Part of Series
For a moment, she looked as if she had turned to stone. Any slight twitches of her facial muscles ceased. Even her chest stopped rising and falling as she took in air. Everything went completely still, her eyes glazing as she stared down at the mug in her hands. A pause that lasted several seconds before she snapped her eyes upward and asked, “There were more?” “Yes.” “How many?” When Reed Mattox and his K-9 partner, Billie, received a direct summons to the personal residence of Governor Thomas Cowan, he assumed it was another escalation over the particulars of their new position as liaisons between the Columbus Police Department and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigations. Another overstep by the highest ranking elected official in Ohio, trying to bring Reed and Billie directly under his control. What he didn’t expect was to enter the man’s home and find that, not only was the case presented to them legit, but unlike anything they had ever seen. A friend and associate of the governor, kidnapped, sedated, and tattooed across the entire length of his forehead. PRIDE. A single word, with no clear cause or motivation, until a second victim turns up the next day. GREED, proceeded in order by SLOTH. The fabled seven deadly sins, branded on people from across the state. Victims with no obvious connection between. Knowing more attacks will come, Reed and Billie fling themselves headlong into a search unlike anything they’ve encountered before. A hunt that brings them in contact with people trying desperately to keep secrets from the past hidden. Secrets someone is fighting to make certain they never forget.
Author
I originally hail from the midwest, growing up in the heart of farm country, and still consider it, along with West Tennessee, my co-home. Between the two, I have a firm belief that football is the greatest of all past-times, sweet tea is really the only acceptable beverage for any occasion, there is not an event on earth that either gym shorts or boots can't be worn to, and that Dairy Queen is the best restaurant on the planet. Further, southern accents are a highly likeable feature on most everybody, English bulldogs sit atop the critter hierarchy, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with a Saturday night spent catfishing at the lake. Since leaving the midwest I've been to college in New England, grad school in the Rockies, and lived in over a dozen different cities ranging from DC to Honolulu along the way. Each and every one of these experiences has shaped who I am at this point, a fact I hope is expressed in my writing. I have developed enormous affinity for locales and people of every size and shape, and even if I never figure out a way to properly convey them on paper, I am very much grateful for their presence in my life. To sum it up, I asked a very good friend recently how they would describe me for something like this. Their response: "Plagued by realism and trained by experiences/education to be a pessimist, you somehow remain above all else an active dreamer." While I can't say those are the exact words I would choose, I can't say they're wrong. I travel, live in different places, try new foods, meet all kinds of different people, and above all else stay curious to a fault. Here's hoping it continues to provide us all with some pretty good stories...
