Suspense, Mystery, Horror and Thriller Fiction JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2018 FORENSIC FILES D.P. LYLE CREATE NOW, CRITIQUE LATER DENNIS PALUMBO Get a Sneak Peek With th MICKI BROWNING Our 80 Issue JULIE MOFFETT For the Love of . JORDAN DANE C.J. COOKE SAMUEL PARKER DAVID PUTNAM VICKI DELANY WENDY CORSI STAUB BRAD TAYLOR JAYNE ANN KRENTZ The Suspense Will Leave You BREATHLESS... The New York Times bestselling Journey to the dark side author continues her Texas Trilogy Series of justice with forensic expert series with a riveting novel of Maggie Gardiner and page-turning suspense where homicide detective Jack Renner. Trilogy secrets and passions turn deadly… “The plot hurtles to Texas “Martin takes readers an adrenaline-fueled on a roller-coaster ride.” The conclusion.” Gardiner and Renner Gardiner —PUBLISHERS —BOOKLIST WEEKLY The “Reed writes “An as only authentically Thriller Series Series a cop can.” crafted Thriller Series —NELSON detective DeMILLE, Malice story.” #1 —JOY SMITH, New York Times The Jack Murphy Goodreads, bestselling Jake Carrington Jake 5 Stars author The The Detective Jack Murphy must find Within the stone walls of an ancient castle, Homicide detective Jake Carrington a sick killer whose twisted clues a family’s dark, violent past threatens to come will have to face his personal demons and chosen victims point to a back to haunt them…with fatal consequences. and focus his formidable skills to stop a madman out for revenge. vicious murderer from striking again. “Danger, mystery, and a brave, resilient heroine.” —heroesandheartbreakers.com on Secrets of Hallstead House Available Everywhere Books Are Sold ensingtonBooks.com From the Editor Welcome to 2018! It was just eighteen short years ago we found ourselves in the middle of one of the greatest suspense stories of CREDITS John Raab all time: What’s going to happen when the President & Chairman clock strikes midnight on January 1, 2000? We had so many different theories, with Shannon Raab people stocking up on everything, believing Creative Director that anarchy would be right around the Romaine Reeves corner. Heck, I even had a plan when I was CFO living in Minnesota that if the shit hit the Amy Lignor fan, I would take my family to Northern Editor Minnesota and stay in a cabin until things settled down. Jim Thomsen Everything around you is a story. When you watch the news or shop in a store, if you Copy Editor just leave your eyes and ears open, you can find a story. Authors are very good at things Contributors like this. They see a news story about a young person who has been kidnapped and follow Mark P. Sadler the story along with the rest of the world to see how it ends. But what’s missing is the Susan Santangelo emotion and suspense found in the middle of the tale, which is where those authors fill Kaye George Weldon Burge in the blanks. Ashley Wintters When you read your next suspense/thriller, like many of the books we have reviewed D.P. Lyle M.D. in this magazine, note that every title has its’ own story within the story. Think to Kathleen Heady Andrew MacRae yourself…what must the author be thinking when they sit down to write a book with Melissa Dalton so much pain wrapped around the characters, to only reel it back and give the character Elliott Capon J.M. LeDuc some sort of redemption? Do you find yourself rooting for the hero, even though most of Holly Price the time you probably realize they’ll make it in the end but the journey to get there will Kari Wainwright be very bumpy? David Ingram Jodi Hanson I’ve asked the question to hundreds Susan May of authors: “The beginning or the end, Jenny Hilborne which has more impact on the reader? And Anthony J. Franze Kristin Centorcelli which is tougher for the author to write?” Jerry Zavada Thinking more about that question, I began Leslie Borghini Mary Lignor to see that what I was missing was the Julie Whiteley journey of the tale. When you think about Sara Guisti it, the beginning is the start of the path and Jeff Ayers Elise Cooper the ending is simply the conclusion, but Joseph Badal how did they get from point A to point B? Customer Service and That’s where the talent of each author really Subscriptions: shines. For 24/7 service, please use our website, So, here’s a resolution for you, since you www.suspensemagazine.com or write to: SUSPENSE MAGAZINE at don’t have enough for 2018 already—take 26500 Agoura Road, #102-474 some time to really put yourself in the shoes Calabasas, CA 91302 Suspense Magazine does not share our of the