Critic Oline Cogdill recently shared her review of Perfect Life by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores. The review originally appeared in the South Florida Sun Sentinel. You can order a copy of the book through The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/4ue6bnhv

---

Book review: Set in Florida, ‘Perfect Life’ is mystery fiction equivalent of ‘The Real Housewives’

‘Perfect Life’ by Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores; Bantam; 336 pages; $30

No matter how much anyone tries, no one can have a perfect life, as authors Meredith Lavender and Kendall Shores show in their deliciously gossipy, lighthearted “Perfect Life.” If lucky, people can come close. But true perfection just doesn’t exist.

“Perfect Life” marks the authors’ second novel set in the wealthy enclave of Winter Park, Florida, near Orlando. Like last year’s “Happy Wife,” this latest novel enters Winter Park’s high life of luxurious mansions, expensive restaurants and society parties.

Consider this new series the mystery fiction equivalent of “The Real Housewives,” with all the bad behavior and cliques that come with those addictive television series.

“Perfect Life” centers on Este Walker, who seemed to have had close to a perfect life in California as a corporate executive, until everything went terribly wrong. Este and husband Beau moved five years ago to Winter Park after he cashed in his tech business for millions. While money has given Este “power and control,” she has remained down-to-earth, befriending a lonely 12-year-old neighbor girl whose mother has died, and helping a good friend trying to land a lucrative career. Este also loves pranks, like wrapping a snooty neighbor’s house in toilet paper.

Este has no illusions about the undertow of life in this suburb. “Parties in Winter Park can be something of a blood sport — part pageant, part ‘Mean Girls’ revival. I don’t care much for the game, but I know the rules well enough.” And gossip is like currency, she muses: “Gossip isn’t sharing, and it’s not a game. It’s an arms race. Every secret demands another.”

Este doesn’t focus on the past — whatever happened in California — but rather on the future in Winter Park. But then she receives an anonymous text from a California number. Shortly later, a friend is killed in a hit-and-run accident and her husband is implicated.

Suddenly, the past becomes Este’s present.

Lavender and Shores have the makings of a solid series focusing on different Winter Park residents. Este played a pivotal part as the next-door neighbor in “Happy Wife,” and the focus now on her is most welcome. Este is an appealing heroine — the kind of character who is intelligent, street smart and insightful. Este would make great friend, and her loving relationship with Beau is refreshing.

The authors showcase the “polished facade” of Winter Park and the residents’ quest for that elusive perfection. As Este notes, “Winter Park is a tropical paradise with a New England flair — everything the creative director for a Vineyard Vines summer catalog could ask for. And residents happily shell out piles of cash for the privilege of living here — embracing the posh zip code and the way their tires rumble over uneven brick.”

Lavender, a screenwriter and former showrunner for TV’s “The Flight Attendant,” and Shores, a communications consultant, deliver a clever, light story that makes full use of the Florida setting. Readers will want to visit Winter Park, take a boat ride along its canals, and visit its small-but-superb Morse Museum.

John Charles hosted a virtual event with true crime writer Maria DiLorenzo for The Poisoned Pen. You can order her forthcoming book, Confessions of the Green River Killer, through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/yx6bwbat.

Here’s the description of Confessions of the Green River Killer.

A startling profile of one of the most prolific serial killers and the disturbing experience of the journalist who earned his trust for the sake of justice.

When crime journalist Maria DiLorenzo mailed a letter to Gary Ridgway, she never expected him to reply. He refused to speak to reporters and would send only religious materials back to anyone who contacted him in prison—if he replied at all. But instead of silence or a boilerplate letter, Maria’s phone rang–and it was the Green River Killer calling.

Over the next several years, Ridgway would call Maria hundreds of times, using all of his free time in prison to speak with her. Her goal: to pry the details of his dozens of unidentified and unsolved murders from him. His motivation in speaking to her: unknowable. Through these hundreds of hours of phone calls, Ridgway revealed new details about his life, his crimes, and his motives – and manipulated Maria much like he tormented his victims.

