moved a couple of streets around. And this Brit comes to live there with her daughter, who’s already living there, a race car driver. The Brit is London’s gossip columnist, covering the royals, and she discovers a scandal at Buckingham Palace, so she’s rather rudely hustled out of England to her daughter’s for a year. And there’s no royals above Balboa Island—Isabel Island, I call it—and she loves the place; it’s beautiful, the sun, but she misses her rain. She brought her umbrella, and her wellies, and no rain. So she walks around the island every day as most people do who live there, the residents. And it’s so pristine, absolutely beautiful and she thought, This is gorgeous, but nothing ever happens here. So she finds her neighbor’s a music professor at UCI and she decides to weed his garden. Well she finds, in a rock garden, a couple of stones with bony bits sticking out and she wonders what they are. And it goes on from there.

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 58 S. MAG.: You’ve written some true crime; one (“Gunther Rall”) was a best seller. Why did you decide now was time to get into the kind of cozy style?

J.A.: Well, when I was living on Balboa Island, I always wondered how it could be so perfect and nothing ever happened there. And I thought: Well, a good murder would spice things up a bit. And then I thought, well, why don’t I write a book with a murder on the island? And that’s when I got the idea and then I thought, well…I use a lot of my own experiences. I’m from Cornwell in England and so is my amateur sleuth. She becomes a sleuth because she wants to go back to England and she figures if she becomes a crime reporter and solves a case, she can go back there in triumph.

S. MAG.: Your main character’s name is Tosca. Her main occupation…she’s a reporter?

J.A.: Yes.

S. MAG.: So, she’s a reporter here looking to get back to England?

J.A.: Yes.

S. MAG.: When you’re looking at the secondary characters—because the secondary characters in the book are the ones who always kind of make the story—who gave you a surprise as in the sense of being a little larger than maybe you thought they would be?

J.A.: Actually, it’s her sidekick, a retired Secret Service agent and his hobby is geology. His son is a Newport Beach police officer. And Tosca gives this suspicious stone to the police officer and he brushes her off. He says,I’ll give it to my dad, he’s into geology these days. And Thatch becomes a very important part of the book. He’s her Watson, I guess you’d call it.

S. MAG.: So, he’s kind of the surprise? He’s the one that if you wanted to split something off, he would be a perfect person to maybe…if Tosca’s busy, he could take over a story on his own?

J.A.: He could, actually. He was guarding President Bush when shoes got thrown at him in Iraq. He’s traveled all over the world with presidents. So he’s a good fit with her. Although, she’s never been to America before and there’s a culture clash. She doesn’t understand a lot of stuff and wonder why Americans do these weird things. But she’s eccentric, too.

S. MAG.: Are you still a reporter?

J.A.: No…well, occasionally, I’ll write a column if somebody asks me to. I wrote an automotive column for Entrepreneur Magazine here in Irvine for twelve years. Test-driving cars. So, Tosca’s daughter is a race car driver. When I worked for Gannett newspaper, I covered all the auto races. I’m sure I’ll take Tosca there for a book.

S. MAG.: So this is definitely going to be a series that’s going to continue.

J.A.: Yes, I have ideas for about six books.

S. MAG.: Did Tosca come first or did the plot come first with “Digging Too Deep.”

J.A.: She came first. I like character-driven books because then things happen to that character and become part of the plot. And for some reason, she gets into all sorts of trouble without realizing it and she’s just all over the place. And she investigates on her own. You know, a lot of amateur sleuths get into trouble doing that. It’s character-driven and because of her interests, she’s very nosy. She’s into everything…all the neighbors. So, that’s how she finds these weeds and stuff and takes it upon

SuspenseMagazine.com 59 herself to weed a garden, you know. She does that sort of thing and she likes to know things.

S. MAG: A lot of people say I thought of this great idea for a book then they try and throw the characters in it. And I always find that when you start with the characters and wrap the plot in, it always makes for a better story because the characters are the things that typically drive the books more than the plot.

J.A.: I think so.

S. MAG.: Because it’s very difficult to have a plot that no one has actually done before. You just try and reinvent it. So, it’s the characters that are making all the books unique in what they are, that’s what makes it unique to the author.

J.A.: Exactly. I just love characters.

S. MAG.: How many true crime…

J.A.: I only did one. Well, I did two. I got through one and the other I co-authored. And both of the primary authors, after I’d written the darn things, didn’t want them out there. The first one I did was a forty-five-year old guy up in L.A. and he’d been… as a twelve-, thirteen-year-old when he was living up in Hollywood, he’d been kidnapped by a pervert. So we went through this whole book…the whole story. I said you know, are you sure you’re ready to tell this story? Oh yes, I’m fine with it now. I’m mature. I’m grown up. And as soon as I finished the last chapter, he said, you know, I don’t think I want this out there. Darn.

S. MAG.: So, you’re still writing chronologically?

J.A.: Yes. Except right at the end, there are some flashbacks when he’s confessing. You can’t tell it all in the beginning because you have to show your sleuth investigating. So, if you tell it all right away, it doesn’t work. Yes, it a chronological and it’s a very quick read.

S. MAG.: It’s the like the old style, Agatha Christie style.

J.A.: Yes. And then there’s a twist at the end.

S. MAG.: Of course. There’s always a twist at the end.

J.A.: I know. One reviewer called it “Miss Marple is a leather miniskirt.” Because she’s only fifty.

S. MAG.: Active. She’s active.

J.A.: She’s the one who’s the kicker and her daughter’s kind of prim and proper. It was great fun to write.

S. MAG.: Which stories did you read growing up?

J.A.: Mostly Agatha Christie. I loved Poirot. I loved all of her characters. And PD James. But now, Michael Connelly is my favorite. He’s marvelous. I admire him so much. I really do. He’s just terrific. But yeah, I worked for a newspaper in London called the Sunday Dispatch. It was a rag; they called them a yellow rag over there. Like the news of the world. That was my first job at nineteen. I wasn’t a reporter. I was general’s dogbody in the press room, in the news room. So, I just did everything anyone asked me to do. Call my wife, tell her I’ll be late. One time I forgot, I didn’t call her ’til midnight. I was young. Oh, your husband won’t be home tonight. I also handled the agony columns. We called our…What do you call them here? Not Miss Matters. The one who solves all your problems for you.

