Suspense, Mystery, Horror and Thriller Fiction

MARCH 2015 From Across the Pond: QUENTIN BATES Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone WITH MARKY RAMONE Spring Suspense Brings JACK HIGGINS M.J. ROSE C.S. HARRIS MARK GREANEY GLEN ERIK HAMILTON ERIC GIACOMETTI & JACQUES RAVENNE & Meet Author /Publisher AUSTIN S. CAMACHO

From the Editor Normally in the “letter from the editor” I don’t give CREDITS a lesson. However, this month I have a topic that John Raab President & Chairman I feel needs some additional attention. Times for authors are rapidly changing. Authors are sitting on Shannon Raab bar seats at conferences, all talking about the same Creative Director thing: How do I sell more books? How can I even Romaine Reeves get someone to review the book? CFO It’s true that publishers are not backing authors Amy Lignor on book tours and they are not spending a lot of Editor marketing money on most of their titles; unless they think they have a winner, or it’s Jim Thomsen an author with a proven track record, most authors are left on their own. On the radio Copy Editor show, I’ve said hundreds of times: “Just because you write “The End” and get your book published, you are merely at the starting line, because now the real work begins.” Contributors This leads me to lesson number one: how to handle an interview. Mark P. Sadler Susan Santangelo On Suspense Radio, I’ve spoken to hundreds of authors and hundreds more at DJ Weaver conferences. One thing that always amazes me is how many authors don’t know how to CK Webb Kiki Howell interview well. I ask them about their book and I get five minutes of nothing. Yet I tell Kaye George them all beforehand: “This show is about you, not me, so make sure you “sell” yourself on Weldon Burge Ashley Wintters the air.” Scott Pearson For example, as an author you just spent two years writing a mystery book. You spent D.P. Lyle M.D. Kathleen Heady thousands of hours making sure every clue, every scene leads the reader to the ending Stephen Brayton where the villain is revealed. I then ask them a very tough question: Tell us about your Brian Blocker Andrew MacRae book. And this is where we get into trouble. It’s like they’re not prepared to answer that Val Conrad question. Maybe they thought I would simply ask them how to bake a cake or what their Melissa Dalton Elliott Capon favorite TV show is. J.M. LeDuc I would expect you to know your subject inside and out. You need to practice on Holly Price Kari Wainwright how to “sell” your book through an interview. This also includes blogging, and guest- David Ingram blogging on others’ sites and any place you need to answer questions about your book. Jodi Hanson Susan May Tape yourself answering that question and play it back. Listen to that answer like a fan or Jenny Hilborne reader would and ask yourself the question “If you heard an author talk like this, would Anthony J. Franze Kristin Centorcelli you spend your money on buying the book?” Jerry Zavada When you write in this genre, you are expecting to S.L. Menear “surprise or scare” your reader, not put them to sleep. You Leslie Borghini Mary Lignor need to be dynamic, enthusiastic, and a little mysterious Julie Whiteley when giving an interview. Give the fans a taste of the book, Sara Guisti Jeff Ayers highlighting the important scenes without giving away the Elise Cooper plot, but taking readers to the edge of the cliff in order to

Customer Service and leave them dangling. Subscriptions: Remember, you are the movie trailer. You are the one For 24/7 service, please use our website, www.suspensemagazine.com or write to: that readers will hear. If you aren’t passionate and able SUSPENSE MAGAZINE at to properly convey your book to the audience, you won’t 26500 Agoura Road, #102-474 Calabasas, CA 91302 catch them with the hook. Suspense Magazine does not share our magazine subscriber list with third-party companies. John Raab Model: polocola.deviantart.com, Wolf: lakela.deviantart.com, Lantern: CEO/Publisher da-toss-stock.deviantart.com, Moon: tala-stock.deviantart.com, Birds: Rates: $24.00 (Electronic Subscrip- Suspense Magazine ■ mimose-stock.deviantart.com, Background: forestgirlstock.deviantart. tion) per year. All foreign subscrip- com, chunga-stock.deviantart.com, literallylovelystock.deviantart.com tions must be payable in U.S. funds. “Reviews within this magazine are the opinions of the individual reviewers and are provided solely for the purpose of assisting readers in determining another's thoughts on the book under discussion and shall not be interpreted as professional advice or the opinion of any other than the individual reviewer. The following reviewers who may appear in this magazine are also individual clients of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine: Mark P. Sadler, Ashley Dawn (Wintters), DJ Weaver, CK Webb, Elliott Capon, J.M. LeDuc, S.L. Menear, Leslie Borghini, Susan Santangelo, and Amy Lignor.”

SuspenseMagazine.com 1 CONTENT SUSPENSE MAGAZINE March 2015 / Vol. 063

Forensic Files: Codeine Overdose By D.P. Lyle...... 3

International Thriller Writers: Reader’s Corner By Rick Campbell ...... 4

Excerpt: “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone” By Marky Ramone ������� 5

John’s Lament By Patrick Kendrick...... 13

Across the Pond with Quentin Bates By Chris Simms...... 17

Meet Writer and Publisher Austin S. Camacho By Weldon Burge...... 19

Inside the Pages: Suspense Magazine Book Reviews...... 23

Suspense Magazine Movie Reviews...... 39

Copy Editor’s Corner: At the End of my Trope By Jim Thomsen . . . . .40

Featured Artist: Masoumeh Tavakoli...... 42

Coming to America: Meet Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne. . . . .49

Mysteries and Thrillers: The Differences*By Thomas B. Sawyer...... 58

Fire & Ice (From “Uncommon Assassins”) By Joseph Badal...... 65

Welcome Wagon By Laura Kathryn Rogers...... 74 Forensic Files

Q&A: WOULD AN OVERDOSE OF CODEINE BE TREATED? By D.P. Lyle, MD Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author Q: My heroine has been given Tylenol with codeine by the bad guy, and it’s been ingested unknowingly in a cup of coffee. She has an adverse reaction to codeine. Would the ER doctors give her any drugs to counteract this, and if so, which ones? Or would they simply let her sleep it off and monitor her?

A: Codeine is an opiate narcotic, which means it is in the opium family. In fact, it and morphine are the two principle substances obtained from the opium poppy. As with all narcotics, it depresses many bodily functions in the user. The symptoms of codeine ingestion are giddiness, sleepiness, loss of balance and coordination, coma, and death. The drug depresses the respiratory center of the brain so that if too much is taken the victim lapses into a coma, stops breathing, and dies from asphyxia. However, these effects would not be considered “adverse” reactions since they are predictable and consistent. An adverse reaction would be such things as an allergic reaction. And an allergy to codeine is not an uncommon occurrence. So, I’m not exactly sure what you mean by “adverse” reaction. If you mean an allergic reaction, the victim would develop hives, redness to the skin, wheezing and difficulty breathing (like an asthmatic attack), low blood pressure, and could slip into anaphylactic (allergic) shock and die. The treatment is to give an intravenous (IV) or subcutaneous (Sub-Q) injection of Epinephrine, IV steroids (such as, Decadron or Solu-Medrol), and IV Benadryl. This should rapidly reverse the allergic effects. Each of these drugs might have to be given again, if the symptoms and signs of the allergic reaction reappear. The reaction should subside, and after about twelve to twenty-four hours would be unlikely to recur. If you mean that the person reacts to the codeine in the more predictable manner, then the treatment is directed toward breathing for the victim and reversing the effect of the narcotic. Breathing for the victim could be done two ways. An ambu bag attached to a facemask would be easy and immediately available in any hospital. The paramedics also carry them. An ambu bag is football-shaped, made of rubber or some synthetic material, and works like a bellows. It is attached to a facemask and each squeeze of the bag forces air through the mask, which when held tightly against the victim’s face forces air into the lungs. The second method is to place an endotracheal (ET) tube. This is a plastic tube that is passed thought the victim’s mouth or nose and into the trachea (wind pipe). Either an ambu bag or a mechanical ventilator is then attached to the ET tube and air is rhythmically forced into the lungs. This must continue until the drug wears off. To hasten this process, Narcan is given intravenously. This is a drug that blocks the effect of the codeine. It works in about a minute. Again, the drug might have to be given several times over the first hour or so if the victim begins to slide back into a coma. Once the effects of the drugs wear off the victim would be essentially normal. Unless brain damage occurred during the time he wasn’t breathing, that is. ■

D. P. Lyle is the Macavity and Benjamin Franklin Silver Award winning and Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, Scribe, and USA Best Book Award nominated author of many non-fiction books as well as numerous works of fiction, including the Samantha Cody thriller series; the Dub Walker thriller series, and the Royal Pains media tie-in novels. To learn more about D.P., check out his websites at http://www. dplylemd.com, http://writersforensicsblog.wordpress.com, or Crime and Science Radio at http://crimeandscienceradio.com.

SuspenseMagazine.com 3 INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS READER'SCorner Recommendations by Rick Campbell Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author I’ve been an avid reader throughout my life, and have recently become a writer. As a writer, I learn something from every book I read. As a reader, there’s nothing more exciting than discovering a new book you love. Here’s what’s on my watch list—books coming out soon by writers who consistently hit a home run. (Some of them aren’t on bookstore shelves yet, so consider checking out my latest book, “Empire Rising,” while you wait.)

“THE PATRIOT THREAT” Steve Berry, March 31: His books are fantastic reads. Berry mixes history, politics, secret cabals, and character heroics in some of the most compelling, yet undeniably fun thrillers.

“INDEPENDENCE DAY” Ben Coes, May 26: Dewey Andreas is one of my favorite thriller heroes. He’s like a modern John Wayne, and Coes is one of my don’t-ever- miss writers. The scenarios and villains in his books are compelling and terrifying, yet Coes never loses that occasional light touch that makes his books such great reads.

“THE ASSASSINS” Gayle Lynds, June 30: Not many authors weave the kind of complex espionage stories that Lynds writes; the kind that Forsyth and Ludlum used to do so well. Gayle Lynds does it consistently, keeping each plot unique and fresh, no retreads.

“THE BONE LABYRINTH” James Rollins, July 2: If you haven’t read any of James Rollins’ fantastic Sigma Force novels, you need to start now. No one tells a big story better than Rollins, making the impossible believable like no one else can.

“SIGNAL” Patrick Lee, July 7: Patrick Lee is simply fantastic. Without a wasted word, he pulls you into a compelling world of memorable characters attempting to unravel a complex mystery in a race against time with huge stakes. While many writers are able to incorporate some of these elements well, Lee can do it all.

“THE INSIDER THREAT” Brad Taylor, July 7: Every writer will tell you that research is one of the keys to a good thriller. Taylor not only does that research, but also draws upon his extensive personal knowledge, weaving it seamlessly into terrifyingly real, but thankfully fictional stories. ■

Rick Campbell is the author of “The Trident Deception” and the recently published “Empire Rising.” An officer in the U.S. Navy for over twenty years, he served on four nuclear-powered submarines, and on his last submarine was one of the two men whose permission is required to launch its nuclear warhead-tipped missiles. If you like military thrillers or suspenseful thrillers in general, you can’t go wrong with either of Rick’s first two novels. (www.rickcampbellauthor.com)

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 4 “PUNK ROCK BLITZKRIEG: MY LIFE AS A RAMONE” By Marky Ramone with Richard Herschlag Press Photo Credit: Martin Bonetto Not all suspense writing has to be fictional. It’s not very often we decide to do a feature on a biography, but when the artist is so influential, whose stories are far stranger than fiction, we had to ask him to be a part of the magazine. The rock group The Ramones are one of the most influential punk rock bands ever. Marky Ramone, born Marc Steven Bell, joined The Ramones in 1978 and changed his name to Marky Ramone. After several years, he finally published his biography “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life As a Ramone” in January 2015. We asked Marky why now was the right time to release the book. “After fifteen years and all the books that had been published about The Ramones, many of them being told from a roadie or a friend of the band, it was time that I told my side of the story. No one from the inner circle told the story of The Ramones and I wanted to set the record straight.” It is very well documented that The Ramones had a lot of turmoil, but without the Internet and the expanded media it was not easy to get the real story. Marky is the last surviving member of these Hall of Fame inductees, and the perfect person to finally get the behind-the-scenes word out. It wasn’t an easy road to publication. As Marky said, “I went through over five different authors and it wasn’t until I met Rich that I found the perfect author to write the book. He had my voice which made it very easy to finish the book.” (Richard Herschlag is the co-author of “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg.”) The book however is not just a book of stories and music; it is a story of a man who walked through hell and back again. SPECIAL PREVIEW FROM MARKY RAMONE Marky fought alcoholism, and doesn’t hide behind the curtain. He wants to use the book as an inspiration to other people going through the same issues. “I don’t care if people know I had my struggles with alcohol. My father told me you need to be more blunt about yourself. Get the word out there and get the facts straight. That is what I did in the book.” He expanded a little more. “I let it flow. I said whatever came to mind. I put it down on paper and needed to get it to flow better. The facts were easy, but it was important that I said them correctly.” Now, The Ramones still have such a following around the world it’s easy to understand that when Marky goes out to do a book signing hundreds of people show up. Unlike the music world, the publishing world is a different monster. Recently, at a signing in Las Vegas, Marky showed up to find there were only two hundred books available. He sold out quickly, with many more fans waiting outside unable to get signed copies. Bands like The Ramones will live on forever. You can still hear their sound in today’s punk rock bands, and they will always remain that one unforgettable cast of characters that are unique unto themselves. “I’m the last link to the four. They were my brothers. Cancer is a terrible thing and it took two of them in Joey and Johnny. I was closest to Dee Dee, and his addiction took him having died of an overdose, which was a little shocking since he was clean for several years. I didn’t want the book to be condescending, I didn’t want a bunch of crap, I wanted it to be factual and truthful.” This what you will get in the book: the in-your-face style that The Ramones stood for. They didn’t care what people thought; they did it their way. Gabba Gabba Hey!

SuspenseMagazine.com 5 When I walked into Performance Studios on East Twentieth Street in Manhattan and sat down, Tommy was 8 sitting at a drum set behind the set I would be using. It was an HEY HO, LET’S GO! unusual way to run an audition, a show, or anything musical unless maybe you were in the Grateful Dead. I asked him Every time I ran into Dee Dee at CBGB in the winter of ’78, what all this was about. he told me I ought to join the Ramones. As if you could just “Don’t worry about it,” Tommy said. “Just in case you do that, like joining the Y or the ACLU. He said the band need a little help.” was having trouble with Tommy, their drummer, and I was “Thanks,” I said. “I got it.” actually a little upset to hear that. I didn’t want the original I shot Tommy a little smile. I really did have it. The songs lineup of the Ramones to break up. I was a fan. But I didn’t “I Don’t Care,” “Sheena Is a Punk Rocker,” and “Blitzkrieg put much stock in what Dee Dee said. He was a nut and Bop” were on the jukebox at CBGB, on my stereo, and in known to exaggerate. my world. I had listened to them again before coming down, It takes a nut to be involved with two psychotic women and that was enough. It wasn’t like learning “From a Dry at once. About a year before, he was living in an apartment Camel.” But they were great songs, and I was like Sheena with Connie, a violent stalker, prostitute, and drug addict. and her friends—all hopped up and ready to go. Even so, I Dee Dee was also having a fling with Nancy Spungen, the appreciated Tommy’s concern. He literally had my back. schizophrenic girlfriend of Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious. Dee Dee counted “One, two, three, four!” and we When she came home to find Dee Dee in bed with Nancy, launched into “I Don’t Care.” It was one of the purest rock- Connie grabbed an empty beer bottle, smashed it, and and-roll songs written after the year 1962. With a deliberate, stabbed Dee Dee in the ass with the jagged edge. powerful beat underpinning a progression based on E, F, G, But when Johnny Ramone asked to meet with me about A, it was a song a novice could learn on but never tire of joining the band, the whole proposition turned real. I arrived playing: not caring about the world or the girl was the entire at Max’s with Marion, and we took seats across from John message served up in two lines, repeated over and over like and Roxy in a booth up front. I was impressed with John. He a punk mantra. seemed to have a handle on the Ramones’ business matters The song clocked in at a minute forty seconds. We were and a vision of how to get the band through this difficult locked in as a band within the first ten of those seconds. transition. Joey wasn’t exactly up to it, and Dee Dee would Thirty seconds in, the audition—if there ever was one—was have sent the whole thing into the toilet. over. We were relaxed and smiling. Rehearsal had begun. John laid down some rules. Maybe they were more like I had my work cut out for me. Recording for the new guidelines. Whatever they were, the Ramones didn’t get high album, Road to Ruin, was set to begin in less than three weeks. before playing. Me neither. Dress on and off the stage was We‘d be doing shows immediately after. We were scheduled leather jackets, jeans, and sneakers. I was already wearing to do fourteen songs for the album, and the Ramones’ live all that and had been forever. Dee Dee always counts off set was twenty-four songs. So I had almost forty songs to the songs. Definitely. I know. We don’t go away on tour for learn, minus the three for the audition, in about the length more than a month. Sounds good. We travel together, and of a honeymoon. The Ramones handed me a pair of cassette girlfriends are welcome. Marion can come. Thanks. demo tapes with all the songs. I stopped in at Sam Ash on The only confusing thing was the audition. There would Forty-Eighth Street and picked up a set of drum pads. When be one at the Ramones’ rehearsal studio. But John discussed I got back to the apartment on Ocean Avenue, I hooked up the rules and regs like my being a Ramone was already a done a pair of headphones to the boom box I had gotten with the deal. Then I thought, Whatever they call it, I’ll blow it away. Voidoids advance. Right next to it, I set up the pads. And On our way out of Max’s, Marion and I put our heads that’s where I spent most of the next eighteen days. together. We had heard through the grapevine that the My favorite song on the Road to Ruin demo was “I Ramones already auditioned several drummers, maybe Wanna Be Sedated.” It was catchy and huge even in stripped- more. Marion’s take was the Ramones knew from the start down form on a cheap cassette tape. It was pop but without that I had the experience they needed, but in the back of their sacrificing hardness. Lyrically, being sedated could mean minds they preferred a nobody they could boss around. It any number of things, but at its simplest level it was about was hard to get all that in the same package, so over time they needing a drink. The song captured being on the road just realized I was their man. about perfectly. Of course, I had never been on the road with From what I had heard, Dee Dee wasn’t the only one the Ramones, but I would be finding out what that was like rooting for me. Tommy was, too. In fact, Tommy was the soon enough. one who first suggested me. Beyond whatever had happened I also really liked “I Just Want to Have Something to Do” between him and the other Ramones, Tommy still loved the and “Go Mental.” “Mental” was faster than most Ramones band and wanted it to continue. What better way to do it songs—and faster than most songs, period. It felt like what than with an experienced professional drummer who knew it was about: sitting in a hospital bed and losing your mind. the ropes? The album’s one cover song, “Needles and Pins,” was written by Jack Nitzsche and Sonny Bono back in 1963. The original

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 6 single was done by Jackie DeShannon, but the Searchers we did it. Then it jumped out of the monitors and had all of had more success with it the following year, giving it an us smiling. early-Beatles feel. The chord changes and subject matter— During recording, I noticed Joey had a funny habit. He heartbreak and holding back tears—were right up the would touch a spot somewhere—the mixing console, a chair, Ramones’ alley. a microphone stand—and then touch it again. And again. We recorded at Media Sound in Manhattan. I was And again. It didn’t matter. His vocals were great, and he prepared, but everyone there totally expected that of me. didn’t need to do them again and again and again. It was just I understood my role from the get-go. I was not a ringer, a little weird. mercenary, hired gun, or session player. I was a member I got to meet and talk to the full Ramones entourage, of the band who could nonetheless deliver what a ringer, including Seymour Stein of Sire Records. Seymour was mercenary, hired gun, or session player could deliver. But I already my boss from the Voidoids, but he especially loved wanted to take it a step further. I wanted to help take the the Ramones. He appreciated the way they took the chord band’s sound to the next level. changes and vocal approach of the doo-wop era and spit it There was a lot of heavy competition out there. Not so back out as their own—harder, faster, and a little warped. much from the punk bands. I considered the Ramones the Seymour was knowledgeable, easygoing, and quiet. originators of punk, so in that sense there was no one to His wife made up for the quiet part. Linda Stein was a compete with. But the Ramones were a punk rock band with short, loud, opinionated, outgoing quintessential New Yorker. the emphasis on rock. In rock, there were a lot of big boys She started out as a schoolteacher—probably one you would with heavy drums: AC/DC, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, and never want to be caught throwing a spitball at. She learned Van Halen. Van Halen were the new kids on the block, and the music business from her husband, and the Ramones were someone the Ramones might not even have considered. Yet lucky to have her managing their business. their self-titled album had just come out and it was worth Danny Fields was the other half of the Ramones considering. management team. Danny had started out doing publicity for Van Halen stood out from the corporate rock clones the Doors and later was instrumental in signing the Stooges being churned out monthly by the music industry. Eddie and MC5 to Elektra. In 1975, he brought the Ramones to Van Halen loved Page, Beck, and Clapton but squeezed his the attention of Sire. Danny was the hands-on manager for influences out of his black-and-white-striped red Charvel the group, plying connections at rock magazines, booking with a new, wild hammer-on style of playing that was venues, getting the band radio interviews. Together, the Steins melodic, smooth, and raucous all at the same time. Alex Van and Danny Fields spearheaded a professional organization Halen’s drums were huge, sounded huge, and were locked in behind what looked like four punks in street clothes. perfectly with his brother’s playing as well as bassist Michael It was this professional team that asked me about Anthony’s. The band didn’t take itself very seriously. They changing my name. I was off to a good start, but we weren’t were kind of campy, thanks especially to lead singer David going to be Marc Bell and the Ramones. My new last name Lee Roth, who brought his Las Vegas A-game to the show. was a done deal, but I needed a first name that ended in a The album was a fun listen and made me think. long-e sound. Rocky Ramone was either too suggestive of the The idea forRoad to Ruin, I thought, was not to be Van Sylvester Stallone movie or made me sound like a gangster. Halen or anyone else. The idea was to be a heavier Ramones. Timmy, Jimmy, and Willie Ramone and a dozen others made SPECIAL PREVIEW FROM MARKY RAMONE We had our fans and would keep aiming to please them. me puke. And just adding a y to Marc came out to Marcy, And we had our punk/new wave competition—the Clash, which was not only a girl’s name but happened to be the the Police, the Cars. But there was no harm in letting the name of the discount store Marcy’s, across the street from metalheads and all their cousins know that the Ramones Erasmus High School. The fewer reminders of high school, could rock a stadium if they needed to. the better. To begin with, I tuned my snare a lot tighter than So I said, “Let’s go with Marky, with a k.” My grandmother Tommy’s and used larger cymbals. I wanted to get more called me Marky as a kid, and the name was made famous by projection and impact from the sound. There were a bunch Marky Maypo. In the fifties and sixties, Maypo was one of of other factors involving microphone placement, levels, the big three hot cereals, along with Farina and Wheatena. and even the way I struck the kit that would give the songs a Mickey Mantle was a pitchman for Maypo, literally crying if bolder, more muscular feel. The beauty of the situation was he didn’t get a bowl of the stuff. Marky Maypo was the goofy, that I had a great producer who worked closely with me to whinny, cartoon mascot wearing a cowboy hat. For the sake get that sound: Tommy. He hadn’t just passed me a golden of nostalgia, I could live with that. So Marky, like the cereal, baton. He was clearing the track for me. Tommy was there stuck. alongside me every step of the way. There was no need to change my name legally. My bills The very first song we tracked was “Sedated.” I speeded would still come to Marc Bell. And so would my paychecks. up the tempo a bit from the demo. The song itself didn’t feel The Ramones team let me know that I would be receiving right sedated. It had to be manic and in need of sedation. I a nice check every week, on time, from our accountant Ira added a few fills here and there that helped distinguish the Herzog. The check would come whether we were on the parts, plus a critical fill in the break. It sounded nice when road or off. When we toured, there would be extra per diem

SuspenseMagazine.com 7 payments based on the shows we did. This was all a load off speechifying on how Nixon never should have had to resign my mind and off Marion’s. Moving into Manhattan was on four years earlier. Joey was in the back quietly twiddling his the horizon. long hair. Rehearsals for live shows were mostly just Johnny, Dee The Chance was a theater in downtown Poughkeepsie Dee, and me. Joey showed up a couple of times. Joey had built in the early part of the century. It was empty and full of health problems, and the band thought it was better to save ghosts when we did our four-song sound check. It held about his energy for the shows. There was a hidden advantage a thousand people and had a very historic feel. There was to doing things this way. Although Dee Dee would sing no concrete anywhere. The floorboards were oak. The seats where necessary, we weren’t using the vocals as a crutch to were also wood and probably hand-carved. The mezzanine know where we were in the song. When a band used that had decorative façade work. The place looked like it belonged crutch, there was sometimes a bit of uncertainty and a slight more in the old South than upstate New York. wavering when a change came in. This way, with no one to Before the show, Danny Fields came by to take a photo lean on but ourselves, there was no choice but to become a for the back cover of Road to Ruin. The four of us sat on the well-oiled machine. stoop at the rear exit. Dee Dee and Johnny sat on the lower After rehearsal one day, I learned a little more about why step at opposite ends. Joey and I sat in the middle on the Tommy pushed the eject button. In the beginning, he was the upper step. Joey’s long, skinny legs reached all the way down manager and, in that sense, an authority figure. When the to the brick pavement with length to spare. real management team was brought in, Tommy was reduced It was “Hey Ho, Let’s Go!” from the first song. The theater to just a member of the band, and the other three Ramones was packed to the point where I looked around for the fire seemed to rub salt in the wound. Tommy was an unimposing exits just in case. The kids screamed and jumped. Our sound guy, and they taunted him—maybe good-naturedly, but it was upbeat, loud, and heavy, and the set started to fly by. didn’t feel that way to him. Also, there was a fair amount of There were no mistakes halfway in, and I knew there wouldn’t bickering among the other band members, and what seems be the rest of the way through. When there was even a hint kind of funny at first gets really old when you’re on the road of drifting off the beat or missing a change, I would look at for weeks on end. John, or he would look at me. Upon eye contact, I knew what The last straw was more like a last cigarette. John was the he was doing, and he knew what I was doing. Mistakes were bully of the group. His bark was usually worse than his bite, never allowed to develop. We weren’t on automatic pilot, but but still, John laid down rules of the road. One of them was it sounded that way. no smoking cigarettes in the van, which was a problem for The history in the room was personal now. It was my Tommy, who smoked. But on a trip to Chicago, John took initiation. I wasn’t nervous, because I learned early on that it a plane out early to be with Roxy, who was visiting home in was only about doing what you had to do. At the same time, the Windy City. Tommy was relieved to be able to smoke on I became aware of the pressure only because it was gradually the long ride west in the van, but what he didn’t count on was disappearing. There was a series of firsts for me: the so-called Dee Dee and Joey taking mushrooms as they pulled out of audition, the first rehearsal, the first recording. But the first New York. The two of them were hallucinating heavily for a live show was the biggest. If that didn’t work, what was the few hundred miles on Route 80. While Dee Dee was counting point of all the other firsts? pink elephants, and Joey was counting clouds shaped like Backstage after the show, Joey, Dee Dee, John, Marion, Superman, Tommy was counting the days till he got out. Roxy, Monte, Danny Fields, Linda Stein, and everyone who Tommy impressed me. He had barely ever picked up a made the transition a reality were on the same page as me. pair of sticks before joining the Ramones but gave them what There was a sense of security in knowing that the machine they needed. He helped create a blueprint for three successful known as the Ramones could continue. Dee Dee was the first albums, hundreds of performances, and, most important, a to come up to me and pat me on the back. new sound. He laid down a foundation, and I was grateful for “It was great playing with you,” he said. “You’re my bunny the opportunity to build on it. now.” “Thanks. Thanks a lot.” I really appreciated that. On June 29, the Ramones’ fifteen-passenger Ford The set wasn’t the most complex music I had ever played Econoline van picked us up around noon in front of artist live, but it was maybe the most demanding in its sheer energy. Arturo Vega’s loft on East Second Street in Manhattan, where It was not a marathon. It was more like a very long sprint. I Joey was living. We were headed to Poughkeepsie, New York, was drenched in sweat. So was the rest of the band. When for my first gig with the band. John was very insistent that I walked into the dressing room, Joey had already begun Marion and I sit in the second row. John and Roxy sat in changing and had his shirt off. He had a big nasty scar on his the first row behind Monte Melnick, the driver and road back that looked like an upside-down letter V. manager. Dee Dee sat behind us, and Joey sat in the very “Hey, how’d you get that?” I said. ”Shark bite,” Joey said. back. Sharks were on people’s minds with the movie Jaws It was a nice way to break in, because the trip up the cleaning up at the box office three summers earlier and then Taconic State Parkway to Poughkeepsie was only about an again with the sequel that had just come out. But Joey was the hour and forty minutes, barring traffic. Still, between tokes last person on earth I figured for a shark-bite victim. First of on a joint, Dee Dee kept asking if we were there yet. John was all, you had to go swimming fairly far out in the ocean. Joey

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 8 had spent time in the hospital on more than one occasion There were a lot of Holiday Inns with empty beds along the for a variety of anxiety disorders. A hospital room is where way. It wasn’t like stumbling back from Max’s through Union he wrote the lyrics to the forthcoming song “Go Mental” on Square Park. Road to Ruin. But there was also a practical side to taking the redeye So I didn’t picture him at six-foot-six, 190 pounds, in a van back to New York. The Ramones were running a business. Speedo, swimming out past the buoys at Rockaway Beach The pitfalls of the road were too many to list. Countless bands as the lifeguards blew their whistles and gave chase. On the convinced themselves they were having fun and supporting outside chance that he ever managed to pull that off, the odds an album, but when the album didn’t produce royalties and of him swimming back safely to shore with blood gushing the shows didn’t produce take-home pay, the fun quickly from his torso seemed even closer to zero. disappeared. The Ramones’ solution was to economize. Why John explained to me a little later that Joey was born with travel in a huge gas-guzzling luxury bus when a van will do? a parasitic twin. It was a malformed Siamese twin growing Why pay for a bunch of hotel rooms you didn’t need? All the out of his back. The twin was incomplete, a threat to the life money you saved one week was money in the band’s pocket of the newborn, and so it was surgically removed. I could the next. understand why he used the shark story. Besides, not much sleeping went on in hotel rooms. When we piled into the tan Econoline for the ride back When we got off the stage at, say, midnight, we were buzzed to New York, Marion and I were about to climb into the front on adrenaline. There was not going to be any sleep happening row when John stopped us and explained that we all had for three or four hours anyway. assigned seats and had to stick with them. I asked why, and Being in a van at all hours of the night gave me a chance he said that’s the way the Ramones had done it for years. So to learn a lot more about John than when he dropped we climbed into the second row. by the apartment in SoHo to pick up Roxy. His dad was a John continued his pro-Nixon harangue on the ride blue-collar guy. John’s parents sent him to military school back. for a few years, which explained his routine in the dressing “The thing is, the liberals were out to get him from the room. A normal rock musician would leave his street clothes fucking beginning. Watergate was bullshit. The whole thing anywhere. Let alone a punk musician. John would fold his should never have happened.” pants and shirt neatly, perfectly. He lined up the seams of the I didn’t really mind having to sit with Marion in assigned pants symmetrically. The shirts were folded as if to be ready seats, but there was only so much I could take. for reshelving. He could have worked at the Gap. “You know what?” I said. “The whole thing did happen John was about four years older than me. After he because Nixon ordered it and then covered it up. He doesn’t graduated from Forest Hills High School, his father got have anyone to blame but himself. He was the president, him work as a pipe fitter. One of his jobs was working on and he fucked up. And he resigned because he knew he was the World Trade Center, which in the late sixties was slowly wrong.” forming a shadow above Lower Manhattan. The centerpiece “Bullshit!” John said. “Do you think a tiny, insignificant was the Twin Towers, a pair of office buildings destined to rise fucking security break would have meant shit without the 110 stories and with pumps so large they were normally used liberal press looking to screw him?” to supply water to cities of a half million people. But even “If it was so insignificant, why did he bother covering it with hundreds of miles of pipes to fit, there were occasional SPECIAL PREVIEW FROM MARKY RAMONE up?” “Because he knew they had it in for him.” distractions. “Why do it in the first place?” One afternoon while the Vietnam War was raging, It was surprising to see a rock musician, or any musician, a large group of young protesters showed up at the site. A for that matter, defend Richard Nixon, but that seemed to be bunch of the union guys on the ground confronted them, as much a part of John as the scar on Joey’s back was a part and it quickly became a classic hard-hat-versus- hippie battle of him. complete with name calling, shoving, and hair pulling. Up The summer was a blur. We did two dozen shows on the eleventh floor of Tower 1, young John Cummings was scattered across the East Coast and the Midwest. Bands taking a break from welding the joints of ten-inch-diameter usually liked to settle in, especially when playing multiple cast-iron soil stacks and looked out the window. Most of the dates in a city or back-to-back in cities close by. That was hippie freaks were assembled together. John had a clear shot. not happening with the Ramones. Not if they could help it. He took small bags of sand and started tossing them out the They were homebodies. They liked their own pillows, their window. They were not lethal, but they stunned on impact own mattresses, and their own leftovers in the fridge. If it and made little clouds when they broke. The hippie freaks was possible to make it back to New York City by dawn, we scattered. It wasn’t napalm, but it made a statement. were there. “What do you fucking mean how could I do that? These Destinations like New Brunswick, New Jersey; hippie assholes have such a good deal in America, and they Greenwood Lake, New York; and, of course, Poughkeepsie, don’t even appreciate it.” were no-brainers. They were truly local. But it seemed “Appreciate what?” neurotic to play Boston three nights in a row with a 450- “What the guys fighting in Vietnam did for them.” “What mile round trip on I-95 in between two of the three shows. did they do for them?”