An insightful and deeply personal profile of a dangerous mind, Confessions of the Green River Killer is the closest depiction of Gary Ridgway ever seen and a disturbing glimpse into what it’s like to truly know a killer. Readers of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and The Stranger Beside Me will be enraptured to experience Gary Ridgway through the eyes and ears of a woman he came to deeply trust—and deeply covet.

---

Maria DiLorenzo received an MFA in English / creative writing from Hunter College in 2011. For several years she worked as a contributing writer for The Crime Report, and in 2020, she founded the website Beyond the Crime, which shares firsthand interviews with those incarcerated for murder to gain a deeper understanding of the criminal mind. She is one of the only journalists to extensively interview Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Her work in true crime has been chronicled in podcasts and documentaries, including an appearance on ABC’s 20/20. She currently resides in Staten Island, NY.

---

True crime fans will want to watch the discussion with Maria DiLorenzo.

Patrick Millikin hosted the virtual interview with Caitlin Rother, author of Staged. Staged is her seventeenth book, the sequel to Hooked. Books three and four in the series are waiting to be published. You can order a copy of Staged through the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/y46per55.

Here’s the description of Staged.

In this thrilling sequel to Hooked, the secret leaders of a deadly cabal prove to be a veritable match for the determined reporter and the insightful surfing detective who double down to expose them.

Investigative reporter Katrina Chopin is back home in San Diego on a mission (or two). The first is personal: reheating the cold case of her parents’ murder and investigating her brother’s reported suicide. The second involves a new spate of deaths with alleged causes that just don’t smell right. She and Detective Ken Goode need each other’s help for both. But she has to keep the sexy surfer at arm’s length, because dating him is off limits. For now.

Teaming up, they make coordinated progress down each path. Digging deeper into La Jolla’s corrupt network of elites, they uncover a pattern of lies, depravity, and greed. And with every new discovery, Katrina is pulled closer to danger…and to Goode.

Sharing sexy phone calls and sunset drinks isn’t exactly following the rules, but fully crossing that line could jeopardize the case. As they start to connect the dots, they realize they must risk everything to bring down the shadowy cabal that kills to keep its secrets.

---

New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written seventeen books—ranging from crime novels to narrative nonfiction and memoir—including Down to the Bone, Death on Ocean Boulevard, and Body Parts. An award-winning investigative reporter for nineteen years, Rother has had her work featured in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and The Daily Beast. Her more than 250 media appearances include 20/20, People Magazine Investigates, Crime Watch Daily, Australia’s World News, and numerous shows on Netflix, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, HLN, and REELZ.

A popular speaker, Rother also works as a writing-research coach. For fun, she binges on limited series, sings and plays keyboards in a jazzy bluesy trio with her partner, and swims in the ocean. She holds a BS in psychology from UC Berkeley and an MS in journalism from Northwestern University. To learn more, please visit https://caitlinrother.com.

---

Enjoy the conversation with Caitlin Rother.

Critic Oline Cogdill recently reviewed the latest books by Karen Odden (An Artful Dodge) and Joshua Moehling (Beneath a Broken Sky). Both reviews appeared previously at the South Florida Sun Sentinel. You can order copies of the books through The Poisoned Pen’s Webstore, https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

---

Book review: Real-life, all-female crime gang inspires ‘An Artful Dodge’

Meanwhile, personal scars and public tragedies collide in ‘Beneath a Broken Sky.’

‘An Artful Dodge’ by Karen Odden; Soho Crime; 368 pages; $29.95

The best historical fiction is born out of facts and real-life events, just as Karen Odden demonstrates with her cleverly plotted, atmospheric “An Artful Dodge.”

From the 1870s until the 1950s, an all-female crime syndicate of shoplifters, burglars and blackmailers known as The Forty Elephants was prominent in London’s underworld. The women worked primarily in the Elephant and Castle area of South London.