S. MAG.: Like Dear Abby.

J.A.: Ann Landers. Yes. We have one of those in our…Yeah. Our columnist lived in America. So she would send the letters, the replies to the letters to me every week. And after a while I realized they were form letters. So, I wrote and told her off. I said,

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 60 these poor people. You’re not giving them anything to go with. She sent me a pair of nylons to shut me up. But anyway, I was an assistant to the show business columnist. I met Audrey Hepburn. He’d take me along with him to his interviews.

S. MAG.: So, how long have you been in the States?

J.A.: Well actually, while I was still working on the newspaper, I met an American in London who was there working. And we got married in Spain and we lived there for seven years. I worked for the Spanish American Courier. And then we went to Bangkok. He went to Saigon; he was in the CIA, which I didn’t know.

S. MAG.: Then book two will just keep continuing not only Tosca’s story but the mystery that she falls into.

J.A.: Yes. Well, book two will still be on the same island and feature Thatch, who’s the…

S. MAG.: Watson.

J.A.: Yeah, right. The third book, I’m going to send her back to Cornwell, where she digs up something else. Another body.

S. MAG.: Another body. So, she’s going to be digging. Good.

J.A.: I know. I can send her anywhere.

For more information on Jill and everything she does, check out her website at www.jillamadio.com. ■ DIGGING TOO DEEP By Jill Amadio Jill Amadio brings out her debut fiction book, a witty, stylish mystery called “Digging Too Deep.” Jill has an extensive background in journalism and has written several nonfiction and ghostwriting books. Now she publishes a cozy mystery with some edge in true who-dun-it fashion. Tosca Trevant gets herself banished from the U.K. by Buckingham Palace and winds up in Newport Beach, CA, a city where serious crimes just don’t exist. Tosca stumbles onto a murder, and even when no one thinks it’s murder, she takes her power of investigation to prove she is right. Tosca is a character that readers will find themselves laughing and crying with, but definitely wanting to sit down with at teatime. Jill crafts a well-conceived murder mystery, while mixing styles of the U.K. and the U.S., which puts “Digging Too Deep” into a separate category of cozy. Reviewed by John Raab for Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 61 FACEOFF ON THE USE OF PROLOGUES By Anthony J. Franze Photo Credit: Provided by Authors In this series, author Anthony J. Franze interviews other suspense writers about their views on “the rules” of fiction. For the next sev- eral months, Anthony will feature the authors of this June’s highly anticipated “FaceOff,” an anthology of short stories written by some of the biggest names in suspense.

Jack Reacher, meet Nick Heller. Lincoln Rhyme, meet Lucas Davenport. This June, in an unprecedented collaboration, twenty-three of the world’s bestselling writers will pair their beloved series characters in “FaceOff,” an eleven- story anthology edited by none other than No. 1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. “This is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for readers,” Baldacci said. “I’m honored to be at the helm of this amazing ship.” Two members of the dream team—John Lescroart and T. Jefferson Parker— joined forces to write “Silent Hunt,” a tale Lescroart described as “a Mexican border fishing story mystery,” featuring Lescroart’s Wyatt Hunt character and Parker’s Joe Trona. “We had a blast writing this story,” Lescroart said. “We started it after we’d

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 62 both been on a fly fishing trip to Baja, California with a few other writers . . . .We found that our characters were compatible guys, oddly both were anglers, and Jeff knew a lot about the Mexican cartels, so we started mapping out the story.” Both writers said they’d been longtime fans of one another’s work and jumped at the opportunity to collaborate. Readers will have to wait for the book to see the Hunt/Trona face-off. In the interim, I convinced Lescroart and Parker to “face off” over something a little different—one of the late, great Elmore Leonard’s famous rules of writing. In Defense of the Prologue

In 2001, the New York Times published Elmore Leonard’s ten rules of writing, a set of pithy rules that later were published in a book illustrated by Joe Ciardiello. In one of the rules, Leonard advised writers to “avoid the prologue.” Leonard explained that “[a] prologue in a novel is backstory, and you can drop it in anywhere you want.” It’s advice that many writers and editors follow, some rigidly. But not John Lescroart. He said he is a huge Elmore Leonard fan and has even given away copies of Leonard’s ten rules to aspiring writers. “But on prologues, I happen to think Elmore was wrong.” Lescroart said that “prologues can be very effective because they allow the writer to provide backstory in a way that avoids lengthy exposition.” Those who study the craft know that Lescroart has his own acclaimed writing matrix (covered in this series at Suspense, Nov. 2012, Vol. 040), the first rule of which is “extricate exposition,” so it perhaps, should come as no surprise that Lescroart favors the prologue as another means to eradicate his dreaded foe. Lescroart gave two examples in his own work where he felt a prologue improved the story. “I used one in ‘The 13th Juror’ and in many ways that book made my career.” The book had a main character on trial for murder who was fairly icy and unlikeable. “I wrote about one hundred pages and I realized that readers may not want to root for her since she was unsympathetic. And then I drafted the prologue.” The prologue showed Jennifer Witt not as a harsh woman, but as a nervous wreck, waiting for her husband to come home from work, worried that the house or dinner weren’t perfect and that she’d receive her next beating. “I couldn’t have put this in the narrative because it would’ve come out of nowhere, but the prologue allowed me to give some backstory that helped the reader understand the character and hopefully want to pull for her.” More recently, Lescroart added a prologue to his latest page-turner, “The Ophelia Cut.” Lescroart said that this time the prologue came late and unexpected. “The publisher had galleys cut, the book was done, and the publisher thought it would be cool for me to have a short story to give away as part of the promo. I wrote it and when my agent and publisher read it they all said: ‘You gotta put that in as a prologue.’ They put it in and I was really pleased with it.” Lescroart said “The Ophelia Cut” prologue is one of those great times where the reader meets someone early on and then one hundred twenty pages later it ties in and they say, ‘Oh my God.’ ” Elmore Had It Right