SuspenseMagazine.com 9 “Protected their freedom.” It was not easy to cram in all that bathing activity, but he “Their freedom to have sandbags thrown at them?” “Hey, managed. A bath when we checked in to the hotel. Go do fuck ’em.” the sound check, come back and take a shower. Another John probably didn’t realize those same hippies fought bath before the show and a shower after. Then there was the for his right to wear long hair one day. And somebody bedtime bubble bath. All the way across the Keystone state, somewhere fought for his right to play in a rock band. Dee Dee talked about the luxurious bubble bath he was going All these rides back and forth to New England and to prepare that night. Passing steel mills, cement plants, and elsewhere, day in day out, seemed efficient, on one hand. coal mines Dee Dee, never lost focus on his big date with Mr. But on the other, they invited delays. Waiting for Joey to Bubble. emerge from Arturo’s building was a show in itself. We Dee Dee was not only super clean, he was super shaved. couldn’t leave the motor of the Econoline running unless He liked to shave the hair thoroughly off his chest and arms, we wanted to fill the tank a second time before leaving the and when that was done, pluck out the stray hairs with a five boroughs. We would try to buzz Joey down, but after tweezers. You never knew if he was getting ready for a rock about five minutes, Monte would go upstairs and help him show or a walk down the runway. get dressed. Meanwhile, Dee Dee continued smoking pot in Dee Dee was revolted by the smell of Joey. Dee Dee the van. There was an oil crisis going on, but no marijuana would freak out sometimes when he got a whiff. He would crisis other than paraquat. complain to Monte that he needed to wash Joey’s clothes and Once he was done tapping the door saddle in the get him some cologne. If only Dee Dee could have taken a bathroom, Joey would step in and out of the door to the loft shower for Joey, they could have solved the Ramones’ entire thirty, maybe forty times. Once that was done, he would walk hygiene problem. down the one flight of stairs. Then back up. Then down. Then Joey was cool onstage. I thought that when I watched back up again. This would go on ten or twenty times before the Ramones at CBGB early on and I thought that now from Joey finally came out of the building. We were lucky he didn’t behind my drum kit. He stood in one place the entire set, live on the ninetieth floor of the World Trade Center. clutching the microphone stand. John, meanwhile, moved Once we hit Youngstown, Ohio, we were out of range for around like a spinning top, bending his knees a little and even the most extreme Ramones definition of local. Driving stroking his guitar rapid-fire like an AK-47. Dee Dee was across Pennsylvania alone was three hundred miles, and we bouncing all over the place. But Joey’s position looked like had Lansing and Flint, Michigan, next. It was a long ride out someone taking a stand. Like James Dean. He had something to Ohio, and John made sure we were still in the same seats to say and wasn’t going to budge. He was going to protect his from Poughkeepsie. He also made sure we knew the only turf. reason John F. Kennedy was ever elected president was his The truth was, Joey was frightened to leave his turf. Once good looks. he found his spot onstage, he was afraid to vacate it, like a Monte booked our rooms ahead of time, and not long shower or an apartment. We were just glad he didn’t turn the after we got to Youngstown, I found out why. Dee Dee, John, microphone on and off seventy times. Monte, and I would all get rooms on the same floor, while Our trip across the heartland of America was filled with Joey would get a room on a different floor. When I checked racism, but not from Midwesterners. It was from John. We out his room on the fourth floor, Joey was opening and saw blacks, Puerto Ricans, and Asians. Johnny saw spades, closing the door again and again. Just like home. The band spics, and chinks. Somewhere between Columbus and preferred getting some sleep to hearing their lead singer Cincinnati, we learned that spades were too lazy to put out come and go nowhere all night. Hopefully, Joey’s new next- a fire in their own bedroom. Somewhere between Madison door neighbors were insomniacs. and DeKalb, we discovered that spics were too crazy about Mornings were fairly normal. We would get up in time roaches to kill them. Somewhere between Kansas City and to check out, get some coffee and breakfast downstairs, and Springfield, we found out that every accident between Kansas meet in the lobby. If Joey wasn’t there on time, we usually sent City and Springfield was caused by a Chinaman carrying Monte up to his room to escort him down. Joey not only had around a phony learner’s permit. John was rock and roll’s trouble getting out of his room; he had trouble getting out of Archie Bunker. the shower. It wasn’t easy for him to get in in the first place. We really didn’t know if John was an out-and-out At six-foot-six, the shower nozzles were too low for him, so racist or if he was doing it to get a rise out of us. Probably a he had to squeeze underneath to wash his hair, taking care combination. He didn’t draw the line at anti-Semitism. Even not to smash his head against the plumbing. Getting out of riding cross-country in a van with a Jewish lead singer and the shower wasn’t much easier. And then the excruciating road manager. Johnny called Joey and Monte rabbis. The repetition began: getting in and out a dozen more times. things Johnny did to save money were smart. The things the Sometimes Monte had Joey skip the shower altogether just rabbis did to save money were “cheap.” Johnny was so over to avoid triggering his compulsion to repeat the showering the top and in their faces with this shtick that Joey and Monte process umpteen more times. didn’t have much choice but to roll with it. And if it wasn’t Dee Dee had no problem getting in and out of the shower simply anti-Semitism, it was masking other emotions that or the tub. He would take four or five baths or showers a day. weren’t all that great either.

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 10 We could drive halfway across a state—or a time reality series An American Family. zone—without John looking at Joey. There was usually no Arkush was a good guy. He was a little surprised to see conversation or eye contact. You could explain it away by us rehearse a few of the songs unplugged before the show, but saying they were just oil and vinegar. That John was the jock that’s what worked for us. Tina Weymouth, the bassist from and Joey was the shy, sensitive poet of the band. But I got the Talking Heads, was there, and so was Lester Bangs. Bangs sense that there was more to it than that. was shooting the shit with Tina and being his usual no- With every hotel we could barely check out of because holds-barred self, and Arkush seemed to be in awe, taking of Joey’s tapping, touching, and endless in-and-out routine, notes like he was a student in the New York campus of a rock we were all obviously aware that he had problems. John, ’n’ roll high school. however, seemed disgusted with those problems and with I didn’t think Bangs had gotten a listen yet to Road to Joey himself. And to a degree, that attitude colored John’s Ruin, but I hoped he liked it half as much as he liked my last comments and the ride. When you’re all great friends, ethnic band. Bangs had written, “The first real-deal punk-jazz mix slurs don’t cut the same way, even when it’s your ethnic group. I heard around this town came from the recently disbanded But calling Joey a rabbi when it’s a rabbi you won’t even look Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and mainly from their lead at or talk to is no longer a sign of affection—especially when guitarist Robert Quine.” that guy is alone in the back of the bus. The rift grated on me. The unplugged rehearsal must have worked, because I wanted everybody to get along. Arkush loved the show. We all went to CBGB afterward and So while John was at the front of the van telling Monte the then to Arturo Vega’s loft around the corner. Arturo did the Yankees were going to come all the way back from fourteen lights and sold Ramones merchandise before and after every games behind the Red Sox, I was turning around and talking show. to Joey, not just to make him feel better but because I enjoyed There was a big buzz in advance of the movie Animal it. We talked about which songs sounded great or not so great House, about a bad-boy frat house battling the asshole from the night before and maybe switching the order. About preppy frat on campus. The movie starred John Belushi of Blondie, the Cramps, the Sex Pistols, and Cheap Trick—one TV’s Saturday Night Live and stood to rake it in at the box of Joey’s favorites. About a pretty girl in the audience. It kept office. Allan Arkush was looking to capture some of that our wheels rolling and was better than letting Joey count the lightning in a small bottle. He told us he needed a band that number of stitches in the seat of the van. had a defining look and sound that kids in this fictional high At the same time, I had to give John credit. He went school could identify with. The plot involved one girl’s love about things in a professional way, for the most part. He had for a band and her attempt to get them to listen to a song she’s quit shooting dope years earlier. There was no rehab as far written for them. When the band finally rocks the school, as I knew. He just understood he was going down the road the conflict with the prudish principal escalates to the point to ruin, which is fine as an album title but not where you where the police come in and the building is blown up. John wanted to be as you pushed thirty and had a chance to make heard this and said, “So, we gonna make this movie or what?” your dreams a reality. In September, Animal House debuted in theaters across For most people in entertainment, being in a movie was the country, and people lined up around the block. Road to one of those dreams, even if it was a B movie on a shoestring Ruin came out, too, opening at 103 on the Billboard 200. Not budget. We were back in New York August 11 through 13 to as strong out of the gate as the previous album, Rocket to SPECIAL PREVIEW FROM MARKY RAMONE showcase the band for the director of a movie called Rock Russia, but the reviews were promising. Writing for Rolling ’n’ Roll High School. Linda Stein and Danny Fields had been Stone, Robert Christgau said, “Like any great group, this one talking to a young guy named Allan Arkush, who directed is always topping itself . . . ‘I Wanted Everything,’ ‘I’m Against independent teen-oriented comedies for the producer Roger It,’ and ‘She’s the One’ are as good as any they’ve ever done.” Corman. I thought the cartoon by John Holmstrom on the cover, There had been talk about calling the movieDisco High, showing the four of us with leather jackets and very blue blue but even with the countless millions made the year before by jeans against a backdrop of amps, drums, and a gritty city Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta, a lot of people both skyline, was good. But Joey and Dee Dee didn’t like it. They in show business and out were over it. Someone in A&R at objected to being depicted as cartoon characters because Warner, which distributed the Ramones for Sire, told Arkush they thought it suggested the band itself was a cartoon. They he should check out the Ramones. So he did. complained the drawing was amateurish. But there was no Arkush flew in from California, and Danny and Linda reason to argue about it. The cover, like the album, was a slapped us on the bill at Hurrah. Located on West Sixty- done deal. The album was going over big in Europe, and we Second Street not far from Columbus Circle, Hurrah was were booked for a twenty-two-city tour of the Continent. ■ not a typical venue for the Ramones. Aside from being in Midtown, the club was more of a new wave place and had From “Punk Rock Blitzkrieg: My Life as a Ramone” by Marky television monitors all over the club showing music videos. Ramone with Richard Herschlag. Copyright 2015 by Marc Steven We were on a bill with the avant-garde European singer Bell. Reprinted by permission of Touchstone, a Division of Simon Klaus Nomi and Lance Loud. Lance became louder than & Schuster, Inc. life in 1973 when he came out to his parents on the pioneer

SuspenseMagazine.com 11 The International Crime Fiction Convention

Where the Pen is Bloodier Than the Sword 14 - 17 May 2015 Bristol, United kingdom

Featured Guest Authors include Programme includes: Maj Sjöwall Pub quiz/Criminal Mastermind quiz Godmother of Scandanavian crime fiction Interviews with featured guest authors in conversation with Celebrating 125 years of Agatha Christie Lee Child Forgotton authors panel Debut authors panel and many more More Featured and Highlighted Guest Authors to follow Awards Presentation for: Other participating authors include: Sounds of Crime Award John Curran, Kate Ellis, eDunnit Award Felix Francis, Mick Herron, Last Laugh Award Thomas Mogford, Aly Monroe, Caro Ramsay, Zoe Sharp, plus Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Michael Stanley Gala Dinner (For the full line-up visit www.crimefest.com) Pitch-an-Agent Crime Writing Day

One of the ‘50 Best Festivals’ in the UK One of the ‘Best Crime-Writing Festivals —The Independent in the World’ —the Guardian

For more information or to sign up for newsletters visit the website www.crimefest.com • email: [email protected] • Venue: Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel JOHN’S

LAMENTBy Patrick Kendrick I read in the paper she had been shot twice; once in the neck and once in the abdomen. They found her handcuffed to the bed. She was taken to the trauma center, stabilized, and admitted into the hospital listed as “critical.” She was on a ventilator and would, in all likelihood, never walk again. I pondered what that meant for her, a young woman who made her living selling sex. I pondered what it meant for me, too, as I was one of her return customers, one her “johns.” The newspaper identified her as Sandy Carmen, a local escort who was known as “Shunna” to her customers. Her assailant was named Carl Woo. Woo had a history of questionable behavior, having been fired from several police departments for “bad judgment” and “conduct unbecoming of an officer.” A private security firm, contracted by the university, had placed him on the night shift where he would roam the grounds and corridors, vigilant for trouble. The trouble he found most often was that of his own making. In the two years he’d worked on campus he’d amassed a number of complaints against him. Several students and teachers had made accusations against Woo for stalking. Woo explained he was simply doing his job, shadowing ladies as they made their way to their cars, typically parked in dark and deserted areas. He was protecting them. The ladies didn’t see it that way. They described within their complaints his “persistent staring” and the “inappropriate remarks” he would make as he stepped out of the shadows and insisted on escorting them to their cars. He often remarked on how they smelled and would try to guess which cologne they were wearing. He told one student he could smell when a woman was menstruating, and that she should be careful because wild animals and serial killers had that same ability. She tried to file a restraining order against him but it was his word against hers, no witnesses, and while the complaint became a matter of record, Woo received nothing more than some cautionary advice from his supervisor. Woo’s ex-wife described him as “mentally unstable.” She’d left him shortly after he’d assaulted her—for the last time—by slamming her arm in the refrigerator door repeatedly, until her elbow snapped. That was when he’d still been a cop, so the incident was, of course, explained away. The IA report concluded with the description of “a mutually destructive domestic dispute brought on by the fatigue of Patrolman Woo’s responsibilities and work load, and Mrs. Woo’s occasional use of alcohol and prescription pain medications.” In another incident on campus Woo caught a young man, disgruntled from failing his studies, vandalizing the American Studies building. The student had kicked over a few waste baskets, punched a hole in the wall and when he noticed the surveillance cameras in the hall, had jumped up and spit into the lens. Woo flew out of the small satellite office in the building and tackled the student. Then, using a “subduing method,” he twisted the young man’s fingers and forced him to lick the spit off of the camera. As the scene was videotaped, Woo received a written reprimand for being “overzealous in the performance of his duties.” All the signs were there, I thought to myself, as they always are. Violent people do not appear out of thin air. They are created over a period of time, like monsters in sci-fi movies. There was an abusive parent—physical or sexual, or both. Or, perhaps, a speech or behavioral impediment that brought on self-loathing, which brought on self-hate, and hate begets hate. Drugs, environment, and crime can be catalysts, or a screwy little glitch in the DNA, a twisted chromosome that changes what would have been a normal, productive member of society into a dark, malevolent creature whose time comes aborning one day like a biblical pestilence. As an ER physician, I’ve seen their handiwork time and again. I’ve stitched up their victim’s knife wounds or probed the holes in a bleeding abdomen, looking for the bullet that has taken up residence there like a hot, angry bee. I’ve slid endotracheal tubes into their lungs to keep the blood and broken teeth from choking the patient. I’ve dabbed semen from

SuspenseMagazine.com 13 tortured vaginas as police stood by with rape kits. I’ve watched as they go through the whirring mechanics of an MRI, their x-rays popping up to show shattered skulls and twisted limbs. I’ve seen every horrible thing one person can do to another and I can take it. My “professional calm” allows, no, demands that I can see those things and do what I have to do to save a life, or in some cases help it end as painlessly, gracefully and with as much dignity as I can manage. Still, my wife says she sees what it does to me. When she comes home from a couple hours at the gym with her personal trainer and finds me having a cocktail on the patio by myself, she’ll make a comment. When she comes in late from a night out “with the girls” and finds me sitting by the fire again, with a glass of port, unable to sleep, she’ll say something. When she comes back from a long weekend away visiting friends out of state and finds the bed still made-up, unmussed, never used, she might say something like, “Why don’t you take an Ambien or something?” Or, “Isn’t your friend, that guy you play tennis with—Turner or Turnbull—isn’t he a shrink you could talk to?” I have a vivid imagination. I wish I didn’t but it’s just the way it is. For instance, it’s not hard for me to imagine my wife, during one of her extended leaves from our home, seeing another man. She is twelve years younger than me, slim as a wasp, and surgically enhanced beautiful. It’s not hard for me to imagine that it is a lover that calls her cell all those times when it rings and she picks it up, looks cross-eyed at the number then silences the ringer. When I ask who is calling and she says, “a friend,” or “just my mother, again,” it is not hard for me to imagine that she is lying. She is small, petite, and flexible as a yogi, and it is not hard for me to imagine her athletic legs hooked over the muscled shoulders of a young lover, perhaps younger than herself, as he pumps into her like a hydraulic machine. A machine that has two percent body fat, does not drink alcohol, nor worry, nor save lives, nor contribute to society at all, other than to keep a few philandering housewives happy. As I read about Shunna in the newspaper—the unfortunate escort shot by the troubled campus cop—I could imagine her laying on the white, plush carpet in her bedroom, blood oozing from her lovely, pale abdomen and pumping from her neck. I could imagine her heart beating in the hollow of her throat just as I’d seen it do the few times we’d made love at her “clean, safe, discreet residence,” where she’d serviced her clients; the one she’d advertised first on Craig’s List and Backpage. com before going completely professional and placing her contact information on The Erotic Review. Though she advertised herself as a “naughty teacher with sexual curiosity,” she was not the “filthy whore” as my wife referred to her reading the story in the paper. She was actually very clean, insisting that her “client” wear condoms and shower before and after her “discreet adventures in erotica.” She was a lovely red-head with translucent skin that flushed pink in her neck and cheeks when she made love. She wore expensive perfume and lingerie and, in spite of her livelihood, could make me feel as though I was the only man in her life. She never rushed our “sessions,” never looked at a watch or clock, nor took calls when we were together. Her ads said she was twenty-three; she could get away with that but I knew she was closer to thirty. There were no tell-tale signs of those extra years but the calmness, the unhurried rhythm she maintained in bed, the affection, even if artificial, told me she was closer to the end of her third decade in this mean city than at the start of it. Nothing would have suggested to me that she was near the end of her life. I was at work in the ER when I learned of it. The medics brought in a child who had choked on a hot dog. They had tried desperately to get the intrusive object out of her trachea but had succeeded only in pushing it further down, resulting in tearing her windpipe. When I looked into her throat with my laryngoscope, I could only see blood pooled in the back at the base of her tongue. Blessedly, I saw a tiny bubble push its way through the red puddle and I knew she must still have some air trapped in her lungs. She was still struggling but growing limp, giving up the fight to breathe; I still had a chance if I got a tube into her lungs and established a patent airway, but I had to act fast. I ordered one of the nurses to draw up some succinyl choline, a paralytic that would temporarily stop her from struggling. It would also stop her from breathing but once that occurred I would be able to suction her airway then place a tube into her lungs and hook her up to a respirator. The nurse jabbed the needle into a vein in the crook of the little girl’s arm and the drug took effect immediately. I saw her tiny body go limp, even as her chest muscles twitched still, trying to pull air into her torso. Another nurse suctioned out the blood so the muscles in her throat were relaxed; the chunk of hot dog came out on its own. Still, she was bleeding and I didn’t want her to choke on her own blood, so I slid in a 4.0 tube between her vocal cords and into her trachea, then bagged her with pure oxygen. Her cheeks went from a dusky blue to rosy pink and I knew she would be fine. I delivered the good news to the sobbing parents and made my way to the cafeteria for a well-deserved cup of coffee. I read about Shunna’s death as I drank my coffee. It was two days after the shooting. She had been hospitalized at the trauma center on the north side of the county, the one near the upscale renovated city center where new hi-rise condos started at a half-mil, including Shunna’s cozy spot. The trauma center I worked for was in the still blighted area near the jailhouse, where her troubled killer, Mr. Woo, now resided. I was near the end of my twelve-hour shift when I read of her passing. I was taken aback, not just by the senselessness of a young woman’s dying too soon, but by the emotions it brought forth in me. I had only been with her a few times. I wasn’t in love with her; we’d never mentioned that word while in each other’s company. I certainly wasn’t foolish enough to think this young lady, easily twenty years younger than I, found me anything

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 14 other than a pleasant client, a john who was, maybe, a little kinder, a little more generous. Perhaps, a little more needy for some affection than for the actual sex itself. Still, I will admit, I felt a certain youthful thrill when I would text her to see if she had an afternoon open and she would text back, “Of course, doll. Come over in an hour. I’ll be wearing nothing but a smile for you. Can’t wait to see you again.” It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, looking out the window of her condo, watching the sun set over the city skyline, her fingers dragging lightly over my back, a glass of wine next to her bed, a scented candle holding a flame that stood as still as time. When I got off shift I strolled aimlessly until I found myself at a bar with dark wood and discreet bartenders and grabbed a stool. It was a place where Shunna and I would meet occasionally. She liked it because she said it reminded her of what an old speakeasy would be like. Sitting there, I recalled her telling me about growing up in a rural area outside of St. Louis. Her family had cows and she would milk them in the morning before school, and show them at state fairs with her 4-H group. But she had been enamored with movie people and glamour and she thought she could find that flashy lifestyle in Miami. She moved to South Beach with a girlfriend and they got some modeling gigs that were supposed to lead to bigger and better “opportunities,” but mostly those opportunities were parties where the drugs and booze were plentiful as well as the “opportunity” to fall into bed with someone who had too much unearned money and no real life plan. Shunna woke up one morning after sleeping with a Cuban “importer” who was supposed to have some friends in the movie business. She found he had already awoken and gone, but next to the bed he’d left a pile of money. She counted it and found it was a thousand dollars. Good money for a good night of fun. She came up with the name Shunna when one of her girlfriends told her you “shunna done that,” after one of her wild but profitable evenings More “opportunities” came her way. But, as she grew older, the compensation became less and she found herself surrounded by younger, more beautiful “talent.” She moved up the coast, enrolled in some nursing classes at the university and made a decent living doing escort work. She wanted to work in an ER, even though I told her there really wasn’t anything cool or romantic about doing emergency medical work. In spite of her profession, she was sweet and caring with a gentle touch, and I’m sure she would have made a very good nurse. But now . . . she was dead. I checked the papers for her obit or some kind of funeral announcement but there wasn’t much there. The story of her killer lingered in the papers for a couple days. The Sunday edition had a bio on Carl Woo, describing the things that led to his tragic transition from a would-be cop to a confused, emotionally tortured fallen angel who had succumbed to the dark side of his persona. It seemed as if they were trying to paint a redemptive picture of Woo, blaming his behavior on an absent father and abusive mother, and though he tried to better himself, the poor man was doomed to failure and finally murder by an uncaring society. I wanted to vomit. The only mention of Shunna and who or what she was, was captured in a sidebar next to Woo’s featured story. The blurb read, “Sandy ‘Shunna’ Carmen was a high-priced escort who was found handcuffed to her bed and shot twice. She died in the North County Trauma Center.” The picture accompanying the blurb was the one that she used on The Erotic Review site, wherein Shunna was dressed in a French Maid outfit. This, then, was her legacy. The media seemed more than willing to explain away the atrocities of the killer to help us understand how this horrible event could have happened, but discarded Shunna because a professional call girl simply didn’t matter. The more I looked at the mug shot of Woo in his County-issued, orange jumpsuit, hair disheveled, a confused, hurt look in his eyes, the more I wanted to kill him. A few more days went by, the story taking up less and less space in the paper. Now, it was pictureless, a tiny follow-up story on page three of the local section. The ire of the District Attorney’s office had cooled; no one in Shunna’s family had been pushing for justice, so it looked like Woo would be charged with manslaughter rather than murder one. He’d probably do eighteen months in a minimum security prison then be released with a few years of monitored probation. After that, maybe even sooner, he could probably go back to work as a security guard or store clerk. Maybe buy a winning lotto ticket with his meager funds. Maybe find a new wife whose arm he could break in the refrigerator while a complacent society that practiced prejudices against a prostitute more than a killer, continued to look the other way. And Shunna? The young lady who, in spite of her poor choice of career had wanted to be a nurse? What of her? Well, she’ll still be in the ground somewhere, feeding the worms from her pauper’s grave. Somehow the injustice of it all did not seem fair. The wife was out of town for a few days and I had gone back to my shift, a depression enveloping me like a dark shroud. I stitched up a kid’s eyebrow that had gone over the handle bars of his bike. Fire Rescue brought in some old people from a nursing home where they had been neglected until they were feverish with sepsis. There were the usual fevers and sniffles en

SuspenseMagazine.com 15 masse. I set a little girl’s broken wrist. She had red hair and made me think of who, more and more in my mind, had become an old friend, Shunna. I regretted never having told her I thought of her that way. I’m sure in her business, she could have used a friend now and then. I was wallowing in my melancholy, sipping some coffee, when I got a call from the county jail. They were sending me a patient who was found unconscious in his cell. He had tried to hang himself. He was conscious now and refusing medical treatment but needed to be evaluated according to the jail’s protocol. This was not uncommon. We often cared for one of the jail’s inmates once or twice a month, usually cuts and bruises from fighting or some substance abuse problem. “Sure,” I told them. “Bring him over. What’s his name so I can look out for him?” “Let’s see . . . his number is 882801 and his name is . . . Woo, Carl Woo.” No . . . shit. The medics brought Woo in with an IV in place, a nasal cannula puffing sweet oxygen into his nostrils. He was handcuffed to the rails on both sides of the stretcher. There were a few drops of blood on his orange jumpsuit where his nose had hemorrhaged. I could see a faint purple line around his throat where he’d tried to hang himself using a cord from an iron in the jail’s laundry room where he’d been assigned. A guard accompanied the group. I nodded toward a private room we typically utilized to screen prisoners and segregate them from our more law abiding citizens. I told the guard who had brought Woo in, a fresh-faced young man I had not seen before, to go check out our cafeteria. It was pretty good for hospital food and I’d need at least an hour to examine the prisoner as we were a little busy and there would have to be x-rays, etcetera, etcetera. He was hesitant, but after I sang the praises of the lemon meringue pie, he was gone, his stomach growling. I got the run report from the medics who transferred Woo from their stretcher to our gurney; uncuffing, then replacing the Posey restraints after they slid him over. With a signature on their run report, I took possession of the patient, and the other medics, too, were then off to the cafeteria in search of something to eat. I was pleased everyone was so hungry today. I looked over Woo’s medical report, noted his meds and history as I pondered what type of medical “treatment” he was in need of. Woo’s ordeal had fatigued him and he was falling asleep on the gurney. Having traumatized his neck, he really should have had his neck in a c-collar and an endotracheal tube in place. Really good medics would have done that for him. I’d have to talk to the ambulance crew about that next time I saw them. I watched Woo falling asleep, complacent, and wondered where Shunna was right now. Was she already in that grave, her lovely lips parted slightly, ready to catch the earth that oozed through the openings of a cheap casket? Her pale skin would be even whiter, the flush of her skin I so admired forever halted, the blood vessels filled with formaldehyde. Her shining red hair dulled in death. I’d love to have seen her one last time but I don’t think they even held a service for her. The newspaper obituaries never ran one. Geez, I thought to myself. I do believe Mr. Woo should be intubated with that endotracheal tube. Hard to do when someone is still conscious with an intact gag reflex. I should give him something so he doesn’t fight the tube placement. I opened my drug cabinet and pushed around some vials until I found what I was looking for. Ah, there it was, the succinyl choline. In the ER, we call it “Sux” for short. I wondered if Mr. Woo would agree with that nickname for a drug that can make you stop breathing. I drew up a few milliliters into a syringe then pushed the needle into the hub of the IV in Woo’s arm. Another really cool thing about Sux is that it does not linger in the body very long. It is almost undetectable in an autopsy unless you are specifically looking for it. No one would be. No one would care that a prisoner who had tried to hang himself had aspirated on his own blood (according to the ER physician’s report) and died. I emptied the syringe into the IV port and Woo’s chest immediately went still. His eyes opened wide, full of terror, as he struggled to breathe. The jugular veins in his neck stood out like ropes and his face went red, then purple, before moving into that dark blue that indicates cyanosis—the lack of oxygen in the blood—is setting in. I leaned over his face so he could see mine, just as his was the last face Shunna saw before she died. I found myself smiling for the first time in a long time. ■

Patrick Kendrick was a fire fighter and freelance writer for 30 years, having been published in numerous magazines, trade journals, and newspapers, from the Miami Herald to the Reader’s Digest and Fire Engineering magazines. He was knighted by the Order of Saint Michael, the Archangel, a policemen’s honorary legion, for his articles on crime. He has won several writing awards including the Hollywood Film Festival’s Opus Magnum Discovery Award. His first novel, “Papa’s Problem,” a historical mystery, won the Florida Book Award. His second book, “Extended Family,” a dark thriller, earned a starred review on Booklist. He is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, the Florida Writer’s Association, and the International Thriller Writer’s. His third book, “Acoustic Shadows,” will be published by Harper Collins in June.

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 16 FROM ACROSS THE POND With QUENTIN BATESBy Chris Simms Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author I’m delighted to bring readers of Suspense Magazine a feature from the UK’s Crime Readers’ Association. In it, an author from over here will write about crime writing from a UK perspective.

LIVING WITH A STRANGER

It’s almost like being married all over again. Let me clarify: I’ve been married for a long time, and only the once. But a few years ago another woman turned up and has been living with me ever since. My wife hasn’t objected because this other person is mostly inside my head. I imagine it’s the same for every writer with a series featuring the same long-running character. Even though that person lives in your mind and on paper, he (or in my case, she) becomes a constant presence. My series of books, the fourth of which was published recently as an e-book by Constable & Robinson, features a female police officer who solves crimes and catches bad guys in Reykjavík and around the southwest corner of Iceland. It’s now almost ten years since Gunnhildur Gísladóttir appeared on the scene, practically fully formed, to become the focus of the first book, “Frozen Out.” I think it’s fair to say that the book took shape around her as a character rather than the other way around. “Frozen Out” went through much editing and several rewrites before it was deemed ready for publication, but there weren’t all that many changes to Gunnhildur, otherwise known as Gunna, for short. However, there was a contretemps over her age, as the original Gunna was closer to fifty than forty. The publisher preferred a younger character, presumably with a longer working life ahead of her before retirement might start to loom. I wanted to keep her as she was, with none of the callowness of youth and with the wisdom that some of us, supposedly, acquire through experience. So there was a compromise and the only real change to the character was lopping ten years off her age instead of the twenty that had been suggested, and adjusting her family circumstances. Oh, and a bloke was required. “Someone has to fancy her,” this very much wet-behind-the-ears new author was told. Fair enough. It wasn’t hard to comply and a suitable boyfriend was conjured up in a way that slotted in with the plot. But with Gunna being the cross- grained, determined character she is, it couldn’t be just anyone, and the lugubrious Steini made a tentative appearance in “Frozen Out.” He seemed to work and although I had expected to lose him somewhere along the way, Steini has stayed and become an important character in his own right, although he doesn’t appear often. Since then I’ve been living with this big-boned, black-browed woman at the back, and often at the front, of my mind. Occasionally it has been unnerving to have a fictional character become so lifelike. I can only hope that she’s just as lifelike to people who read the books. It’s not something I’ve discussed with other writers, but I imagine my experience with Gunna is far from unique as

SuspenseMagazine.com 17 she pops up occasionally in opportune and awkward moments with a caustic comment or some sarcastic observation. Does Ian Rankin hear Rebus shouting at him in the middle of the night? Did Simenon have a glass of beer in the Brasserie Dauphine with an invisible Maigret sucking his pipe next to him? Did Nicolas Freeling live with van der Valk impatiently pacing the floor upstairs? I do hope so.

THE CURSE OF THE TBR PILE

It’s an affliction, but not necessarily a bad one. There are others that are so much worse. But my To-Be-Reads are everywhere, sneaking into corners and taking up residence, lying quietly and unnoticed behind doors and under beds, making shelves creak during the night. There are people who don’t have books. It’s true: I’ve been inside houses occasionally where there isn’t a shred of printed matter to be seen other than a Chinese takeaway menu, a glossy gossip mag or the ragged remnants of a free-sheet lining the floor of the budgie’s cage. These people can be recognized by the blank smile, the dead eyes and the pallor that comes of spending hours in front of the TV. I’m not one of them. I’ll put up my hand and admit happily that books are an essential part of life and I couldn’t imagine an existence without a book within easy reach. The idea of not being able to read when presented with the occasional empty moment is painful. A journey of any length used to mean three books, minimum; one to read, another to read when the first one’s finished and a spare in case the second book turned out not to hit the spot. These days it’s two books and a Kindle. The Kindle was a present and I wasn’t sure I was going to like it. In fact, I like it a lot more than I had expected. I’m not reading any fewer dead tree books, and the Kindle complements “real” books rather than replacing them. I use it in times and places where I would normally pick up a newspaper, and it has helped me discover stuff that I might not otherwise have come across. The Kindle hasn’t solved the problem of the To-Be-Read pile. Instead, it’s becoming a To-Be-Read pile on its own account, in addition to the TBR piles in the bedroom, living room, kitchen and shed, plus the handful of books in the car that are dangerously close to metamorphosing into a fledgling TBR pile in their own right. Not that I see the TBR problem as a problem; to take one of those trite management aphorisms, I see it more as an opportunity. To some people it may be a house full of books, to me it’s a lot of old friends and plenty of choice.

Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia at the end of the 1970s for a gap year in Iceland that gradually grew into a gap decade. He returned to England in 1990, Icelandic family in tow, and has been here ever since. His first novel, Frozen Out was published in Britain and the U.S. There have been another three since then: find out more at http://graskeggur.com.

Chris Simms is the editor of Case Files, the Crime Readers’ Association’s online magazine. You can subscribe to Case Files for free at www.thecra.co.uk. Along with nominations for the Crime Writer’s Association Daggers (for his novels and short stories) and the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year award, Chris was selected by Waterstone’s as one of their ‘25 Authors For The Future.’ He continues to feverishly scribble away in a small hut behind his house.

Discover more at www.chrissimms.info or at www.facebook.com/AuthorChrisSimms ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 18 Meet Suspense/Thriller Writer and Publisher

AUSTIN S. CAMACHOInterview By Weldon Burge Press Photo Credit: Portrait Innovations ustin S. Camacho is the author of five novels in the Hannibal Jones mystery Aseries, four in the Stark and O’Brien adventure series, and a new detective novel, “Beyond Blue.” Austin is deeply involved with the writing community. He is a past President of the Maryland Writers Association, past Vice President of the Virginia Writers Club, and is an active member of Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. He is part owner of Intrigue Publishing, and was the chief organizer for the annual Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity (C3) Conference near Baltimore. I had the pleasure of meeting Austin two years ago at the C3 conference, as well as working with him on his story One of Us for the “Insidious Assassins” anthology, published by Smart Rhino Publications. I recently managed to catch up with Austin and used the opportunity to talk with him about his latest projects.

Weldon Burge (W.B.): You’ve written a good many suspense/thriller novels, including a mystery series, an adventure series, and most recently a detective novel. Let’s start with the series. What do you find most appealing about writing series? Do you find the series easier to market than standalone novels?

Austin Camacho (A.C.): The most important point about character development is that people are changed by the events they experience. So the most appealing part of writing a series is that I get to follow up on those changes. I’ve followed the rising and advancing of Hannibal Jones’s spirit, and the rocky path along which Stark (a mercenary) and O’Brien (a thief) are following toward becoming actual heroes, in part due to their friendship. And I think series are easier to market because readers get caught up in characters more than in plots.

W.B.: Your latest novel, “Beyond Blue,” is about a team of detectives whose only purpose is to help police officers in trouble. What sparked the idea for this novel? How much research was involved in pulling the book together?

A.C.: My friend and fellow writer Warren Murphy came up with the idea. I was immediately captivated for two reasons. First, I think a high-profile handful of dirty cops give all cops a bad name. These guys put their lives on the line every day and get little support from the community. Also, the book has a unifying theme. The Beyond Blue agency is financed by a wealthy Muslim whose son was in the Towers on 9/11 and was saved by a New York cop. My research involved talking to a lot of policemen who gave examples of good cops being hung out to dry.

W.B.: You’ve also written many short stories for anthologies and other publications. What do you find appealing about writing short stories, as opposed to longer fiction?

SuspenseMagazine.com 19 A.C.: Truth is, I’m not much of a short-story writer because I never know what to write about. But for some reason, when an editor gives me a theme to write to, I can do it. For example, it never occurred to me to write a story from a professional killer’s point of view until I was invited to submit to “Insidious Assassins.” Faced with that specific challenge, a very cool idea came to me.

W.B.: What is your most vexing problem when writing?

A.C.: I develop character histories and backstories to a very deep degree…and then it is difficult for me not to dump all that info on the reader. Usually I end up writing in way too much, then having to go back and cut it all out.

W.B.: If you could start your writing career over, what would you do differently?

A.C.: I’d have done more research into the business of writing before I submitted anything to anyone. Early on, I accepted a lot about small presses that isn’t true of most of them.

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

A.C.: It’s a cycle: I’m rewriting and editing the most recent Hannibal Jones, writing the next Stark & O’Brien, and beginning the complex plotting challenge of the next Beyond Blue.

W.B.: Let’s switch gears and turn to your role as a publisher. You’re part owner of an indie publishing company, Intrigue Publishing, which specializes in thrillers and mysteries. What was your biggest challenge in starting the company?

A.C.: Our business model calls for us to behave as much as possible like a major publisher, which means we spend more time getting a book out than most small presses. The challenge was and is dealing with authors who think we should get the book out faster, who don’t want the level of editing we do, or who want the kind of control over the project you only get when you self- publish.

W.B.: What do you find most rewarding as a publisher?

A.C.: Sitting at the Love is Murder Con in Chicago this year and watching two of our authors win awards (Best Thriller for “Death and White Diamonds” by Jeff Markowitz, and Best Police Procedural for “Retribution” by Annie Rose Alexander)— seeing those authors’ faces light up when they heard their names—I remember thinking, “Yeah, THIS is why we do it!”

W.B.: Wearing your editor’s hat, what is your primary advice to writers for submitting work?

A.C.: Pay attention to detail and give us your best. We’re not just buying your book, we’re buying YOU. If I think you’re the kind of writer who doesn’t care about spelling and punctuation, or won’t fact check the work, or will resist editorial guidance, we’ll say no thank you even if your writing and story are superior.

W.B.: Now, switching to your marketing hat, what should writers do to promote their own work, especially when working with an indie publisher?

A.C.: No. 1: Build a platform. The more people who know you, the better, so find your natural audience. Who should want to read your book? Find them. No. 2: Buzz your book. A Facebook post per day is good, but you can’t tweet too much. Keep your name and title out there. No. 3: Establish a relationship with bookstores in your area. It’s not just social media. I got this email from Jeff Markowitz, author of the aforementioned “Death and White Diamonds”: “I learned today that at least four Barnes & Noble stores in central Jersey have “Death and White Diamonds” in stock, in the store, on the shelf. Actually, I learned of the first store by accident and then spent the remainder of the day driving to various B & N stores to see for myself. At three of the four stores, I autographed the store’s book stock while I was there. And two of the four seemed receptive to arranging an in-store event.”

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 20 “THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT ABOUT CHARACTER DEVEL- OPMENT IS THAT PEOPLE ARE CHANGED BY THE EVENTS THEY EXPERIENCE..”

What publisher wouldn’t throw their efforts behind this guy? We’re calling the stores and sending them posters and bookmarks.

W.B.: Let’s talk about the Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity conference for a minute. Can you give us your quick, down-and- dirty promotional pitch for the conference? What do you hope attendees will get out of it?

A.C.: The C3 Con gathers readers and writers of mystery, suspense, thriller, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and paranormal fiction. The registration fee includes five meals: Friday’s dinner, three meals Saturday, and Sunday breakfast, so readers and writers dine side- by-side. It also includes a video interview authors can use on their own websites after the con. Published authors get to spend time with their fans, and to expose new readers to their writing by presenting on panels. Their books will be available in our on-site bookstore and there will be dedicated book-signing times. Each author’s name and a link will be posted on the C3 website. They will be pictured in the C3 program book and invited to contribute to the C3 blog.

W.B.: What prompted you to take on such a Herculean task to organize the event?

A.C.: I’ve had so much fun at the smaller genre cons around the country—Magna Cum Murder, Killer Nashville, Love Is Murder—but none of them are in the mid-Atlantic area. I wanted the same thing closer to home. And there were a few things at each that I thought could be done better, as if the people putting them on didn’t attend each others’ event. So I wanted to take the best bits of each, and I think we have.

W.B.: What can we expect from this year’s conference?

A.C.: A great time! The Creatures, Crimes & Creativity (C3) con in Hunt Valley, Maryland takes place September 25-27 this year. Heather Graham and F. Paul Wilson will be keynote speakers, but that’s only the beginning. Readers and fans will enjoy panels and presentations from favorite authors, including those I just mentioned, both of whom have written best-sellers in the paranormal, suspense, mystery, thriller, fantasy, and horror genres. Local guest authors include mystery and sci-fi author Andy Straka and thriller writer S.D. Skye, both award winners in their own rights. Each attendee will receive a goodie bag filled with cool stuff, including our exclusive anthology filled with stories written by attending authors. Plus fun events like book signings, a Twitter contest, and a scavenger hunt, with lots of valuable prizes. You can see all the details and register at http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com.

W.B.: One last question, just for fun. You’re planning an outdoor barbecue on July 4th, and you can invite four special guests— authors or fictional characters, contemporary or from the past. Who do you invite? And what conversation would you hope to initiate?

A.C.: Wow! I get the time machine and the fictional universe? Well then, it’s a mob scene with Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan, Professor Challenger, Scarlet Pimpernel, Dupin, Raffles, Doc Savage, Monk Mayfair, Nero Wolfe, Lord Peter Wimsey, Dennis Nayland Smith, The Shadow, The Spider, Bulldog Drummond, James Bond, and Travis McGee. They’re all related, you know. Almost all have gray eyes, a recessive trait that gives them away. All the people I wanted to be when I was younger, and I get to really get to know them! I’d see the world’s greatest chess game round-robin—and secretly hope a fight would break out.

W.B.: Now wouldn’t that be something! Thanks, Austin!

For more on Austin Camacho, go to his website at www.ascamacho.com and his blog at ascamacho.blogspot.com. Intrigue Publishing’s website is intriguepublishing.com. If you’re interested in the C3 conference, check out the website at creaturescrimesandcreativity.com. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 21 BARBARA PETTY FIRST IN A NEW SERIES: THEA BROWNE MYSTERY

A man plunges to his death, setting in motion a string of events that rips open the long-hidden secrets of the town’s most prominent family… The man is George Prentice, and the woman the police suspect of murdering him is his wife, Daphne. But Daphne has Alzheimer’s and has not been arrested. DaphneDaphne’s daughter, Thea Browne, is a trained investigative reporter, who is furious that the police haven’t bothered to look any further for a culprit other than her mother. She suspects her stepfather made enemies when meddling in local politics and, according to one of his cronies, George wrote a memoir threatening to “blow the lid off this town.” AAs Thea follows her own investigation, she discovers a widening circle of suspects, some much closer to home than she expected. Even her best friend from childhood, Annie Biggs, seems to be keeping a deep dark secret that she refuses to share with Thea. MorMore murders push Thea to the point where protecting her mother forces her to put her own life on the line to track down a diabolical killer.

