Taking place only a few months after the events of Hide Away, we find Rachel and her two children slowly but surely getting a little more comfortable in their home in Ashby. Rachel certainly still has her guard up, but she has begun to trust a few select individuals and let them in to her inner circle. We see many of the same detectives that we have previously met as Rachel is now officially working as a forensic consultant with the Ashby Police Department. Everything will fall into place immediately for those who have read Hide Away, but all the background information a reader would need is provided here, so starting with A Stranger at the Door will work just fine as well.

Rachel’s children, particularly her teenaged son Eric, play a much larger role in this book, so we get a lot of character development through Eric’s relationships outside of his family, particularly among his school friends. Rachel’s younger daughter Megan plays a much smaller role, but she continues to have the level of confidence that we should all be striving for! Every word she says is full of childhood joy and provides wonderful balance for some of the darker elements in the story.

The central mystery itself comes to the reader in disjointed pieces at first, with the reader unsure if we are dealing with several separate issues, or just how everything could possibly fit together. A teacher at Eric’s school sends Rachel a cryptic email asking for help with something that he is not sure he can take to the authorities, and that evening he is murdered. Someone from Rachel’s past (who we met in Hide Away) shows up at her door out of nowhere. An older boy at Eric’s school appears to suddenly be trying to groom him, but for what? A well-respected businessman gets on the wrong side of Rachel and she is determined to prove that he is not what he appears. Pinter weaves all of these threads together with masterful skill to create a thriller that is impossible to put down.

For someone brand new to this series, there are a few spoilers from Hide Away dropped throughout this book, but if someone started with this story, they would still be able to go back and enjoy Hide Away or read A Stranger at the Door as a standalone. Whichever you choose, just don’t miss out, and join me in keeping our fingers crossed for Rachel Marin #3!

A Stranger At The Door is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of January 19th 2021.

Will you be picking up A Stranger At The Door? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Rachel Marin is in a good place. After years of struggle, the single mother has found both a stable, loving relationship and a new purpose: putting her investigative skills to work solving crimes for the local PD. But just as the pieces of her life are finally starting to fall into place, her teenaged son’s teacher is gruesomely murdered, starting a domino effect that shatters her peaceful existence.

When Rachel discovers an ominous email the teacher sent to her just before his death, she knows she must help bring his killer to justice. But soon a figure from her past reappears, threatening to expose Rachel’s darkest secrets if she doesn’t tread lightly. And when her son is recruited by a shadowy businessman who may be connected to the murder, Rachel knows this has just gotten very, very personal.

Someone out there is dead set on keeping this grisly cover-up good and buried, which means if Rachel’s not careful, it’s only a matter of time before her dream life becomes her worst nightmare. 

The post Review: A Stranger At The Door by Jason Pinter appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Kate Marshall

 First appearing in Robert Bryndza’s Nine Elms, former police detective Kate Marshall is taking on another case as a part-time private investigator with her research assistant Tristan in Shadow Sands. Bryndza gives readers another fast-paced, tension-filled adventure with Kate, but now we also learn more about Kate herself.  Shadow Sands takes place about two years after the events of Nine Elms so we see how Kate is dealing with the aftermath of those events, and how she has moved on. There are spoilers for Nine Elms within Shadow Sands, so reading these two in order is recommended. Additionally, so much what makes Kate who she is comes from the events of Nine Elms. Shadow Sands is scheduled to be published November 3, 2020.

Detective Inspector Eve Hunter

DI Eve Hunter was introduced to readers in the recent winner of the Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year, Hold Your Tongue by Deborah Masson. Detective Inspector Eve Hunter is a leader in the Major Incident Team of the Aberdeen Police. She is a detective in a similar vein to DI Helen Grace from M.J. Arlidge’s series: incredibly tough and smart, but determined to carry her own baggage and never ask for help from those who genuinely would offer it. Hunter will be returning in Out For Blood, another dark, gritty, intense detective thriller where Hunter and her team will be tracking down a serial killer who is set on revenge. Police procedurals may not be for every reader, but if you enjoy them, are curious about them, or have not yet tried them, Masson does exquisite work with this genre, always keeping the reader at the edge of their seat. Out For Blood is scheduled for publication November 19, 2020.

Detective Natalie Lockhart

We were introduced to Detective Natalie Lockhart in Alice Blanchard’s Trace of Evil and we catch up with Lockhart and the other members of the Burning Lake, New York Police Department in The Wicked Hour. We pick up about 6 months after the events of Trace of Evil. There are major spoilers for Trace of Evil throughout The Wicked Hour, as so many of those events had long lasting effects on many of the characters. There is of course a fascinating new mystery to be solved in The Wicked Hour, but where Blanchard has done a phenomenal job is in treating these characters as very real people and letting them grieve, have PTSD, and work through fear and flashbacks. Much like in real life, after we experience trauma we are not just magically okay after a little bit of time has passed. I love how these characters have to work through, and deal with, what they have gone through, and they carry their scars with them. The Wicked Hour is scheduled to be published December 1, 2020.

