CHAPTER 2 Marin Shaw would never forget the sound of prison doors locking behind her—the whoosh and heavy thud, the dungeon scrape, the almost medieval clunk of the metal workings, or the slow slide of the impenetrable barrier, its opening preceded by a warning blare, a Klaxon cry, when a prisoner was on the move. She knew those sounds, as desolate as a catacomb, as devoid of life as death itself, would wake her in the night in a cold, hard sweat for as long as she lived. The sound of the cell door had already nested in her gut like a watchful raven with twitchy eyes, taunting her, not letting her forget for even a second how she’d thrown her life away for $5,000, a two-martini lunch, and a lie. “Sign here,” the incurious clerk at the prison-release window said, her blank expression proof that she had become inured to the routine of the turnout process. Prisoners came and went like trains on a track, like loaves of bread down a conveyor belt. The only things that changed were the day and the time and the signature on the form. The clerk pushed a large plastic bag toward Marin….

Maybe I drank a lot last night. Or maybe I had a mini stroke or something. The only thing she knew for sure was that her first name was Celia. She stood up again and walked into the dining room. At one side of the room there was a large cabinet with glass doors on top and drawers on the bottom. The cabinet matched the dining set, and she crinkled her nose at it. I hate that matchy‑matchy thing. I bet all the dishes are in a matching pattern, too. When she opened the glass doors, she confirmed that her prediction was accurate. All the tableware and serving plates were in a matching pattern, a kind of country floral that made her think of wedding registries. On the wall opposite the cabinet there was a large, posed photograph of three people. The background was soft gray, like they’d been in a photo studio. There was Celia, sitting next to the tall dark-haired man. They both wore white-cabled fisherman-style sweaters. The lunch-demanding little girl stood in front of them, positioned so that she was halfway between them. She, too, wore a cabled sweater, this one in pink. All three of them…

1–What is the title of your latest release? WHEN THEY BECKON 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? A con artist must navigate the schemes of a criminal organization and burgeoning dark magic while facing demons, witches, and love. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I love fantasy stories and I love stories with characters and settings beyond the plethora of European-inspired ones. But as the child of immigrants, I ached for a character I could relate to. Someone who was born and raised away from their family’s homeland and has to navigate a place where she doesn’t fully belong, while longing for the homeland as some far-off place that exists in her dreams. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Probably not. Salome is a big rule-breaker while I am more of a rule follower. She’s trouble, and I’m cozy at home. She’s… so much that I’m not and that’s why I love writing her. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Bold, adventurous, passionate. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned just how much I longed to see the diaspora experience in a fantasy…

1–What is the title of your latest release? THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? It’s basically millennial Scream! If you’re into 90s slashers with a twist, then this is for you … it follows a late-night radio show host, Tinsel Munroe, who finds herself reluctantly drawn into a murder mystery. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? Well, the story is set in and around pop culture – largely film – and Melbourne, Australia was one of the birthplaces of cinema. The very first full-length movie – The Story Of The Kelly Gang (1906) – came from here, so the location really selected itself. I also liked the idea of a film centric story not being set in Los Angeles/Hollywood, which is the immediate assumption. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Absolutely. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Final Girl. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned how to run an overnight radio show. As a former journalist, I’ve had a lot of media experience in the past but Tinsel – my main character – hosts a program called The Graveyard…

1–What is the title of your latest release? A LIKEABLE WOMAN 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Kira, a 30-something woman who fled her small, East Texas hometown decades earlier in the wake of her provocative mother’s mysterious death returns to attend her frenemy’s vow renewal party and as she investigates her mother’s death, danger starts to lurk all around her. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? All my thrillers (so far) are set in the lush, eerie Piney Woods of Deep East Texas, a place at once both haunting and beautiful. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? I would totally hang out with Kira and we would have so much in common! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Artistic, Shrewd, Frozen by grief 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I challenged myself to write a closed-circle mystery—something I’d never done!—and had great fun doing it! 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I do edit as I draft and I work with a developmental editor during the drafting process. 8–What’s your favorite foodie indulgence? Dark chocolate, all…