author and consider the challenges magazine subscriber list with third-party faced to create a story that entertained companies. from page one to the end. You might just lose yourself in their world and experience Rates: $24.00 (Electronic Subscrip- tion) per year. All foreign subscrip- something you never have before, beyond tions must be payable in U.S. funds. simply reading words on the pages. John Raab CEO/Publisher Model/Photographer Credit: https://adriana-madrid.devian- Suspense Magazine ■ tart.com/art/Only-the-birds-know-the-way-709913261 “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 contributors who may appear in this magazine are also individual clients of Suspense Publishing, an imprint of Suspense Magazine: J.M. LeDuc, Leslie Borghini, Susan Santangelo, Jeff Ayers, Joseph Badal, and Amy Lignor.” SuspenseMagazine.com 1 CONTENT SUSPENSE MAGAZINE January / February 2018 / Vol. 080 Excerpt: “Beached” By Micki Browning . 3 Alma Mater By Mike Wheet . 7 Excerpt: “No Regrets” By Julie Moffett . .13 Enhancing Well-Being & Encouraging Minds: C.J. Cooke . 16 Create Now, Critique Later By Dennis Palumbo . .19 Inside the Pages: Suspense Magazine Book Reviews . .22 Suspense Magazine Movie Reviews By Jeff Ayers . .34 Featured Artist: Adriana Estevez .................................. 35 Samuel Parker’s Brand of Justice? “Coldwater” . .40 David Putnam: Hasn’t “Vanquished” his Series . .42 Excerpt: “The Innocents” By David Putnam . 45 With my Eyes By Leslie Budewitz . .49 Forensic Files: What is a Chimera? By D .P . Lyle, MD . 66 Excerpt: “Valentine & the Lotus Circle” By Jordan Dane . 68 The Sea Cliff By Peter Swanson . .72 Family is Everything By Lael Braday . .76 SPECIAL PREVIEW FROM MICKI BROWNING BEACHED By Micki Browning Press Photo Credit: Provided by Author Chapter One Meredith Cavallo had questioned her decision to stay in the Florida Keys plenty of times over the past few months, but never while standing on the deck of the LunaSea. Two days remained until Thanksgiving and she had a lot of blessings to count. She had only to look around her. The waves above French Reef sparkled in the late morning sun, a welcome contrast to the squall that had passed through last night. She drew a big breath of salty air. No. This was home. At least for now. Next month, charter boats would be full of divers on their winter holiday, but today a family of four made up the entirety of the LunaSea’s manifest. That left plenty of elbow room on a vessel large enough to accommodate twenty-six divers. Mer scanned the water out of habit. They had the dive site to themselves and the divers had splashed ten minutes earlier. The reef was shallow. They had at least another half hour to explore. Captain Leroy Penninichols poked his head out of the engine hold. An ever-present plastic straw peeked beyond his silver-streaked beard. “Maggie wants to know what she can make for Thanksgiving.” A slight drawl tempered his baritone voice. Mer gathered the tools at the edge of the hold. “Not a thing. I’ve got it covered.” “She said you’d say something like that.” He pulled himself out of the hold and onto the deck. Sweat dampened his T-shirt and he wiped his hands with a rag. “I’m supposed to insist.” “Really. I got it.” The toolbox was its usual jumble and Mer sorted the equipment into specific compartments. “Recipes are just like experiments.” “How many of these have you done?” he asked. “Experiments? Lots.” “I meant Thanksgiving dinners.” “Before this one?” Mer asked. “None.” Leroy folded the rag and placed it on the camera table that rose from the rear of the deck. “Oh, goodie. I’ll tell Maggie to make pies…and maybe the turkey.” He dropped the lid of the hatch. It slammed with a metallic bang and she flinched. “Sorry.” He indicated her leg. “That still bother you?” She found herself rubbing her thigh and forced herself to stop. The wound had healed. “What bothers me is your skepticism regarding my ability to construct a pie.” “You don’t even look like you know how to eat one.” “Well, if your waistline is any indication, you have enough experience for the both of us.” He patted his belly. “The proper terminology is baked, not constructed. Do you even have a cookbook?” SuspenseMagazine.com 3 “That’s what the Internet’s for.” “Not enough to be a marine scientist? Now you’re an “Great. We’ll bring the dressing, too.” archeologist, too?” Leroy teased. “It’s stuffing. It goes in, not on.” The last wrench properly “Never hurts to document things in situ. Sometimes it’s sorted, she shut the toolbox and snapped the latches.