“A gripping drama unfolds as Barbara Petty explores the tensions between a woman with Alzheimer’s accused of an unspeakable crime, and her daughter, an investigative reporter determined to clear her mother’s name. Well worth the read.” —Sheila Lowe, author of the Forensic Handwriting Mystery series Suspense Magazine Book Reviews INSIDE THE PAGES ASSAULT AND THE STRANGER PEPPER By Harlan Coben By Leslie Budewitz Harlan Coben’s latest thriller, “The Stranger,” starts off with a simple sentence, “You didn’t have to stay with her.” That’s what Adam Price was told by the middle-aged man wearing a New cozy mystery series seem baseball hat. Adam had no idea that from that single statement the life that he had grown to to be coming out of the woodwork love would be burnt down to the ground. Forced to confront his wife, Corrine, Adam was now for 2015, and this is yet another caught in something much bigger and much more dangerous than even he could ever imagine. going by the name of The Spice Shop After his wife suddenly disappears sending only a text message, Adam searches for answers. mysteries, that will have readers Coben puts the reader on an emotional rollercoaster from the first page. He begins to peel back the truly enjoying this new expansion layers of the story, so when the reader thinks they have it figured out; Coben pulls back the curtain to reveal of the genre. yet another twist. Very few authors have the ability to deliver powerful characters with a plot that forces the Pepper Reece, owner of the reader to keep turning the pages until the end, as Coben keeps the suspense at such a high pace the reader not Seattle Spice Shop, has come up only wants to keep reading, they have to. against some trying times in her “The Stranger” could already be placed on the short list of the best books of 2015. not too distant past. Pepper has Reviewed by John Raab ■ left her marriage and lost a job that A FIRST DATE WITH DEATH she loved due to a corporate crash, By Diana Orgain and is now the owner of this spice Georgia Thornton is a former member of the police department who is now starting a job and tea shop located in Seattle’s in the industry of Reality TV. Pike Place Market. She has a yen Coming from the ‘protecting and serving’ realm, Georgia is now the not-so-proud star of for preparing creations of spice a show called “Love or Money,” in which she is trying to locate her dream man from a group and tea combinations that bring of men who are looking for either, of course, love or money. It seems that her former fiancé, the customers in for a cup of her Paul Sanders, also a policeman, left Georgia at the altar which leaves her to think that she has refreshing tea one right after the nothing to lose, except maybe her self-respect. Gearing up to have ten first dates with these guys so she can other; not to mention, visits from make up her mind which one will be the winner, Georgia pretty much figures, “What can possibly go wrong?” other shopkeepers and a group of Well…her first date is to go bungee jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge. And when her date takes the regulars that frequent the Market. dive, the cord is messed up and he ends up being lost in a tragic fall that ends her date in a massively horrible Somehow, you knew the peace way. The first victim is replaced by Paul Sanders…surprise, surprise, but he is definitely not looking for a couldn’t last… A panhandler by career in TV. He arrives because he suspects the accident was no accident, and is working undercover to find the name of Doc, turns up on her out who, exactly, is trying to upset the show and take peoples’ lives in the process. store’s doorstep holding a Seattle Not long after Paul’s appearance another bachelor is killed, and the show’s bosses don’t want to cancel Spice Shop cup in his hand, leading the program because it’s beginning to earn far better ratings. After all, bloodshed seems to pull viewers in. The to the unveiling of a crime where bachelors, oddly, are willing to stay, but Georgia only agrees to go on in order to put her ex-police talents to the police arrest one of Pepper’s work to help find out who’s unhappy with the cast. employees, Tory Finch, for murder. A fantastically fun read; first in a brand new series that not only offers humor and suspense, but also Tory seems to know why she’s a makes sure to not solve the puzzle until the last pages. suspect, but is not giving any clue Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ as to why she feels that way. Pepper is sure that Tory is innocent and PUZZLED INDEMNITY decides to investigate, but with that By Parnell Hall choice comes her own name being Cora Felton, the chief protagonist in Parnell Hall’s hilarious Puzzle Lady mystery series, is added to the killer’s ‘to do’ list. the sweetest, most soft-spoken, honest, ladylike character I’ve ever read. Now a little something for the That is a complete lie. gourmet, as there is a new amateur Cora Felton, beloved by thousands of adoring fans as The Puzzle Lady, is a total fraud. She detective in the area named Pepper couldn’t construct, much less solve, a crossword puzzle to save her life. She also smokes like a with a recipe box filled with spices chimney (look out, in this book she’s trying to quit), lies like a rug, and swears like a trooper. and other scrumptious foods. Set And, in case you think I’m in danger of running out of clichés, she drinks like a fish, too. She’s also a sometime in Seattle, this is the perfect read detective with a very active love life. In other words, a true role model for the over-fifty crowd. for a few hours of pure enjoyment, In “Puzzled Indemnity,” number fifteen in Hall’s series, Cora is bored. Her love affair with a NYC because along with a first rate story detective has fizzled, and the only case the local police ask her to investigate is a liquor store robbery. So when comes ‘Recipes and Spice Notes’ attorney Becky Baldwin asks Cora to check out whether her client, Brittney Wells, is about to be killed by that the Spice Shop recommends. her philandering husband to collect on a million-dollar double-indemnity insurance policy, Cora jumps at As you enjoy the read, look forward the chance. to creating dipping sauces, Frittata’s, In a blink of an eye, Cora tracks the husband to a NYC love nest. Then a car explodes in front of the local and other mouth-watering dishes in police station, and it looks like the victim inside is the husband. Brittney is in big trouble when it turns out your very own kitchen. that the insurance policy was on her husband’s life, not hers. Reviewed by Mary Lignor, “Puzzled Indemnity” is a delight. I can’t wait for Cora’s next adventure! Professional Librarian and Co- Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Funerals Can Be Murder,” published by Suspense Publishing, an Owner of The Write Companion ■ imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 23 BLOOD INFERNAL BY BOOK OR BY CROOK By James Rollins & Rebecca By Eva Gates Cantrell Lucy wants out of her job at the Harvard Library and is looking for a new place at a very historical library located at the Bodie Island Lighthouse on Bodie Island. Here, on the outer As readers open the final banks of North Carolina, is where she spent all of her summers as a child with her Aunt Ellen, installment of The Order of the Uncle Amos, and their daughter, Josie. Lucy has decided she wants to escape Boston. Let’s just Sanguines series, the well-known say that she and the Harvard Library are in a relationship that has not been going well. So Aunt heroes are not at their best. As Ellen lands her the job at the Lighthouse Library, which includes the extra-added benefit of an usual, this team of authors are apartment located on an upper floor of the lighthouse. on the move, taking the heroes This wasn’t an easy job to get. In fact, when the Board Chairman spoke to the librarian named Bertie about from Italy to Egypt to the Czech spending library money to hire Lucy, the woman had been strongly against it. But Lucy soon arrives and a Republic, on to France and private party commences given by the library for staff, board members, and local dignitaries in order to view a Nepal—offering up an itinerary new collection they have on loan for three months. The collection is being talked about everywhere. It should that will make any reader’s head spin. be, considering it’s a complete set of Jane Austen’s first editions. In this highly anticipated But before the party is over the Board Chairman has been killed and Bertie becomes suspect number finale, the Devil is ready to break one. Lucy does her best to help Bertie clear her name while checking out everyone who even knew the dead free and get out of Hell, due to a man but, unfortunately, there were many, and Lucy soon discovers that they all had a motive for murder. And Sanguines’ betrayer who actually as the Austen collection begins to ‘disappear’ book by book, Lucy faces not only a killer but also an extremely believed what Lucifer told him. intelligent thief. Unfortunately, evil is about to This great book is the first in a series. The setting is lovely, seeing as how the Bodie Island Lighthouse is take over good in the world and not only a real historic landmark but is also still a working lighthouse. Therefore, the plot, characters, and locale things are looking bad for the make for an extremely creative story. good (or any good that happens Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ to be left). NIGHT NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT The Sanguinists are monsters By Hallie Ephron that have converted to the Blood In 1985, a young woman named Deirdre Unger gets a call from her father to come help him of Christ, and archaeologist, Dr. get his house ready to sell. A screenwriter, he and Deirdre’s mother had a career in Hollywood, Erin Granger, is hot on their trail. with movies being made from their collaboration of words and characters. They were never the Granger is still trying to crack ‘top dogs,’ but they were certainly ‘pups’ that other stars loved. Unfortunately for Deirdre, when the code of the prophecy held within the Blood Gospel, the she arrives at her father’s home she finds him dead in the pool; a victim of an extremely odd sacred book written in the blood murder. of Christ. Helping her is Sergeant Deirdre and her brother, who is a nice guy but definitely the money-grubbing type, must face detectives in Jordan Stone, Warrior of God; and order to clear themselves and figure out what the heck happened. Their mom, who divorced Dad a while ago, is Father Rhun Korza, a Sanguinist one of those free spirits living on a retreat, and is eliminated as a suspect almost immediately. As Deirdre goes Priest. The odd trio must come up through her father’s belongings, secrets that include a yellow dress stained with blood and sexy photos of young against Legion, a new enemy that women are discovered. can change identities at will. One of the photos is of Deirdre’s old friend, Joelen Nichol, who is the realtor her father had hired to sell The trio go on the hunt and the house. She is also a girl who long ago confessed to killing her own movie star mother’s boyfriend. This is visit all the aforementioned places the exact same night that Deirdre was hurt in an accident and has to walk with a cane. As the story unfolds and until they come face-to-face with clues are uncovered from the 1963 murder, Deirdre must face a slew of issues as she tries to figure out who her the Devil himself. The lead up friends really are, and what enemy may be out there lurking, just waiting to shut her up for good. has been long and bloody, and The Hollywood lifestyle—from the glitz and glam to the grit and deceit—are all wrapped up in a perfect this final showdown betweenpackage by this award-winning author. And taking a drive through Old Hollywood, fearing and admiring that good and evil will call forth the coveted 90210 area code, will be something readers will not forget. big bosses at war (Lucifer and the Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Charlatan’s Crown,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint Knights of Christ) to see who will of Suspense Magazine ■ finally come out on top. From the first book on, THE WINTER FOUNDLINGS this has been an extremely well- By Kate Rhodes written tale, offering intellectual This eerie psychological thriller has shades of “The Silence of the Lambs” as an ingenuity that these bestselling institutionalized child killer has apparently inspired another killer and a new string of murders has authors are known for. The recipe begun; all girls, and all found wearing old fashioned white dresses, just like the ones foundlings for this series has been a cast of wore years ago and which are on display at a local museum. vampires, demons, supernatural Alice has been assigned to study and interview Louis Kinsella in hopes of determining who creatures never before seen, and a the current killer is. But, at every stage she is stymied by bureaucracy, a manipulative true crime betrayal that will make the blood author, and her own demons. run cold. If you have not read the The story flips back and forth between the perspectives of a young victim and Alice. Alice’s personality is first two, get them now in order to hard to figure sometimes. She internalizes a lot, has trouble with deeper emotions, and at times left me feeling really succumb to this incredible cold. On the other hand, she is capable of real sadness, fear, anger, and is also suffering from unrequited love. adventure. Creepy asylums, serial killers, and odd characters abound in the cold winter backdrop. The killer is a Reviewed by Mary Lignor, mystery all the way to the bitter end and the atmosphere is thick with tension and an ever-increasing feeling of Professional Librarian and Co- foreboding. I do enjoy these types of stories, the good old-fashioned bump in the dark thriller! 3.5 stars Owner of The Write Companion ■ Reviewed by Julie Whiteley ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 24 KNOT GUILTY PROJECT 731 By Betty Hechtman By Jeremy Robinson Believe it or not, there is a huge competition between the people who are into knitting and the folks who like to crochet. And in this new cozy by Betty Hechtman, the knitters versus I should know by now that if I the crocheters are preparing to attend the annual Southern California Knit Style Show, and pick up a Robinson book at night, Molly Pink, who is employed at Shedd & Royal Books as its community relation’s person, is I won’t be getting much sleep. in the middle of the knit/crochet controversy as to deciding which hobby is the most popular. Between turning the pages and The event is under the direction of K.D. Kirby, a knitting magazine publisher and owner thinking about the possible what ifs, of a popular yarn store. K.D. is a knitting maven who is a real snob when it comes to having anything to do sleep will be lost. with those ‘low-down’ crocheting people. She runs her business with an iron fist even though she has many Robinson amps up the capable people working for her. Now, it seems that the ‘Tarzana Hookers’ (gotta love that name), who are a adrenaline. The Kaiju thriller is a crocheting group, are bound and determined to introduce knitters to the crocheting arts, and that’s where sequel of the amalgam of “Island the problems begin. 731,” “Project Nemesis,” and First of all, on the day of the show there are some mix-ups with the assigned placements. A knitter who “Project Maigo,” three of Robinson’s has always been seated up front is now sent to the rear, with her place being taken by Shedd & Royal. There earlier books. In “Project 731,” we is also a little fuss between K.D.’s partner and her daughter who clash about publicity. are reintroduced to the Department Now…the mystery ensues. Soon the high-falootin maven, K.D., is found dead in the hotel and Molly’s of Homeland Security’s Fusion ex, Homicide Detective Barry Greenburg, is investigating. He has let the show’s organizers keep the event Center—Paranormal (FC-P), the open to the public while he works. However, not only must the culprit be caught, but the final smackdown agency that did battle with the between the worlds of ‘crochet’ and ‘knit’ must be waged once and for all. creature Nemesis—think Godzilla An excellent, fun story with interesting characters, the author also offers up recipes to the readers along with a conscience and on steroids. with some sly crocheting hints. We are also reintroduced to the Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ Defense Advanced Research Projects MURDER, SHE WROTE: CLOSE-UP ON MURDER Agency (DARPA) and its black-ops By Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain team: Genetic Offense Directive “Close-Up on Murder” is the latest book in the Murder, She Wrote series by authors (GOD). DARPA is the agency that Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain. The series is based off the very successful TV show that ran ran and funded Island 731, and who for twelve seasons and won numerous awards. Jessica Fletcher is a very successful author of was ultimately responsible for the mystery books, and she is put in situations where she must use her wit and investigative skills creation of Nemesis. to solve a murder. FC-P gets word of a chimera, In “Close-Up on Murder,” one of Jessica’s older books is being adapted into a major known as Tsuchi—which is sort of motion picture, which is based on a murder that took place in Cabot Cove. When Hollywood invades the a giant tarantula with a protective small town in Maine to start filming, Sheriff Metzger begins losing his patience with all the chaos. Then shell, much like a turtle—which is the leading actress is found shot, with a piece of film wrapped around her neck. In typical who-dun-it ravaging the west coast of the U.S. fashion, Jessica has several suspects, all with a motive to kill and all with the opportunity to commit the What they don’t know when they crime. However this time Jessica is being stalked by someone. Could this be the killer keeping tabs on her, go on the hunt for Tsuchi is that or someone else with an entirely different agenda? Jessica is put in the crosshairs and better solve the crime GOD is the agency responsible for soon or she could become a victim herself. its existence. Fans of Murder, She Wrote will feel right at home with the favorites from the show being involved in the story. Dr. Seth Hazlitt, of course, uses his medical expertise to help Jessica. Eve Simpson, the local real-estate What begins as a story about mogul and Lorraine, the beauty shop owner, have some very funny scenes. You will find yourself hearing the man-made monsters that were voices of the actors from the show as you are reading. created as weapons and the hunt to Reviewed by John Raab ■ destroy them, ends up as a reflection of Man himself. We find in Nemesis NIGHT IS THE HUNTER many of Man’s faults and some of his By Steven Gore greatest assets. We see a reflection This is the third tale starring former SFPD detective Harlan Donnally—a man who’s no of family, vengeance against those longer carrying a badge but still holds that belief of what’s right and what’s wrong, strength he who would try to hurt our family, will definitely need in order to see this one through. and finally we see that even in Man’s Waiting on Death Row is Israel Dominguez, a man who has spent the last twenty years creations, the good tends to come waiting for his turn to die after being convicted of murdering a gang rival. The judge who from within whereas the evil tends presided over the trial and handed down his death sentence is Judge Ray McMullin, who to be induced by Man himself. just happens to be a friend of Harlan Donnally. Time is running out for Israel, and McMullin finds himself If you are a fan of traditional admitting to Harlan that after all these years he’s having serious doubts that Israel was guilty of the crime he’s suspense-thrillers, step out of your about to die for. comfort zone and read “Project It seems that the passing of time and the old “gang wars” that went on back then, have not uncovered any 731.” You will be glad you did. If you new data regarding the killing, nor cleared up any of what happened in the past. Judge McMullin is so torn are a reader of graphic comics and over the sentence he issued that he can’t seem to let sleeping dogs lie, so he asks Harlan to go on a fishing expedition of sorts and see what he can find. Kaiju-type thrillers (think Godzilla), A side story of pure emotion comes along with this suspense, as both Donnally’s father, a Hollywood “Project 731” is a must. producer, as well as the judge, begin to show signs of dementia. And as the older men deal with that fate, Robinson just keeps getting Donnally finds himself sinking in his own emotional turmoil. better with every new adventureand A tale that is many tales in one, there are times that the action will yank you into the story, but will also monster he creates! keep you there with heart-wrenching character emotion. A long ago crime must be solved; a dead man must Reviewed by J.M. LeDuc, author die only if guilty, and Harlan must watch the ones he cares for fight a disease that he can’t stop. This is an of “Sin,” published by Suspense incredible story. Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 25 CANE AND ABE COLD BETRAYAL By James Grippando By J.A. Jance Get ready for another incredible Ali Reynolds book. This is a gem by a winning author Author James Grippando has who deals with two separate but alike subjects affecting the world in this day and age: the earned a new fan—me. When I abuse of the elderly and domestic abuse. care more about finding out what To begin, Ali’s friend, Sister Anselm, a nun who carries a taser gun, is on her way to the happens next than I do about getting hospital to be at the side of a pregnant young woman who has sustained severe injuries after a good night’s sleep, I know I’m in being hit by a car on a deserted road in Arizona. She’d been on the run from a group called for a long night of suspense-filled ‘The Family;’ a cult who does not appreciate their people trying to leave. Sister Anselm likens this so-called reading. “Cane and Abe,” which held accident to a long ago case involving a Jane Doe that the nun still can’t get out of her mind. my attention from beginning to end, Ali is trying to help this new Jane Doe, while also being called out to assist with a more personal was my first Grippando novel, but it situation. The grandmother of Ali’s new daughter-in-law is on the brink of being judged incompetent and won’t be my last. sent to a home. Along with help from Ali’s husband who runs a technical team of law and government The author pulled me into the agencies, the two cases are simultaneously being checked into. South Florida world of slavery, Big The compound of ‘The Family’ is knee-deep in child abuse, and the case of the older woman who Sugar, a serial killer, and the senior someone no longer wants around is difficult to say the least, seeing as how Betsy, the grandmother in trial counsel at the Office of the State question, is in danger. She’s received threats in the mail and a break-in at her home; not to mention, someone Attorney for Miami-Dade County, has hacked into her bank account. Abe Beckham, who handles the As Ali and Sister Anselm join forces to prove that the hit and run accident is connected to a former case capital murder cases. Abe’s late wife’s from years back, while helping the grandmother with her dire problems, the two battle a plot with many father is a painful reminder of Big branches, trying their best to help people—which is what they are certainly best at. Yet another terrific book Sugar’s shameful past and the slavery by Jance that fans and readers will absolutely cheer about. that ended in 1941. Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ Abe is assigned to a joint task INSPECTOR OF THE DEAD force hunting a violent serial killer By David Morrell targeting beautiful white females Master thriller writer, David Morrell, is back with his latest book “Inspector of the who sleep with black men. He hacks Dead.” In this amazing sequel to “Murder as a Fine Art,” Morrell takes the reader back to them with a cane-cutting machete 1850’s London where a killer has plans in place to assassinate Queen Victoria. Main character and leaves their mutilated bodies in Thomas De Quincey finds himself stuck in the middle with his daughter, Emily, and two the fields owned by Big Sugar. The Scotland Yard companions, Ryan and Becker. case takes a surprising turn when Morrell weaves a true web of lies, secrets, and cunning schemes that gives readers the a black female attorney for a sugar sense that they are actually living and breathing the air of historical England, as they walk through the streets company is found murdered the viewing the mystery that’s taking place. Morrell yet again shows that his character creation is second to same way as the white victims. none, and the pace will have readers losing sleep by telling themselves, “Just one more chapter.” A past romantic fling with the With over two dozen novels from Morrell, “Inspector of the Dead” and “Murder as a Fine Art” are two murder victim plus a jealous wife titles that could be considered his finest work. complicate Abe’s life and cause him Reviewed by John Raab ■ to be pulled from the task force. THE ALPHABET HOUSE When Abe’s wife goes missing, FBI By Jussi Adler-Olsen Agent Victoria Santos focuses her This fascinating book begins in the year 1944, in the midst of World War II, but readers attention on Abe like a pit bull on the should know this is not a ‘war’ novel. In fact, it’s a thrill-a-minute adventure that you won’t be scent of raw meat. Abe worries that able to put down. while law enforcement personnel are Pilots and very close friends, James and Bryan, fly off together in a Mustang Fighter. wasting time investigating him, the These two Brits are headed out on a reconnaissance mission to photograph a hidden Nazi serial killer might make his wife the weapon’s facility located near Dresden, Germany. But when their plane is shot down, they next victim. Circumstantial evidence must bail out behind enemy lines. Being chased by the enemy, they jump a train—a train that just happens against Abe builds as he rushes to to be carrying wounded SS men. catch the real killer before it’s too The duo choose to throw two patients off the train in order to take their places, lying in bloodied sheets late. and pretending to be close to death in order to remain undiscovered. Eventually they end up in a psychiatric Grippando weaves an intricate hospital known as the Alphabet House. Whereas most mental patients were killed during the war, SS officers tapestry of truth mixed with lies, receive preferential treatment, and are expected to recover and come back to help the war effort. adultery, jealousy, betrayals, and As the Brits find themselves sitting on a ward, they realize the inmates are some of the most dangerous murders. Just when I thought the Nazis that Germany has to offer. But they hold their ground, overhearing conversations that the Allies are story had come to an end and coming closer. As the two friends plot their escape, they come upon SS soldiers who are killers and crooks everything was resolved, the final wanting to be free—free to find the things they’ve stolen during the war so they can take off. As patients two sentences left me reeling. “Cane begin to die under more than mysterious circumstances, suspicion turns toward James and Bryan being and Abe” is a novel that must be read. killers in disguise. Reviewed by S.L. Menear, author The narrative jumps ahead to 1972, and the amazing storyline this author has created grows even more. of “Deadstick Dawn” published by This is a suspense/thriller to beat them all. Not only does it offer action, but readers will start waiting for the Suspense Publishing, an imprint of rabbit to jump out of the hat and change everything. Suspense Magazine ■ Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 26 BEHIND CLOSED DOORS DEADLY RUSE By Elizabeth Haynes By E. Michael Helms There are many subjects and topics of discussion in the world today, and this book certainly offers up a very eye-opening picture of one seriously devastating subject that, unfortunately, is This is book two in a quite real. new series starring P.I. Mac Fifteen-year-old Scarlett Rainsford disappeared in 2003 while on vacation with her family on McClellan and, like the first, is a the small green isle of Rhodes. Fast-forwarding the story ten years, Scarlett reappears out of the great read! blue in her hometown of Briarstone, England, working in a brothel. The law, especially Detective It is a romantic night out Chief Inspector Louisa Smith, is desperate and determined to find out what exactly happened to Scarlett back in for Mac and his girlfriend, Kate Greece so long ago, and where she’s been for the last ten years. Quick answers are necessary, especially before the Bell, but as the two are leaving media gets wind that the law actually gave up on the case, assuming Scarlett was dead a long time ago. the theatre, Kate nearly passes The puzzle grows when one criminal who had links to an organized crime group in Briarstone shows up out as if she has seen a ghost. dead, while another is found abused and beaten. The attacks could have been related to anything from drugs to Turns out, she has. However, it trafficking, but they also seem to have some sort of connection to Scarlett . . . who’s not saying a word. isn’t the spectral type, it is an ex- DCI Smith and her crew, along with Analyst Jason Mercer, Smith’s boyfriend, DC Sam Hollands, and a boyfriend named Wes Harrison Major Crimes Unit that has been assembled to help unearth the truth, work at finding clues from ten-year-old who is definitely alive and well… transcripts while attempting to keep Scarlett from running away before they can find the solution to what’s even though he supposedly died becoming a giant, bloody mess. in a boating accident twelve Embedded in the novel are scenes and background regarding Scarlett’s dysfunctional family. As the “doors” years ago. begin to swing open to the reader, the horror of real life bursts through. The author’s descriptions of police work, Mac tries his best to criminal relationships and more, are extremely believable. And although parts of this story are certainly very convince her that it was merely uncomfortable to read, this may just be the emotional tale that will bring facts to life and teach everyone to never a stranger that resembled the forget the evil that’s out there in 2015. man, but she’s adamant. And Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ even though Mac has significant doubts, he agrees to do a little INDEPENDENCE SLAY investigating to put her mind at By Shelley Freydont ease. His first clue sends him to Liv Montgomery is the Events Coordinator for Celebration Bay, New York and she has her hands full an orphanage in Texas where promoting the town’s activities to ensure maximum tourism. he uncovers information about There are many festivals throughout the year and it’s time for the annual Independence Day Revolutionary Wes and the others who were in battle reenactment. There is some doubt as to whether the battle ever happened, but the truth never stopped a the boating accident long ago. town determined to have fun! The more he uncovers the more Each year, Henry Gallantine, played by a descendant with the same name, appears on the roof of the family surprises he finds. mansion to set off fireworks to begin the festivities. And this year when Henry appears, the signal is botched and Delving further into the Liv rushes to the rescue. so-called accident, Mac looks at When she finds a dead body instead of the real man, she has to find a murderer as well as the real Henry the men who apparently died. Gallantine to save face for the town. Liv soon finds that whoever is up to no good is following her and intends to Each puzzle piece falls into place end her career as an event planner! as Mac travels through Texas to This is the third series that I’ve read by Shelley Freydont and they keep getting better. Ms. Freydont writes Georgia and then back to Florida. clever characters and believable plots while providing many hours of good reading. I recommend the Celebration What sometimes seems to be a Bay series and I know that these books will prove as popular as Ms. Freydont’s other books. An excellent way to wild goose chase turns very real spend an evening! when Mac is led to the Palmetto Reviewed by Holly Price, author of “At Death’s Door” (releasing soon) ■ Royal Casino near St. George, UNTRACEABLE Florida. There he discovers that By S. R. Johannes the casino is a definite front for Some books seem to define a genre, a few books blur the lines between, and a rare book has crime, and when he’s shot at by a the ability to do both. It’s in this rarified air that we find “Untraceable.” stranger, Mac’s only wish is that On the surface we have a young adult novel, but “Untraceable” is so much more. It’s a story of dead men would stay that way. the unbreakable bond between father and daughter, even when the father is missing and presumed Mac is a great character for dead. readers to love. Even though Set in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina, “Untraceable” centers on Grace, a sixteen- he’s a veteran who has been year-old girl who is the daughter of a wildlife officer. She refuses to believe her dad is dead . . . at least until she can through a lot and his Marine find proof. At the center of the plot are the citizens of a small mountain town; each of them seeming to harbor his training comes in handy, Mac is or her own secrets, but the one thing they have in common is that everyone believes her father is dead . . . dead still a novice at being a Private by falling and drowning in a river. A scenario that Grace just can’t come to grips with. Detective. And when he finds How can a man who has dedicated his life to the mountains fall in the river and drown? Nope, not something out that someone may not be she can believe. who he thinks they are, this fast The undercurrents that flow through this book are what make it truly special . . . the dissolving relationship plot gets even more thrilling and between Grace and her mom as they both try to deal with the loss, the tug of war as Grace attempts to unravel offers up a great surprise ending. the mystery, new feelings for a stranger who just happened to appear in the woods, and finally, her struggle to Readers will definitely look trust anyone. Everyone disappoints her at every turn and uphill climb in her search. forward to seeing Mac again. “Untraceable” will tug at and rip out your heart, yet at the same time cause you to fall in love with a new kind Reviewed by Mary Lignor, of hero. A hero who is vulnerable, unyielding in her convictions, and impossible to forget. Professional Librarian and Co- S. R. Johannes has written the first book in what I hope will be a long running series. Owner of The Write Companion ■ Reviewed by J.M. LeDuc, author of “Sin,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 27 THE EDGE OF THE WASHINGTON STRATEGEM DREAMS By Adam Lebor By Rhys Bowen I was hooked on the first page of “The Washington Stratagem” by Adam Lebor, as it opens with strong female protagonist, Yael Azoulay, an Israeli-American working as an undercover Bowen hits it out of the investigator for the United Nations. Much of the story is set in New York City at the UN park once again with this next headquarters and streets nearby. She learns more than she wants to when, at the request of installment of Molly Murphy Secretary General Fareed Hussein, she meets with the CEO of the Prometheus Group, a multi- Sullivan’s adventures as a retired billion dollar lobbying and asset management corporation that profits from war, especially in the private detective married to a Middle East. She leaves the meeting with CEO Clarence Clairborne conscious of the threats that hang in the air captain in the New York City against her and the people she works for. police department during the Returning to New York, she finds that SG Hussein is on sick leave, although there is no evidence of him 1930’s. actually being ill. It has all the appearances of a power play by the assistant SG, Caroline Masters, who becomes As much as Daniel Sullivan acting Secretary General. would love to have his wife stay “The Washington Stratagem” is a cynical look inside the UN, which is portrayed as a haven for idealists, home and minister to their career diplomats, and politicians, along with various bad people with their own agendas. As the story touches newborn son, Molly just has on troubling events, past and present, in hot spots around the world, the enemies of Yael Azoulay multiply, a way of getting her nose into especially after she is demoted to a job with a high-sounding title but little importance. The international net everything. She always reminds closes in on her as friends become enemies. me of the Maureen O’Hara Sequel to “The Geneva Option,” “The Washington Stratagem” is a complex suspense novel that exposes a character, Mary Kate Danaher, realistic, if somewhat cynical view of international relations today. Yael Azoulay is a feisty, intrepid protagonist in The Quiet Man where she who the reader cheers for every step of the way. I look forward to her adventures in the next of this series. constantly upstages John Reviewed by Kathleen Heady, author of “Hotel Saint Clare” ■ Wayne’s, Sean Thornton. She is a wily, wild, redheaded Irish QUICKSAND woman with a powerful will By Gigi Pandian of her own. Thankfully, Daniel Whoever said that a career as an historian is boring has never met Jaya Jones, the plucky recognizes this and allows his and extremely intelligent protagonist of Gigi Pandian’s Treasure Hunt mystery series. Think wife enough leeway for Bowen Indiana Jones as a dark-haired, petite, twenty-something history professor on the tenure track to keep plying us with such at a California university who wears three-inch stilettos to look taller, and you’ll get an accurate wonderful mysteries. snapshot of Jaya. But don’t let her stature fool you. Jaya is tough. And brave. And . . . did I mention In “The Edge of Dreams,” that she’s tough? Oh, and she also plays tabla at a local Indian restaurant. Daniel is plagued with a series In “Quicksand,” the third in Pandian’s series, Jaya receives an invitation she can’t refuse—an all-expense of letters sent directly to him paid first-class trip to Paris from her on-again, off-again just-this-side-of-the-law boyfriend, Lane Peters. When right after a murder has been Jaya arrives in Paris for what she’s hoping will be a romantic tryst, she finds that a mysterious con man—known committed, as if taunting him. only as North—has sent the invitation, not Lane. In fact, Lane is shocked and upset that Jaya is in Paris. In no Molly’s best friends, two ladies time at all, Jaya ends up on the wrong side of the law as she’s drawn into a plot to steal a piece of art from the that scandalously live together Louvre. To redeem herself, she follows clues from an illuminated manuscript that lead from the cobblestone across the street, Sid and Gus, streets of Paris to the quicksand-surrounded fortress of Mont Saint-Michel. With the help of the enigmatic have recently returned from Lane Peters and a ninety-year-old magician, Jaya delves into France’s colonial ties with India to clear her name Europe where they have mingled and trap a killer. not just in the emerging world of “Quicksand” draws the reader in from the first page to the final, breathtaking climax. I loved it! art but in the séances and dream Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Funerals Can Be Murder,” published by Suspense Publishing, an works that have become so imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ popular. Rubbing shoulders with psychoanalysts who are students THE BULLET By Mary Louise Kelly of the emerging Freud, these two This book focuses on a woman who becomes involved in dangerous situations that bring her ladies introduce Molly to dream analysis. directly into a chilling past featuring life and death. Having dug into the Caroline Cashion, a professor at Georgetown University, is in the process of having an MRI background of her husband’s at a local hospital because of some problems she’s having with typing, the doctor suggested investigation, and risking her life she might be in early stages of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). But what the MRI shows is far in a terrible train crash staged different from what either of them expected; it seems that Caroline has a bullet lodged in her neck by the killer, she interviews a and her doctor, Will, is astounded at the revelation. child accused of murdering her Feeling beyond frightened, Caroline engages in an awkward conversation with her parents, telling them parents, and discovers a link to about the bullet. But her eerie discoveries do not end there. Apparently, Caroline was adopted as a very young the murderer her husband is child after her birth parents were murdered in their Atlanta, Georgia home. Caroline was present during the hunting. In a fast-paced pitting tragedy, but has no memory of the moment when the bullet used to kill her mother passed through her mother’s of wits with a cerebral killer, the body and lodged in Caroline’s neck. Sullivan’s rise to the occasion and She, of course, wants to find answers, and travels to Georgia. Meeting some unforgettable characters, the bring swift justice for his victims. truth is slowly unveiled about that night. While unraveling the past, Caroline meets up with old friends of her Reviewed by Mark P. Sadler, parents, as well as a very pushy reporter. Add in a doctor-patient romance, and this book hits on all cylinders author of “Blood on His Hands” keeping the reader absolutely engaged to the very end. published by Suspense Publishing For any person who loves the forensic side of suspense, this author has created an unimaginable tale of an imprint of Suspense Magazine murder, mayhem, and a life that is resurrected from a twisted moment in time. ■ Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 28 A DEADLY MEASURE OF BRIMSTONE DARNED IF YOU DO By Catriona McPherson By Monica Ferris A brand new Dandy Gilver Mystery, this latest tale is set in the year 1929, and begins with Dandy and her family heading off for a stay at a spa to enjoy some rest and relaxation after It is almost unbelievable that recovering from a bout with the flu. this is the eighteenth tale in the This all began when prospective clients, Herbert Addie and Mrs. James Bowie, tell the beloved Needlecraft Mystery series, Gilvers that their mother, Enid, was killed at the same facility only a month earlier. She had died because they just keep getting suddenly right after being told that she was in good health. Dandy uses this new case to gift her better and better. family members with some time off, while she investigates the town of Moffat. Once there, the local policeman As the story begins, an explains to Dandy that in the case of Enid, she had reported being frightened by a ghost right before she died. accident occurs. A tree falls on So, as Dandy’s family checks into the Laidlaw Hydropathic Hotel in order to enjoy the amenities, Dandy and Tom Riordan’s house and he husband, Alec, begin to investigate. lands in the hospital because of This is a fun place to be. But, oddly enough, the hotel isn’t actually busy because of the help they give it. Subsequently, police end up to unhealthy folk, they actually support a secret nightlife that includes ghost hunters and mediums. As the discovering a huge pile of junk mystery widens, the cause for Enid’s death that was given to her family—that their mother had died while inside his home. It seems Tom is hiking due to heart failure—seems more and more unlikely. Dandy and Alec believe something is definitely a hoarder, although he has always amiss as they discover that the local doctor signed a death certificate right away for Enid, and there was no declared himself a “collector.” further investigation done by the Moffat law, leading Dandy to jump headfirst into a truly odd crime. Betsy Devonshire, owner of As it usually is with McPherson’s mysteries, readers will be delighted with Dandy’s dedication to solving the Crewel World needlework the crime. The Roaring Twenties are once again represented, and when it comes to the spa/hotel, the list of shop wants to help Tom out treatments are not only interesting, but also hysterical. Dandy Gilver and her creator continue to intrigue. and aid in the clean up of the Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ house while he recuperates. But THE LIFE I LEFT BEHIND suddenly Tom is found murdered By Colette McBeth in his hospital bed and his cousin Very chilling stand-alone thriller! There are two main characters who very nearly meet the same fate. One Valentina is named heir to his was left for dead after being strangled, the second was successfully killed by the same hand. property. She also becomes the The problem is, David, the man who was imprisoned for the first, unsuccessful, attack was probably not number one suspect in his death. the guy who did it, in spite of the fact that, just after David is released after serving his nine year term the second So Betsy’s PI cap once again victim, Eve, dies. Eve appears in the novel as a ghost, but doesn’t interact with anyone except the reader. She’s a appears as she, along with her ghost who can’t comfort anyone and who exists in pain. She never thought this was what being dead would be Monday Bunch, find themselves like and she’s not quite certain why she’s hanging around. helping a woman who is accused Melody, the first victim who didn’t die nine years ago, has not actually recovered. She is putting on the of killing her own cousin because bravest face she can for her fiancé, Sam, and their friends, but she’s still suffering from the attack. She’s become he may have had a fortune buried obsessive about many things, which makes the sterile house she lives in with Sam neat and tidy. She’s also under one of the junk piles inside become a great cook. But this is all because she can’t bear to go outside alone anymore and has to keep busy to his home. Betsy brings people in keep from looking inside herself. for clean up and disposal work, Eve was killed because she had figured out who really attacked Melody. She’s standing by, agonizing over but as more things are removed whether or not Melody can figure it out in time to prevent the killer from coming back and finishing the job. more people begin to unearth You’ll be on the edge of your seat with this one. some very real treasures that Tom Reviewed by Kaye George, author of “Eine Kleine Murder” has been hiding from the world. But is Valentina the real DEAD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN: STORIES FROM THE WORLD OF killer? Betsy and her friends don’t SOOKIE STACKHOUSE quite know, and as they continue Edited by Charlaine Harris & Toni L.P. Kelner to clean the search for clues as to While there are many out there who may not know the beloved Sookie Stackhouse, there are also who the real killer is begins. millions, from both books and the hit TV show, who know all about the town of Bon Temps where Sookie For those who have not yet Stackhouse—a southern belle who has the incredible ability of getting wrapped up with various creatures and come across this series, you are vampires because of her own special gifts—gets into constant trouble. And this new compilation with stories missing something truly grand. featuring Sookie’s world is a must-read. Begin with this work and meet Fifteen short stories written by a slew of well-known, bestselling authors is a whole lot of fun, as they put everyone from Betsy and her forth creations featuring various supporting characters from the series and cover a broad line that goes far into boyfriend to her Crewel Bunch the future. Some examples are below, yet even if the characters are foreign to your mind, the suspense, humor, and two very important cast and intrigue will appeal to one and all. members; felines by the name of Leigh Perry’s The Real Santa Claus, features Diantha, a relative of Desmond Catalaides, demon lawyer, as Sophie and Thai. It’s amazing that she discovers Santa’s true identity while trying to resolve Sookie and Sam’s problems. the writer has continued to engage Christopher Golden’s Tyger, Tyger, features Weretiger Quinn as he looks for answers regarding his mother’s and expand upon the personalities care and becomes the victim in a spooky plot. This particular story has scenes of torture that some readers of her ever-increasing character might be saddened by, but the writing is incredible. list, but these well-written cozies Dana Cameron’s The Sun, the Moon, and the Stars offers up a character fighting for her life as well as will continue to be ones that someone else’s that will have Harris’s paranormal audience screaming for more. readers consistently look for. The stories are a proper addition to Sookie’s world of make believe as her character is always standing in Number nineteen…please? the background, always on the fringe of each and every story as it’s told. A great mix of funny and dark, this Reviewed by Mary Lignor, anthology will have readers and fans beyond excited. Professional Librarian and Co- Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ Owner of The Write Companion ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 29 UNRAVELED FIGHTING CHANCE VISIONS By Jane Haddam By Nina Milton Gregor Demarkian is known in law enforcement circles as the Armenian-American Hercule Poirot, and with good reason. His impressive career in the respected Behavioral Science Unit of This fast-moving thriller is the FBI has led him to become a freelance consultant to police departments all around the country. definitely in a category by itself, Demarkian grew up in the Armenian-American enclave of Cavanaugh Street in Philadelphia, and with the main character being after an absence of many years has returned to the old neighborhood, now gentrified but still more than unique instead of the retaining many of the friends and traditions of his youth. oftentimes ‘expected character’ Central to life on Cavanaugh Street is the Armenian-Orthodox church under the guidance of Father Tibor that leads a suspense story. Kasparian, Demarkian’s closest friend, who is beloved by all and described as the most genuinely gentle soul in Sabbie Dare is a Therapeutic the world. Shaman. What is that, you ask? When Father Tibor is arrested on murder charges, it tears at the very foundation of Demarkian’s world Well, Sabbie has a Bachelor’s and of Cavanaugh Street itself. But the evidence against Father Tibor seems irrefutable. He is caught on video, Degree and practices Shamanic apparently in the very moment of committing the heinous act he is accused of. Father Tibor will not defend Reiki which combines all the himself in any way, and refuses to meet with any lawyers or any of his friends and parishioners on Cavanaugh healing powers of the spirit Street, including Demarkian. world. In the past, Sabbie has Demarkian, convinced that Father Tibor is protecting someone, is determined to find out what really had some experience working happened, and who is really responsible for the murder that Father Tibor is accused of committing. th with police. She actually helped “Fighting Chance” is the 29 in the Gregor Demarkian series by Orania Papazoglou writing under the pen them solve a case investigated name of Jane Haddam. Like the others in the series, it is rich in character development and atmosphere, with by Detective Inspector Reynard taut plotting and a shocking ending that literally took my breath away. Buckley, yet stated afterward that Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Funerals Can Be Murder,” published by Suspense Publishing, an police kept her in the dark and as imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ a result, she had to take matters THE LAST AMERICAN VAMPIRE into her own hands by starting By Seth Grahame-Smith her own private investigation This author has taken readers on a whirlwind ride by going completely out-of-the-box with into the crime. his tales. And now, with this highly anticipated sequel to “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” he Three mysteries will occur blows the mind. after Sabbie receives a highly Henry Sturges is back; the vampire who helped young Abe Lincoln learn how to wield his axe disturbing palm reading at a in order to defend and save the populace from vamps who were trying to take over. But this time street carnival during Mardi around, readers will be taken into Henry’s history, learning all about the ultimate ‘presidential Gras. This one night plays center aide.’ stage for the death of a police This fanged hero has opened his vault and given over his diaries where he kept specific notes in regards detective Sabbie had witnessed to not only what happened after Lincoln’s death, but also what happened long before and long after. From the running at the carnival; the real reason why Roanoke Colony was empty of people when the next boat landed, to the real reason why and disappearance of Sabbie’s own how the Hindenburg crashed, Henry explains. From identifying Jack the Ripper to what really happened the palm-reading gypsy; and, a night the hideous charlatan, Rasputin, was assassinated, Henry explains. The famous and infamous characters neighbor by the name of Drea, woven into Henry’s life are innumerable. You name the figure, and Henry either knew them well, battled them who visited Sabbie and received to restore good, or received information from them that would lead Henry in his attempt to stop the ‘rising’ a reading herself. vampire from destroying the world. It is the following day Smith is astonishing in his research. The facts behind these historical moments are numerous, and his when Sabbie finds herself lost grace at being able to tell a tale encompassing action, horror, pain, and even love, creates something readers will in the litany of troubled souls never forget. Long after the vamps have been put to bed (and considering the end, there’s hope that Henry will that perhaps all left the earth return), Smith is bound to create something never-before-seen in the literary world. He has to. That is, in fact, at the hands of murder. Sabbie what he’s best at. Smith has already proved hard to beat when it comes to choosing the absolute best book of discovers that the detective was 2015. killed, and the others have come Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Charlatan’s Crown,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of up missing, and she has her work Suspense Magazine ■ cut out for her in order to solve LETHAL CODE these mysteries by using the By Thomas Waite wealth of her Shamanic powers. This book is indeed a nightmare . . . or, is it? The path technology is following nowadays, this may just be The research this author something to look out for as early as next week. Fiction or not, this book will make you think that ID theft or has done is incredible in order to web fraud can become even more deadly than ever imagined. bring the character of Sabbie, as Lana Elkins is an expert in cyber-security and when the country comes under attack from a cyber-villain well as her career, to life. For any that wants to destroy the USA completely, she’s asked to work with the security services to locate the attackers reader who is interested in the before they can carry out their threats. The questions are huge: Will the next attack come from space? Can just unknown, or those who find both one terrorist bring the entire country to its knees, take over nuclear weapons, and create panic? Well…it’s on the the spirit world and Shamanic road to happening and a small group of government players are thrown into a truly dangerous spy game. practices interesting, this well- There are many who will learn the value of a country that is brought to a screeching halt as both the best written story is incrediblyand worst of humanity rise up. From the Middle East to America, the search is on to find the person who has knowledgeable, suspenseful, and made this happen. And readers will follow one woman and her cyber-abilities as she goes on a non-stop trip to a truly cool adventure into the stop the ‘Lethal Code.’ world that lies ‘beyond.’ A true technological thriller where even if certain places are difficult to believe, you will still sit and wonder Reviewed by Mary Lignor, if these things are right around the corner. This is terrorism in a new style that will keep you glued to the pages, Professional Librarian and Co- reminding people of that exhilaration felt when the clock kept ticking down on 24. Owner of The Write Companion ■ Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 30 BLACK SCORPION WHERE THE By Jon Land; Created by Frabrizio Boccardi BONES ARE A good writer can draw a reader into a plot. A great writer can fuse a subplot or two into the BURIED storyline and mesmerize. A genius can take multiple plot lines that don’t appear to have connections By Jeanne Matthews and weave them together in such a way as to hypnotize and transport readers into another world. Jon Land is such an author, and “Black Scorpion” is such a book. Dinah Pelerin is finally “Black Scorpion” is the sequel to “Seven Sins,” the firstTyrant novel starring Michael Tiranno. getting her life together. She In “Black Scorpion,” Michael, the owner of the Seven Sins Casino and Resort is being attacked on all has a new job at a university fronts. His company’s stock is dropping and he’s in danger of a hostile takeover, the FBI is looking for any excuse to in Berlin where she is teaching take him down, and an unknown enemy wants to take everything from him: his money, his reputation, and his life. a course in Native American Land attacks this story from many sides. The more we get to know Michael, the more puzzled we become. Is culture. She has also met the he the all-American rags-to-riches philanthropist; or is he a cutthroat—leave-no-witnesses—dirty businessman? love of her life, Thor Ramberg, Only time will tell. an agent for the Norwegian We are introduced to Raven Khan, a female mercenary with a heart for the helpless, and we meet the man government. and organization that are out to destroy Michael. Both man and organization are faceless, and both go by the same Thor has returned to name: The Black Scorpion. Oslo for a few days when On top of all of the personal attacks, Michael gets a distress call from his girlfriend, Scarlett Swan, an Dinah’s mother, Swan, who archeologist who is on a dig in Transylvania. Her call is cut off and Michael Tiranno, the Tyrant, goes in search of is part Seminole, arrives in his love where he finds many things including the true meaning of family, loyalty, love, and hate. Berlin with Margaret, who was Land has woven an epic novel of the human heart . . . all sides of it: the dark and the light, the truth and the married to one of Swan’s ex- lies, the love and the hate. Is blood truly thicker than water? By the climax of “Black Scorpion,” you will know. husbands long before she was. Reviewed by J.M. LeDuc, author of “Sin,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ Swan’s reason for visiting Berlin turn out to have less MURDER IN A DIFFERENT LIGHT to do with her daughter and By Patricia Driscoll more with some unsavory Grace Oliver, former probation officer and now owner of Pearl’s antique lamp shop in Barnstable Village, a characters from her past, and small town on Cape Cod, is back in the second cozy mystery penned by Patricia Driscoll, “Murder in a Different Dinah begins to fear for her Light.” This time, it is post-Labor Day on the Cape, when the days are still warm and the locals are still able to mother’s life. Then a man is enjoy being outdoors. So when Bella, one of Grace’s employees, suggests a hike around the once beautiful but now murdered and scalped at a dilapidated home of one of her friends, Grace eagerly agrees. What neither one expects is to find the body of the German version of an Indian owner floating face down in the swimming pool. powwow, and Swan is one of The first detective on the scene is none other than Andre Cruz, Grace’s sometimes-on-but-now-off boyfriend, the suspects. the same person who led the investigation into the death of a customer of Grace’s lamp shop the previous winter. As Dinah struggles to Although Bella begs Grace to help her find the person who murdered her friend, Grace is hesitant to get involved. keep tabs on her mother and But when someone desperately searching for a valuable antique lamp owned by the victim breaks into Pearl’s, prove her innocence, more and Grace reluctantly agrees. more family secrets are coming There is no shortage of suspects, especially among members of the victim’s own family. And the victim himself to light. When Thor returns to frequently hung out with a sleazy crowd of drug dealers and other local lowlifes. Grace is drawn even more into Berlin in the midst of Dinah’s the case when another of her employees is assaulted. And she realizes that she is also on the murderer’s target list. family troubles, she must reveal “Murder in a Different Light” has a cast of likeable characters and a plot with more twists and turns than a to him the complications in her string of tangled Christmas lights. An entertaining read, for sure. life that led to a Panamanian Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Funerals Can Be Murder,” published by Suspense Publishing, an bank account holding millions ■ imprint of Suspense Magazine of dollars in drug money in THE DOLL COLLECTION her name. At the same time, a Edited by Ellen Datlow secret that Thor has kept from Remember when the smiling face of Barbie sitting in her Dream Home having coffee with her appears in her apartment Ken was what came to mind when someone spoke about dolls? Those were the good old days, aye? with his collection of toy Now dolls have climbed up the food chain of creepiness to rest alongside clowns, as vampires and racecars. werewolves—once the ultimate villains—have become absolute sweethearts that our teens want The “bones” in the title are to date. not bones in the usual sense, This anthology with works from some truly amazing authors takes readers into that dark and but those nasty skeletons frightening “doll” world, and for those who are not yet scared silly of the porcelain faces . . . you will be after this. that rattle around in all of our All original tales written by some of the most prestigious writers, there are stories of all kinds; from puppets closets. “Where the Bones to mannequins; from baby dolls to life-sized—some pretty creepy dolls are at the core of every story. In addition, are Buried” is full of quirky editor Ellen Datlow went one step further by placing a photo of each ‘star’ at the beginning of the story to really but likable characters who get you in the mood. Both pretty and alarming, Datlow and other doll collectors seem to really enjoy these tales must eventually come clean created from the scary minds of Pat Cadigan, Joyce Carol Oates, Tim Lebbon, Genevieve Valentine, and more. about their pasts, and one of Cadigan’s story In Case of Zebras—along with the frightening picture—is just one that will have you tossing out them is a murderer. Jeanne the dolls and heading back to the sweet and furry teddy bear. Matthews has written a novel Master editor, Datlow, chose to place a Freudian statement in her introduction: “In Freud’s essay ‘The with a surprise on every page, Uncanny’ he stated that dolls were particularly uncanny, falling into the category of objects that look as though and her background in world they should be alive but aren’t.” After reading these, you will feel as if they are as alive and well as your local, small- cultures lends authenticity to town axe murderer. Five stars . . . and leave on the lights. an already riveting story. Reviewed by Amy Lignor, author of “The Charlatan’s Crown,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Reviewed by Kathleen Heady, Suspense Magazine ■ author of “Hotel Saint Clare” ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 31 r. franklin james Stealing the Golden Dream Available on A Jordan Welsh & Eddie Marino novel Amazon.com

The Return of the Sally J. Smith or BN.com and Jean Steffens Fallen Angels Book Club (A Hollis Morgan Mystery #3) R. Franklin James Stealing the Golden Dream ISBN: 978-1-60381-921-3 (A Jordan Welsh and Eddie Marino $14.95 Novel #2) Sharon St. George Sally J. Smith and Jean Steffens ISBN: 978-1-60381-985-5 $13.95

Max Everhart

Max Everhart DUE FOR Split to Splinters Split to DISCARD

Splinters Due for Discard Five (An Aimee Machado Mystery #1)