T. Jefferson Parker respectfully disagrees with his friend Lescroart about prologues. “For my first book, ‘Laguna Heat,’ I wanted to put in a prologue because I thought it sounded sophisticated. My editor saw it and suggested calling it ‘Chapter One,’ but he also said some words I’ll never forget: ‘If you want to tart up the book up with a prologue, go ahead.’” The book was published without a prologue. “When I began as a writer I wanted to be a lavish prose guy; I thought a little more is more, I didn’t want to be a hard- boiled sparing writer, I wanted to be more descriptive. Oddly, thirty years later, I find myself trying to be more economical; to do more with less. So, for me, when I look at a prologue, I think, ‘Why not just call it Chapter One?’ If I can get rid of it, I will.” And so it was with his latest novel, the critically acclaimed “The Famous and the Dead,” which begins with a simple “1.” Parker conceded, however, that there are rare occasions when a prologue works. And Parker, a self-described “recovering prologue-aholic,” has used them three times in twenty books. “I think Elmore was on to something when he said ‘avoid’ the prologue, which suggests there are times they can be effective.” For example, Parker said he thought a prologue was necessary and effective in his book, “The Border Lords.” There, Parker had an opening scene where a priest is in a cave filled with bats. “The bats are flying past him and he gets hold of one of them, studies it, puts in his jacket, and walks out of the cave; the reader doesn’t understand the connection or see him again for one hundred pages. I couldn’t have worked this into the main story narrative.” But whenever possible, Parker still thinks writers should avoid the prologue. If backstory is needed, writers should try to weave it in along the way. “I generally think prologues can disrupt the story; when readers are paying more than twenty bucks for a book, they don’t need the toe stub.”

SuspenseMagazine.com 63 Counterpunch

Lescroart came back swinging, noting that prologues can be the opposite of a “toe stub.” Beyond providing a non-disruptive way to provide backstory, he said, “prologues can serve a vital purpose of providing a hook that pulls the reader in.” The prologue often involves one character and one important scene that sets the stage for the entire book. And again, Lescroart stressed, with backstory often comes exposition; with exposition often comes telling, not showing, and a prologue can help avoid it all. Parker answered that the hook can come in other ways. And, on backstory, he agreed with what Elmore Leonard said in his ten rules: “you can drop (backstory) in anywhere you want.” But Parker added a point on which Lescroart readily agreed: “The beauty of being a writer is that, at the end of the day, there really are no rules if you can pull it off. If you go strictly by the rules you won’t add anything new or creative and it will just be the same thing over and over again.”

Both authors noted that in some of their favorite books, the authors broke “the rules.” So, to prologue or not to prologue? Lescroart and Parker have their own preferences, but ultimately they said it is a choice each writer has to make for each particular book, guided, but not constrained, by the advice of those who have gone before them. And these Baja fishing buddies think Elmore Leonard would have appreciated that. ■

Anthony J. Franze is the author of the debut legal thriller, “The Last Justice.” In addition to his writing, Anthony is a lawyer in the Appellate and Supreme Court practice of a major Washington, D.C. law firm where he has represented clients in more than thirty cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. Anthony also is an adjunct professor of law, a commentator for several news outlets, and an active member of the International Thriller Writers association where he Co-Chairs ITW’s Debut Authors Program, is the Awards Coordinator for the Thriller Awards, and is the Assistant Managing Editor ofThe Big Thrill magazine. Anthony lives in the D.C. area with his wife and three children. Learn more about Anthony at http://www.anthonyfranzebooks.com/.

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Writing on the Edge With Carla Norton “I thought I’d have time to coast for a while, but I’ve been gulping coffee and staying busier than ever.” Interview by Suspense Magazine Press Photo: Provided by Publicist arla Norton’s first book of fiction, “The Edge of Living in many different cities, not only the United Normal,” follows a foray into true crime. The States but also in Japan, gives Carla the ability to experience novel has come out to fabulous reviews already many different cultures and lifestyles, leading her to develop fromC People magazine to Oprah.com, calling the book a characters that have the realism all authors strive for. Her co- thriller winner. authored book “Perfect Victim” became a #1 New York Times bestselling true-crime book. Here’s what’s inside “The Edge of Normal”:

In many ways, Reeve LeClaire looks like a typical twenty-two-year-old girl. She’s finally landed her own apartment, she waitresses to pay the bills, and she wishes she wasn’t so nervous around new people. She thinks of herself as agile, not skittish. As serious, not grim. But Reeve is anything but normal.

Ten years ago, she was kidnapped and held captive. After a lucky escape, she’s spent the last six years trying to rebuild her life, a recovery thanks in large part to her indispensable therapist Dr. Ezra Lerner. But when he asks her to help another girl rescued from a similar situation, Reeve realizes she may not simply need to mentor this young victim—she may be the only one who can protect her from a cunning predator who is still out there, watching every move.

Here’s our exclusive interview with Carla:

Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): Can you give us the inside scoop on your book “The Edge of Normal” that is not on the back cover?

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 66 problem. But Reeve carries this book, and she has been Carla Norton (C.N.): The real story is that the protagonist is whispering in my ear for a long time. Once I decided to devote inspired by actual survivors of kidnapping and captivity. I’ve a book to her, she was already burdened with a traumatic been kind of fixated on this topic for years, ever since writing background and a lot of emotional baggage. The book is not “Perfect Victim.” That true crime book was about a terrible explicit about what she endured in the past, but evoking her criminal and a young woman’s victimization. This novel is captivity with small details allows the reader to understand about the other side of that equation; it’s about a survivor of more than is on the page. prolonged captivity. S. MAG.: Now that the book has been out for a couple S. MAG.: As a debut novelist, what have you learned so far of months, have you been able to breathe? that you didn’t know when you entered this publishing game? C.N.: I thought I’d have time to coast for a while, C.N.: The whole process has so many layers now, besides the but I’ve been gulping coffee and staying busier than physical book, that it gets to be a bit mind-boggling. The book ever. I write about five hours a day on average, but trailer, for instance, was a real surprise. Every author hopes to I’ve had deadlines, so I’ve been pushing myself to have a good editor, but no one could expect to be as lucky as write eight and ten hours at a stretch. Plus, I’m I have. It’s impossible for me to thank all the talented people going to a lot of conferences, so it’s a bit crazy. But who’ve helped with every stage of the publishing process. no complaints! There’s nothing I’d rather do.