1–What is the title of your latest release? SUMMER RENTAL 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? Mean Girls meets Scream in this heart-pounding, suspenseful psychological thriller about a group of friends stranded on an island with a serial killer on the loose. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? I have in mind four planned books in this thriller series – while they are all standalones, they occur in the same metaverse. The first book, Ski Weekend, took place in the mountains in winter on the west coast. I knew I wanted the follow-up thriller, Summer Rental, to have a completely different feel setting/atmosphere-wise so I set it in the summer on an island on the other side of the United States. I also grew up in Florida, so there’s that! 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Maybe not in the beginning of the book but definitely by the end! 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Smart. Quiet. Surprising. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? That some houses in Florida really do have basements. I grew up in South Florida and always thought no houses…

1 Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C. December 27, 1967, 2:00 a.m.   The room was brightly lit. Pale blue walls shone white and the black floor tiles shimmered and rippled like water. Paper chains and tired snowflakes hung from the ceiling and a Christmas tree sat unhappily in the corner, leaning forward but somehow not tipping. In the middle of the room was a flimsy Formica table and, on either side, sat two men, neither of whom wanted to be there. Jack Miller was relaxed but wary, his eyes alert and clear despite the hour. His clothes well cut. He clenched and unclenched his right fist, which was large and heavy and stiffened with arthritis. The weight of it made the table look flimsier still. He rubbed his knuckles to ease the pain then looked from the blank piece of paper in front of him to the man opposite. Private Connor Murphy. His face and hands were covered in bandages and the parts of his scalp that showed through were either pink and raw or black and charred. It made you hurt just to look at him, Jack thought. Poor bastard. The nurses said feeding him was like…

Hi! I’m Karen Katchur, author of six mystery/thriller novels, and I’m excited to share with you my latest release, THE GREEDY THREE. It’s a story about a kidnapping gone awry, and how three desperate characters find themselves trapped inside a remote cabin with a baby and a bag full of money. It’s gritty and offbeat with a full cast of quirky characters you can’t help but root for.   T:  Thriller H:  High stakes E:  Entertaining   G:  Gunslinger R:  Runaway E:  Eccentric characters E:  Engaging, fast-paced plot D:  Darkly funny Y:  Yummy hamburger dish (not really!)   T:  Tense H:  Human trafficking R:  Remote cabin E:  Emotional ending E:  Enjoy the ride! THE GREEDY THREE: A THRILLER by Karen Katchur When a kidnapping goes awry, three desperate characters find themselves trapped inside a remote cabin with a baby and a bag full of money. Noah is a kidnapper, hired to buy a baby from a human trafficking ring and smuggle her across the Canadian border for a cool half a million dollars. Eve is a teenage runaway, who takes the infant—and the sack full of cash—away from him. Hester is an outcast, living alone in a backwoods cottage, harboring secrets of…

1–What is the title of your latest release? HOW I’LL KILL YOU 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? For six years, Sissy (not her real name) has been running the cleanup to protect her serial killer sisters from getting caught each time they murder their boyfriends and skip town. Now, to test her loyalty, her sisters have demanded that Sissy also picks a lover to kill. But when she sets her sights on a charming young widower named Edison, she commits the greatest sin of all: falling in love and wanting to protect him from her sisters, and from herself. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? The story opens with Sissy trying to pick out her first mark as a serial killer. When I imagined her would-be mark entering the diner she’d been staking out, a picture emerged of a man standing against the desert backdrop. There’s something really clean and pretty about an empty desert. In a remote town where people leave their doors unlocked and everyone knows each other, and nothing ever happens, nobody would suspect that polite newcomer to be a serial killer. 4–Would you hang out with your…

1–What is the title of your latest release? DEATH WATCH 2–What’s the “elevator pitch” for your new book? An expensive but potentially deadly watch creates cultural chaos—and attracts buyers. 3–How did you decide where your book was going to take place? My last two novels were part of a Boston-based crime series. Wanted to get out of Boston and head to New York. Much of the action of DEATH WATCH happens in NYC and Tokyo. 4–Would you hang out with your protagonist in real life? Definitely. He’s fun. The book’s nowhere near as dark as it might sound. 5–What are three words that describe your protagonist? Canny, impulsive, and easily fascinated. 6–What’s something you learned while writing this book? I learned that high-end watches have complications that make them more unique and valuable—like showing the phases of the moon or ringing on the half hour. I decided that the ultimate complication would be if the watch could, at any moment, kill its wearer. Like the Sword of Damocles on the wrist. 7–Do you edit as you draft or wait until you are totally done? I edit as I go. Then edit even more when I’m done. 8–What’s your favorite foodie…