An Aimee Machado Mystery Sharon St. George Gripping ISBN: 978-1-60381-223-8 An Eli Sharpe Mystery $15.95 Split to Splinters (An Eli Sharpe Mystery #2) Max Everhart ISBN: 978-1-60381-205-4 $14.95 Side Trip to Kathmandu Available in Trade New Paperback and Multiple eBook Formats MysteriesWholesale customers M A R I E M O O R E

contact Ingram or A Sidney Marsh Murder Mystery [email protected] from Side Trip to Kathmandu (A Sidney Marsh Mystery #3) Marie Moore ISBN: 978-1-60381-297-9 $12.95

www.camelpress.com MEOW IF IT'S MURDER THE DARK HEART By T.C. LoTempio OF FLORENCE It’s always a whole lot of fun for readers to welcome a brand new series into their lives, and if By Michele Guittari the first book is any indication, this series will be highly enjoyed. Nick and Nora Charles are the main characters, although not the well-known duo. In fact, this is a lady named Nora who just When a prominent happens to find a cat on her doorstep who she creatively names “Nick.” Italian senator and his butler In this tale, Nora has returned to her hometown of Cruz, California to take over the sandwich are found murdered, Chief shop that was run by her mother. Previously, Nora had worked as a crime reporter for the Chicago Superintendent Michele Ferrera Tribune, writing about the horrible things that happen in the big city, and is now ready to lead a much quieter of the Florence police cannot life in Cruz making food for the locals and doing a little writing for a local magazine. But, of course, nothing is help but recall “the monster that simple. of Florence,” a serial murderer She is soon pulled into investigating a story by the magazine publisher she works for in regards to the unusual who had plagued the city some death of a local woman, Lola Grainger, who drowned while on a cruise ship. During her investigation, she comes years before. Thus begins a up with some questions that will prove that murder was the cause and not just an accident. tantalizing story of murder and Nick appears in this small town, a black-and-white cat who shows up at the sandwich shop and decides to madness, told through a varied stay. However, this is no ordinary cat; his former master just happens to be a private detective who was working assortment of characters— on the Grainger drowning when he suddenly went missing. The cat has already begun looking into the killing in police, politicians, members his own feline way, and passes along clues to Nora using tiles from a Scrabble game. of organized crime, as well as a Nick is a mystery that the author will more than likely explore in the novels to come. With lots of suspects couple of women who just want and lots of fun, this is a great read and a very welcome addition to the genre. to start a new life together. Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ Even though Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrera SUSPICION AT SEVEN is told to stay out of the case By Ann Purser of the Senator’s murder, he “Suspicion at Seven” is the fourteenth in the British cozy mystery series featuring Lois Meade, soldiers on. He is refused search amateur sleuth and owner of a successful cleaning business, New Brooms. Lois has a life many warrants by the authorities, but would envy—not only is her business successful, she has a wonderful relationship with her three is always one step ahead of the grown children, her husband adores her, and she never has to lift a finger to cook a meal. A position game. He has already obtained amply filled by Lois’s tart-tongued and frequently interfering (in a loving way) mother, known to the information he requires. the rest of the world as Gran. Then when a young Cuban Oh, and one more thing, Lois is also adored by the chief police inspector in her village, Hunter Cowgill. would-be model is found And since her team of New Broom cleaners are frequently the source of information helpful to the police in their murdered, it becomes clear inquiries, Lois is asked to investigate more than her share of local crimes. that the man who calls himself In “Suspicion at Seven,” the body of a woman is found at a local hotel, strangled with a silver necklace, a bag “Genius” is taunting the police, of costume jewelry beside her. Suspicion immediately falls on Donald Black, the husband of local baker Aurora and especially Ferrera. And he Black, who is one of Lois’s good friends. Lois can’t believe that Donald could be the killer. Plus, he has an airtight is smart. He leaves no clues. Is alibi for the time of the murder. this “the monster of Florence” However, Donald is no angel. Not only has he been involved in an affair with the dead woman, it also appears returned once again to kill and that he’s running a pyramid scheme and Lois’s mother is getting sucked in. As Lois and Inspector Cowgill work terrify? Is the murderer of the together to solve the mystery, a second body is discovered on the old waterwheel of the same hotel. model and the senator one and Readers who love a mystery with delightful characters, good plotting, and a peek at life in a small British the same person? village will love this book. I certainly did! Ferrera and his colleague Reviewed by Susan Santangelo, author of “Funerals Can Be Murder,” published by Suspense Publishing, an Teresa Micalizi continue imprint of Suspense Magazine ■ to search for the criminals, THE BLACK WIDOW uncovering ties to Germany By Wendy Corsi Staub when the DNA of a criminal A fantastic thriller that will have you trapped in its pages; Staub has made sure that it is who has been dead for several virtually impossible to set this one aside and come back to it. years shows up at the scene of A middle-aged woman has a very troubled past. She wants to have a child with a specific type the Cuban model’s murder. of man who has a specific type of background. There are very important reasons for her choices, Writing from the seeing as how she was left and pushed aside many years ago by a man she truly loved. background of his experience As with many out there, a predator is spending a great deal of time looking for future dates as head of the police force that fall into a specific category on an online dating site. When they find someone who fits the bill, a chaotic, of Florence, author Michele psychotic recipe is created, with drugs, pregnancy, and murder being the primary ingredients. A killer has been Guittari paints a picture of a city working for months before two NYC detectives start to investigate the disappearance of several people in the of beauty with an underlying area, as a newly divorced lady, Gaby Duran, begins her own quest for a soul mate. heart of evil. Translated from Gaby wants a distraction that will allow her to stop pining over her ex and missing the happy marriage they Italian, the novel retains the once shared. But Gaby is no dummy. She has been told that online people don’t always tell the truth or match color of the original language. the profile they have. But even though everyone lies…most just lie a little. Suddenly, her life is in danger as she I found this a tremendously discovers that there is far more at stake when it comes to online dating, and there is a presence out there that may satisfying book; a travelogue end up being the link that will destroy a sweet woman just looking for love. and murder mystery rolled into More than a bit creepy, this is a tale that definitely brings to light the darker side of the strangers we take a one. risk to meet. Reviewed by Kathleen Heady, Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ author of “Hotel Saint Clare” ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 33 CAUSING CHAOS THE PATRIOT THREAT By Deborah J. Ledford By Steve Berry It is the last day of December, 1936, when we meet up with President Franklin D. Roosevelt I read “Causing Chaos” with just before he is set to begin his second term. Along with FDR is a visitor, Andrew Mellon, who wild abandon and can’t get the is a Republican, and one of the richest men in the country; he is also a man who gets his own plot out of my head. If Ledford’s way no matter what. Mellon doesn’t like the Democratic President and the feeling is mutual. fourth book is the first for you, it At the moment, Mellon is proposing to build the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., stands alone like every great novel and a theory is soon exposed. in a series should. But if you’ve read In 1913, the Constitution of the United States put into law the Federal Income Tax system which, the first three, then you’ll find that because of some built-in issues, may come back to haunt the country in the future. So who can put two-and- as good as the others are, they were two together and save the U.S. from a disaster in the making, yet again? Yes…Cotton Malone is back. all a giant foreshadowing for what Once a member of a secret branch of the Department of Justice, he is now retired. But nothing ever takes place in “Causing Chaos,” remains quiet for long in Malone’s life. Cotton’s former boss, Stephanie Nelle, requests that he come out of when they all come crashing retirement to track down a North Korean who might have come into possession of some Treasury Department together. files that are classified ‘top secret,’ which could really shake up the government if they were revealed. Not in Once again, we are drawn the position to say no, Cotton begins this fast-moving, 24-hour investigation that will begin in the beauty of into Inola ‘Hummingbird’ Venice, and head straight into the mountains of Croatia. Walela’s world, the lone Cherokee A fantastic historical read, this novel delves into Roosevelt’s presidency, exposing various areas of female on the Bryson City Police government that do not exactly work like a well-oiled machine. As past links with present, readers will Department. As she recovers speculate what would happen if the Federal Income Tax actually did go into chaos, exposing flaws, and from the death of her partner and bringing the U.S. to the brink of destruction as the entire financial structure collapses. No doubt about it, this physical and psychological damage, is yet another extremely invigorating, exciting book by an excellent writer. Inola prepares for her final week Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion for Suspense on the force. She will soon join her Magazine ■ boyfriend, Sheriff Stephen Hawk, as one of his deputies in the Swain A PLEASURE AND A CALLING County Sheriff’s department. By Phil Hogan Inola’s last week on the job Author Phil Hogan brilliantly crafted a main character so realistic and likeable that I implodes when her childhood couldn’t help but sympathize with his plight. The author slowly and deftly pulled me into the friend, Paven Nahar, breaks out of life of a sinister sociopath and left me questioning my own morality at the end. jail where he was charged with the William Heming is the fascinating main character who narrates his unusual story in a disappearance and probable murder style that is clever and engaging. He draws readers into his strange and creepy world, all the of his wife Shellie. Previously a while making them believe he is the harmless and misunderstood victim of a tragic childhood. suspect in the disappearance of Heming fools readers into liking him and rooting for his success. By the time the extent of his dark side is three local women known as the revealed, it’s too late for readers to redeem themselves. They have become his co-conspirators in a series of Qualla Ghosts, Nahar is ‘in the diabolical crimes which may leave these readers feeling unsettled and deeply disturbed. wind’ again. The tribe on the rez “A Pleasure and a Calling” is the kind of story that lures readers into a false sense of security and then will protect him and so it is left to pounces on them like a ravenous demon from the depths of the underworld. Consider yourselves warned. the one person that knows him the Reviewed by S.L. Menear, author of “Deadstick Dawn” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of best to head up the manhunt. Suspense Magazine ■ Convinced of Paven’s innocence in the disappearance of WITCH UPON A STAR By Jennifer Harlow the Qualla Ghosts, Inola is sure of A bit of a love story, this somewhat supernatural romance offers a great mystery and a his innocence in the current case. romp into the fantasy world that is dark, frightening, and a whole lot of fun. When it is revealed that a local art When we first meet Anna, she is a child; a young girl who doesn’t know a lot about the dealer, Vandra Gudren, and her world around her, only the poverty that she’s surrounded by. Then, she meets Asher. Asher companion, Konrad, had been at Paven’s home the evening his wife takes her away from her horrible life with parents who do not give her anything but pain and vanished, Inola’s investigation a lot of disappointment. Asher is a hero; he provides her with all she could possibly want and leads her along that path. Dragged Anna’s life changes for the better. When Anna hits her teenage years, she would like their relationship to further into the case by a revelation change a bit, but Asher remains more of a guardian until Anna grows up. that a past, personal attack may When the new relationship begins, the bond between them turns from friends into lovers, but more have been the precursor to all the than anything Anna wants she and Asher to marry, live a normal, perfect life, and build their own little family. missing women, Inola closes out Trouble is…Asher wants to party. As she matures, Anna eventually realizes that she must leave Asher behind, her week determined to bring all wanting much more for her future. The really unfortunate part? Asher has no interest in her leaving, and when the cases to a head, no matter the she attempts to live that normal life, Asher shows his vampire ways in order to kidnap her and bring her back consequences. to him. A standing round of applause Turns out Asher is actually quite an old vampire. And although he had the best of intensions when it for this dynamite blast of a thriller. came to helping young Anna, he is not so honorable with the mature woman. But he’s not the only one with Bravo! gifts. Anna is also supernatural; she’s a witch, although exploring her powers is not something she’s done thus Reviewed by Mark P. Sadler, author far. Now…she needs to. of “Blood on his Hands” published A vampire tale that is dark and creepy and not sugar and spice. A fresh, thrilling look at a very worn-out by Suspense Publishing, an imprint character. of Suspense Magazine ■ Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 34 THE MANHATTAN PUZZLE THE GHOST AND By Laurence O'Bryan MRS. MEWER Romance, history, long lost treasures—author, O’Bryan, has done it again with this third By Krista Davis puzzling thriller featuring Isabel and Sean Ryan. Isabel is waiting for Sean to come home from the bank where he works in order to leave. It is coming up on Halloween They have a getaway planned to romantic Paris, and have been looking forward to taking time in Wagtail, VA, and the town is away and spending it together. But when Sean doesn’t show up, Isabel begins to worry. readying itself to put on a great, Deciding to search for him, Isabel leaves her son, Alek, with a friend to go to Manhattan spooky Halloween weekend. where Sean works. Her husband’s job is being a consultant for a huge banking company, BXH. Recently a threat The Sugar Maple Inn run by of a takeover by the Chinese has come to light. Sean has discovered a web of corruption, and by uncovering Liesel “Oma” Miller, and her some facts he shouldn’t know, he has placed himself in danger. Kidnapped and framed as a prime suspect in granddaughter, Holly Miller, who a murder, Sean is in massive trouble, and it’s up to Isabel to locate him. Even though she is also in danger of has recently moved to the Inn, is disappearing, she finds herself in the vaults beneath the city looking to save her beloved. a huge part of the party and begin Xena, a dominatrix; Lord Bidoner, a massively creepy guy; and, Henry, a man from MI5, are all characters welcoming their guests. in this tale that jump out at the reader as the action progresses and Isabel runs full-force into an adventure that A TV series called “Apparition can have tragic consequences for a great many people. Apprehenders” is coming to the Although this tale can stand alone for the readers out there who have not yet dove head-first into these Inn to film their series this night, exciting books. The first two: “The Istanbul Puzzle” and “The Jerusalem Puzzle” are incredible reads that not and another guest, Eva, is there only provide you with knowledge of Sean and Isabel, but show you the amazing puzzles that this team has to convince everyone that there already solved. This is most definitely a must-read! is no such thing as a ghost. There Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ are many fun oddities about the UNBECOMING Inn, including the fact that it is By Rebecca Scherm designed for pet owners to bring “The first lie Grace had told Hanna was her name.” So begins Rebecca Scherm’s debut their best and furriest friends novel “Unbecoming”—and it is quite a debut. along with them to enjoy the Inn’s Grace calls herself Julie in the restoration house where she’s found work in Paris. She spins list of amenities. All animals are the story that she’s from California since most people already have a concept of that state so welcome; Eva, for example, has they’d be satisfied and wouldn’t ask questions. If she told people the truth, that she actually was a Siamese named Mrs. Mewer, from Tennessee, then there’d be questions about hillbillies or Elvis and what it was like to live while the Inn itself, has a Golden there. Over the course of her life, Grace has learned that it’s often simpler to lie, and she’s gotten good at it. Retriever called Gingersnap, who A long, twisted road has led her from Garland, Tennessee to her current status as an undocumented is a canine ambassador for the resident of France, with stops in New York City and Prague. Along the way, she’s learned about objects d’art: guests. Add Holly’s Jack Russell, their history, their repair, and their value. She’s also learned how to steal. Trixie, and a calico kitten named, Shortly after she left Garland, her long-time boyfriend (and secret husband) tried to loot a museum in the Twinkletoes, and you have a town that was filled with items that could be sold easily in antique stores. He brought his two best friends in howlin’ good Halloween. on the caper, but the robbery was botched horribly and almost resulted in the death of an elderly man. One of Not too far into the weekend the friends cuts a deal and turns in the other two young men, who are each sentenced to eight years in prison. festivities a body is found near What remains a secret is that Grace was instrumental in the planning of the robbery. Now her husband and the the old, and supposedly haunted, other friend have been paroled after just three years, and Grace is sure they’re coming after her. Wagtail Springs Hotel. Suspect “Unbecoming” is a twist on the coming-of-age story that harkens back to the work of Patricia Highsmith, number one becomes Eva, and “The Burglar” by David Goodis, and other classic noir crime stories, yet it is fresh and enthralling. The character Holly automatically begins to of Grace wiggles herself into your brain so that you root for her in spite of everything she’s done—or maybe attempt to clear the woman’s because of it. name. But the murder is not all Reviewed by David Ingram ■ that Wagtail has to suffer. A friend of Holly’s, Clementine, is going WHEN YOU LEAVE through a divorce and she and By Monica Ropal her kids are being followed about “When You Leave” tells the story of a teenage girl from ‘the wrong side of town’ who finds herself living town by a stranger. With all the on ‘the right side’ thanks to her mom’s new marriage. Torn from her high school and the life she knew, Cass is hustle and bustle of both pets and adamant that she is going to stay loyal to her friends. She is transplanted into a private prep school and into an humans, this is one Halloween environment that’s not just foreign; it’s everything she and her friends are against. filled with intrigue! So she thinks. This is book two of the Determined to blend in with her surroundings and anonymously make it through the school year, fate author’s Paws and Claws mystery steps in and introduces her to Cooper. He is the popular jock that yet again stands for everything she’s against. series, and a very good read. The As much as she doesn’t want to be attracted to him, she is, and him to her. characters are entertaining and What transpires is a coming-of-age story of budding romance, trust, friendship, and murder! the Sugar Maple Inn—whether Cooper is beaten to death and Cass’s friend, Gav, is accused of and arrested for the murder. Cass knows haunted or not—is truly an that Gav is a lot of things, but a murderer? She doesn’t think so. Cass and her friends—new and old—risk their animal’s paradise. Check out the lives to try and find out the truth. recipes in the back for both man Throughout “When You Leave,” Ropal weaves a raw, truthful look at teenage angst and what it means to and ‘beast’ for a little extra fun. be a friend. She will keep you spellbound until the very end when you finally realize what happenswhen you Reviewed by Mary Lignor, leave. Professional Librarian and Co- Reviewed by J.M. LeDuc, author of “Sin,” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine Owner of The Write Companion ■ ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 35 THE ABOMINATION THIEF By Jonathan Holt By Mark Sullivan In the beginning of this action-packed mystery, main character, Robin Monarch, is in the process of This is the very beginning of robbing one of the many mansions located in the very posh landscape of Greenwich, Connecticut. This is a terrific new trilogy set in Venice, the home of wealthy Beau Arsenault, yet the thief isn’t worried about being caught, seeing as how there’s a Italy. Two women are the leaders very happy Christmas party going on all around him. in this tale; Captain Kat Tapo of Robin Monarch is an ex-soldier and an ex-CIA operative who now makes a living as a thief, and a darn the national military police of Italy good one at that. Orphaned when he was young, Robin originally began stealing to take care of himself and (AKA: Carabinieri), and Second his friends and cohorts. Now in adulthood, Robin steals in order to give back to the woman who saved his Lieutenant Holly Boland with the life; Sister Rachel, a nun who runs an orphanage in Buenos Aires. United States Army. Together, they This time Robin’s chosen victim is a businessman who is not above a little bribery and extortion when are going to solve the murder of a it comes to his list of business dealings. And Robin is not exactly heartbroken by taking some ‘from the rich woman dressed as a Priest. to give to the poor’ as he is planning to give the money to help orphans and other kids living on the streets. Yes, the puzzle begins Unfortunately, this time around the robbery doesn’t quite go off as planned. Robin’s original idea was to kill immediately. For a woman to be two birds with one stone and use the chaos that the robbery would create to then break into the victim’s ordained a Catholic Priest would secret vaults. Two unexpected problems arise when a bullet is shot, and a mind set on revenge turns out to be an abomination against the be an enemy who will go to the ends of the earth to wipe Robin off the map. Arsenault is dangerous and he Church, and these women must do turns his gaze on Sister Rachel. In order to protect his hero, Robin must steal an enormous secret that would everything they can to figure out how supply major player’s extraordinary powers that they will definitely not use for good. on earth something like this could be One of the best Robin Monarch stories thus far, readers will have such a great time that they will be possible. This is Captain Tapo’s first begging for the next installment. murder case, and will definitely be Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ the one that she’ll forever remember. WHAT THE FLY SAW Killings begin to occur which By Frankie Y. Bailey brings in Holly Boland as the U.S. Author Frankie Y. Bailey has created a parallel universe in the not-too-distant future Army becomes interested in the based on her version of Albany, New York. “What the Fly Saw” is the second book in her escalating crimes. With the women Detective Hannah McCabe mystery series where the Albany Police Department uses high- working well together, they uncover tech surveillance cameras to aid investigations and personal communication devices called some dark streets in Venice with ORBs. mean, shifty characters they have When a funeral director is shot with a bow and arrow and found murdered in the to encounter in order to solve the basement of his facility in downtown Albany, Detective McCabe has no clues and too many suspects. A case. During their investigation, the wealthy dowager who was a friend of the victim has her medium arrange a séance with all the suspects in women come across a virtual online attendance, but the shocking result leaves more questions than answers. Soon after the séance, the medium version of Venice that is called is poisoned, and Detective McCabe struggles to solve the case before more people are murdered. ‘Carnivia.’ And when the women “What the Fly Saw” has many twists and turns with a large cast of characters who are all linked together find out that in order to solve the in one way or another by the time the case is solved, a la Agatha Christie, and the book ends in a cliffhanger cases happening in the real Venice for Detective Hannah McCabe. they have to first learn all about the Reviewed by S.L. Menear, author of “Deadstick Dawn” published by Suspense Publishing, an imprint of virtual Venice, the story goes into Suspense Magazine ■ overdrive. THE SKELETON TAKES A BOW Exploring the world of virtual By Leigh Perry reality from Venice to human This newest in theFamily Skeleton Mystery series is absolutely terrific. Yet again, Perry has trafficking in the Balkans and other come up with a fantastic concept that has never been done. crimes of war that were committed This series covers the Thackery family; of which, a skeleton just happens to be the there, readers will need to keep alert main character. His name is Sid. This go round, Madison, the daughter of Georgia Thackery, in order to make sure not a bit of this decides to include Sid in one of her high school plays. What else? Hamlet. Madison convinces thrill-ride is missed. The CIA is, as her mother that Sid can play the part of Yorick’s skull to perfection, and Madison can carry the always, present and accounted for skull to school each day and bring it back when school is dismissed, so there’s no problem. as they shadow everyone with their Sid is having a whale of a time eavesdropping on high school drama, learning all about the romances drones. The Church, corruption, and schemes of teenagers, until the fateful night that Madison forgets to bring him home and he just happens conspiracy theories—everything is to overhear a conversation about murder. on the table as the investigators step Georgia tries to involve the law but they aren’t able to find any evidence of a crime. Georgia, however, into the unknown, crazy world of knows Sid wouldn’t lie. So soon Sid, along with Georgia and Madison, jump on the trail of finding both a Carnivia. body and a killer. A new, fresh, exciting story Such a fun read; from the family life to Madison’s school days to looking for a very real murderer, fans that is so cleverly written fans need will have a ton of fun. They will almost be able to see Sid with his hands behind his skull and his feet up on to jump on board now. Because if a footstool. Not to mention, the family dog, Byron, who gnaws on a bone but still gazes longingly at Sid’s Book 1 is this good, the rest of this collection, knowing he can’t touch them. trilogy is going to be the epitome of The murder is highly unusual and hard to solve, and offers up an irreverent cast of characters. Humor excitement. abounds due to the long friendship between Georgia and Sid. And because Perry has, yet again, come up Reviewed by Mary Lignor, with a barrel of surprises it’s a good bet that there will be more tales of Sid and family in the not too distant Professional Librarian and Co- future. Owner of The Write Companion ■ Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 36 BURIED SECRETS DEEPER THAN THE By Irene Hannon GRAVE Lisa Grant left her job as a homicide detective in Chicago and is now a small-town police By Tina Whittle chief in Carson; a very different environment . . . until the discovery of a human skeleton is made by a construction crew. Calling for assistance, Lisa is aided by County Detective Mac Set in the Deep South, this title McGregor, an ex-Navy SEAL. Lisa is put out by Mac at first, as she thinks he’s just stringing her is a seriously interesting mystery. along and does not believe for one second that she can run a police department. Nonetheless, Tai Randolph lives in Atlanta you have to dance with the one who brung ya (as the old saying goes), which means Lisa has and owns a gun shop left to her by to deal with Mac whether she likes it or not in order to solve the mystery. her late Uncle Dexter. The shop Even though their team may not be a happy one, the crime becomes extremely confusing. There is actually caters to Civil War re- someone out there that did not want this skeleton to come to light and is doing all they can to make sure that enactors. Tai’s significant other, Trey dead men tell no tales. This is one of those times that the corpse may fall under the category of ‘cold case’ but Seaver, is a corporate security agent. Lisa and Mac will not stop just because a killer wants to make sure that the dead stay buried. Although he has tendencies that Lisa and Mac’s relationship throughout the book is extremely entertaining because of the build-up of cause you to worry, the couple seem tension. Yes, the old scenario that tension equals attraction is spotlighted in this tale, but the characters are to make a perfect match. so bold that the relationship adds greatly to the plot. Readers will know some of the answers to this crime as A tale soon unwinds that is quickly as Mac and Lisa can figure it out. But the discovery of evidence and a couple of twists that come out adventure, mystery, with a dash of the of nowhere will keep readers on their toes while waiting for the next ‘someone’ to get hurt. historical, seeing as that everything This is a terrific romantic suspense read. Not a surprise, seeing as how Irene Hannon is the creator of from Civil War relics to modern day many series that make readers come back again and again for more. internet become intertwined. Tai Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ gets a call that a twister has blown THE CAT, THE DEVIL, THE LAST ESCAPE through a Kennesaw Mountain By Shirley Rousseau and Pat J. J. Murphy cemetery scattering the bones of a Don’t think that just because there’s a cat on the cover this will be a light, cozy book. It’s Confederate hero by the name of pretty gritty for a book with a talking cat. Misto is a ghost cat, though, so that’s different. Braxton Amberdecker. Tai is asked There’s a lot that is different about this series. Rousseau writes a cozy series, theJoe Grey to recover the bones, and although series, as well as books for all ages of child, plus fantasy; but when she teams up with her she finds some, she also makes the husband, the books gets darker. Murphy is a retired probation officer, which is probably why discovery that these bones do not the prison scenes seem to ring with authenticity. Lee Fontana makes his second appearance belong to a body that walked the with Misto, this time locked up for a robbery. Lee’s grandpappy, a train robber, instilled the love of robbing earth during the Civil War. Instead, trains into his grandson. The old man also carried a curse that has been handed down to Lee. the skull and bones she finds come Misto became a ghost cat when he died while living with a little girl named Sammie. Sammie has a along with a NASCAR belt buckle special gift, dreams that portend the future and some that connect with other people in the present. Misto and turn out to be the skeleton of splits his time between Lee and Sammie because he has a mission: to bring about justice for Sammie’s falsely Lucius Dufrene, a man who might accused father. Several characters acting on behalf of the Devil are determined to get in the way and continue have been killed by her own Uncle the curse, but Lee, Sammie, and Misto are just as determined to get the best of Satan. Dexter who had the motive, means, In spite of the various supernatural factors, the characters seemed very real. I was drawn to them and and opportunity to have done the read avidly, caring about what would happen to them at the end of the book. horrible deed. Reviewed by Kaye George, author of “Eine Kleine Murder” ■ The late Uncle Dexter is certainly being looked at for the SAVING CECIL crime but the suspect list begins By Lee Mims to grow. Richard, the caretaker of Cleo Cooper has been hired as a consulting ecologist for Greenlite Energy’s search for the wealthy Amberdecker family natural gas on the Laudebach Dairy Farm in North Carolina. During their drilling for the grounds is also interrogated, along natural gas, Cleo is treed by a feral hog. And to top off the day, on her way back to the crew with the highly respected members (sans hog), she discovers a dead body in the woods. In other words, Cleo has gotten herself of the Amberdecker family. Let’s into far more than she bargained for. just say…they are more than a little Unfortunately, the Lee County sheriff investigating the crime is Sheriff Clyde Stuckey. odd. The man who once jailed her father, he and Cleo do not have the best of all relationships. As a matter of fact, As Tai and Trey work to clear Stuckey would like nothing more than to pin the murder on Cleo. Uncle Dexter’s name and save the Thankfully, Sheriff’s Detective Sgt. Chris Bryant is sweet on Cleo and takes her side against the unruly, business, they unearth a wealth angry sheriff. The one thing the smitten Chris doesn’t know is that Cleo is about to remarry her ex-husband of secrets buried in that famous Bud. And even if she wasn’t, she couldn’t be interested in Chris seeing as how he’s closer in age to her kids red clay of Georgia that lead to a than to Cleo herself. very-much-alive murderer who’s Uncovering the mystery, they find that the victim was a college student. Since there has been a lot of definitely on the rampage. controversy over the drilling for natural gas in the area, environmental protests may be the motive behind This is a real page-turner. the crime. But when Cleo finds a well-preserved fossil she refers to as ‘Cecil,’ she might just have stumbled There is so much intrigue and cool over the real reason for murder. A wedding to plan, kids to handle, a sheriff heck-bent on making her life information readers will want to miserable…Cleo faces it all. read slowly so as not to miss a single A fun tale where the reader will love following Cleo on her quest to find the killer. From being shot at word. to discovering an illegal trophy-hunting plan that causes her to breathe in chloroform, she is certainly a busy Reviewed by Mary Lignor, girl that will keep readers interested until the final page. Professional Librarian and Co- Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ Owner of The Write Companion ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 37 THE SUICIDE EXHIBITION By Justin Richards It’s not often you see a book cover with the well- known swastika combined with UFO’s, but that theme is why this novel is different to say the least. A very interesting premise, this tale begins in the year 1940, where the author has set readers up for a World War II thriller, playing on the Nazi beliefs that aliens and their search for the unimagined could help them win the war and rule the entire planet. Set against these nefarious creatures are the men and women of Station Z, a British department who flies way under the radar. They are told to stop the Nazi Party by any means possible. Major Guy Pentecross—an interpreter who understands many languages—is pulled into the plans of Station Z, becoming a member of the secret team who are trying their best to help the Allies. It seems the Nazi’s have brought forth an ancient cult. The alien Vril and their Ubermensch (AKA Superman) have come back, and the Nazi’s are using them to win the battle. Seems these aliens have already been to Earth. Add in the fact that Hitler, being a student of the occult, is looking for the Ark of the Covenant and the Holy Grail believing that these artifacts belong to the Reich, and you find a very fresh approach to the ‘war within the War.’ More than a dash of history is given to readers as they not only learn about an alien race but also live out Nazi action that spans from Europe to North Africa. The author has done a magnificent job of opening a new door to the German High Command’s plots and schemes. And there is more to come. “The Blood Red City” is the name of the sequel, and after reading this one, you will definitely be watching for it! Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■ UNLEASHED By David Rosenfelt In this latest book featuring Andy Carpenter, known in his own circles as Paterson, New Jersey’s laziest attorney, he finds himself knee-deep in a case involving a terrorist plot that will blow readers’ minds. Sam Willis, Andy’s accountant, gets a call from an old friend. Barry Price, a local, very wealthy investment counselor, phones him to let him know that he’s in need of a criminal lawyer. Wanting to find out why, Sam heads out to meet him at Barry’s private plane. But when he hits a dog on the road, instead of heading straight to his friend, Sam stops to take the poor canine to a vet for care. And when he finally gets to Barry’s house, he’s not only told that Barry took off in his plane, but that the plane has also crashed. Lt. Chuck Jennings of the Morristown PD advises Sam that Barry is dead. However, instead of blaming the corpse on a plane crash, the actual death is chalked up as murder. Poisoned before he ever left his house, the police make an arrest and Andy finds himself having to go to work. Andy and his girlfriend, PI Laurie Collins, set out to find clues as to what really happened to Barry, and why. But everything they discover brings them to yet another murder scene. And when Sam is arrested as well for Barry’s death, the entire world is turned upside down. Barry’s death ends up to be small potatoes as the case expands into a terrorist plot that’s set in motion to cause a string of assassinations across the country. Add in a group planning to commit a series of murders of rich Americans, and a tale of a Golden Retriever that plays a major role in this cast of characters, and you have a terrific book you will not want to miss. This is definitely a 5-star read! Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Companion ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 38 CHAPPIE Movies 2015 Genre – Action/Sci-Fi/Thriller (R) South African filmmaker, Neill Blomkamp, brings filmgoers this new sci-fi tale set in the near future. His frst film,District 9, was a refreshing take on filmmaking and was heralded as an emotionally wrenching experience. His second film,Elysium , starred ‘A’-list actors galore, though it was actually thought of as a comedown from his amazing debut. Chappie sits somewhere in between. Perhaps the problem is that Blomkamp has resurrected his own District 9 material; repeating the storyline of an isolated sympathetic alien (Chappie is the A.I. robot in this one), pursued by those who don’t understand him—thus, fear his very existence. He also has a preoccupation with mining characters from the darkest sides of society in each of his films; the drug dealers, criminals, and those living in slums. That aside, if you judgeChappie on its own merits, you will find it a very entertaining film, although know going in to be prepared for some extreme, up-close violence. Deon (Dev Patel) works for a weapons manufacturer and was instrumental in creating the ‘Scouts’ robots that are now effectively employed by the police. On his own time he continues to develop an A.I. program which he decides to try out on a robot that’s about to be crushed. His superior, played by Sigourney Weaver, won’t allow him to spend his time on a pursuit which might undermine their Scout robots credibility. But before he can upload the program to his robot, a trio of ruthless criminals see the opportunity to use an A.I. robot to commit a big heist, and kidnap Chappie. Now, when Chappie is activated he’s similar to a baby and must evolve much like a human. A great deal of his charm comes from his learning by imitation, and his unique innocence and naivety. Vincent Moore (Hugh Jackman with a very bad haircut), has tried to sell his super robots (MOOSE) to the police department, too. But Chappie’s comrade robots are doing too good a job for the people in charge to switch. Vincent wants the dollars, so he follows Deon when he visits Chappie at the gang’s hideout and decides sentient robots are dangerous, taking it upon himself to destroy Chappie with disastrous results. The biggest treat is the robot special effects; the Scouts and Chappie (Sharlto Copley) are extraordinary realistic, utilizing digital renders over gray-suited actors. You really do believe you are watching a living, sentient robot. This film may not be what everyone is expecting; however, it is a thrilling piece of entertainment that does take us very cleverly to a different world. When it comes to sci-fi, that’s all I ask. So I’m a Chappie fan, and boy do I want one. Reviewed by Susan May, author of “Back Again” (www.susanmaywriter.com) ■ INSURGENT 2015 Genre – Adventure/Sci-Fi/Thriller (R) Veronica Roth, author of the Divergent series, was one of the top-selling authors last year; her books rarely spent a moment out of the Amazon “Top Ten.” I must say, I wasn’t a fan of the book series. I couldn’t shake the feeling they were a copy of The Hunger Games. However, the films are an entirely different beast. By neatly condensing the books, the films are a far more exciting ‘watch’ than they were a ‘read.’ It’s an exciting mix of action, romance and politics, well put together by the writers. And even if you haven’t seen the first movie or read any of the books, you will still enjoy this thrilling ride. The film opens by throwing us right into the middle of the action. Tris (Shailene Woodley), Four (Theo James), and the rest of the gang are now outlaws. They are on the run from Jeanine (Kate Winslet), leader of Erudite faction. They are holed up at Amity faction, where the code is to remain peaceful and forgiving. It doesn’t take long for the small Dauntless group to find themselves at odds with the Amity villagers, and to be discovered by Eric (Jai Courtney) and the guards hunting them down on behalf of Jeanine. Tris is also dealing with the guilt of the slaughter of her mother and her friends in a raid that wiped out Tris’s old faction, Abnegation, in the previous film. She discovers her mother was protecting a secret that she was prepared to die for; the same secret that Jeanine will kill for. A little more is revealed about Eric, which adds a twist to the story. Some old friends will betray Tris, but she will also gain new allies. With Insurgent, the world is revealed as far bigger than we imagined in Divergent, and you will be left panting for the next film to arrive on screens. These films have definitely opened my eyes to the books, and I now see why it’s done so well. These are interesting characters, and the angst and fight in Tris makes her a great protagonist. In fact, I don’t think I can wait for next year’s film,Allegiant (which incidentally is being split into two parts) in order to discover what happens. I may just have to read the book. Reviewed by Susan May, author of “Back Again” (www.susanmaywriter.com) ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 39 COPY EDITOR’S CORNER At the End of my Trope With Crime Fiction

By Jim Thomsen One of my favorite panels at the recent Left Coast Crime conference in Portland, Ore., was titled: “The Taste of Copper, The Smell of Cordite: Clichés in Crime Fiction.” Every author on the panel admitted to trafficking in the same old genre tropes, such as “the sassy ethnic sidekick,” “the sexy FBI profiler,” or “the convenient gunshot wound to the shoulder.” But some of the panelists also defended the use of such shopworn constructs, saying that readers come to expect them and take comfort in them. And in this risk-averse climate, it would stand to reason that publishers would reward authors for delivering familiar pleasures with new and renewed contracts—even as they go to conferences like Left Coast Crime and say irritatingly contradictory things like; “write the best book you possibly can and someone will publish it” or “follow your passion and success will follow” and the shopworn “we’re looking for fresh, original voices.” It might be argued that the authors who succeed the most take the tropes and put fresh spins on them. Lee Child would seem to be a good example, delivering in Jack Reacher a classic knight-errant who is also handicapped by his inability and unwillingness to forge connections with people and function within today’s technologically interconnected world—almost to the point that, with his superior logic and math skills, Reacher could be seen as a high-functioning autistic. Nobody imbued a physical superhero before with such intractable handicaps (that often turned out to be assets, which in my opinion is Child’s true genius). That so many authors have since created nomadic-military-man thrillers in the wake of Child’s success would seem to be a case of a transcended trope transforming into a new trope. I would imagine it’s frustrating to authors who want to share a worthwhile original, personal vision with the world—only to be confronted with a gatekeeper who wants only to know how it resembles that which has been proven to sell. Seems like a race to the bottom of the trope barrel, doesn’t it? For some time, I’ve been making a list of genre clichés and tropes of my own, culled from both my pleasure reading and my manuscript editing, and collecting (and mocking them mercilessly) at the Twitter handle @crimefictrope. (“Writing painfully derivative, excruciatingly lucrative crime fiction so you don’t have to.”) Below is a list of some of my cringe-inducing favorites. Look them over and ask yourself: 1) Do I traffic in any of these tropes; and 2) If so, how can I subvert them or transcend them, make them original somehow? THE GORGEOUS YOUNG COP/LAWYER/REPORTER/SEX-ATTACK VICTIM WHO FINDS THE FIFTYISH,

BALDING, PAUNCHY, PUFFY, SURLY, DRUNK DETECTIVE SEXUALLY IRRESISTABLE. Not sure any trope says more about the middle-aged white guys who dominated crime fiction for decades. (This goes in tandem with the top old- white-guy trope in literary fiction: the misunderstood, miserably married college literature professor who is seduced by the sexy, shy, damaged, slightly punk-rocky co-ed. Bonus trope points if they go on a road trip.) THE COLORFULLY PROFANE, TATTOOED, MULTI-PIERCED, ANTISOCIAL YOUNG COMPUTER-HACKER

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 40 SIDEKICK. Bonus points if they live in their parents’ basement and subsist entirely on Hostess products and energy drinks. Do any of us know anybody like this in real life?