S. MAG.: What a great endorsement by Jeffery Deaver. How S. MAG.: Switching from nonfiction to fiction, did that make you feel? what was your biggest challenge?

C.N.: Isn’t he great? I danced around the house when he sent C.N.: With nonfiction, the reader already knows what that quote. Jeffery Deaver is a powerhouse of a writer, and I happened. With fiction, the reader wants to be surprised. love the way his quote is highlighted on my book jacket. It’s hard to know when and how much to reveal. I’ve been accused of being too subtle, expecting readers to pick up on S. MAG.: Your main character Reeve LeClaire has been every little thing, so I try not to be too obscure. But then it’s through a lot in her life. What makes her so strong? hard to judge whether you’ve overcorrected, making something too obvious. It’s a bit tricky. C.N.: As a survivor of kidnapping and captivity, Reeve is a damaged but resourceful young woman. She’s scarred. She’s S. MAG.: Which character in “The Edge of Normal” surprised flawed. She’s psychologically unbalanced. But she’s already been you in having a bigger voice than you originally thought they through so much that she’s stronger than she knows. While she’s would? not a cop or an FBI agent, she feels compelled to get involved in solving crimes. And in a pinch, she becomes absolutely fearless. C.N.: There are three! The villain, Duke, really muscled his way in front of everyone. The reporter, Otis Poe, is a nuanced S. MAG.: Is there a book that made you think, this is what I character, with more to him than just the pushy side that comes want to do, write thrillers? across on first meeting, so I was compelled to give him more scenes. Also, I admit that I’m a little bit in love with Dr. Lerner. C.N.: I’m addicted to fast-paced thrillers, but most are so testosterone-driven—featuring protagonists with bulging S. MAG.: What can readers and fans expect to see from you muscles and deadly skills—that they’re hard to relate to. What in the future? I loved about “The Silence of the Lambs” is that it’s really about Clarice Starling. Plus, Thomas Harris has a writing style that C.N.: I’m working like mad on the sequel, which starts about just knocks me out. a year later, when Reeve is twenty-three. She’s a bit older, a bit wiser, but she’s again dodging reporters while trying to outfox S. MAG.: With character development being so important in a cunning criminal. She’s a daring, multifaceted character, and today’s writing, how conscious were you to make sure your it’s wonderful that readers are already asking for more. characters had that depth? We would like to thank Carla for bringing us such a C.N.: Each character has their own history, and whether or not wonderful book and also for speaking with us. For more it makes it into the book, I know what each one goes home to information visit her website at www.carlanorton.com. ■ at night, whether she or he has pets or children or a drinking

SuspenseMagazine.com 67 Behind the Scenes Look: HBO’s True Detective Interview by Suspense Magazine Press Photo Credit: HBO/James Bridges For the past ten years or so, cable TV has been a thorn in the side of network channels. HBO led the way with its award-winning series The Sopranos, allowing writers and directors to show stories in a way that allowed for more realism when it came to sex, drugs, violence, and other adult themes. Increasingly, the best shows are found on cable and not network TV, and another case in point is the new creation from Nic Pizzolatto, True Detective, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The show is set in Louisiana with detectives Cohle (McConaughey) and Hart (Harrelson), having to relive a serial killer case from 1995, opening up old wounds that never had time to heal. The character-driven show focuses on how a case of such magnitude can take a toll on the detectives, never allowing them to have a shot at a normal life. Pizzolatto does an outstanding job of building characters, not just Cohle and Hart but also secondary characters like Maggie Hart (Michelle Monaghan) and Detective Gonzalez (Randal Gonzalez). The show is dark in nature, not only in its story but in its emotional overtones, which is why only a station like HBO could be the home to True Detective. Pizzolatto has written a couple of novels and understands how to set up a scene and have it translate to the TV screen. Having watched the first three of eight episodes already, I can say that True Detective looks like a sure-fire hit. We were able to get some more in-depth information by talking with show creator and writer Nic Pizzolatto. Check out his interview below:

Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): Let us know in your own words about the concept of True Detective.

Nic Pizzolatto (N.P.): Well, I think the concept in the simplest form is that it would take the familiar genre of mystery and in this case, a legit police procedural, and use that as a sort of surface story for the series’ true concerns, which are an investigation of its characters. I mean, the true subjects of True Detective are the two detectives. I’m not interested in serial killers. I certainly have no desire to get into some kind of creative competition for who can think of the most disgusting serial killer. And I think if you’ve seen the first three episodes…the discovery of the body is about the most grisly thing in those first three. So, we’re not concerned with trying to disturb an audience with gross or disgusting images either. I think this is a procedural whose chief concern is the humanism of its characters. So, that would be about the shortest version I could offer, I think. Even when I was pitching it, there was no way I could just button it up in a quick one-liner.

S. MAG.: And in viewing, what I kind of noticed was— because I always do the chicken before the egg, kind of like we do with a lot of books—but it sounds like the characters were more developed in your mind at the beginning and you wrapped the plot around it. Am I correct?

N.P.: Yeah. Characters are always my first concern, I think, and I hope that's apparent in the show. I think it is that even as you hit these sorts of familiar tropes, the tropes are almost immediately subverted by virtue of where the characters take it. But that said, I also like plot and I love a good story, but

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 68 I don’t think plot and character are exclusive. I think they’re symbiotic. Since your plot is going to depend on the actions and reactions of your character, in order for your portrayal of character to be honest and your characters not just be chess pieces that move where you want them to, the story has to be willing and in some places, it needs to be fluid enough that where it goes can be dictated by the honest depiction of the characters’ personalities, if that makes sense.

I will tell you the voice of Cohle was the very first thing I ever had and that was when I was still thinking about this as being my next novel, but I was writing longhand in a whole sketch and Cole’s voice just started telling the story. And it said…it quickly described them coming upon this body and it was his daughter’s birthday and he did some technical stuff and then he describes how his partner, for whatever reason, decided that was a good time to invite him to dinner, which he had a problem with… Then all this stuff started happening and then he just started talking about all these existential metaphysical concerns, which held me completely rapt. And I think with Cohle…the story and how these characters live in the story are the same things. So you can’t divorce character from plot. But with Cohle, I felt like I had a character who could articulate and bluntly discuss a lot of my own obsessions without being me, but he had the vocabulary for it, he had the disposition for it, and like me, he had a job that compelled him to think about these things. About death, time, and memory.