Using that historical note, Odden delivers a gripping novel that touches on misogyny, classism, questions of identity, finding your place in the world when custom and circumstances limit your choices and future and, of course, crime.

Set in 1879, “The Artful Dodge” is steeped in the culture and sensibilities of Victorian London as the story follows 20-year-old British jewel thief Kit Jimeson, who, despite her success, wants to live an honest life and leave the all-women gang. That’s a time-worn trope of most caper plots, as is the desire for one final big score before escaping the crime life.

Odden takes that plot device, making it a fresh idea by ratcheting up Kit’s reason for her plan. Kit, whose mother also was a thief, wants to make sure her 14-year-old sister Sarah’s future is set as a servant in a respectable house. In 1879, this is job security for a poor, uneducated girl.

While Kit’s experience with her fellow criminals shows honor among thieves, leaving the gang isn’t easy. Kit is a high earner, able to slip a necklace or ring off a woman without being detected. Then the daughter of the crime group’s leader returns after 20 years in an Australian penal colony ready to resume control of the gang. And she will do anything, including violence and kidnapping, to be back in charge.

Odden vividly takes readers by the hand, guiding them through the streets of Victorian London, from the areas ruled by poverty to the upscale ones. At the novel’s start, Odden includes a list of the large cast of characters, and throughout “An Artful Dodge” she makes each come alive with carefully sculpted backgrounds.

---

In the midst of destruction

‘Beneath a Broken Sky’ by Joshua Moehling; Poisoned Pen Press; 336 pages; $27.99

Joshua Moehling’s expertly crafted police procedurals examine the impact a natural disaster and the tragedy of one family have on the entire community of Sandy Lake, Minnesota, as seen through the eyes of Deputy Ben Packard, who happens to be gay.

A tornado has decimated the area, wreaking havoc on the landscape and many homes, including Ben’s. As residents try to clean up, they also contend with the outbreak of wildfires. To further enforce the impact of the natural disasters, each chapter includes a note about the air quality that’s increasingly worsening.

In the midst of this destruction, Ben investigates the murder of Ashley Turner, a local mother. Ashley had been publicly fighting with the school board over its handling of the extreme bullying of her gay teenage son and the vandalism of his car. As a gay man, Ben has had his share of bullying, including as an adult, and understands what the teenager is going through. Despite the circumstances, Ben isn’t sure the bullying or the feud with the school board contributed to Ashley’s death.

Despite his strong skills as a detective, Ben is trying to prove himself to the newly elected sheriff, against whom he recently ran in a hotly contested election.

As he investigates the murder and deals with a wrecked home, Ben is surprised when Symphony, the estranged sister of his late boyfriend Marcus, breaks her parole to visit. The once-close siblings were alienated because of Symphony’s actions that landed her in prison. Symphony cannot accept that her brother is gay and has great difficulty believing that Ben and Marcus are in love.

“Beneath a Broken Sky” moves at a brisk pace, as Moehling melds a deeply personal story about Ben with a solid police procedural.

Michael Barson recently interviewed Graham Brown, author of Clive Cussler’s Cold Fire for Bookreporter.com, and then shared the interview with us. Thank you, Michael.

When a NATO weapon that could ensure peace or start World War Three vanishes in the Arctic, Kurt Austin and NUMA race to recover it before it falls into enemy hands in Graham Brown’s COLD FIRE, the latest installment in the #1 New York Times bestselling series created by Clive Cussler.

In this interview conducted by former publicity executive Michael Barson, who was Cussler’s primary publicist at G.P. Putnam’s Sons from 1999 to 2015, Brown tells the remarkable story of how he began working with the “grand master of adventure,” reveals his favorite NUMA Files thriller, and names various authors whose work he especially enjoys.

Question: How did it come about that Clive Cussler reached out to you to become a collaborator on one of his bestselling series? And what was your reaction to Clive’s outreach?