THE DAMAGED ALCOHOLIC WAR-VETERAN COP WHO UNWINDS TO OLD BLUES OR JAZZ. What was once a leavening character note, most notably in the Harry Bosch novels, has become an eye-rolling cliché (which, ironically, was apparent in the otherwise fine TV seriesBosch ). Even Lee Child trips over this, giving Jack Reacher an affinity for old blues music of the 1930s. (I made fun of this on @crimefictrope by creating a character who “soothes his biblically scorched soul with Remy Martin and REO Speedwagon bootlegs.”)

CUTESY-POO TITLES IN COZY MYSTERY NOVELS. Have we not run out of titter-inducing puns yet? Maybe not until someone uses what I think is the ultimate cozy pun-title: “Vicar Mortis.” (Though I confess to liking “The Hand That Rocks the Ladle,” by Tamar Myers.) On @crimefictrope, I created Zirconia Jones and sidekick Ephraim “Ersatz” Katz, counterfeiter hunters on the trail of knockoff Muppets in The Fugazi Fozzie. THE FLORIDA NOVEL FEATURING A BOAT-OWNING SOCIETY-DROPOUT SLEUTH WHO FISHES, DRINKS,

SWEARS, SMOKES, WOMANIZES AND DRESSES IN LOUD GUAYABERA SHIRTS. It started with John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee, was taken up to 11 by Elmore Leonard, Carl Hiassen, James W. Hall, Randy Wayne White, Edna Buchanan and Tim Dorsey, and now I don’t think it’s possible to publish a Florida-set crime novel without a pitch that doesn’t sound like every Jimmy Buffett song character and storyline being thrown into a blender. My theory is all this hyper-masculine goofballery comes from a need to overcompensate for the shape of the state….

THRILLER HEROES NAMED JACK OR JAKE. Speaking of hyper-masculine tropes…. Can’t a sweat-stippled, quip- spewing, submachine-toting badass ever be named Phil or Millard or Norbert? Or DeSean or Javier or, God forbid, Debbie?

FORCED, JUST-HAPPENS-TO-BE-DEMOGRAPHICALLY-PLEASING CRIME-KILLING PAIRINGS. The sexy FBI profiler and the small-town female sheriff. The police detective and the sexy mob witness on the run. The lawyer and the sexy ex-husband she can’t live with and yet can’t resist. These rarely come together plausibly, but a skilled writer can get past this speed bump on the Suspension of Disbelief Highway with robust plotting and characters who pay at least as much attention to the story as they do to each other’s skin.

THE GOD IN THE MACHINE RESCUE FROM ALL-BUT CERTAIN DEATH. You’ve seen this: The duct-taped victim who spots a shard of broken glass on the basement floor. The handcuffed hero who just might be able to reach that bent paper clip on the table. The protagonist who is repeatedly punched and kicked but is able to stab the villain with a handy nearby meat thermometer or letter opener when the baddie pauses for just a second. How can these not strip away your suspension of disbelief?

There’s plenty more examples in the trope trough, but I’ve written way beyond my word count and am behind on my deadline. Which may be the biggest writer trope of all…. ■

Jim Thomsen is Suspense Magazine’s copy editor. Jim has been a full-time editor for authors since 2010. Each month, he’ll diagnose and discuss problems that crop up in his work with his clients. He lives on Bainbridge Island, Washington and can be reached at [email protected].

SuspenseMagazine.com 41 Featured Artist MASOUMEH TAVAKOLI BREAKING BORDERS Interview by Suspense Magazine

DARK WINTER TALE

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 42 ur March artist, Masoumeh Tavakoli, lives, learns, and creates under difficult conditions. OHer family—originally from Afghanistan—now lives in Iran, where their immigrant life isn’t easy. Faced with racism and difficulty moving ahead, Masoumeh found her calling in the creative world when she discovered DeviantArt five years ago and began learning on her own. She’s unable to publish her work at home due to restrictions under Iran’s Islamic Republic law, but she’s not allowing those limitations to stop her. What began as a hobby quickly became her fulltime job when she began accepting commissions and freelance jobs on the global market. We’re thankful that Masoumeh contacted us and are excited to debut her work within the pages of Suspense Magazine.

Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): How did you get interested in the world of art? Did you begin with digital art or another medium?

Masoumeh Tavakoli (M.T.): Struggling through problems in my life and not having any artistic guidance or opportunity, I never imagined myself as an artist. I started self-studying in 2011 when I found DeviantArt on the internet. Finding such a large collection of art, I decided to create my own. Studying tutorials, practicing and experimenting, I finally found my way. Now when I look at an image, I can see the hidden story in it waiting to be shown. I draw traditional images and sometimes draw cartoon characters and work on them in Illustrator or Photoshop. But I mainly create photomanipulations with fantasy themes focusing on vibrant colors or realistic and dark styles.

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

M.T.: The Last Lonely Tale is my favorite work. I relate to it. Living in a country where people look at me differently because I’m an immigrant sometimes makes me feel very alone. In this piece, I expressed my own emotions. I also like Eternal Friends because it’s a birthday gift for a good friend.

S. MAG.: What is your favorite part of the development of a new piece?

M.T.: Playing with colors and adding light. These both have an important role in creating a piece that is live and real.

S. MAG.: What is your biggest challenge professionally?

M.T.: I want to study photography to become a professional photographer and famous digital artist.

S. MAG.: In the artistic world, who or what has been a strong inspiration for you?

M.T.: Natalie Suellen is my favorite photomanipulator. She is very creative, her work never gets boring, and she always finds new ideas and techniques. I also like Erwin Madrid’s concepts and character designs. NIGHT DREAMS S. MAG.: What is your idea of fun? If given

SuspenseMagazine.com 43 “I LOVE THE FOREST, WATERFALLS, AND LAKES. THERE, I CAN RELAX AND FORGET ANY STRESS OR WORRIES AND FIND INSPIRATION”

ETERNAL FRIENDS SAD CROW

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 44 a choice to skip work for a day, how would you spend the entire day? WITHOUT AN UMBRELLA M.T.: I like to pick up my drawing board and old camera and go into nature. I love the forest, waterfalls, and lakes. There, I can relax and forget any stress or worries and find inspiration.

S. MAG.: If you could be any character in fiction, who would you be?

M.T.: I’ve always wanted to be Red Riding Hood! And let the wolf eat Grandma, but not me! Haha.

S. MAG.: Finish this sentence: If I wasn’t an artist, I would be______?

M.T.: I can’t imagine myself not being an artist, but if I had to, I would be an author. I already write short stories sometimes.

S. MAG.: Tell us something about your home country that we wouldn’t find in a travel brochure. M.T.: I’ve never been to my home country of Afghanistan, THE LAST LONELY TALE so I don’t know much more than others, but I do know that Afghans are talented and smart people. Afghanistan really needs other countries help to become a safer place to live.

S. MAG.: What is the biggest dream you have surrounding your art?

M.T.: I wish to leave Iran and see the world. I want to experience new things, see new people and places. My dream is to live somewhere without racism and have equal rights just like the other people. I’d like to live in Canada! I long to go there and get an art degree.

We’d like to thank Masoumeh for spending time with us. For more information on her work, follow her at digitaldreams-art.deviantart.com. ■ Image Credit: Dark Winter Tale: Model: alraunie-stock.deviantart.com/ art/180-133553566, Background: malleni-stock.deviantart.com/art/Snow- stock-54-188789231, dead-stock.deviantart.com, Wolves: salsolastock.deviantart.com, sikaris-stock.deviantart.com, Butterfly: malleni-stock.deviantart.com/art/Butter- fly-Stock-35-287848131, Necklace: ed-resources.deviantart.com, Sparkle brush: elvensword.deviantart.com, Snow brush: faeth-design.deviantart.com, Moon: mabaxter. deviantart.com, Texture: funnybunny-stock.deviantart.com, koko-stock.deviantart.com; Night Dreams: Owls: meggane.deviantart.com, Backgrounds: akinna-stock.de- viantart.com, Thorns: foxytocin.deviantart.com, Lantern: chop-stock.deviantart.com, Sparkles brush: elvensword.deviantart.com; Eternal Friends: Model: liancary-stock. deviantart.com, Owl: nellygrace3103.deviantart.com, Background: umbradenoapte-stock.deviantart.com, Snow texture: funnybunny-stock.deviantart.com; Sad Crow: Model: faestock.deviantart.com/art/Jazz27-276761005, Crows: stockmichelle.deviantart.com/art/Black-Crow-in-flight-101574139, lakela.deviantart.com/art/Crow- Stock-9-290328548, frankandcarystock.deviantart.com/art/Crow1-413375731, fairiegoodmother.deviantart.com/art/Black-Raven-and-Crow-Stock-PSD-87731248, Sky: nikkayla.deviantart.com/art/Clouds-63-200888190, Stone floor: jesuisautre.deviantart.com/art/stone-floor-stock-xvii-59868295, Texture: sirius-sdz.deviantart.com/ art/Texture-235-217365392, Birds: selunia.deviantart.com/art/Birds-05-PNG-Stock-336207666, frankandcarystock.deviantart.com/art/Bird-Silhouettes-352799286, Feather brushes: lunanyxstock.deviantart.com/art/Feather-brushes-set-03-126718136, lunanyxstock.deviantart.com/art/Feather-brushes-set-02-126716201, Smoke brush: www.brusheezy.com/brushes/21907-krist-s-smoke-brushes; Without an Umbrella: Couple and Raven: mariannainsomnia.deviantart.com, Background: angband. deviantart.com/art/Misty-Forest-Stock-V-172145034, Plants: zememz.deviantart.com/art/Creepers-n-Vines-Pack-288361797, alz-stock-and-art.deviantart.com/art/ Nature-Foreground-PNG-463908146, Rain texture 1: funnybunny-stock.deviantart.com/art/Rain-Texture-109062956, Rain texture 2: spoofdecator.deviantart.com/art/ rain-texture-175789728; The Last Lonely Tale: Model: kristabelladc3.deviantart.com/art/Blue-Dress-Stock-31-194220751, Sky: www.deviantart.com/art/background- stock403-291497800, Field: night-fate-stock.deviantart.com, Lantern: mmp-stock.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=240, Wings: naughtygirlgraphics.deviantart.com, Sparkle Brush: elvensword.deviantart.com/art/Chic-Sparkles-90057259, Smoke brush: falln-stock.deviantart.com/art/Smoke-Brushes-Set-3-116082542

SuspenseMagazine.com 45

THE HUNT FOR JACK RYAN, SOLVED Meet Mark Greaney Interview by Elise Cooper for Suspense Magazine Press Photo Credit: Carrie Echols “Tom Clancy’s Full Force and Effect” by Mark Greaney keeps the torch of Clancy’s books. Readers should be the Jack Ryan legacy alive. The characters of the Campus happy that he was contracted to continue writing organization are still fighting evil, Clancy style. The classic this marvelous series, especially since Jack Ryan Sr. and his trademarks and cast include Jack Ryan Jr., his cousin, Dom, supporting cast are allowed to continue to battle the evil John Clark and Adam Yao, who are alive and well within a powers that exist around the world. twisty plot, a great espionage story, and well-written action scenes. There are some technical details, but not quite so Elise Cooper (E.C.): What was it like working with Tom many as to overburden the plot. Clancy? The storyline includes an attempted assassination of U.S. President Jack Ryan, North Korea attempting to buy Mark Greaney (M.G.): I was called in 2011 and was asked if ICBM missiles to enhance their nuclear capabilities, rogue I would like working with Clancy. My first reaction was, ‘how FBI agents working with the Koreans, and the murder of a am I going to get out of this’ because I was totally intimidated. CIA officer in Vietnam. Greaney intertwines these subjects It turned out my editor at Berkeley was also Tom Clancy’s brilliantly and is able to mimic many of the real-life situations editor at Putnam. Tom was looking for a new co-author. My of this region. Especially when President Ryan challenges editor went to my agent, who then asked if I would like to co- North Korea’s effort to extract trillions of dollars worth of author the next Tom Clancy book. I wish I could say I was rare minerals that would allow them to buy nuclear weapons excited, but the truth is, I was terrified. I have been a massive and influence. Readers can connect the fictional Choi Ji- fan of his since “Patriot Games” in 1987. I have first editions of Hoon with real-life ruler Kim Jong-Un, including the actions most of his books and have read all of them. I wrote twenty-five taken against his uncle. The storyline is insightful and pages, handed them in, and soon thereafter I was in Baltimore relevant, considering North Korea was in the headlines with meeting with Tom Clancy, where we spoke for about three the hacking of the Sony Corporation. Putnam and Greaney hours. We wrote three books together in 2011 and 2012. When might be wary or they too might end up in the crosshairs. we worked together, I never tried to copy his style. “Full Force and Effect” shows that Greaney can carry E.C.: Were you surprised you were so accepted by Clancy fans?

M.G.: He died in October 2013. Within a couple of weeks I was told by Putnam they wanted to contract with me to continue his books. “Full Force and Effect” is well received, including being on the New York Times Best Seller list. I am blown away and happy that the book is being so well received by fans. During the book tour I was constantly thanked for continuing the series.

E.C.: Since this is the first book written on your own, did you try to parrot Clancy?

M.G.: I told myself I would not make a conscious effort to write like him. His writing influenced me since I was such a fan. Being a reader I knew what fans want from these books. I tried to stay

SuspenseMagazine.com 47 true to the characters, such as continuing M.G.: I am a blue-collar guy. I want people TOM CLANCY: FULL to write Jack Ryan as a normal American. to say this is a good Tom Clancy novel. FORCE AND EFFECT From having written with Tom, I Through my research with think tanks By Mark Greaney certainly know the voices of the different and sitting in non-classified Pentagon characters. Once I began this novel, I meetings, I look for nuggets that people Jack Ryan is back on shelves, as the told myself not to do anything differently will find interesting, fun, and exciting incredibly talented writer, Mark Greaney, from when we collaborated, except this with the possibility of learning something. once again takes the well-known time, I would be solely taking the entire character that Tom Clancy brought to the project all the way through. Working with E.C.: Can you give a heads-up about literary world long ago, and scores an A+, him gave me the confidence to take this your next book? a touchdown, or whatever other analogy project on, and write an aggressive story. I you wish to insert here. Mr. Greaney did create some characters. For example, M.G.: I will write another book coming has once again done fans proud, putting the logistics coordinator, Adara Sherman, out next Christmas. I would like to go forth a thrilling plotline with the ultimate was someone who I came up with and back and continue the story of “Command twists and turns, and some good, old- expanded her role. Authority” because the villain is still out fashioned espionage to keep everyone on there. I think it is important to show how their toes. E.C.: Are you next on North Korea’s list? Russia is involved in so many theaters In this new novel, the horror of and conflict zones internationally. In my North Korea and their quest to be the M.G.: When I was up in New York this opinion, the greatest threat is Russia’s ultimate super-power is at the very core of summer people said they would not be Vladimir Putin. I see him as more of a the story. Action begins ASAP as a North surprised if North Korea came back into threat than ISIS. Putin has influence in Korean ICBM crashes into the Sea of the headlines. I do not think anyone could Syria. The Russians are heavily involved in Japan, a CIA officer is killed in Vietnam, imagine the magnitude of what they did. weapons proliferation in South America, and a package of some very important There is a small coincidence. Columbia Asia and the Middle East. I know we hear forged papers goes missing. A mammoth Pictures, a part of Sony, is developing a things about China’s power, especially puzzle begins to build that Jack Ryan, Sr. film based on my own first book, “The relating to cyber-warfare, but my research and Jr. need to figure out, as the United Gray Man.” Some of the hacked emails indicates it’s really in China’s interest to States sits on the brink of facing the worst were from the directors assigned to my work with us. Vladimir Putin is more of a enemy in history. film. The comic world websites recognized loose cannon whose self-interest involves North Korea is being governed by that my directors are also the directors working against us for many reasons. a young, ‘wet-behind-the-ears,’ dictator of Captain America and The Avengers who is adamant to prove he’s strong movies. They briefly spoke about “The I am also writing the fifth book in The enough to run his country. Like his late father before him, he is also into Gray Man” in their hacked emails. Gray Man series. It continues the storyline the distribution of nuclear powers and of an operative burned by the CIA who is bound and determined to hang on E.C.: Can you discuss “The Campus”? now works as a contract killer. It is anti- to the power he has and send it right big bureaucracy. This new book has him down someone’s throat if they get in his M.G.: Tom invented it in 2003. It is an in Washington D.C., where he begins to way. This dictator has found a valuable off-the-books organization set up by Jack unravel what is going on. mineral resource in North Korea and is Ryan Sr. when he was President. It is not planning to shift all the power to himself. part of the official U.S. intelligence and is We’d like to thank Mark for his time. Jack Ryan, President of the United States, a way to write street level espionage, the To learn more, stop by his website at carries the full force and effect of the tactical issues of assassination, hacking, markgreaneybooks.com. ■ law, not Congress, so he must face the and surveillance, by keeping President ultimate challenge to stop North Korea Elise Cooper has interviewed a wide variety Jack Ryan Sr. unaccountable. The Director from achieving success. of bestselling authors for many years. Her of National Intelligence, Mary Pat Foley, There have always been die-hard book reviews and Q/A’s focus on women, has sixteen organizations under her and Clancy fans, but Mark Greaney, the The Campus is the unofficial seventeenth. thrillers, crime mysteries, and national security issues. She considers books an fantastic writer of The Gray Man series, They get information from her and report deserves a huge standing ovation back to her. important part of our lives and hopes these reviews/interviews will provide some for putting together yet another unforgettable Jack Ryan thriller! E.C.: What do you want readers to get insight. In addition, she has set up book tours for authors and was the Director of Reviewed by Mary Lignor, Professional out of this book? Author Relations for the 2014 Veteran’s Librarian and Co-Owner of The Write Benefit Book Fair held in San Diego. Companion ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 48 Vive la France! COMING TO AMERICA Meet Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne

By Meryl Moss Media Relations Press Photo Credit: Provided by Publicist Ritual murders. Ancient enemies. A powerful secret. Two ritual murders—one in Rome and one in Jerusalem—rekindle an ancient rivalry between modern-day secret societies for knowledge lost at the fall of the Third Reich. Inspector Antoine Marcas unwillingly teams up with the strong-willed, and highly critical, Jade Zewinski to chase Neo-Nazi assassins across Europe. They must unravel an arcane mystery, sparked by information from newly revealed KGB files. Inspired by the true story of mysterious Freemason files thought to hold a terrible secret, which were stolen by the SS in 1940, recovered by the Red Army in 1945, and returned a half century later, “Shadow Ritual” is the first novel in a nine book series, which has sold over two million copies, centered on the exploits of Inspector Antoine Marcas.

We don’t normally start an interview out this way, but we thought it was very important to get you excited about a book. One thing that our magazine has been trying to do for the past year is get American fans excited about books that aren’t written by American authors. Authors Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne have written a bestseller that is finally available in the United States. Let’s meet them now. Eric Giacometti studied biochemistry and genetics in Toulouse, France, before going into journalism. Then, at the height of his career as an investigative reporter, Giacometti was contaminated by the thriller virus. His life took on another dimension: journalist by day, writer by night. In 2013, he left his full-time reporting job with a French daily newspaper to work freelance and write. He teaches journalism and writing. Jacques Ravenne is a high-level French Freemason. He is also a literary critic, known for his work on the writers Paul Valéry, Yves Bonnefoy, Gérard de Nerval, and Stéphane Mallarmé. In addition to his academic work, he was also a local elected official for a number of years, and contributes regularly to Freemason publications. He discovered the Marquis de Sade’s château in 1985, beginning a long fascination with the man, which has resulted in an anthology of his correspondence and a novel based on Sade’s life.

Meryl Moss Media Relations (M.M.M.R.): “Shadow Ritual” has been wildly successful, selling over 250,000 copies in France and 600,000 worldwide. To what do you attribute that success?

Eric Giacometti and Jacques Ravenne (E.G. & J.R.): People have always been fascinated by Freemasonry. Our hero, Inspector

SuspenseMagazine.com 49 Antoine Marcas, is a Freemason who believes in Freemason ideals. The novel gives readers an inside view of the brotherhood’s real codes and rituals, and these are genuine and accurate because one of the two authors, Jacques Ravenne, is a Freemason. As for the plot, we were inspired by an incredible, yet true story: that of the French Freemason archives stolen by the Nazis in 1940. The SS really did believe that Freemasons held some esoteric secret. We also wove in the Thule, a Nazi esoteric organization that contributed to Hitler’s rise to power. But the strangest part of this story of stolen archives is that in 1945, the Russians recovered them in Germany and sent them to KGB headquarters in Moscow, where they remained until 2000, when they were finally returned to France. In “Shadow Ritual,” readers get to discover this whole story, along with the plight of Freemasons in occupied France during World War II, when they were persecuted by both the Nazis and the Vichy Government.

M.M.M.R.: Are you excited about entering the U.S. market? How do you think “Shadow Ritual” will be received?

E.G. & J.R.: Yes, we are very excited about it and optimistic. Our American publisher, Le French Book, did a really thorough job of adapting the translation into English, far more than any of our other translations. We look forward to seeing how readers like it. “Shadow Ritual” is an esoteric thriller, and it is fiction, but we have also woven in a lot of fact, and online we will be sharing more about the fact and fiction found in “Shadow Ritual.” We hope this will be an opportunity to interact with our U.S. readers.

M.M.M.R.: How did the two of you meet?

E.G. & J.R.: We met in high school when we were sixteen. We both loved esoteric stories, secret societies and occult tales. We lived in Toulouse, in the south of France, not far from Cathar country and its castles, Templar command posts and Rennes-le-Château (the village whose mysterious history inspired “The Da Vinci Code”). When we were seventeen, we went on a quest to find the Holy Grail at the Montsegur château, and haunted libraries to find old manuscripts. We really believed in what we were doing. We were playing Indiana Jones and Benjamin Gates. In the end, we never found any treasure or lost secrets, but we did form a fine friendship, one that transformed and gave birth to this series of thrillers.

M.M.M.R.: Can you describe your co-writing process?

E.G. & J.R.: In this particular book, we both contributed to the whole equally. In the following mysteries in the series, Jacques took on the historical parts and Eric the modern-day parts. All of the contemporary Freemasonry scenes are reviewed by Jacques to make sure they are accurate.

M.M.M.R.: Why do you think people are fascinated with Freemasonry?

E.G. & J.R.: The fascination is based on a three-fold fantasy. First of all, there is the esoteric mystery of the symbols, codes and secrecy. Secondly, there is a fantasy about Freemasons being all powerful. Many people believe that Freemasons hold key positions in governments, businesses, and administrations, and that they have been the puppet masters of the world’s history. Finally, there is the idea of brotherhood, and people imagine that initiation gives you special privileges and access. The media, at least in France, is always focusing on these fantasies, or on stories of corruption and scandal. In our story though, Antoine Marcas embodies the freemasonry that works for the good of society.

M.M.M.R.: Eric, has your research changed your personal perceptions of Freemasonry?

E.G.: Yes. When I was investigating Freemason corruption in the south of France and in Nice, I didn’t have a very high opinion of the Masons. And with Jacques being a Mason, we would sometimes argue about it. This ultimately led to the idea we had years later to invent a Freemason cop as a main character in a thriller series.

M.M.M.R.: Did Eric meet or speak with any other Freemasons while writing “Shadow Ritual”?

E.G.: Yes, mainly scholars, researchers and other brothers whom I had met when I was doing my investigations on the French Riviera.

M.M.M.R.: Does the relationship between Antoine Marcas and Jade Zewinski reflect your relationship?

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 50 E.G.: In a way. When we wrote the dialogue between Antoine and Jade, we were having similar heated discussions. Our readers really like this conflict. Antoine Marcas represents Freemasonry’s positive values, but he doesn’t have an angelic vision of the brotherhood. He knows that there are bad apples everywhere.

M.M.M.R.: Does Eric share Jade’s perception that Freemasons control the world from behind the scenes?

E.G.: No. I never believed in any big Masonic conspiracy, even when I was investigating political racketeering among Freemasons. Now I have even become “Mason friendly.”

M.M.M.R.: Jacques, how has the book been received by Freemasons?

J.R.: At first, we got some slack because it wasn’t considered right to talk about the rituals in a work of fiction. But very quickly, Freemason brothers realized that we were also talking about Nazi persecution of Freemasons, which is something few people know about. Over the years many Freemasons have taken to Marcas as a brother representing positive Freemason values. We do a lot of talks in lodges about the books, and they are very well received.

M.M.M.R.: Why did you choose World War II as the background for the events in “Shadow Ritual”?

J.R.: We wanted to introduce readers to what happened to Freemasons during that time period. Freemasonry was banned, and collaborationist newspapers published long denunciation lists of Freemason names. In Paris, there was a large anti-Freemason exhibit organized by the Nazis, along with German produced anti-Masonic propaganda movies. We also wanted to talk about those French people who joined the Waffen SS and fought with the Germans on the Russian front. Some were even among the last defenders of Hitler’s bunker in April 1945. Nobody talks or knows much about these topics.

M.M.M.R.: Were you concerned about distorting the history of World War II by overlaying the Freemason and Thule conspiracies?

J.R.: No. First of all, there was no Freemason conspiracy under the occupation, because the Freemasons had been banned. And secondly, the role of the esoteric group Thule was very real. According to historian and Hitler biographer Ian Kershaw, the organization’s “membership list” reads like a Who’s Who of early Nazi sympathizers and leading figures in Munich. And as for the Masonic archives, the head of the German commando who robbed the French Freemason headquarters in 1940 sent a message to Martin Bormann explaining that “immense treasures had been discovered in the Parisian lodges.” We used this basic reality as an outline and then let our imagination come up with the esoteric secrets found in the documents.

M.M.M.R.: Are the intrigues, like the murders and conspiracies in “Shadow Ritual,” inspired by real events?

E.G. & J.R.: Some are, some aren’t. The Iron Maiden is a real—and horrible—instrument of torture that was used in sixteenth century Germany. However, the character of the Gardener, who cuts off his victim’s toes to get human blood for his plants, comes from our imagination.

M.M.M.R.: What are your favorite thrillers? What authors have inspired you?

E.G. & J.R.: They are many and varied. Eric has a penchant for thrillers by the likes of Robert Ludlum, David Morrell, Daniel Easterman, Dan Brown, Glenn Cooper, as well as James Elroy, Douglas Preston and John Grisham. A special mention goes to a writer from a long time ago: John Buchan (“The Thirty-Nine Steps”). Jacques turns more to classic literature (Paul Valery, Sade, Proust), but has a large library of French and American mysteries. We are both also very much influenced by American thriller movies. There are too many to list. We are always very impressed by the quality of American writers (of books and movies) in general, and this influences our own writing.

We would like to thank Meryl Moss Media Relations for letting us publish this wonderful interview. I encourage all fans to sometimes step outside the borders of the United States and explore different parts of the world for new authors. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 51 GLEN ERIK PAST CRIMES BRING SUSPENSE HAMILTON Interview by Elise Cooper for Suspense Magazine Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author “Past Crimes” is the debut novel of Glen Erik Hamilton. Starring Army Ranger Van Shaw, it is a thriller about family and forgiveness, and how circumstances can affect relationships between people as they embrace and reject their past. Let’s take a quick look inside “Past Crimes,” and then you can check out our interview with Glen.

Van Shaw was raised to be a thief, but at eighteen he suddenly broke all ties to that life and joined the military—abandoning his illicit past and the career-criminal grandfather who taught him the trade. Now, after ten years of silence, his grandfather has asked him to come home to Seattle. But when Van arrives, he discovers his grandfather bleeding out on the floor from a gunshot to the head. With a lifetime of tough history between him and the old man, Van knows he’s the main suspect. The only way he can clear his name is to go back to the world he’d sworn to leave behind. Tapping into his criminal skills, he begins to hunt the shooter and uncover what drove his grandfather to reach out after so long. But in a violent, high-stakes world where right and wrong aren’t defined by the law, Van finds that the past is all too present . . . and that the secrets held by those closest to him are the deadliest of all.

Elise Cooper (E.C.): Why did you decide to become a novelist?

Glen Erik Hamilton (G.E.H.): I grew up reading crime thrillers and wanted to write like Dennis Lehane and John D. MacDonald. I always enjoyed writing and knew in my twenties that I would want to write seriously one day. Fast forward to now where I re-evaluated how I would spend my free time after moving to Los Angeles. I took a couple of courses on mystery writing and joined a writing group. I describe it as a very slow graduate school.

E.C.: Why Seattle as the setting?

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 52 GREW UP READING CRIME THRILLERS AND WANTED TO WRITE LIKE DENNIS LEHANE AND JOHN D. MACDONALD. IG.E.H.: I moved away from Seattle like Van. After returning I saw how the changing times had impacted the economy and neighborhoods. I brought in the marinas because I grew up aboard boats. Seattle is darn near an island itself, it isn’t far from dozens of actual islands both in and out of the States, and of course it’s one of the major shipping ports of the Pacific. Water, water, everywhere. If you’re writing about crime in Seattle, it opens a lot of possibilities.

E.C.: A lot of the storyline has to do with Van reflecting on his relationship with his grandfather. Can you explain?

G.E.H.: Van has matured during the years he’s been in the Army. He may not completely forgive or even understand his grandfather, but he also knows that he’s not blameless himself. The two men are much more alike than either of them realize, in their faults and their loyalties. Van had completely bought in to the criminal life as a teenager. When he left it, he left everything from his youth along with it. Yet, Van knows family is important to Dono as he raised him from the age of six. Van and his grandfather have a complicated relationship where they love each other but it is hardly ever expressed in words.

E.C.: Did you do any research for Van’s Army career?

G.E.H.: A good friend of mine was in the Special Forces. To fast- check information in the book, I spoke to Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. I wanted to make sure that Van’s formidable years were spent as a warrior since he entered the Army at age eighteen. The reason I made Van a Ranger is that they are all about knocking down doors and direct action.

E.C.: Can you give a heads-up about your next book?

G.E.H.: Van will have retired from the Army and now as a civilian is trying to find himself. He has to decide what are the job options for a veteran now entering the civilian world. I want to see Van grow and change in every book. He is an independent hero seeking justice but I would not describe him as a vigilante. The next book’s plot has Van searching for the niece of one of Dono’s accomplices.

To learn about this up-and-coming author, visit his website at glenerikhamilton.com. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 53 The Notorious Opium-Eater Is Back Acclaimed thriller author David Morrell transports readers to Victorian London in the dazzling sequel to Murder as a Fine Art.

A killer plots to assassinate Queen Victoria. Only the infamous Opium-Eater, Thomas De Quincey, and his irrepressible daughter, Emily, can uncover the long-buried secrets of a murderer whose lust for revenge has destroyed his soul.