The voice of the characters was always the first thing, but the characters’ voices almost immediately started telling the story.

S. MAG.: And the one thing with novel writing is you’re able to develop rich characters, emotional ties that let the reader get within them, which…within a movie, everything has to be so perfect to happen that way, but now have these three episodes and you’re able to develop all those emotional bonds. Did you have any constraints with eight episodes?

N.P.: When it was decided we’d do eight episodes, I would begin consciously designing the story for eight episodes and to play out in a certain number of ways. It’s like you’re saying that was what I wanted to do, what you’re talking about that novels can do, that’s what I wanted to do. And a lot of people use the term “novel for TV,” but they use it wrong because they kind of use it to describe any kind of serialized storytelling, and that’s not novel. Most television shows don’t have a third act. They have a real long second act and then when their show gets cancelled, they hustle up to invent a third act, which may or may not have anything to do with what’s come before. And to me, if you have an idea, but you don’t have an ending, you only have half an idea. That’s not a whole idea.

So I was interested in being able to tell a story, given my novelistic concerns, this story was a beginning, a middle, and an end and it gave us this expanse of time where we could walk in and out of the various room of a character’s house, so to speak. That we get a sense of a whole life, rather than a character’s sketch.

For a good ten years or more now, I’ve found American television just hundreds of times more satisfying than American movies. And once paid cable began making original programs and television could match the mature content of film, then it was off to the races.

S. MAG.: The constraints between network television to paid television are so black and white that you can do a lot more during the paid cable than you can during the network because that’s what you want to do.

N.P.: Absolutely. That was one reason why television was so much dumber than movies for so long. It was simply that they could not have people acting like adults.

S. MAG.: They had handcuffs on them.

N.P.: Yeah. And in television, the writer controls the process, not the director, so it’s no surprise to me that you’re suddenly getting much better stories on television than you do in movies.

SuspenseMagazine.com 69 S. MAG.: Aren’t writers just fabulous. Aren’t they the best?

N.P.: I don’t know many of them, but I certainly am, yes.

S. MAG.: Now, were you involved in the casting?

N.P.: There was no part of this I wasn’t involved in. I was on set the entire time. I had my own cut of every episode. I worked closely with the actors. I was a big proponent of Matthew. I was so excited. And he was the first guy that we cast because he wanted to do it, he liked the material, he wanted to play Cohle, he was really into it. And we already had Woody on a very short list of men we wanted to approach. I mean, I had just seen Rampart and Game Change. Phenomenal performances that were so different from one another. And so Matthew suggested, have you guys thought about Woody. And we’re like, “Yes, of course we have. Maybe you can help with that since you’re his friend.”

And then I think when you see the show…for me, I can’t imagine any two other actors playing these guys.

S. MAG.: The one thing that’s also intriguing to me is it first started in 1995, now you’re coming seventeen, eighteen years later in 2012/13 and the technology has changed so much from what they had to do in ’95 to now. Did you consciously think the whole time that the DNA testing in ’95, which was so brand new, but now everything has changed and they had to kind of change themselves.

N.P.: Yeah. The world of 2012’s very different. Symbology plays an important part in this show and you don’t have to see it if you don’t want to, the show works fine without it. It’s just another layer. You can even see it in the men who are questioning them, right? That the landscape of this place has changed.

I was conscious of the way the world changed, but my main impetus for the long span of time was as you were talking about with the novel, that we could really get a sense of a whole life. But it’s not just this sort of crime-solving technology’s that’s available, everything is different in 2012. In 1995, you could still have a story point where a character couldn’t get to a phone. Do you realize the number of plots that had to be abandoned with the advent of the cellular and smartphone? I remember there used to be movies all the time where everything would have been different if the character could have just gotten to a phone.

S. MAG.: Yeah, if you want the original Law & Order, it’s funny to see Lenny Briscoe running to a pay phone to call back to headquarters.

N.P.: Yeah, or if you watch an old X-Files, Mulder does have a cell phone and it’s about as big as your arm.

S. MAG.: It is. And that’s always the funny part, too, just to see the dynamics. And everything changed so fast. And I think as a writer, you’re having to constantly evolve because of how things changed so fast and keeping yourself more updated in how everything works.

N.P.: I had to do a lot of research. I read that 1200-page “Practical Homicide Investigation,” “Forensic Crime Scene Analysis,” “Offender Profiling,” “Sex Crime Investigation,” all these terrible, terrible mind-scarring books. That’s where the majority of my research came from. But as far as being adaptable, I think that’s your job as a creator in the sense that you need to understand what your vision is and then work with the world you’re given to achieve that vision and to stay fluent.

S. MAG.: Is there anything else you want to add as far as the depth of the show? What do you want the audience to get out of it? What’s the one thing you want them to be able to connect to you as the writer even though you can’t see or hear what you’re doing?

N.P.: I hope they connect. I hope first and foremost that they feel their time was well spent. If they engage the show, I promise them the show will engage them back. So, I would like for them to feel like their time was well spent and my hope there is that they can connect with a complicated portrait of human beings under pressure because that’s what the whole thing’s about. About human beings under pressure and everybody knows what that is.