Detective Shana Merchant

Tessa Wegert first brought us Detective Shana Merchant in Death in the Family, an exciting locked-room style mystery with a modern day Agatha Christie vibe. We learned a little about Merchant’s background while she was conducting her investigation, but there are still lots of missing pieces. We know she was a detective with the NYPD and had some type of interaction with a serial killer.  But within a year she was no longer in the city but was working in a very small police department in upstate New York. Detective Merchant is returning in The Dead Season where she will again have to face that same serial killer. As readers, we learn much more about Shana because she herself will have to dive back into her mysterious past. The cat and mouse game she is coerced into playing soon starts to involve even more innocent victims.  The Dead Season is scheduled for publication December 8, 2020.

Rachel Marin

Another heroine who is not actually a detective, Rachel Marin and her family experienced such horrific events, she had become something of a vigilante when she was introduced in Jason Pinter’s Hide Away. She ultimately becomes an actual consultant for the police department in her small Illinois town, where she has fled following an unspeakable crime that destroyed her family and peace of mind. As Hide Away ends, Rachel has just begun to believe there are at least a few people she can, perhaps, trust. When we see her again in A Stranger at The Door, she is still in a good place, building a stable life. Her skills are again called upon for assistance in investigating a mysterious death, but there is also a threatening figure from Rachel’s past who reappears. The secrets Rachel thought she had buried may be exposed, endangering her and her children all over again.  Pinter’s fast-paced storytelling shines in this always exciting series! A Stranger at the Door is scheduled for publication January 12, 2021.

If, like me, you enjoy getting into a series from the very beginning, when there are not multiple books to read just to catch up, any one of these crime fiction series’ could fit the bill. Some are grittier than others, some focus more on character while others focus more on the mystery itself, but most everyone can find something to get excited about with one of these fantastic crime-fighters! 

What other books are you looking forward to? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Five Favourite Female Crime-Fighters Are Back In Their Sequels! appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Darling Rose Gold by Stephanie Wrobel
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Sharp Objects meets My Lovely Wife in this tightly drawn debut that peels back the layers of the most complicated of mother-daughter relationships…

The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the critically acclaimed author of Rainbirds comes a novel of tragedy and dark histories set in Japan. Expanding on the beautifully crafted world of Rainbirds, Clarissa Goenawan gradually pierces through a young woman’s careful façade, unmasking her most painful secrets.

The Red Lotus by Chris Bohjalian
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Midwives and The Flight Attendant comes a twisting story of love and deceit: an American man vanishes on a rural road in Vietnam, and his girlfriend, an emergency room doctor trained to ask questions, follows a path that leads her home to the very hospital where they met.

Hide Away by Jason Pinter
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

From the bestselling author of the Henry Parker series comes a page-turning thriller about a vigilante who’s desperate to protect her secrets—and bring a killer to justice.

The Sea of Lost Girls: A Novel by Carol Goodman
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

In the tradition of Daphne du Maurier, Shari Lapena, and Michelle Richmond comes a new thriller from the bestselling author of The Lake of Dead Languages—a twisty, harrowing story set at a prestigious prep school in which one woman’s carefully hidden past might destroy her future.

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora
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A mother and daughter with a shared talent for healing–and for the conjuring of curses–are at the heart of this dazzling first novel.

The Herd by Andrea Bartz
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When an exclusive New York women’s workspace is rocked by the mysterious disappearance of its enigmatic founder, two sisters must uncover the haunting truth before they lose their friendships, their careers–maybe even their lives.

A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Told from multiple points of view, A Good Neighborhood asks big questions about life in America today―What does it mean to be a good neighbor? How do we live alongside each other when we don’t see eye to eye?―as it explores the effects of class, race, and heartrending star-crossed love in a story that’s as provocative as it is powerful

The Sunday Potluck Club by Melissa Storm
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

New friends can be found in unexpected places. For Bridget and Amy, that place was the cancer ward of an Anchorage hospital. Now, as each struggles to overcome loss, they lean on each other for support—sharing suppers, laughter and tears.

The Deep by Alma Katsu
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

Brilliantly combining fact and fiction, the historical and the horrific, The Deep reveals a chilling truth in an unputdownable narrative full of unnerving moments and with a growing, inexorable sense of foreboding.

Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A chilling tale of psychological suspense and an homage to the thriller genre tailor-made for fans: the story of a bookseller who finds himself at the center of an FBI investigation because a very clever killer has started using his list of fiction’s most ingenious murders.