“ I literally thought I was there. With this mesmerizing series, David Morrell doesn’t just delve into the world of Victorian England—he delves into the heart of evil.” —LISA GARDNER, AUTHOR OF CRASH & BURN

“ Morrell evokes [Victorian] London with such fi nesse that you’ll hear the hooves clattering on cobblestones, the racket of dustmen, and the shrill call of vendors.” —ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY ON MURDER AS A FINE ART

AVAILABLE MARCH 2015 WHEREVER BOOKS ARE SOLD

MURDER AS A FINE ART Winner of the Macavity and Nero awards DavidMorrell.net MULHOLLAND BOOKS ILLUSTRATION: TOMISLAV TIKULIN LITTLE, BROWN AND COMPANY ASK YOURSELF “WHO BURIES THE DEAD,” C.S. HARRIS KNOWS Interview by Suspense Magazine Press Photo Credit: Samantha Lufti-Proctor Author C.S. Harris is back with the latest in her Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series, “Who Buries the Dead.” You could say that C.S. Harris has multiple personalities, as she also writes under C.S. Graham, and her real name is Candice Proctor. She has written over twenty novels, but we think her Sebastian St. Cyr is when she is at her best. Back in 2005, Sebastian broke into the scene with “What Angels Fear,” and she’s now nine years and ten books into her career. Her roots go back with her love of classical archaeology and historic archaeology. You can see her passion for the subject in her writing, as many of her books have that historical theme and are very well researched. We could go on and on talking about her background, but you can read all that for yourself. So let’s jump right into our interview and take a quick peek inside her latest book.

London, 1813: The vicious decapitation of Stanley Preston, a wealthy, socially ambitious plantation owner, at Bloody Bridge draws Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, into a macabre and increasingly perilous investigation. The discovery near the body of an aged lead coffin strap bearing the inscription King Charles, 1648 suggests a link between this killing and the beheading of the deposed seventeenth-century Stuart monarch. Equally troubling, the victim’s kinship to the current Home Secretary draws the notice of Sebastian’s powerful father-in-law, Lord Jarvis, who will exploit any means to pursue his own clandestine ends. Working in concert with his fiercely independent wife, Hero, Sebastian finds his inquiries taking him from the wretched back alleys of Fish Street Hill to the royal castle of Windsor as he amasses a list of suspects who range from an eccentric Chelsea curiosity collector to the brother of an unassuming but brilliantly observant spinster named Jane Austen. But as one brutal murder follows another, it is the connection between the victims and ruthless former army officer Sinclair, Lord Oliphant, that dramatically raises the stakes. Once, Oliphant nearly destroyed Sebastian in a horrific wartime act of carnage and betrayal. Now the vindictive former colonel might well pose a threat not only to Sebastian but to everything—and everyone—Sebastian holds most dear.

Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): Give us the inside scoop on “Who Buries The Dead.”

C.S. Harris (C.S.H.): “Who Buries the Dead” begins with the gruesome murder and decapitation of Stanley Preston, a wealthy, socially ambitious plantation owner. Like so many of my books, this story had its genesis in a very real historical event: the rediscovery of the coffin of King Charles I. He’d been buried at an undisclosed location after his decapitation by Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan revolutionaries, and wasn’t found again until workers building a new entrance to the royal vault beneath the

SuspenseMagazine.com 55 “CRIMES ARE MUCH MORE DIFFICULT TO SOLVE WHEN THE DETECTIVE DOESN’T HAVE ACCESS TO THINGS LIKE FINGERPRINTS AND BALLISTIC TESTS AND DNA RESULTS; WHEN HE CAN’T WEAR A RECORDING WIRE AND TRICK THE KILLER INTO IMPLICATING HIMSELF.” chapel at Windsor Castle accidently stumbled upon him in the spring of 1813. Ironically enough, it just so happens that the body—and especially the head—of Oliver Cromwell also suffered an interesting fate, as did the head of the French King Henri IV. By some bizarre coincidence, I happened to read about these men’s heads all in one day. So how could I ignore an idea like that? And because the first murder in the book occurs shortly after the publication of “Pride and Prejudice,” Jane Austen also figures prominently in the story. That might seem like an unlikely combination, but it all comes together quite neatly.

S. MAG.: This is your tenth novel in the Sebastian St. Cyr mystery series. For readers just finding out about it, how has the series progressed so far?

C.S.H.: Each book is written as a standalone mystery, so readers can definitely enter the series at any point and not be lost. That said, when I first started writing this series, I made a conscious decision to create a story arc that encompasses the series as a whole. So there are several overarching mysteries that are only hinted at in book one, but become increasingly important as the series progresses: What happened to Sebastian’s mother? Who is his real father? There’s also a very powerful story arc for Sebastian himself as he comes to terms with certain events that occurred during the war in the mountains of Portugal and finds a very real redemption in the work he does. And there are several poignant love stories, as well as some nasty villains who wend their way in and out of the series and make Sebastian’s life difficult. This kind of series story arc is something you see done in the fantasy genre and of course in series like Downton Abbey. But you don’t really find it in the mystery genre, so it’s been quite an adventure.

S. MAG.: Who is Sebastian St. Cyr?

C.S.H.: Sebastian St. Cyr is Viscount Devlin, a disillusioned former army captain, heir to an earldom, and latter-day knight errant. Haunted by events in the Napoleonic Wars, he has dedicated himself to finding justice for the victims of murder. His status as a member of the wealthy, privileged aristocracy gives him the ability to range across the various social strata of the Regency era. He is at home in the exclusive gentlemen’s clubs of St. James’s and the ballrooms of Mayfair, yet at the same time his experiences in the war give him the skills he needs to plunge into the worst slums of the East End. And that’s important because these books explore all aspects of Regency society, high as well as low. In any given murder, it’s possible for the suspects to range from a body snatcher to the Prince Regent himself.

S. MAG.: Setting a book back in 1813 means no CSI modern forensics, so how difficult is it to make sure you stay true to that time period?

C.S.H.: CSI is fun, but I actually find the lack of modern scientific techniques a big part of what makes a mystery set in the early nineteenth century so enjoyable. Crimes are much more difficult to solve when the detective doesn’t have access to things like fingerprints and ballistic tests and DNA results; when he can’t wear a recording wire and trick the killer into implicating himself. That means Sebastian St. Cyr needs to rely on his powers of observation, his analytical and reasoning abilities, and his

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 56 understanding of human nature. The emphasis is very much on character and good, old-fashioned detection as he tries to figure out whodunit. Which of the many different things that happened in this person’s life made him or her a murder victim? What secrets are the suspects hiding? What lies are being told? What truth is everyone missing? And, how can we prove this? Sebastian does have a friend, the Irish surgeon Paul Gibson, whose knowledge of the human body is heightened by his illegal dissection of bodies pilfered from London cemeteries by “resurrection men.” But I’m always careful to stay within the bounds of what was known at the time.

S. MAG.: Is there a book that you read that got you thinking, “Hey, I can do this and I want to do this”?

C.S.H.: I always loved Ellis Peters’s Brother Cadfael books. I think hers were the first historical mysteries I read. She is absolutely brilliant, both in her understanding of human nature and in the thoroughness of the historical research she brought to her writing. I hold a PhD in European history, so I liked the idea of combining my two loves, storytelling and history. Historical mysteries are liberating because they allow writers to create the kind of hero that’s a bit too independent, dangerous, and lawless to realistically exist in our own hemmed-in, modern world. I also love the way the Sebastian St. Cyr series allows me to explore those aspects of life in the nineteenth century that seem strange, perhaps even incomprehensible to us today, and at the same time contrast that with the familiarity and immutability of the human condition down through the ages.

S. MAG.: You have written books in different genres. Is there one genre you would like to try?

C.S.H.: I’ve written contemporary thrillers, historical mysteries, historical romances, and romantic suspense. Unfortunately, I’ve never been much of a fan of horror, sci-fi, or fantasy, so I can’t see myself ever trying to write a book in one of those genres. But I would love to try literary fiction—a story where I wasn’t bound by any expectations of genre plot development, where I was free to explore character to my heart’s content and indulge my love of language. Maybe someday....

S. MAG.: Plot-driven or character-driven; which side of the fence are you on when it comes to what drives a book?

C.S.H.: I do plot my books out in detail before I ever write a word. But at the same time, at every step in the plotting process, I always ask myself, Is this character action believable? Is this what this person would really do at this point? Why? What’s their motivation? And sometimes when I’m writing, I’ll come to a scene I’ve plotted out ahead of time and realize it just isn’t going to work. Any time that happens, the plan goes out the window and I follow the dictates of character.

S. MAG.: What is on your DVR right now?

C.S.H.: Oh, dear; I’m such a Luddite, I don’t even have a DVR. We only just bought a smart TV at the end of December. The last few weeks, we’ve been binge watching the first four seasons of Downton Abbey. I know it’s a cliché, and I’m always skeptical of anything that’s hugely popular, but I’ll admit it: I’m solidly hooked.

S. MAG.: Is there one part of your writing that you continue to work on to make better?

C.S.H.: I’m always trying to do everything better. Even after more than twenty books, I still read how-to books, still analyze the works of authors I admire, still scrutinize every word of my manuscripts to see if I can make them stronger.

S. MAG.: What can fans expect to see from you in the future?

C.S.H.: I’ve just finished the eleventh book in the series, “When Falcons Fall,” which sees Sebastian and his wife, Hero, make a very emotional trip to Shropshire. It’s the first book in the series that’s set entirely outside of London, so writing it was very much a change of pace. I’m now starting the twelfth book, “Where the Dead Lie,” which sees them back in London in September, 1813. This is an interesting time historically because by that point it’s becoming obvious that Napoleon will be defeated, so there’s a lot of speculation about what will happen next. Altogether, I’m envisioning between eighteen and twenty books in the series.

We would like to thank C.S. for joining us. To find out everything about C.S. and all her writing personalities, check out her website at www.csharris.net. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 57 MYSTERIES and THRILLERS THE DIFFERENCES* By Thomas B. Sawyer Press Photo Credit: Wylie Sawyer Some twenty years ago, while I was showrunner and head writer on the CBS series Murder, She Wrote, I was also struggling with my first attempt at novel-writing. One of my co-producers was Angela Lansbury’s brother, Bruce. We’d been friends and had occasionally worked together for more than a decade. A witty, charming and talented guy, back when I was getting established in the business, Bruce had been showrunner on Wonder Woman, for which he gave me one of my early script assignments. The episode title was Death in Disguise, and learning-wise, that experience stands out because of Bruce’s wisdom, a singular nugget of which he conferred in giving me what he described as his only note on my first-draft teleplay: “Your Bad Guy talks too much.” He then quickly, briefly expanded on it: “The thing with effective Bad Guys—they’ve got tight, thin mouths, and they don’t say much—except for their aria.” Wow! Think about it—the conciseness, the awesome, no-bullshit, nailing-it truth. I somehow doubt that’s taught at, say, the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, or at other bastions of Literary Integrity. But it should be. And, by the way, that is the sort of no- nonsense, take-it-to-the-bank advice that was typical of my learning curve in series TV, informed by other showrunners for whom I worked. Rather than, as in so many fields where people jealously guard their power and expertise, these pros were eager to pass such information along to me. They wanted to teach, to help. And man, was I delighted to absorb it. I was being paid to learn! The reason for their generosity: simple self-interest. The small staffs of most TV series were rarely able to write all twenty- two yearly episodes in-house. They had no choice but to employ a few freelancers like myself. And because of the Writers Guild contract, the writer could only be asked for two drafts of the story outline, and two of the teleplay. After that, fixes were in the staffers’ court. Ergo, it was clearly to their benefit to hold the freelance writer’s hand. To guide and nursemaid us through the process so that, when they had to take over and begin their final tweaks, the script wouldn’t require a rewrite from page one. Thanks to their counseling, within a few years I was lucky enough to become one of them. Back to the challenge of writing that first novel, which was to be a thriller. Over a number of lunches, I’d shared my con- cerns with Bruce, and one morning he knocked on my office door. As he entered grinning, he indicated the sheet of paper he was holding: “This might help with your book…” As he handed it to me, he added: “I have no idea who wrote this, or how I happen to have it, and some of it’s arguable, I guess, but…” What he gave me is the following, parts of which are, as he said, to a small degree quibble-able. But it was and continues to be a help for me, and, I hope, will be for others. It certainly aided me in clarifying my approach to that first thriller, “The Sixteenth Man,” which I completed and was published several years later to excellent reviews. I’ve also used it countless times in teaching writing. MYSTERY A puzzle Clues Curiosity motivates Red herrings Protagonist has skills Information withheld from audience Thinking is paramount Audience a step behind Action is offstage Mostly single Point of View Small circle of acquaintances Whodunnit?

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 58 Suspects Usually 300 pages Ending intellectually satisfying *Generally speaking Closure a requirement Series expected THRILLER A nightmare Audience a step ahead Victim story (at top) Up to four Points of View Protagonist must learn skills What will happen? Feeling is paramount Betrayers Action is onstage Ending emotionally satisfying Thrust into larger world Can end ambiguously Surprises/twists Often stand-alone Cycles of mistrust Can be longer ■ Information given to audience

Novelist, screenwriter, playwright, Thomas B. Sawyer was Showrunner/Head Writer of the classic CBS series, Murder, She Wrote, for which he wrote 24 episodes. He’s written TV movies, 9 network TV pilots, 100 episodes, on staff of 15 series. Edgar and Emmy- nominated, Tom wrote-directed-produced the cult feature Gosh Alice Goodbody. Co-librettist/lyricist of Jack, an opera about JFK, he’s taught writing at UCLA, now online at Screenwriters University, publishes Storybase software, and authored bestselling “Fiction Writing Demystified.” Tom’s latest thriller novel, “Cross Purposes,” (Suspense Publishing) is the first in a new series. Learn more at www. ThomasBSawyer.com.

SuspenseMagazine.com 59 M.J. ROSE “Paints” Outside of the Lines Interview by Suspense Magazine Press Photo Credit: Mario Morgado We always get a wonderful response whenever we feature M.J. Rose in our magazine and we hope that’ll stay true with our report on her latest novel, “The Witch of Painted Sorrows.” She has been featured and profiled in Time, Forbes, The New York Times and Newsweek, to name a few. She is a founding member and current co-president of ITW (International Thriller Writers) and the founder of AuthorBuzz, a marketing company. Her book “Seduction” was given The Crimson Scribe award in 2013, Suspense Magazine’s recognition of the best book of the year. We are certain that “The Witch of Painted Sorrows” will propel her even closer to the top of the suspense genre. Here’s a look inside the book and, below, an interview with M.J.

New York socialite Sandrine Salome flees an abusive husband for her grandmother’s Paris mansion, but what she finds there is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is closed and under renovation. Her grandmother insists it’s too dangerous to visit but Sandrine defies her—an unexplainable force is drawing her home. There she meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing architect, who introduces her to the City of Lights—its art world, forbidden occult underground, nightclubs—and to her own untapped desires. From a mysterious fire at the Palais Garnier opera house, to a terrifying accident at the Eiffel tower and classes with Gustav Moreau at the École des Beaux-Arts, Sandrine’s experiences awaken her passions. Among the bohemians and demi- monde, Sandrine uncovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then more ominous influences threaten—her husband is tracking her down and something insidious is taking hold, changing Sandrine, altering her. She’s overcome by the spirit of La Lune, a witch, a legendary sixteenth-century courtesan, and an unsung artist in her own right, who exposes Sandrine to a darkness that could be a gift or a curse. This is Sandrine’s “wild night of the soul,” her odyssey in the magnificent city of Paris, of art, love and witchery, and not until she resolves a tragic love story and family curse will she be free of the ghost’s possession. “We need heroes and heroines and I want to focus on people who strive and yearn and fight to be individuals no matter what time period.”

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 60 THE WITCH OF PAINTED Suspense Magazine (S. MAG.): What genre would you classify your novels? SORROWS By M.J. Rose M.J. Rose (M.J.R.): Gothic/Erotic/Historical/Suspense—sorry, but there isn’t just one. After losing her father and suffering at S. MAG.: How do you create such a gothic atmosphere? the hands of her cruel husband, Sandrine flees from her home in New York to Paris M.J.R.: I listen to gothic music when I write and imagine myself in the place I’m in order to seek refuge at the historic and writing about and see the scene play out in my head and try to describe it via all my beautiful mansion home of her beloved senses. grandmother. But upon arrival, Sandrine finds the mansion mysteriously locked and S. MAG.: Talk about your historical research. empty, with her grandmother ensconced in an apartment. M.J.R.: I love doing research. Sometimes I think I write just so I can do the research. Sandrine longs to visit the mansion, To write fiction I try to read as much original source material as possible—diaries of which holds wonderful memories for her, people living at the time, newspaper articles, novels that were current during those but her grandmother forbids it, stating time periods. I try to live in that time in my head. only that it is too dangerous. Defying her grandmother’s wishes, Sandrine visits the mansion and meets the dashing, Julian S. MAG.: What sparked the idea for your latest novel, “The Witch of Painted Duplessi—a prominent architect who Sorrows”? has been hired to turn the mansion into a museum. M.J.R.: My great-grandmother was French and a psychic who did some pretty witchy Sandrine and Julian become things. I always wanted to learn more about the occult and Paris around the time she embroiled in an erotic affair, but was just growing up there. something else is hiding in the mansion as well . . . the ghost of a sixteenth century S. MAG.: How close are the facts from the fiction? courtesan and ancestor; a witch named La Lune. Sandrine becomes possessed M.J.R.: The facts of Paris at the time are true. The art world, the way things operate, by the spirit of the beautiful but evil La the scenes, the nightclubs, the occult movement, the bookstore—all real. The main Lune, and grows impassioned with La characters are fictional but the great painters whose names you recognize did the Lune’s urges to be a famous artist. Under things I write about. the witch’s influence, Sandrine feels the woman’s obsession to control and be S. MAG.: Why do you incorporate hidden worlds throughout Europe in your work? loved by a man. But as Sandrine begins to lose herself to the witch’s influence, people M.J.R.: It’s what fascinates me—what is just under the surface. The secrets in the begin to die. world. The hidden. That’s what the occult actually is—hidden knowledge. It fascinates This latest novel from acclaimed me. author, M.J. Rose is provocative, erotic, and spellbindingly haunting, with lush S. MAG.: How do you create such strong female characters who can defy the settings and mysterious occurrences that odds throughout the centuries? Is it difficult to have such strength from a female will have the reader gasping in fear, as they perspective in the distant past? remain totally mesmerized cover-to-cover. The writing is powerful, making the story M.J.R.: Thank you. I’m not sure but I know that I’m not interested in writing any impossible to put down before reaching other kind of woman. We need heroes and heroines and I want to focus on people who the strangely twisted ending. strive and yearn and fight to be individuals no matter what time period. Another winning series start from Rose, written for her vast legion of readers. “The Witch of Painted Sorrows” S. MAG.: What’s next for Sandrine? is a captivating supernatural read that will keep you enthralled… a ‘must-have’ novel. M.J.R.: Ah…the next novel in the series is about her daughter…twenty-four years Reviewed by DJ Weaver (WebbWeaver later. Another “Daughter of La Lune.” Reviews) co-author of “Collecting Innocents” published by Suspense We would like to thank M.J. for joining us. Please visit her website at www. Publishing, an imprint of Suspense mjrose.com for more information. ■ Magazine ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 61 ENSINGTON KILLS

Home is where the fear is… Terrorists are coming An aspiring vampire. for America and one only A frightening subculture. “A real page-turner.” man can stop them… Deadly consequences —Suspense Magazine “A must read.” “Phelps dares —Newt Gingrich to tread where “Riveting.” few others will: into the mind On Sale —Glenn Beck Now of a killer.” —TV Rage

KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.— America’s Independent Publisher KENSINGTONBOOKS.COM JACK HIGGINS ESPIONAGE MASTER BRINGS “RAIN ON THE DEAD”

Interview by Elise Cooper for Suspense Magazine Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author Jack Higgins, author of the iconic thriller “The Eagle Has Landed,” has a new book out, “Rain On the Dead.” There are similarities between both books, including IRA characters, the flawed main character, as well as a plot full of assassinations and kidnappings. “Rain On the Dead” begins when two Chechen Muslims attempt to assassinate the U.S. President Jack Cazalet. Unfortunately for them, Cazalet has guests with him, including black ops specialist Sean Dillon, an ex-IRA gunman, and his colleague, Afghan war hero Captain Sara Gideon. With the help of the English authorities, Dillon, Gideon, and company search for those responsible: IRA sympathizers and al-Qaeda terrorists. Yet, readers cannot think of Higgins without thinking of “The Eagle Has Landed,” especially since this year marks the novel’s fortieth anniversary. The story: Colonel Kurt Steiner is forced to take a crack team of commandos to England. Their mission is to kidnap or assassinate Winston Churchill. The Germans enlist the help of an IRA assassin and a South African woman who hates everything the English stand for. This book is a riveting account of whether the Germans will succeed. We were fortunate enough to be able to ask a few questions of the author.

Elise Cooper (E.C.): Both books deal with the IRA. What point were you trying to make?

Jack Higgins (J.H.): They were fighting for the position of Ireland in the British Empire. They wanted independence as a country. In the end, they achieved something of the kind.

E.C.: In “Rain On the Dead” you imply that the IRA fights for independence while the Muslim terrorists fight to impose their will. Do you agree?

J.H.: Yes. I see what you mean. Both groups are fighting a new type of war and do not wear a uniform. It becomes very difficult for the authorities to recognize the enemy. It could be anyone on the street. At least with the Irish, they had a genuine desire for independence, which many saw as reasonable. I would not compare this with the type of terrorism the American president and the British prime minister were recently discussing.

E.C.: Let’s talk about “Rain On the Dead.” In it, you have the likeable character Sara Gideon, who is Jewish. Why?

J.H.: I made her Jewish because my foster parents were Jewish and were very good to me. I got to know Jewish traditions and the faith very well. I wanted to show that there are plenty of Jewish people who are serving in the British and U.S. military. That is why she is a retired war hero. She is a good character and her Jewishness is a part of who she is.

E.C.: Why did you bring back former U.S. President Jack Cazalet?

J.H.: I found it interesting to use him in this story. He is quite a popular character and I enjoy writing about him, so I felt we were at a stage to bring him back. There are a huge number of fans that look forward to reading about this character and seeing what

SuspenseMagazine.com 63 will happen to him.

E.C.: What U.S. president did you most admire?

J.H.: I suppose it would have to be Jack Kennedy. Many years ago I wrote a book, “Day of Judgment,” which was primarily set in Germany. It had in it a very famous visit by a U.S. president to Berlin where he made a very famous speech to the German people. Historically, it affected world politics at the time. I used it as background for this book. The novel is about the underground that tried to help people escape from the East German Communist regime. Obviously, I used President Kennedy in certain scenes of the book.

E.C.: Your style is to write characters that are not all good and not all bad, such as Sean Dillon and Colonel Kurt Steiner. Please explain.

J.H.: Human beings are not like they are portrayed in Hollywood. They are individuals who are a mixture of good and bad. Many of my fans like these type of characters. I like when people question if the characters are really villains or protagonists. These types are very interesting to write about.

E.C.: What about Steiner?

J.H.: I tried to make the point that he and his men were not Nazis but just soldiers. Steiner is a reasonable person who was forced by circumstances to do a certain job. There is not much he could do about it. If he did not join, he and his family would all be punished.

E.C.: In “The Eagle Has Landed,” you contrast the soldiers with the Nazi atrocities of the Warsaw Ghetto and what was done to Steiner’s father. Why?

J.H.: I wanted to show these atrocities through the eyes of the German soldiers. They were disgusted by what was happening, yet were unable to do much to stop it. I also had some personal experiences. I served in Germany just after the Second World War and my uncle was a regular soldier in the British army. He was wounded and captured early in the war. Although he was not Jewish, he was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp to work in the factory there, which was against international law. This gave me an interest in the Nazi situation and World War II.

E.C.: Colonel Steiner saved a Jewish girl but was not executed. Is that realistic?

J.H.: Yes. What the Germans did to soldiers like Steiner is require them to do very dangerous jobs within the military. For example, they worked to dispose bombs and clear mine fields. With these jobs there was a good chance of blowing themselves up. In the novel, Steiner and his men were made to do the dangerous work of sitting on top of torpedoes to disarm them. This was a suicide job since most did not survive for very long.

E.C.: In the book you have Steiner commenting on the rules of engagement. This is the direct opposite of what the Islamist terrorists did in your latest book. Please explain this quote from “The Eagle Has Landed”: “Why, did you think we’d hold the entire village hostage or come out fighting, driving the women in front of us? The brutal Hun? Sorry I can’t oblige.”

J.H.: Steiner was an honorable man and soldier. He had a moral code. I really don’t know why the Muslims do what they are doing. Those terrorists don’t seem to have a moral code.

E.C.: Since this is the fortieth anniversary of “The Eagle Has Landed,” any plans?

J.H.: I believe there is talk of remaking the story on television. There was the movie starring Michael Caine as Steiner. I think a TV show would be very helpful to get more of the book story told than in the two-hour-and-ten-minute film.

To learn more about this talented author, go to jackhiggins.co.za. ■

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 64 FIRE & ICE SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM “UNCOMMON ASSASSINS”

By Joseph Badal Press Photo Credit: Sallie Badal CHAPTER “Hey, Dad,” James said. “Good to see you.” 1 Vince pushed away from his son and performed a quick inspection. “You look good,” he said. By an eighth of an inch and one “Lost some weight but Mom’s cooking will fix that.” pint of blood, twenty-six-year- “Sounds like a plan,” Vince said, but without much old U.S. Army Captain James enthusiasm. Brennan missed becoming James looked around. “Where’s Mom?” the 1301st American to die in Vince swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “You got Operation Enduring Freedom. any checked bags?” Instead, he became the 8998th to be wounded. “No, Dad. Just my duffel here.” Just released from Landstuhl Army Hospital and James suddenly felt worried. Something seemed wrong. on Christmas leave for two weeks, James deplaned at Mom should be here. And where were his brother, Frank, Philadelphia International Airport Gate 23. Into the jet and his sister, Connie? But he let the patience he had learned way—December meat-locker cold. Juking and dodging in the Army slowly take control. Besides, how wrong could people waiting to board planes in the terminal. Down the things be? long corridor toward the front of the terminal. He forced himself to stand ramrod straight, making the most of his six- CHAPTER 2 foot frame, stretching the scar tissue on his leg and the sore Vince Brennan expelled a loud breath and said, “I’m glad muscles in his back and neck. Look strong, he told himself. you’re home, son.” For Mom, who would notice a limp. For Dad, who would see James noticed his father gripping the steering wheel. any sign of weakness. Growing up, he’d hated every time his “What’s wrong, Dad?” father had told him, “Stop whining and act like a man.” But Vince glanced quickly at James and then turned back to that mantra had, like a magic carpet, carried him through the road. “Frank’s in the Basic Training, AIT, Special Warfare School, and twenty- hospital. That’s where your three months in Afghanistan. mother and sister are.” Inside the terminal, he searched for his parents who he “What happened?” was certain would be waiting for him. He grimaced at the James asked, steeling thought of his mother greeting him with her usual shrill, himself. “Jimmy, my sweet boy.” But then he smiled. Her greeting “He was attacked a always made things seem right. week ago by some guys at James had told his parents he was assigned to a staff a party. They beat him up position in Afghanistan. Hadn’t told them he was a killer, the bad, Jimmy. The doctors leader of an assassination team. Hadn’t told them he’d been put him into a medically- wounded. induced coma to try to He spotted his father next to a newsstand, but had to do stabilize him. He’s on a a double-take just to be certain. My God, he thought, Vince ventilator.” Brennan looked much older than his fifty years. He seemed “He’s been in a coma haggard. James put on a smile and walked toward his father, for a week?” James asked. who noted his approach with a wave. The two men met “Is he going to be all halfway and hugged. right?”

SuspenseMagazine.com 65 Vince slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. Nobody who had stopped crying. Frances moved back a half-step, knows.” blotted her eyes with a tissue, and gave James the once-over. “Who hurt Frank?” James asked, feeling a wave of heat “You’ve lost weight,” she said. invade his gut and icy-cold fingers numb his brain. James made a sweeping gesture, discounting his mother’s “Don’t know,” Vince said, shooting James a worried look. remark. “I’m fine, Mom. What’s up with Frank?” “Does it matter?” “The doctor says there’s no change. They’re still trying to James shrugged. “No witnesses?” reduce the brain swelling.” “No one saw anything. You know how that goes.” James stared again through the window into Frank’s No one saw anything at a party. Hard to believe, James room. “Connie’s taking it hard, isn’t she?” thought. Vince, now standing next to Frances, rubbed his chin, “Not the homecoming I wanted for you,” Vince said. closed his eyes for a moment. “I can’t get a damned thing out James reached across the seat and squeezed his father’s of her. She won’t talk to anyone but Frank. And all she says to shoulder. him is, ‘I’m sorry.’ What’s she got to be sorry about?” Vince and Frances took Connie down to the hospital The fast, heavy traffic of Philadelphia transitioned to the cafeteria while James spent time with Frank. He held his slower, less congested traffic of Pennsmoor. A former brother’s hand and told him he was there for him, would farming area, Pennsmoor was now a bedroom community watch over him. And he said, “I’m going to find the guys who to Philadelphia and Lancaster. Vince and Frances Brennan did this to you, Frank.” moved from Philadelphia to Pennsmoor when James was ten, Frank two, and Connie a newborn. Pennsmoor was safe CHAPTER 3 and clean. Its schools were committed to excellence. The “I need that Brennan girl tonight, ya hear me?” Nick Carpesi Brennan’s raised their children to work hard, tell the truth, growled. “We got thirty guys coming in from Philly. She was and obey the law. They promoted patriotism and faith in missing in action last night. What happened?” God. Terry Blair looked at his twin brother, Howie, and then James stared out the window. Christmas decorations back at Carpesi. “She’s at the damn hospital with her parents.” adorned the lampposts and garlanded wires hung from one “That sounds like a fuckin’ excuse, Terry?” side of the street to the other. Everything seemed surreal after “No, Nick. But . . ..” Afghanistan. Over-weight but powerfully-built, forty-year-old At the hospital, they took the elevator to the fifth floor Carpesi glared at the two eighteen-year-olds. The Blairs were and walked to the intensive care ward. Six glass-fronted man-boys: 6’4” tall, blond, blue-eyed football-hunks. Spoiled rooms formed a semi-circle around a pod where two nurses punks, Carpesi thought. He suddenly leaped to his feet, worked. More surrealism: muted-beeping and blinking knocking his chair back against the wall behind his desk. monitors, funereal quiet, medicinal odors. James spotted “You guys are startin’ to piss me off. How much money have his mother talking to a nurse. He walked up behind her and I given you?” placed a hand on her shoulder. Howie opened his mouth, but slammed it shut when Frances turned and seemed to experience a kaleidoscope Carpesi shoved his palm at him. of emotions in an instant. She gasped, then smiled. Tears “Thirty-two grand in less than one year. All you gotta do burst from her pale blue eyes, flowing down her freckled is recruit high school chippies. Thirty-two grand and all the cheeks. Then she exhaled, said, “James, my sweet boy,” and ass you want. Is that about right?” grasped her son, burying her head in his chest, sobbing and “Yeah, Nick,” Terry answered. “We appreciate what shaking. you’ve—” While holding onto his mother, James looked over her “So the Brennan girl will be there tonight?” head through the window into the room behind her. He didn’t The Blair brothers nodded in unison. recognize the person in the bed there. Bandages, tubes and “And she knows what will happen if she doesn’t medical contraptions overwhelmed the patient. On the far `cooperate?” Carpesi asked. side of the room, fifteen-year-old Connie Brennan slouched “Of course,” Howie said. “Her whole family will pay, like in a chair, seemingly staring at nothing. her brother did. And she knows we’ll put the videos we have Connie had always been the beauty of the neighborhood. of her on the net.” Now, her usual fair complexion looked almost gray and her “You keeping her supplied with meth?” blonde hair was tangled and unkempt. The bags under her “Yep,” Terry said, smiling. eyes were purple stained. She looked old and worn out, as Carpesi snatched his chair away from the wall and sat though she should be in the hospital bed. down. “So we got nothin’ to worry about.” He smirked, James raised an arm and gave Connie a small wave but grabbed a cigar from his shirt pocket and bit off the end, got no reaction. He turned his attention back to his mother, bending over to spit it into the wastebasket under his desk.