True Detective premiered on HBO on Sunday, Jan. 12. For trailers and videos check out: http://www.hbo.com/true- detective. We would like to thank Nic for giving us some time to talk about this exciting project. ■

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Science & The Supernatural: A Match Made in Heaven and Earth By Stephen Tremp As a writer of modern-day sci-fi, action, suspense, and horror, I love marrying two polar opposites, while at the same time creating great conflict. I can think of no better subject than combining science with the supernatural. Most early civilizations believed there was more to this world than what the five senses could perceive and interpret. They thought there were more realms than the spatial dimensions we are confined in and limited to by our five senses. Most believed the supernatural was more real than the world they lived in. Looking back on Greek and Roman mythology, these cultures were merely trying to understand and explain their universe they best they could. Theologians do the same today, the best they can. So do astronomers and biologists. And physicists. Which brings us to one of the simple, beautiful, elegant, and powerful equations known to man. E=MC squared. Einstein’s famous, even cult-like, equation. The key to this expression is the equal sign. Both sides must be the same. E equals energy. MC squared is mass times the speed of light squared. To get an idea of the potential power of energy in mass, the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki only released one to two percent of their inherent energy. But what I love about this equation is energy can be converted to mass and mass right back into energy. This could very well explain angels and demons. An angel is generally understood to be a spirit being, made of pure energy, and living for the most part in a dimension above and beyond the space-time continuum we reside. These beings can, at will if they have the authority, convert themselves into mass and manifest in our world. Then, when their work is done, convert back to energy, disappear, and move with ease back into their dimensions. Add in a wormhole or two, and let the fun begin. Who knows what evil lurks for a human traversing a portal through space for the first time? They could punch a hole through another world and bring back an evil hitchhiker. But why stop there? Wormholes are the Pandora’s Box that gets knocked over, its unknown contents spilled across the floor and unleashed upon an unsuspecting world. Let the fun begin! As a writer, I now have free rein to do pretty much anything I want when combining science and the supernatural. I am not confined by the scientific method or need to call my work speculative fiction. I have a license to write all kinds of crazy stuff and not care if I anger someone in the scientific world or the religious field. Believe me, I have had both camps hound me and write terrible comments on some of my blog posts over the past five years. Why, because these conflicting viewpoints, both trying to explain our universe and our place in it the best they can, do not understand E=MC2. What about ESP? These are senses that go beyond sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch. Pentecostals will call these Gifts of the Spirit, such as discerning of spirits. Mediums claim they can talk to the dead. Others will say they can read your mind, help police find a buried body, or bend spoons. Children seeing monsters in their bedrooms at night? This may not be their imagination after all. Regardless, E=MC2 goes a long way in helping to explain our universe and our place in it. It is certainly not limited to Bunsen burners and telescopes. So to all my writer friends, you may freely move about the cabin. Take a deep breath and know you can confidently move in any direction your story demands. You may not be writing speculative fiction. You might just be onto something far more concrete than you think. ■

Stephen Tremp is the author of the Breakthrough trilogy. His third book, “Escalation,” the final installment in the series, was published in November 2013. You can visit him atwww. stephentremp.com.

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 72 HarperCollins Flies the Friendly Sky’s Interview by Suspense Magazine HarperCollins is the first publisher “We Are Water,” by Wally Lamb to make books available on “Valley of Amazement,” by Amy Tan American Airlines Inflight tablets, “Focus,” by Daniel Goleman which means that readers can now “Nos4a2,” by Joe Hill read their favorite book in an easier “Telegraph Avenue,” by Michael Chabon fashion. We caught up with Angela “Jab, Jab, Jab Right Hook,” by Gary Vaynerchuk Tribelli, CMO of HarperCollins “Divergent,” by Veronica Roth Publishers, to give us more information on how this new and S. MAG.: Are readers borrowing or buying the books? exciting program will work. See Angela’s interview below. A.T.: The program was designed to give readers the opportunity to sample some of our top titles, and, ideally, incentivize them Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): to purchase those books after their flight. What exactly does this partnership with American Airlines mean for readers? S. MAG.: Does it work on any format, i.e. Google and Apple tablets? Angela Tribelli (A.T.): When readers entered the American Airlines terminal, they saw terrific offers on an array of A.T.: The books were readable only on the Samsung Tab devices HarperCollins bestselling books thanks to our partner, Hudson available on AA flights. News. Onboard, first and business class passengers were given tablet devices for the duration of the flight preloaded with the S. MAG.: Any further news that isn’t covered in the questions same best-selling titles as part of their in-flight entertainment above? package. In addition, all American Airlines travelers got access to a downloadable sampler of our 2013 bestselling books as A.T.: The holidays can be hectic for us all, but air travel affords well as a 40% off discount online at www.hudsonbooksellers. busy passengers the perfect opportunity to unwind for a few com/aa and 20% off when purchased in-store. hours and be entertained by a great book. Our commitment to authors at HarperCollins is always to find new and better ways S. MAG.: How can readers access the books on American to help readers discover the books they’ll love. Tis campaign is Airlines? a great example of several partners working together to provide a benefit for travelers by putting books in their hands when A.T.: First-class and business class customers were lent they want them most, so it’s a win for all. Samsung tablets inflight pre-loaded with a selection of our most popular books. With the publishing industry having to change with technology, I S. MAG.: How long before other airlines pick up on this? think this program by HarperCollins and American Airlines will quickly A.T.: We can’t comment on other airlines’ plans, but spread to all the major airlines and HarperCollins Publishers is thrilled to have pioneered this other major publishers giving the exciting program with American Airlines and Hudson News. reader several thousand books. The age of the tablet is upon us S. MAG.: How many titles are available? and it’s good to see publishers like HarperCollins thinking ahead into a A.T.: Eight titles were made available, including: market that could really help book “First Phone Call From Heaven,” by Mitch Albom sales and authors. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 73 Ghost Train to Babylon By Big Jim Williams “A ghost train comes through here most nights with blank-eyed, white-faced men at the throttle, carryin’ its dead passengers to God knows where. Her red-hot boiler spittin’ flames like the fires of Hell!” The teller of the tale was a stoop-shouldered, gray-haired man with spittled lips and tobacco-stained beard who reeked of rum. A black patch covered his left eye below a deep gash that needed healing. He wore a dirty torn overcoat and battered hat. It was Christmas Eve and I had been riding the rails across America for weeks looking for work like thousands of other men during the Great Depression of 1929. Jobs were as scarce as virgin births. I had jumped from a moving boxcar and landed hard, tumbling through a thick snow bank, hitting my head against a light pole. It had knocked me out, but when I came to, other than a big bruise on my head, I felt fine. I found the warm tavern yards away through the churning blizzard of a snowy night. As I blew on my gloveless hands and stomped my numbed feet inside the rustic bar, the one-eyed man had waved me over to sit by the fire and share his rum. I dropped my bedroll, guitar case, and battered suitcase by the fireplace, warmed my stiff cold hands, and took off my red watch cap. The old man’s solo eye stared at me from a deep-lined face. He gripped a glass in his left hand, filled a second glass from a half-empty rum bottle and slid it in my direction. “You look like a man who could use a stiff drink to warm your insides.” “That I can.” I nodded thanks, brushed snow from my bearded face and old topcoat. I was welcomed by my host in the Bleaker Tavern, an aging timber-and-stone building alongside snow-blown train tracks that stretched south toward Babylon, another Depression-era town. I was so cold I would have gladly exchanged my soul for a glass of warming rum if the Devil had asked. The first sip of amber sent fire down my throat, heat I eagerly welcomed. “Thanks,” I coughed, clutching the glass in shaky hands. “That’s a nasty bump on your head,” said the old man. “Yeah, got it when I jumped off the train and hit a lamp post.” I rubbed the spot. “Feels fine. I’m surprised it doesn’t hurt.” “You’ll find out.” “What...?” “Nothin’.” He shoved a Bull Durham sack and tobacco papers in my direction. “Can you roll your own?” “Since before I could crawl.” I eagerly spread his tobacco on the thin paper, rolled it into a lumpy cigarette, and sealed it with a lick. I added another, “Thanks.” After I lit up and exhaled, my host leaned forward, and with a voice like boots on gravel softly warned, “It’ll be comin’