Graham Brown: It’s one of my favorite parts of this whole journey. I was at a crossroads in my life and my writing career. I was 40, divorced, and on my third book in the Hawker & Laidlaw series. But it didn’t sound like the publisher wanted a fourth. I also had started dating Sarah (my wife now). I was flat broke, with one book left on my paperback deal and a lot of credit card debts.

I remember praying on a flight back to Phoenix, saying, “Father, I’d like this to work, but I have nothing to offer. If you want me to be of value and not a burden, I need your help to make it possible.”

I got off the flight. I turned on my phone, and there was a message from my editor asking if it would be okay to give Clive’s agent my number. Clive was in Africa at the moment, but he had read one of my books and liked it, and he wondered if I’d like to work on the NUMA Files series with him. I said I’d be VERY interested. Clive’s agent said, “Okay, Clive will give you a call at some point and you two can get together.”

I put the phone down and wandered out onto the balcony in a daze of sorts. I said a prayer of thanks and then just stood there looking at the mountains in the distance.

Finally, I went back inside and picked up my phone. It said “one missed call.” Clive had called from Morocco. He left an amazing message talking about the adventure he was on in Africa but adding that he was looking forward to meeting me. I kept it for years, but at some point it just vanished off the phone. Into the mist, I guess. But not out of my memory.

Q: What was the first of your own novels to be published? And how long did it take you to break into the ranks of published writers?

GB: My first novel was BLACK RAIN. It’s an action story set in the Amazon that revolves around an ancient Mayan curse and a stone that generates power from nowhere while sending a signal that would reach zero on December 21, 2012 — the supposed Mayan doomsday. I think it is still a fun read, even though there was thankfully no apocalypse. (Maybe the heroes in my book are the reason we’re all still here!)

I started writing the story that became BLACK RAIN with the belief that I would be published and both rich and famous by the end of that year. But obviously I was a little optimistic. Many years later, I finally had an agent and a book deal. 

Q: Before you became an author in your own right, who were the writers who exerted the greatest influence on what you wanted to write? 

GB: I think you can see it in my writing. The stuff that grabbed me was all thrillers: Clive, Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy.

I remember asking Clive if he wanted me to write in his style or mine, and he kind of laughed and said, “Well, they’re pretty similar, so…”

Q: With Clive’s passing in 2020, you became the solo author on the long-running NUMA Files series with Kurt Austin. Did you have to alter your writing process in any way now that Clive is no longer your collaborator?

GB: In some ways it’s different since Clive passed. We all miss him. But I work with Dirk Cussler now, and he has the same kind of instincts and insight that his father did. I do most of the heavy lifting, but when you get stuck or something isn’t quite working the way you want it to be, it’s helpful to have someone like Clive or Dirk who can spot problems and suggest solutions from a body of knowledge and a safe distance. They both seem to be able to get to the heart of the matter in a way that makes me think, Why didn’t I see that?

Q: COLD FIRE is now the 14th novel featuring Kurt Austin and the NUMA team that you’ve written, either solo or in collaboration. Have you ever found one of them to be particularly difficult to write for whatever reason?

GB: ALL of them. They fight you! You have to persevere.

An easier question would be: Which one wasn’t hard? By far, the smoothest writing experience, and one of my favorite novels in the series, was THE STORM. We wrote it in six months. I sent Clive an early partial version of the manuscript, and he sent it back saying, “Don’t change a thing!” It debuted at #1, and I think it stayed on the list for six or seven weeks.

Q: Among your contemporaries, which authors produce work that you particularly enjoy, either within the adventure novel genre or outside of it?

GB: There are so many good authors out there. There’s literally too many books and not enough time. I’m a big fan of everyone who has worked with Clive. I guess that stands to reason. But Boyd Morrison and Jack Du Brul are outstanding.

