We chat with author Parker Adams about The Lock Box, which follows an army vet-turned-safecracker who is forcibly recruited to be part of a dangerous heist, so she’ll need all her skills to get out alive.
Hi, Parker! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I grew up as a Navy brat, so we moved all over the country. I started out wanting to be a marine biologist, and I followed through on that dream through graduate school, where I spent my time chasing great white sharks around. Because there weren’t enough jobs in science, I changed gears and went to law school and I’ve been a practicing lawyer for 24 years. I started writing books as a hobby around 2005, and my first published novel TAKEOFF came out in 2018. After three books in the Seth Walker series—which was released under my real name Joseph Reid and features an air marshal-turned-investigator solving crimes around airplanes and airports—I wrote THE LOCK BOX under the pen name Parker Adams.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I was one of those quintessential kids who made books out of my scribblings and drawings, and then in high school I took a creative writing class and really enjoyed it. I also loved comic books so much as a teenager that I briefly considered trying to be an artist. But deep down I was so focused on being a scientist that I never considered writing professionally. I wrote as part of my job, and I enjoyed it, but I assumed the only publication I would be doing involved journal articles. I figured my connection to fiction would be as a reader.
It wasn’t until later, when I’d been a successful professional writer as a scientist and a lawyer that I stepped back from the fiction I was reading and wondered, “wow, could I write like that?”
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Charlotte’s Web. Still one of my favorites!
- The one that made you want to become an author: Rules of Prey by John Sandford.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: So many, but I’ll pick three: The Peacock & the Sparrow, by I.S. Berry, Call the Dark by J. Todd Scott, and The Last Few Miles of Road by Eric Beetner.
Your latest novel, The Lock Box, is out March 19th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Female safecracker kidnapped for heist.
What can readers expect?
All my books are action/adventure novels that feature a bit of travel and technology. In this one, safecracker Monna Locke gets ambushed on a job and is kidnapped and forced to participate in what could be the heist of the century. So far, people have been reacting really well to Monna, calling her a “kick-ass character” and “one of the most memorable female leads in recent history,” so that’s really great to hear.
Where did the inspiration for The Lock Box come from?
I have a deep and longstanding love for heist movies and heist stories. So, when I was stuck at home during the COVID lockdowns, watching the news reports of the empty freeways and boarded up stores, it occurred to me that it would be the perfect time to commit a crime. I started thinking about what that crime would be, and who’d be involved, and that’s how the story was born.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Like any good heist, this one features a team of specialists including Monna, and figuring out who they were and each of their backstories was a lot of fun. Plus, I really enjoy writing action scenes, and this book has a ton of them.
What draws you to the thriller genre?
The adrenaline. The stakes. They say that the difference between mystery and thriller is trying to figure out who committed the crime versus trying to keep them from commiting another one, and it’s that last part that really moves me. When thrillers are done right, you really come to understand why the characters are doing what they’re doing, all while the clock is ticking in the background.
What’s next for you?
The launch of THE LOCK BOX is next week, so we’re busy preparing for that and the tour that we’ll do to promote it. Once that happens, Crooked Lane and I will be talking about what’s next for Monna, and hopefully giving you another safecracking adventure!
Lastly, are there any book releases that you’re looking forward to picking up this year?
Meg Gardiner is a friend and a fantastic writer, so her new Unsub book Shadow Heart is at the top of my list. Don Bentley is another writer friend and he’s taking over the Vince Flynn franchise, so I’m excited to see what he can do with Capture or Kill. Finally, I’m a huge comic nerd and Alex Segura fan, so I’m really eager to read Alter Ego, his follow-up to 2022’s Secret Identity.
