I'll usually keep reading a book as long as an answer to an important question seems to be around the corner. This is true whether it's a crime novel or a story about the discovery of a new planet or a cure for a dreaded disease. I know all good stories don't contain these kinds of questions, because readers' interests run the gamut, but personally I like the suspense of a good mystery. I always find myself looking for something momentous to keep me guessing, and reading, and usually the story contains some element of crime. Throw in some colorful characters, action, and humor, and I like it even better.
As an author, I hope there are a lot of other readers like me. If you are, I also hope these questions would pique your interest: Why would a small-time crook in Miami set up an elaborate surveillance over a remote spot in the Caribbean? What's at the bottom? A sunken treasure? Why would he try to kill a beautiful woman? Has she discovered his secret? These are puzzles for hired gun Sam Mackenzie in my mystery thriller, Long Way Down.
Here's a quick sketch of the book: Candi Moran is drop-dead beautiful, but she’s also in trouble. Miami loan shark Vince La Salle wants her dead because she knows too much about his secret project in the Caribbean. Hurt and bleeding from a gunshot, she stumbles onto Sam Mackenzie's live-aboard boat and asks for help. Sam gets her medical attention and takes on the job, but soon learns that she left out some dangerous details as he unravels La Salle and Candi's past. La Salle is involved in a mysterious project, but where he’s getting the money is the big surprise. Sam navigates a serpentine trail of assassins, con artists and deadly financiers, dodging bullets, karate kicks, and missiles, to protect Candi. Is she worth it? That's a question the reader will have to answer.
Long Way Down: http://www.epress-online.com/CARR/LongWayDown/sales-page.htm
I will check for 'Long Way Down' in my local bookstore. It surely looks like a thrilling Sydney Sheldon or Ken Follet kind of a book. : )
ReplyDeleteSuspense is crucial in mystery/thriller fiction.
ReplyDeleteI agree--there have to be some secrets, creating a compelling mystery that grabs the reader from the first and makes them want to read until the very last page.
Jacqueline Seewald
THE TRUTH SLEUTH--coming in May/June from Five Star/Gale