Beyond our Cussler universe, I read a lot of unusual fiction just to get away from the genre. I loved Haruki Murikami’s HARD-BOILED WONDERLAND AND THE END OF THE WORLD. There are parts of it that I still don’t understand, but I kept reading. By the end of the novel, I was just amazed.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE is one of my absolute favorites. Some people can just find a different gear when they write, where even as a seasoned writer you’re thinking, How is this guy doing this? Anthony Doerr is one of them.

Some of George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones world is brilliant. But if I’m being honest, I only really loved the first book and his Hedge Knight series. It was immersive, with great worldbuilding and brilliant writing.

---

A few weeks ago, Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, interviewed Graham Brown along with Brett Battles, author of Stuart Woods’ Deep Water. You can watch that interview below.

Deb Lewis from The Poisoned Pen has some book suggestions for the next several months. If the direct links don’t send you to the right spot in the Webstoe, try the overall link, https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

Rules For Aging and Larceny by Julia London (pb)

Ocean’s Eleven meets the Golden Girls when an all-female group of chaotic, elderly thieves come out of retirement for one last heist against a young Crypto-loving DudeBro-type… while trying to repair their fractured friendship along the way.

For fans of Deanna Raybourn’s Killers of a Certain Age and Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth.

If Books Could Kill by Kate Eberle (pb)

A NOVEL LOVE STORY meets LOVE IN THE TIME OF SERIAL KILLERS in this rom-com following Roxie Mitchell, an adventure-loving romance reader who finds herself trapped in a meet-cute turned murderous.

How To Kill A Crimewriter by Sarah Lotz (pb)

After the untimely death of her bestselling crime novelist mother, a young woman teams up with the fictional “ghost” of the heroine from her mother’s series in order to solve her mother’s murder.

The Night Hunter by Natalie Moss

In a remote corner of the South African bush, two sisters reunite to bury a family secret once and for all, but when they’re stranded among the wild animals, they find a predator far more dangerous waiting for them in the shadows. . . .

The Novel Detective by Teresa Dovalpage 

A twisty, genre-bending metafictional mystery set in Cuba past and present about a writer returning to her long-lost hometown to seek the buried truth about two suspicious deaths at her Havana high school, perfect for fans of Chanel Cleeton and Jean Hanff Korelitz

Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

From the award-winning author of Winter Counts comes a new thriller about life—and death—on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

The Country Road Murders by James Patterson, Mike Lupica 

After a shocking accident, Silas Tucker’s legendary football career is suddenly over in this action-packed sports thriller powered by loyalty, competition, and family. 

The Season of Sinking by Daphne Woolsoncroft 

From a hit true crime podcaster turned novelist, a woman’s unsettling past creeps back into her consciousness as she returns to her hometown and begins to suspect the locals are hiding a terrible secret swirling around her mother’s recent death.

It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell 

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Then She Was Gone Lisa Jewell, two women’s lives converge in a house containing devastating secrets that refuse to stay buried in this “deliciously dark, devilishly addictive” (Alice Feeney, bestselling author of My Husband’s Wife) novel.

Reviews: 

One Good Eye by Kevin Wade (Aug) 

A sequel to Johnny Careless brings back our protagonist, Police Chief Jeep Mullane, to Long Island to sort out the haves and have-nots, each involved in their brand of criminal activity. Jenny the Pirate, a childhood friend (and perpetual love) of Jeep’s, is being blackmailed over a tragic, secret incident in her past. Does Kevin’s previous history as a writer for Blue Bloods make me imagine Jeep as Tom Selleck? Or is it a flashback to Robert Parker’s Chief Stone? If you like a detective who has a strong moral compass, is conflicted, and is smart, with an ending you totally did not see coming, this series is for you! 