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 74 soon.” “What?” He vice-gripped my arm as I tried to pull away. “The ghost train!” he said. “A big black locomotive with a Cyclops’ eye, its stack belchin’ black smoke and cinders and its boiler spewin’ steam and sparks like from the fires of Hell, the Devil himself at the throttle.” His rum breath was in my face. “Her windows will be lit up as bright as day, her passenger seats filled with the hollow-eyed, stiff-dead passengers starin’ straight ahead like frozen zombies, not knowin’ if they’re headin’ to hell or Heaven.” I nervously finished my glass of rum and looked with anticipation at the amber bottle. “The engine will be blowin’ fire,” he continued, “and soundin’ like screamin’ banshees as it hurtles through the night.” The storyteller paused to catch his breath. I edged my glass forward. He refilled it. “Just thinkin’ about seein’ that damned ghost train again,” he continued, “makes my skin crawl like it’s bein’ slithered over by a thousand damned snakes.” His thin body shook like someone had walked on his grave. Arguing with the yarn spinner wasn’t something I’d do. As long as he was pouring his liquor, I’d listen all night just to keep warm and be out of the snowstorm. No one pays much attention to a crazy old rum-soaked coot about a ghost train. Only two other men were in the tavern, drinking and quietly playing cards at a corner table. They sat near a small bony Christmas tree covered with sagging strings of popcorn, paper stars, and dangling tinsel. A fat bald man yawned behind the bar where he continued polishing glasses. My host had a captive audience as he offered me a second smoke with his unlikely tale. Since I was now defrosting, gaining some feeling in my feet, hands, and shivering body, I welcomed the liquor, smokes, warmth, and words like a love- struck kid on a first date. “Any idea,” I asked, “when I might be able to jump the next freight train to Babylon? I hear the mill may be hiring.” “I expect to see the ghost train before that freight rolls through at 8:16 tomorrow mornin’,” said the man. “I hate tellin’ you this young feller, but they closed the mill in Babylon. Things are awful bad down there. Some people even takin’ their own lives.” Then he added with a chuckle, “The only people workin’ are undertakers and gravediggers!” He coughed several more times, gasped for air, but rolled and lighted another cigarette. He again waved the tobacco sack in my direction. I accepted a third smoke. Rum and warmth were welcome until I could sneak aboard another freight train. “How often do you see the ghost train?” I asked, keeping a straight face and not trying to mock him. “Started seein’ it about two years back,” he responded between sips and rumbling coughs. “Saw it about every week...at first. Now I see it most every night.” “Does anyone else see it?” “They say they don’t,” he whispered, pointing to the barman and two card players. “I think they do, but they’re afraid to say so. Think people will laugh at ‘em. But I don’t care. Since the Depression’s got worse, that Ghost Train’s been rollin’ through here most every night at midnight. But it never stops to pick up any live people. It only stops to pick up the dead.” A big clock behind the bar read 11:40. I took another sip of rum and let its warmth slide down my throat into my empty stomach. I was now warm enough that I began to sweat in the hot room, so removed my coat. “The Ghost Train came roarin’ through nonstop again last night,” said the storyteller. “And you know somethin’ mighty strange about that coal-burnin’, hell-breathin’ monster?” I had to be careful not to laugh. “What’s that?” I asked. “I think I’m seein’ old friends in the passenger seats. Two looked like my brother, Bob, and his wife, Martha. They passed away about three years ago.” “You think it was them?” “I think it was. But my seein’ out of only one eye ain’t what it used to be since turnin’ eighty two years ago.” He took another drink of rum and added, “But you know what?” “What?” “All those people on the train are dead. That’s why I call it a Ghost Train.” The story was hard to swallow, but as long as the one-eyed man kept pouring, I listened. His bottle was almost empty. After two more drinks, I excused myself, put my coat and hat back on, and made a quick run to the outhouse. When I came back a few minutes later my benefactor was gone. His cigarette smoldered in the ashtray, alongside his empty glass. I looked around, but didn’t see him. The two men across the room were still hunkered over their drinks, smokes, and