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 66 He eyed the brothers as he rolled the unlit cigar in his mouth. “He squeezed my hand,” James excitedly told his mother. He finally said, “I need those two new girls you been preppin’.” “The doctor said there might be involuntary muscle “They’ll be there,” Terry said. “They’ve been on speed movement,” Frances said. daily for two weeks; got pictures of them having sex. Eating James placed Frank’s hand on the bed, and stood. “I have out of our hands. ” some things to do,” he said. Carpesi laughed. “You boys got your pick of the herd. Girls think they’re somethin’ special they spread their legs for “Can I help you, sir?” a baby-faced uniformed officer asked as you football heroes.” He laughed. “Better enjoy it. Won’t last James approached the counter separating the police station forever.” He pointed a sausage-sized finger at the Blairs and lobby from the bullpen and offices. dropped all semblance of good humor. “Don’t disappoint me, “My name’s James Brennan. I’d like to talk to whoever’s boys,” he said, malice dripping from his words. handling the investigation into the assault on Frank Brennan.” “Why don’t you have a seat over there while I check with Terry and Howie Blair got into their fire engine-red, five- the detectives,” the officer said, pointing at a pew-like bench year-old Dodge Charger, Howie behind the wheel, and that ran along the building’s inside front wall. drove away from Carpesi’s auto body shop on the outskirts Ten minutes later an early thirty-something woman with of Pennsmoor. Terry checked the dashboard clock and said, short auburn hair, dressed in a conservative blue suit, walked “We should just make it in time.” up to him, right arm extended. James shook the woman’s Howie snapped a look at his brother. “That greaser, hand. Carpesi, as much as told us he’d kneecap us if we let him “Detective Joan Summers,” she said. down, and you’re worried about being late for school?” “James Brennan.” “Don’t be an idiot,” Terry said. “We show up late, we “I understand you’re asking about the assault on Frank get detention, and the school calls Dad. We don’t need the Brennan.” aggravation. Besides, it’s the last day of school before the “My brother.” bre a k .” Detective Summers said, “Let’s go get a cup of coffee.” She “How are we gonna get Connie Brennan to the party led the way through a door off the lobby into a breakroom. tonight?” Howie asked. Summers took a dollar bill from her jacket pocket, “Just like always. We call her cell and tell her we’ll pick her inserted it into the hot beverage machine and waited while up at midnight. She’ll sneak out after her parents are asleep it disgorged two cups of black coffee. She passed one over to and she’ll be back in bed before they’re up in the morning. James and said, “Sugar and cream on the counter over there.” She needs the drugs too much and she sure as hell doesn’t “Black is fine. Thanks.” want her ass spread all over the internet.” They sat at a table and Summers asked, “How’s your “You know it’s only a matter of time before she catches brother doing?” the clap, or something worse.” “He’s in a coma.” “Yeah, so what? There’s plenty of talent to replace her.” She shook her head. “Bad business. No witnesses. No forensic evidence. We’re at a dead end.” CHAPTER 4 “You believe there weren’t any witnesses?” he asked. James checked his watch: 8:30 a.m. He’d been up since 4. “Why would you ask that?” Summers asked, squinting Time zone change, worry, and anger conspired to drive him at James. from his bed. He’d gone online on his old computer, trying to “It happened at a party. People all around. I grew up here.

get news about his brother’s assault. There wasn’t much. This is a small community. There’s only one high school. ASSASSINS” “UNCOMMON FROM EXCERPT SPECIAL James showered, shaved, and dressed in khakis, a blue Everyone knows everyone. Just seems strange to me.” work shirt, and hiking boots he took from his bedroom Summers nodded. closet. Stuff he hadn’t worn since college. He removed a blue “What?” James asked. ski jacket from the closet, as well, and found an old pair of She shrugged. “I had the same thought. The kids who leather dress gloves in the pockets. Then he drove Frank’s were there either didn’t want to get involved or were too old Honda across town to the hospital. He let the sight of frightened to say anything. I thought your sister would help, his comatose brother restoke his anger. He sat down next to but nothing there either.” Frank, talking about things they’d done together, about their “Connie? How could she help?” friends, about the Eagles and the Phillies. Summers gave James a curious look. “You didn’t know? After two hours, Frances showed up. James was about to Your sister was one of the kids at the party where the assault let go of Frank’s hand and greet his mother when he froze. h app e n e d .” Frank had squeezed. James jerked his gaze to his brother’s face. No change there. Frank’s eyes were closed; nothing was CHAPTER 5 moving except his chest, pumped by a mindless machine. James drove back to the hospital and found his sister and

SuspenseMagazine.com 67 mother listening to a man in a white smock. “R. Stafford, Terry said. “Ten guys per girl. At $500 per guy, that’s a very M.D.” was stitched in red on the smock’s left pocket. profitable night for him.” The doctor put on a half-smile and said, “Let’s try to keep things in perspective. Frank was badly hurt. But the good CHAPTER 7 news is the brain swelling has suddenly and dramatically Forty-eight-year-old Sean Blair opened the front door of his declined. If he continues to improve, we may be able to take house at 7 p.m. after another twelve-hour day. him off the ventilator.” “Hey, guys, I’m home,” he announced. After the doctor left, James watched Connie walk into No answer. Frank’s room. When he followed her there, she moved away Blair tried again, shouting this time, but got the same from Frank’s bed, over to the window. result. James stared at his sister and, in a quiet voice, asked, He moved down the hall toward his bedroom, but stopped “What’s the matter, Connie?” outside Terry’s room. He opened the door and detected the Connie hunched her shoulders, still staring out the competing odors of sex and marijuana. Blair groaned. The window. high school girls were throwing their tight little asses at his “Come on, Connie. I know something’s on your mind. sons as though they were rock stars. As long as they were Let me help you.” careful. But the marijuana was another thing altogether. Connie turned around, her head bowed, appearing to He turned around and opened the door to Howie’s room look at her clasped hands. She finally said in a meek, defeated and discovered the same pungent aromatic cocktail. voice, “No one can help me.” Then she rushed from the room, Suddenly feeling twice as tired as he had felt just a minute shaking off James’s hand as he tried to stop her. earlier, he walked to his room, shed his clothes, and put on a bathrobe. He thought about eating something, waiting up for CHAPTER 6 his sons. But he suddenly felt too exhausted to do anything Now that school was over for the Christmas break, Terry but go to bed. and Howie Blair had plenty of time on their hands. And with their mother long dead and their father working long hours, James had tried unsuccessfully to engage his sister in they pretty much had the run of their house. This meant they conversation at the dinner table. He was about to try again could bring girls home, screw their brains out, and introduce when Connie’s cell phone rang. She jumped up, grabbed the them to drug and alcohol cocktails, turning them into phone from her sweatshirt pocket, and ran into the living money machines. They’d smooth them out on high-quality room. She talked in a low, furtive voice. James could see her marijuana, then get them just a little bit drunk—just enough face flush and then go white. She looked as though she’d been to break down the rest of their inhibitions. Finally, they’d told someone had died. Her free hand jackhammered the air, introduce them to methamphetamines. The speed was the maybe making a point. Connie saw him staring at her and clincher. It turned the girls into sexual Olympic champions. whipped around, putting her back to him, and rushed from Even with the shame of what they were doing, the girls gave the room and up the stairs. the Blairs all the sex the boys wanted. Sex for drugs. No sex, James glanced from his father, whose face was buried in no drugs. Once they were addicted to meth, everything else his hands, to his mother, who had a deer-in-the-headlights was easy. And, of course, there were always the photographs look. and videos as backup. “How long’s Connie been on drugs?” he asked. “I’m worn out,” Howie Blair complained, wearing only Vince’s head came up as his hands became fists in front boxers in front of the open refrigerator. He pulled out a beer of him. and said, “Nick’s going to love these two.” “What the hell are you talking about?” Vince demanded. Terry chuckled while he hitched up his sweat pants. “Take it easy, Vince,” Frances said. “Mimi finally fell asleep.” Vince shot a laser beam look at his wife. “What do you Howie nodded. “So did little Annie Fannie. Jeez, I’ve mean, ‘Take it easy’? We raised our kids to hate drugs. No never had a girl as hot as that one. And she’s barely fifteen.” way Connie—” Terry laughed. “Speed’ll do it every time.” James interrupted, “I’ve seen the symptoms too many Howie laughed. “They’ll be begging for more magic dust times in the Army. Altered behavior and moody, glassy eyes, by tonight.” drastic change in appearance. She’s showing all the symptoms. “Yep,” Terry said. “Their first party. Have to make sure And look at her hands and arms. She’s scratching them and they’re ready for action.” then picking at the scabs. You had to know something was “I told them we’d stop by around 11:45. Then we’ll pick wrong.” up Connie Brennan. Should be at Carpesi’s party house a “We’ve known something was wrong for over a month,” little after midnight.” Frances said. “Your dad and I have talked and talked to her. “Carpesi said there’d be thirty or so guys there tonight,” Yelled even. Tried to get her to go to a doctor. We set up

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 68 appointments and she runs away. We were going to drag her the floor. James snatched a pair of scissors from his sister’s to the doctor last week, but then Frank . . . .” Frances paused desk and cut through the pink terrycloth bathrobe belt and then added, “But drugs . . . . It can’t be drugs.” around her neck. Her body fell into his arms. He lowered James said, “I’ll talk to her.” her to the floor and started CPR, knowing with absolute James stood and walked upstairs. He knocked on his certainty it would do no good. sister’s bedroom door. With his mother’s shuddering sobs coming from behind “Come on, Connie, open up. Let’s talk.” him, James performed CPR on Connie for ten minutes, until “Go away,” she said. the paramedics arrived. They then worked on Connie and, James tried again. But this time she did not respond. finally, after another ten minutes declared her deceased. James stood there in the hall outside his sister’s room and One of the paramedics stood and backed off from finally said, “We’ll talk in the morning. You can’t put it off Connie’s body. He looked at James and said, “We’ve got to fore v e r.” wait for a detective to show. Suicide’s a violent crime.” He shrugged as though in apology. “Don’t touch anything.” CHAPTER 8 James nodded while looking at his mother seated on James went to bed late that night and fell asleep as soon as his the floor, her back against the side of Connie’s bed, her body head hit the pillow. But then something startled him awake. shaking. He noticed Connie’s cell phone on the lamp table His battle zone nerves were still on high alert. He checked next to her bed and remembered it ringing at midnight, at the bedside clock: 12:01 a.m. The rumbling sound of a poorly the same time the red car had stopped outside. He glanced mufflered vehicle rose from the street. He got out of bed and back at the paramedics—both preoccupied with repacking looked through his window. A red automobile, passenger their equipment. He pocketed the cell phone and sat next to side facing the house, was parked there. In the harsh light his mother. of a street lamp, James got a glimpse of a long-haired young James went downstairs when the doorbell rang. He let in man in the front passenger seat with what appeared to be a two detectives, including Joan Summers, the detective James cell phone pressed against his right ear. It looked as though had talked with the day before, and told them what had there were a couple girls in the back seat. happened. He explained that the paramedics and his mother The muffled chirping of a cell phone carried to James’s were upstairs in his sister’s room. bedroom. He moved into the hall and followed the sound to “Would you mind bringing your mother down here so Connie’s door. The phone rang six times and then stopped. A we can be free to look at your sister’s room?” Summers asked. minute later, the ringing started up again, but ended as it had James went upstairs and brought Frances down to the before, with no answer. living room. He sat next to her on the couch. While the other When the phone didn’t ring again, James returned to detective went upstairs, Summers sat across from James and the window in his room and caught sight of the car speeding Frances and took notes as James again explained what had away. happened. “Did either of you hear anything during the night?” James’s father left the house at 7 a.m. He would drop by the Summers asked. hospital, be at his job by 9, and return to be with Frank at 6 James told her about the car outside the house around p.m. He’d return home around 9. midnight. But he decided not to mention the ringing cell James and his mother had breakfast together at home. phone. “Why don’t you see if Connie’s ready to go see Frank?” “Can you describe the car?” Summers asked.

Frances told James. “I’ll clean up the dishes.” “Red. Low slung. Looked like a Dodge Charger. Sounded ASSASSINS” “UNCOMMON FROM EXCERPT SPECIAL James walked upstairs, not excited about confronting his like a tank out there. Either needs a new muffler or has glass recalcitrant sister, but determined. He knocked on her door packs. Couldn’t see the driver, but the passenger in the front and said, “You ready to go?” had long blond hair.” No answer. James noticed Summers grimace. James tried again. Still no response. He tried the “You know this guy?” doorknob. Locked. She waved a hand at James as though saying no. James slammed his shoulder against the door. That didn’t “Anything else?” she asked. work, so he backed up a step and kicked at the door, crashing Couple of girls in the back of the car.” the sole of his boot against the knob. The doorknob lock “You recognize any of them?” popped and the door flew open. James shook his head. “Oh my God!” James groaned. “Call 9-1-1!” he yelled. The other detective came back downstairs and crooked “Mom, call 9-1-1!” a finger at Summers, who stood and joined him in the Connie was hanging from the ceiling fan, her face blue, entryway. They whispered for a minute and then Summers her neck bent at an impossible angle. A toppled chair lay on returned to the living room and said, “We’re finished here.

SuspenseMagazine.com 69 I’m sorry for your loss.” the red car and the long-haired passenger. Something about James walked the detectives outside and watched them the description had resonated with her. What if Summers drive away. Then he heard movement behind him: the was protecting Howard Blair? paramedics wheeling Connie’s body on a gurney to their Enraged, James returned to the car and drove to the vehicle. A minute later they pulled away, just as Vince hospital. Brennan screeched to a stop in the driveway. The ICU nurse smiled at him and said, “I just called your “How is she?” Vince yelled at James, now standing in the folks. We took your brother off the respirator; he’s breathing front entry. on his own.” Frances ran at Vince and threw herself at him, wrapping James felt a surge of adrenaline rip through him. “Thank her arms around his chest, crying a deluge of tears. “She’s God!” gone, Vince. Our baby’s gone.” “His brain swelling reduced a lot. He’s alert, sort of. Not Vince looked at James, his sad eyes wide, eyebrows talking, but looking around and responding.” raised. James entered Frank’s room. Although his brother was “We found her in her room. She . . . she hung herself.” still hooked up to several tubes, and he looked pale and Vince moaned as though a dagger had pierced his chest. weak, James felt exhilarated. After Vince and Frances went inside, James removed He laid a hand on Frank’s arm. “Hey there, bro,” he said, Connie’s cell from his pants pocket and pulled up the record not expecting a response. of incoming calls. The last two came from the same number: Frank’s eyes opened languorously. When his gaze rested One at 12:01 p.m.; the other at 12:02. He highlighted the last on James, he blinked. After a beat, Frank moved his lips and number and pressed SEND. The phone screen showed the emitted a raspy sound. incoming number and the name Howard Blair. James was James picked up a plastic glass of water with a pink about to terminate the call when a male voice answered. stick-sponge in it. He pressed the sponge on Frank’s lips and “You stupid bitch! You know how much trouble you watched his brother suck at the sponge. caused us last night? I’m going to sell your ass on the street Frank croaked out an indecipherable sound. He gulped until you can’t walk straight. You hear me? Then I’m going to and then rasped, “Help . . . Connie . . . help.” Then he closed kick the crap out of you like we did your spastic brother. You his eyes and began breathing deeply. hear me? And we’re going to mess up your parents.” The guy James waited in vain for Frank to wake. After an hour, he paused as though he expected a response. When none came, went out to the nurses’ station and said to the young woman he screamed, “Answer me, bitch!” there, “Thanks for everything.” James clicked off the phone, barely able to contain the She smiled. all-familiar rage swelling inside him. The fire and ice of “You live in Pennsmoor?” he asked as an afterthought battle. He walked back inside the house, went to the kitchen, “Yes.” and looked at the Pennsmoor telephone directory. He turned “I see we’ve got a new police chief. When I left for the to the B’s and found three listings for Blair, but none for a Army, Glen Schilling was chief.” Howard Blair. “Yeah, Chief Schilling retired to Florida. Sean Blair’s the He went upstairs to his room. Sitting on the side of his chief now.” bed, he forced himself to calm down, to suppress the heat in “Don’t know him,” James said. his gut and the creeping fingers of ice penetrating his brain. “Wife died of cancer a while back. The chief has two sons He knew what he wanted to do, what he’d been trained to do. who are sure to get big-time football scholarships. Terry and But he fought the urge. This wasn’t Afghanistan, after all. He’d Howie. Real teenage heart throbs.” go see Detective Summers. Tell her about the phone calls in the night. Tell her what the man had said when he called the Back home, James checked in with his parents and then number on Connie’s cell. went upstairs, lowered the retractable ladder in the hallway leading to the attic, and climbed up. Tipping his father’s CHAPTER 9 footlocker back, he swept out a padlock key from under the James drove to the Pennsmoor Police building. He started up right front corner and unlocked the box. He removed the .45 the steps but suddenly stopped and stared at the sign hanging caliber automatic his father had bought at a garage sale a few to the left of the building’s front door. He hadn’t noticed it years ago, still wrapped in an oily rag, its serial number filed the last time he was here. It showed the name of Pennsmoor’s away. He tested the slide and trigger mechanisms and found Chief of Police Sean P. Blair. One of the Blair listings in the them in good working order. Then he took out a box of phone book was for a Sean Blair. Sean Blair. Howard Blair. ammunition, two empty magazines, and a cleaning kit from James didn’t believe in coincidences. the locker. After climbing down from the attic and replacing What if Howard Blair was related to the police chief? He the ladder, he went to his room, cleaned the weapon, and thought about the reaction Summers had when he described then dug an old knapsack out of the closet and placed the

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 70 pistol and now-loaded magazines in it. When the twins were seated on the couch, James looked from one to the other, moving his gunhand in synchronous CHAPTER 10 sweeps with his gaze. Howie Blair took a beer from the refrigerator and plopped “Okay, guys,” he said in a calm, reasonable voice. “I know down near his brother on the den couch. Terry zapped the you put Frank Brennan in the hospital and did something to television set with the remote, scrolling through the channels. Connie Brennan. Now you’re going to tell me what’s going He clicked on a local channel, when a beeping sound came on .” from the set and a news alert scrolled across the bottom of Terry Blair’s eyes widened; Howie was groaning with the screen: Pennsmoor High School coed commits suicide. each shallow breath. But neither brother said a word. Constance Brennan hanged herself in her home last night. “One more chance, fellows.” Tune to Eyewitness News at 6 for the full story. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Terry said. “What the hell!” Terry blurted. “Connie Brennan killed “Who the hell are you?” herself last night. I thought you said you talked to her this James stepped forward and kicked Terry’s right shin morning?” so hard the kid fell off the couch, clutching his leg and “I did,” Howie gasped. “She called me.” screaming. James grabbed Terry’s long blond hair, flipped “What did she say?” him onto his stomach, and placed a foot on the back of the “Uh . . . nothing really.” kid’s thick neck. “She didn’t say anything?” James eyed Howie, made sure he was in place on the “Not a word. But her name showed on my cell when the couch, and then bent over and pressed the muzzle of the .45 call came in.” into the back of Terry’s neck and cocked the hammer. “It wasn’t her; she was already dead,” Terry shrieked. “Please,” Howie rasped, “don’t hurt my brother. I’ll tell After a second’s pause, he said, “What did you say to her?” y ou .” Howie shrugged. “I don’t know. I was really pissed. I James straightened. He waved his gunhand in a come- shouted. Told her I was going to kick her ass. Like we did hither motion and Howie opened up like a broken faucet. . . . .” When the kid finished telling his story, James’s anger had “Like we did . . . what?” escalated to a napalm-hot level, icy madness trying to seize Howie blew out a blast of air and swallowed. “Like we control of his mind. Connie’s suffering and shame. Frank’s did to her brother.” pain. His parents’ worry and now inconsolable grief. He “Oh shit! We’ve got to find out who has that cell phone.” forced himself to put a damper on his fury and, a sharp edge “And do what?” Howie asked. to his voice, asked why they beat up Frank. “Depends on who it is,” Terry said. “He found out Connie was sneaking out at night to meet “I don’t like this, Terry. We need to get out of this business us. He confronted us at a party later. Threatened to tell his n ow.” parents. That’s when we . . . .” Howie stood and started pacing just as the doorbell rang. “How did you keep Connie from saying anything?” He looked at his brother and spread his arms in a questioning James asked. gesture. “Who the hell’s that?” Howie seemed to go cross-eyed, staring at the pistol in “How do I know?” James’s hand. “We . . . we had video of her. Pictures of her . . . Howie went to the front door and looked through the having sex with men.” side light windows. “Some guy,” he called to Terry. He opened “How many men?” James demanded.

the door and saw the man had a cell phone to his ear. “Yeah?” “Lots of men.” ASSASSINS” “UNCOMMON FROM EXCERPT SPECIAL he said. But then Howie’s phone rang. He snatched the phone “And . . . .” from his pocket and looked at the screen: Connie Brennan. “We told her if she talked . . . we’d kill her whole family.” “Hey there, Howie,” the guy on the front step said, as he “You gave her drugs, didn’t you?” pocketed his cell phone. “Had to be sure I had the right guy.” Howie nodded, now looking sick enough to puke. “Meth.” James stepped into the Blair house and drove his right fist James felt blood lust vie with reason. He shook his head into the much larger Howard Blair’s sternum. Blair fell to to try to clear it. In a husky, feral voice, he said, “I know you the floor as though he’d been poleaxed. James slipped the .45 geniuses didn’t put this thing together yourselves. Who are pistol from the back of his waistband just as a mirror image you working for?” giant of Howard Blair, fists raised, rushed into the entryway “Nobody!” Terry said. and came at him. But the kid skidded to a stop, the muzzle of James pressed down harder with his boot, causing Terry the pistol denting his throat. to moan. “Get your piece-of-shit brother off the floor and move “Nick Carpesi,” Howie said. “Mob guy out of Philly.” into that room,” James ordered, pointing toward the den. “And where do I find this Carpesi?”

SuspenseMagazine.com 71 “You’re crazy,” Howie moaned. “He’ll kill you. Then he’ll lying on the floor. A neat hole had been punched in Terry’s kill us. The guy’s a psycho.” forehead; blood seeped from the back of his head, forming “What do you think I am?” James asked. an ever-growing pool. Howie was on his side, the left part of Howie just shook his head as though confused. his chest covered in blood. Terry couldn’t have survived his “Where are the pictures and videos you took?” James head wound. James removed a glove and checked for a pulse demanded. at Howie’s neck. Gone, too. Now looking down at his lap, Howie said, “On the James replaced the glove and put the .45 in Howie Blair’s computer on the kitchen counter, and on my cell.” right hand, raised his arm, and fired a shot in Carpesi’s “What about your brother? He have a cell?” direction, ensuring gunshot residue would be found on the “Yeah,” Howie said, “but it doesn’t take pictures or video.” kid. He let the pistol fall to the floor and then picked up Connie’s cell phone and put it in his jacket pocket. He left CHAPTER 11 through the office’s back door. Nick Carpesi was closing up shop for the day when he saw the Blair’s Dodge pull up outside. The brothers and a third CHAPTER 12 man got out of the car. “Damn! What now?” he muttered as James found an alley a couple blocks from the body shop he moved out of his workshop to his office and sat behind and shrugged out of the pack and his jacket. He ripped a his desk. He removed a .9 mm Glock pistol from his desk piece from the bottom of his shirt and wrapped it around drawer and placed it on his blotter, beneath a newspaper. He his left forearm where Carpesi’s bullet had knicked him. He watched the Blairs and the third man, who wore gloves and a removed Howie Blair’s laptop computer and cell phone from knapsack, enter his office. The Blairs looked frightened. The the knapsack and his sister’s cell from his pocket, stomped stranger closed the door and turned the lock. them to plastic and metal pieces and dumped the wreckage, “What’s up, boys?” Carpesi asked. along with his gloves and the box of ammunition, in a “This guy is—” sewer loudly running with snowmelt. He put the jacket and The stranger punched Terry in the kidney and growled, knapsack back on and walked through back alleys toward the “Shut up!” Terry dropped to the floor. His brother, Howie, in vacant lot where he’d left Frank’s Honda, two blocks from the front of the stranger, had tears in his eyes. Blair home. Carpesi grinned. The walk took fifteen minutes, allowing time for the heat The stranger stepped around Howie and pulled a pistol in James’s gut to dissipate and the ice in his brain to melt, from behind his back, aiming it at Carpesi. He then took coming down from the adrenaline high of battle. The itching a cell phone from his ski jacket pocket and said, “What do of the scar on the inside of his right leg suddenly started you think about me calling the police and telling them about again. James tried to ignore it, but the scar tissue was like your sex ring?” a spoiled child demanding attention. He rubbed the spot “What are you playing at?” Carpesi demanded. “Who are through his pants, feeling the six-inch groove in his flesh so you?” close to his femoral artery. The stranger just glared at him. He drove home and found his father pacing outside in Carpesi knew he couldn’t let the cops question the Blair the cold. brothers. Even their father couldn’t protect them. They’d roll “Where you been?” Vince asked. over like two-bit whores. And then there were the drugs “Taking care of business, Dad.” ■ hidden in the body shop. “Let’s think this through,” he said reasonably. “Why don’t From “Uncommon Assassins” Edited by Weldon Burge. Individual you tell me who you are?” stories copyright by individual authors. Copyright 2012 by Smart “James Brennan,” the stranger said. “Ring a bell?” Rhino Publications, LLC. Reprinted by permission. Carpesi suddenly knew with absolute certainty the cops were the least of his problems. He swiveled slightly in his Prior to a long finance career, Joseph Badal served for six years as a chair, hoping to distract the man, and then snatched the commissioned officer in the U.S. Army in critical, highly classified Glock from under the newspaper, firing shot after shot after positions in the U.S. and overseas, including tours of duty in Greece shot. and Vietnam. He earned numerous military decorations. He has had seven suspense novels published with Suspense Publishing, James felt red-hot heat in his left arm as the cell phone slipped including “Ultimate Betrayal,” which was released in April 2014. from his hand. He returned fire with the .45, dropping and He also writes a monthly blog titled Everyday Heroes, and has rolling to his right. As he came back to his feet, he saw a written short stories published in the “Uncommon Assassins” and fan of blood and brain matter had painted the wall behind “Someone Wicked” anthologies. Carpesi. The mobster had reacted exactly as James had expected . . . and as he’d hoped he would. The Blairs were

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 72

Welcome WagonBy Laura Kathryn Rogers THE DOORBELL RANG JUST AFTER 4:30 P.M. And, of course, I answered it. It seemed the right thing to do. Three ladies of varying ages and one intense-looking gentleman, stood at the door. They sized me up even as I sized them up. The intense man even sniffed at the air, as if to detect my recent hygienic accomplishments. “Hey there!” Mr. Intense said, thrusting out a short-fat-fingered hand at me. I thought about why I was in the house, and responded to his handshake. His grip was firm and warm, respectable for someone who seemed about to burst with purpose. “I’m Griffin Parks. I’m the president of the neighborhood property owners association. We like to meet all of the new neighbors. Welcome you personally,” he said, giving me a warm smile. “Why thank you,” I said, hoping that I was dressed appropriately for the occasion. I was in my work uniform, which consisted of some well-worn blue jeans, button-fly, and a sleeveless white undershirt underneath a blue, orange, and green checked flannel shirt. Because I preferred it, I was barefoot. I wore gloves of the type that a fastidious homemaker would use in the process of house cleaning, but they were not for housekeeping. Not at all. “Jeannie Perkins, here,” the lady nearest to Griffin said over-enthusiastically. She wore a horrid floral pantsuit that did not flatter her many curves. “I’m your next door neighbor! I have three kids, but they’ve moved away. You know, careers, the baby is in her last year of college. I try to keep busy.” The middle lady, much more to my liking, stepped out from behind Griffin. She had a nice, hourglass shape accentuated by a slim waist and some drop-dead gorgeous legs. She was wearing a solid yellow dress that looked comfortable and accentuated her reddish-brown hair and green eyes. “Elizabeth Foreman,” she said, smiling. “I’m an attorney in town. I work from home. Keep pretty busy, though—I have two kids, totally grown, but mine have not had the grace to leave home yet.” The last lady, who had a distinctly unfortunate squint, spoke up last, so quietly I could barely hear her. “Patty Lake,” she said simply. “We tease poor ol’ Patty and call her ‘Patty Cake,’ sometimes. Don’t we, girl?” Patty squinted at Griffin and gave a brief nod. Patty was so nondescript as to fade into the surroundings. Limp, light brown hair, matching eyes, sallow skin. A figure neither blessed nor neglected. Her clothing was tan pants and a white sweater. No jewelry except for a wedding ring. Plain. “We didn’t get your name,” Patty said; her voice dull, without flavor. I have several names that I go by, depending on what I’m doing, so I thought of the least objectionable one and gave that. Rudy. Rudy Jefferies. “So, what do you do?” Griffin asked, his grin friendly, wide, and so harmless looking that you might (might) want to tell him everything. I didn’t want to tell him anything. I’d seen his kind before. He would use whatever information you gave to advance himself and the hell with you. “I am a problem-solver, I guess you could say,” I said, adopting the same grin. “I take care of things that other people don’t want to do. Privately employed, of course. Get to work for myself. Love it.” “I see,” Griffin said, his megawatt smile fading somewhat. “Well, can we come in for a while? I know you are busy unpacking and stuff, but we’re awful proud of this little neighborhood. We want you fully on board about how to do things from the get-go. Sound okay?” I smiled, turned and pointed toward the living room. “What can I get everyone to drink?” I heard them trading observations as I made mixed drinks for the ladies, straight scotch for my man, Griffin. By the minute, he was appearing to be tougher than he looked. And that could be a problem harder to solve than others.

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 74 “I think he’s hot,” Elizabeth of the corresponding hot body and features was saying. “Of course you do,” Griffin said, his disapproval subtle. “He’s a man.” “Jealous, Sweetie?” I heard her say. “Oh come on, you two, I wonder what he actually does. Problem solving? What is that?” That was our little Patty Cake, who was working on my identity as if I were a complicated arithmetic problem. “He has to be legit. I mean, income, job. How else could he afford the house?” “I’m sure he’s fine. But didn’t the realtor say something about him looking like a Hippie? This guy is pretty clean-cut. Where’s the beard and long hair?” This came from Jeannie of the floral pantsuit. I walked in the room with a tray laden with their drinks and some peanuts I had found sitting next to the scotch. “Not very good pickings, I’m afraid,” giving them a toothy smile. “You know how that goes. Pack for a week, unpack for a y e ar.” The comment made them all relax. The liquor assisted. Half an hour later, they’d forgotten to be suspicious of me, even the self-promoting Griffin. They lounged easily on the sofas, to such a degree that I wondered what the actual owner would think had he walked in the room. But there was very little chance of that. “You have very good taste in decor. Did you do it all yourself?” This from the admiring Elizabeth. Frankly, I was quite admiring in her direction as well. Very. Too bad my job prevented me from making friends… “Actually, I had nothing at all to do with it,” I said easily, drinking my club soda. Had to keep a clear head for my work. “Well, whoever you hired did a fantastic job, can we walk around?” That was Patty, surprising me that she would be interested in anything. “Well, downstairs you can, but upstairs is still not . . . .” Griffin waved his hand, giving Patty a quelling look. “Never mind, neighbor! We know you’re still getting settled. Week or two, why don’t we come over and do the tour then?” “That would be fine with me,” I said, holding up my club soda as if in silent toast. They could do what they liked then—I wouldn’t be here. Then, there was a loud groan from upstairs. I knew ignoring it would make them suspicious. Instead, I commented on it. “My partner,” I said, winking. “He really tied one on last night. Another reason I’d rather not do the tour today.” “Gotcha,” Griffin said. I noted with inner amusement that Elizabeth looked sad. Then, as if on cue, a loud thump. Cursing inwardly, I said, “I’d better go check on him.” They began to talk amongst themselves as I left them. Elizabeth lamenting that all the good-looking single men seemed to be gay. I sprinted up the golden-carpeted stairs, and turned right at the top. I saw the house’s owner, Kraig Philemon, crawling out of the bedroom where I’d left him when the doorbell rang. We’d been interrupted. He looked up at me and, trying to speak, failed. I shook my finger at him as if at a child. “Didn’t I tell you to stay put?” I pulled the revolver out of my shirt pocket, checked to be sure the silencer was still on. He waved his hands at me, eyes wide with terror. Then he fell, certain not to move again, as my perfectly aimed shot went straight through his forehead. I came back down to find a sheaf of papers thrust at me. “You look like the type to be very active wherever you are,” Elizabeth said, forcing a smile. “We went ahead and assigned you to the street cleaning committee. We all take turns. Clear leaves, snow, all that. Sometimes garbage that gets dumped on the curb by litterbugs.” “Well, I am good at removing garbage,” I said, giving her a subtle wink. She held eye contact for a tad bit longer than I thought was entirely decent. After all, we were practically strangers. Everyone noticed, especially Griffin. “So tell us more about this job of yours. Professional problem solving,” Griffin said. His eyes widened when I showed him my gun. “You don’t live here,” Patty said, her monotone giving way to a squeak of emotion that could not be discerned. What was it? I’d heard it before in my long career, and always from those about to die. Panic? Fear? “Nope,” I said, waving them to a corner. “And you are perfectly great people, I’m sure. But you know, my job requires that I not have witnesses.” They all went meekly to their deaths. I did things quickly to keep from things being messy. I hate mess. I saved Elizabeth for last, just because I liked her so much. It seemed a shame, a damn shame indeed. “You can’t!” Elizabeth pleaded, her eyes full of the gun pointed at her. “We’re just the welcome wagon.” “I know,” I said, “and unfortunately, in your case especially, so am I.” I pulled the trigger, and shortly thereafter, left. ■

SuspenseMagazine.com 75 Subscribe Today! BENEFITS TO SUBSCRIBING • Reviews and ratings of new releases • Discover new authors • Short stories • Author interviews including many of your favorites • Much, Much More! Available at: AMAZON BARNES & NOBLE or Subscribe to the ELECTRONIC VERSION AT www.SuspenseMagazine.com RATES (Electronic): 1 Year: $24.00/ 2 Years: $48.00

“Suspense Magazine nicely fills a long-vacant niche for readers of this popular genre. If you like a good old-fashioned who- dunit, grab a copy and get the latest scoop on all your favorite authors, current books, and upcoming projects.” ~Wendy Corsi Staub, New York Times Bestselling Author “Suspense Magazine is chock full of stunning artwork, intriguing fiction, and interviews. It’s a winner!” ~Tess Gerritsen, International Bestselling Author

Suspense Magazine March 2015 / Vol. 063 76 SuspenseMagazine.com 77