The Witches of Cambridge By Alice Hoffman (Sept) 

Bestselling author Alice Hoffman has written a dazzling addition to her Practical Magic series with this book about 2 young women, from totally different backgrounds, beginning college in  the 1950s. One rich, one poor, one polished and sophisticated, one a farm girl: but both  bound together by the secret knowledge that their blood runs black, they possess a mysterious 11th finger, have uncontrolled magical powers and are, unknown to them, the descendants of the original witches of Cambridge. Secret letters, flashbacks to the 1660’s, and the oppression of women in both time periods are woven in but the story of the friendship between the 2 girls shines brightly. Highly recommended. 

John Charles welcomed Rory O’Neill Schmitt to the Poisoned Pen to discuss her book, The Blood of the Baroness. Schmitt defines it as a thriller based on a real woman. There are signed copies available in the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/muu2sfrx. It’s been optioned as a movie, but we’ll see.

Here’s the summary of The Blood of the Baroness.

The Blood of the Baroness mines the world of the bizarre, tapestried Baroness of Pontalba. A woman grown fierce from fighting terror outside and inside the family?and the proud, tortured, exotic men who betrayed her. The authors, sixth- and seventh-generation New Orleanians, bring you up close to the formidable heiress of nineteenth-century New Orleans and France. Inspired by documented events?and a shocking attempted murder?this historical novel blends meticulous research with the propulsive pacing of a psychological thriller. 

The authors, Dr. O’Neill and Dr. Schmitt, reexamine the Baroness through a bold, contemporary lens. They dare to ask: What if? From the marble altars of St. Louis Cathedral?built by the Baroness’s father twice?to the gilded salons of France, readers follow the evolution of the infant heiress from a fifteen-year-old bride to wife, mother, brutality survivor, and ultimately a visionary businesswoman. Her iconic Pontalba Apartments still anchor Jackson Square.

Perfect for readers of historical fiction, literary thrillers, and stories of complex, powerful heroes, The Blood of the Baroness invites audiences to step inside the corseted, dangerous, and extraordinary life of the Baroness Micaëla Almonester de Pontalba.

---

Enjoy the conversation with Rory O’Neill Schmitt.

Pat King and Patrick Millikin welcomed authors Hilary Davidson and David R. Slayton to The Poisoned Pen. Slayton’s new book is The Silent Paths of Night. Davidson’s novel is Every Lie I Told. You can order signed copies of both books through the Webstore, https://store.poisonedpen.com/.

Here’s the description of Every Lie I Told by Hilary Davidson.

From bestselling and award-winning author Hilary Davidson, Every Lie I Told is a propulsive, twisty thriller about the devastating consequences of the lies we tell to protect others—and ourselves.

How far would you go to protect a killer?

Jackie Swift does whatever it takes to succeed. At work, she spins lies to protect questionable clients at a shady public-relations firm. At home, she helps her younger sister, Madi, evade consequences for dangerous choices she’s made about friends and drugs. But Jackie’s professional and personal worlds collide one night when she gets a call from Madi telling her she overdosed. Rushing to the rescue, Jackie stumbles on an awful scene at an Upper East Side mansion. Madi is nowhere to be found, but she’s left behind a dead body.

Worse for Jackie, she knows the dead man all too well: He’s her former boss and mentor, and she’s been paid to cover up his crimes in the past.

Jackie is willing to do anything to protect her missing sister, even as the NYPD builds a case against Madi, who may be involved in the deaths of other sexually abusive men. As Jackie searches for her sister—and sets up plausible suspects to take Madi’s place in the eyes of the police—she’s haunted by the terrible things she’s done in service of her career. And she soon discovers there are people who’ve been waiting in the shadows for a chance to take her down.

---

Hilary Davidson is the bestselling author of eight novels, including The Damage Done and Her Last Breath. Her fiction has won two Anthony Awards, a Derringer Award, and a host of other accolades. She is also the author of more than fifty short stories, two crime-fiction collections, and a novella. In her prior life as a travel journalist, Hilary authored eighteen nonfiction books. Originally from Toronto, she has called New York City home since 2001. Visit her online at www.HilaryDavidson.com.