SuspenseMagazine.com 75 cards. I walked over. “You fellers see where the old man went?” I asked. “What old man?” replied the taller of the two card players. “The old man with the eye patch I was talking to at the table by the fireplace.” “Didn’t see nobody over there except you. Did you see anyone else, Hank?” Hank shook his head. “Ain’t no one else in here,” he said, “’cept us three and the barkeep. It’s too damned cold for anyone else to be out drinking on Christmas Eve. We’re bachelors, otherwise we’d be home.” He glanced through the windows at the increased snowfall. “Sure comin’ down hard. But since it’s Christmas, it’s kind-a nice.” “I’ve been sittin’ over there for a long time,” I said, “talking to an old feller with a patch over one eye. You didn’t see him?” “Just you drinking alone,” chuckled the man named Hank. “Looked like you were really putting it away. Sometimes rum can make you see things that aren’t there. If I have a couple more whiskies I’ll probably really see Santa Claus and his reindeer.” Both men laughed and returned to their card game. I went back to my table. “What the...?” The old man’s glass, smoldering cigarette, and ashtray were gone; my half-empty glass the only thing on the table. I moved over to the bartender. “Where did the old man go?” I asked. “What old man?” “The one with the patch over his eye. We were at the table by the fireplace.” “I’ve been here all evening, mister,” he replied. “You’ve been the only one at that table.” Then he gave me a strange look and added, “You feelin’ all right?” “Yeah....Why?” “Been watching you since you came in. If you don’t mind me sayin’ so...you’ve been sittin’ there for about two hours... drinkin’ and talkin’ to yourself!” “No, I was talking to an old man with a black patch over his left eye, a fresh scar on his forehead. Wore an old torn overcoat and hat. Had a white beard. Was smokin’ lots of cigarettes. Shared his rum with me.” “A man with an eye patch, you say?” questioned the bartender. “Last time I saw someone like that was an old rum-soaked drunk that lived in a shack out behind the old flour mill. Zeb Keller was his name, killed by a train a mile from here ‘bout two years ago. Drunk as usual, they said. So, it couldn’t be him. Didn’t see no one at your table ‘cept you!” “Killed by a train?” I asked. “Some people saw the old feller staggering home from an all night bender. Walked right in front of a southbound train that was moving so fast it couldn’t stop. It was the 8:16 to Babylon!” The barman clanged open his cash register and handed me some coins. “You forgot you change, mister. You don’t wanna be doing that, especially in these hard times.” “Change? I...?” He yawned and continued polishing glasses. “If you want another drink, order it now, ‘cuz I’m closin’ in a few minutes.” Confused, I walked back to my table. Outside, a strong wind swirled snow into deeper drifts. I was downing the last of the rum from my glass when I heard a train whistle and saw an approaching beam of light from the north. “The one-eyed man said there isn’t another train through here until the 8:16 in the morning,” I muttered to myself. The train’s shrill whistle grew louder as its single headlight moved closer. The barman and the men in the corner didn’t look up. They seemed oblivious to the noise and lights. I stepped to the frosted window, rubbed a dirty spot clean with my coat sleeve, and watched as the train squealed its breaks and stopped only yards from the Bleaker Tavern. Its red-hot boiler spit flames like the fires of hell, just like the one- eyed man had said. “Hey!” I yelled at the barman and card players, “Don’t you men see the train out there?” The three looked at me with disbelieving eyes. “Stranger,” said the bartender, “that rum’s making you see things. Ain’t no train out there. Nothin’ but wind, snow, ice, and cold...perfect for Christmas, but nothin’ else. Won’t be a train through here, like I said, until the 8:16 to Babylon.” “But, I…” “You and the men in the corner drink up,” he continued. “Closin’ in five minutes. Gotta get home to wrap a couple of Christmas presents for my wife and kids.”

Suspense Magazine January 2014 / Vol. 054 76 The big clock behind the bar advanced to 11:55. Long vents of steam shot from the locomotive’s iron sides, and black smoke and cinders belched from its smokestack. Two unmoving trainmen with blank expressions and unblinking eyes stood at the iron horses throttle and brake. They looked straight ahead, faces like carved stone. The string of lighted passenger cars were filled with seated men and women—old and young—who also stared straight ahead, as stiff as corpses in a morgue. Then I gasped. Standing in the snow, his back toward me was the one-eyed man who had warmed me with drink and strange tales of a Ghost Train. He stood unmoving by the first passenger car as the wind whipped his beard, and old hat and overcoat. I turned and yelled at the men in the tavern: “Look! There’s the one-eyed man I been telling you about out there by the train.” They ignored me. “Three minutes till closin’,” warned the bartender, who looked my way and shook his head. My one-eyed friend, helped by a conductor, climbed up the few steps into the train. He slowly moved down the aisle, looking left and right at the travelers. He stopped and received welcome hugs from an old man and woman. Then he turned his shaggy head and locked his one good eye on me. His face twisted into a strange smile that seemed to hide secrets. He beckoned with a single finger in my direction. “Why is he doing that?” He gave another wave that said, “Come...” I didn’t understand. I shook my head. He beckoned again with that same bony finger. “Me?” I mouthed to the old man: “You want me to come outside?” He nodded. My throat went dry. Unable to stop myself, I picked up my bedroll, guitar case, and small suitcase and stepped outside. Although snow continued to fall and the wind blew, the air was strangely warm, warmer than a summer day. I unbuttoned my coat and moved forward with a lightness I had never felt before. I felt like I was floating. Again, the old man beckoned from the passenger car. The locomotive blew its whistle, released more clouds of steam and billowing black smoke, impatient to leave. Suddenly I found myself standing by the passenger car, the old man smiling down from its doorway. “Welcome to the Ghost Train to Babylon,” he said. “There’s a seat waiting for you.” “But I’m not a ghost,” I said. “You sure?” The old one pointed to the light standard near the end of train where I had hit my head hours before. Beneath the light was the partially snow-covered body of a young man clutching a guitar case, bedroll, and battered suitcase. A red knit watch cap rested on a tilted head above an obviously broken neck. I wiped my eyes and squinted through the thickening snowfall. “He looks familiar,” I said, “like someone I might know.” “You do know him.” “I do?” “Look closer,” said my rummy companion. I did and then gasped, not believing what I was seeing. “That looks like...like me...over there. But it can’t be.” “It is you.” “But I’m standing over here with you. I’m not over there.” “You died the instant your head hit the lamp post.” “I’m dead?” I choked on my words, not believing what I was seeing or hearing. “But you and I smoked and drank and talked together for hours in the tavern.” “We were just waitin’...killin’ time,” he chuckled, “until the Ghost Train came.” The old man patted me on the shoulder and gently led me up the steps into the passenger car. Still confused, I settled into a seat and, like all the other ghosts, found myself staring straight ahead. The locomotive slowly chugged forward, picked up speed, and moved toward Babylon through the blackness of a snow-swirling Christmas Eve. ■

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