---

Check out the summary of David R. Slayton’s The Silent Paths of Night.

From David R. Slayton, bestselling author of White Trash Warlock and Rogue Community College, comes the epic sequel to the award-winning Dark Moon, Shallow Sea.

For Raef, priest of the moon goddess Phoebe and one-time thief, it was too much to hope that resurrection of the moon and his mistress might set the world aright. The Grief still chokes the docks and streets of Versinae with vampiric ghosts, while the nations of Aegea prepare to war against each other.

Even worse, Phoebe did not return alone. Something evil came with her. Rerek, a demon who once waged war with the gods themselves, Corpse-Taker and sower of chaos, is back to make sure there is no peace in Aegea, now or ever again. And it has a plan.

Raef and his beloved Seth, knight of the sun god Hyperion, are all that stand between Rerek and utter destruction. But the ghosts of their respective pasts, the dangers they must face, and the truths that await them will test them as nothing they’ve yet endured. One way or another Rerek will get what it wants … and it will use Raef and Seth to achieve it.

---

David R. Slayton (he/him) grew up in Guthrie, Oklahoma, where finding fantasy novels was pretty challenging and finding fantasy novels with diverse characters was downright impossible. Now he lives in Denver, Colorado, and writes the books he always wanted to read. His epic fantasy, Dark Moon, Shallow Sea, won the Colorado Book Award. In 2015, David founded Trick or Read, an initiative to give out books along with candy to children on Halloween as well as uplift lesser-known authors or those from marginalized backgrounds. David is a regular speaker and panelist at fan cons and writing conferences. Find him online at www.DavidRSlayton.com.

---

Enjoy the conversation with Hilary Davidson and David R. Slayton.

Choke Point is the twenty-fifth Scot Harvath thriller by Brad Thor. After Barbara Peters talked about Thailand, Thor talked about setting a book in a place that his fellow thriller authors hadn’t used. You can find out more about Thailand in the book. There are signed copies of Choke Point available in the Webstore, https://tinyurl.com/52smnmb9.

Here’s the summary of Choke Point.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Brad Thor thrills with his new summer blockbuster starring Scot Harvath.

A devastating series of bombings tears through Bangkok. Scores of American citizens are dead. The attacks send shock waves around the world.

As global assistance pours into Thailand—including the FBI’s famed Evidence Response Team—the president of the United States quietly prepares a plan B: Scot Harvath, America’s top spy, trained to operate outside the law and probe the dark corners others can’t…or won’t.

But the bomber Harvath is pursuing isn’t a terrorist. He’s something far more dangerous—one of ours.

Meanwhile, in Washington, a former United States Marine is being hunted—and he has no idea why. Desperate for answers, he turns to the one person he still trusts—his ex-fiancée, a rising star in the White House. The problem is, she isn’t sure she can trust him.

As Harvath closes in on the bomber, a devastating truth begins to emerge. China has quietly deployed its most elite intelligence unit to Thailand. Their objective: to ignite chaos, trigger a military coup, and seize control of a narrow but critical piece of land, one that could give Beijing a decisive advantage.

If the plan succeeds, Beijing will secure a key gateway between two oceans, eroding American naval dominance and tipping the balance in any war between the world’s great powers.

China will control the ultimate geopolitical choke point.

---

Brad Thor is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-six thrillers, including Cold Zero,Black Ice (ThrillerFix Best Thriller of the Year), Near Dark (one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of the Year), Backlash (nominated for the Barry Award for Best Thriller of the Year), Spymaster (“One of the all-time best thriller novels” —The Washington Times), The Last Patriot (nominated Best Thriller of the Year by the International Thriller Writers association), and Blowback (one of the “Top 100 Killer Thrillers of All Time” —NPR). Visit his website at BradThor.com and follow him on Facebook @BradThorOfficial, on Instagram @RealBradThor, and on X @BradThor.

---

Enjoy the conversation about Choke Point and Thailand.