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel
Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository

A spellbinding story of a mother with nothing left to lose who sets out on an all-consuming quest for justice after her daughter is murdered on the town playground.

Are you looking forward to any of these releases? Tell us in the comments below!

The post March 2020 Book Releases: Fiction appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

From the proverbial kid hiding under the covers reading by flashlight, to international bestseller, Jason Pinter gave us an opportunity to ask some questions about the best parts of becoming a writer, writing different genres and which comes most naturally, and what is just ahead, both for him and for the character of Rachel Marin, the hero in his new book, Hide Away.

Tell us a little about yourself and your new novel, Hide Away!

I’m the author of seven novels for adults and two children’s books, and the founder and publisher of Polis Books, an independent press. Hide Away is about a woman named Rachel Marin who, after a horrific crime shattered her family, moves with her two small children to begin a new life, while also honing her mind and body to be able to protect them from a world she no longer trusts. But when the former mayor of her new town is found dead, Rachel deduces that it was no suicide—it was murder. She feels an obligation to bring the killer to justice, but in doing so could reveal the terrible truth she has been running from all this time.

Was being a writer something you always knew you wanted to do, or did you arrive there through a more circuitous path?

I believe I came to be a writer because I was, from the earliest age, a voracious reader. I was that kid holding a flashlight under the covers at night, refusing to go to bed until I literally couldn’t keep my eyes open. When I was younger I wrote, largely bad, short stories, but it was in college when I thought, “You know, I think I want to give this thing a try.” I wrote an absolutely terrible coming-of-age novel while in college (which will never see the light of day!). But I’d always been drawn to mysteries and thrillers, both that married riveting plots with engaging characters. So that’s when I began my first novel, THE MARK, which was an international bestseller, nominated for several awards, and optioned for film.

What is the best part of being a writer?

Without a doubt, hearing from readers. Writing is such a solitary endeavour, it’s something like magic when the manuscript on your computer because an actual book that makes its way into readers’ hands. I’ve gotten the most incredible letters from readers—from people saying they’d never finished a book until they read one of mine, to soldiers saying my books helped them pass the time while stationed overseas.

Where did the idea for the character of Rachel Marin come from?

The idea came soon after my wife and I had our first daughter. I was toying with the notion of a new series, but hadn’t hit on the right idea yet. But Rachel came to me almost fully formed. I wanted to write a character who was smart and strong and capable, but also incredibly vulnerable because she had children who depended on her. Many characters in mystery and thriller fiction tend to be loners. If they get into trouble, so be it. But Rachel is someone who has to balance her desire to seek justice with the fact that she has children who need her, who depend on her. I thought that balance would make for a compelling protagonist.

Rachel seems be able to do anything and everything. When you were writing, was it difficult to balance making her an absolute badass without going overboard into superhero territory?

Absolutely. She is very, very flawed, and does not always make the right decision. You can see her training her mind and body to deal with criminals, but she does not train herself to always make the best decisions. Like any of us, she does the best she can, even if in hindsight she was mistaken. She also sometimes pushes herself past the breaking point, to the point where she actually puts herself in harms way due to her stubbornness, and we see even more of that in the second book in the series.

Are you as much of a Tolkien fan as Eric and Detective Serrano?

I am a fan, but not as much as Eric and Detective Serrano. I am a huge fantasy/science fiction fan, though growing up my drugs were Terry Brooks and Piers Anthony. I didn’t actually read the Lord of the Rings trilogy until I was in my twenties. But the Tolkien link is hugely important for both of these characters. Without spoiling anything, there’s a reason that Serrano is a Tolkien fanatic that goes well beyond just liking the books.

It may be hard to answer this without spoilers, but what part of the story was the hardest to put together, or was the last part to come together?

Definitely the relationship between Rachel and her children, Eric and Megan, and the kids themselves. It’s so complex, because Eric, the older child, experienced the same trauma Rachel did but in a way even more so. So he’s grown up essentially traumatized. Megan, the younger sibling, was too young to really remember anything. So she has one child who is largely happy and boisterous, and another who is a shell of who he used to be. Figuring out the psychology of her children, and how her relationship to each of them was different because of that, took a lot of work to try and get it right. The Marins had to feel like a family—one that had been through hell, but a real family.

You have written thrillers, middle grade, and children’s books – do you have a favorite when it comes to writing, or does one come more naturally to you?

I like to say that thrillers are my bread and butter, it’s the genre I’m most drawn to and see myself writing in predominantly. With children’s books, it can be a palate cleanser. My thrillers tend to have a level of darkness to them. The kids books don’t really have that—they’re much more straight hopeful and joyful. That’s not to say I don’t want to or enjoy writing the kids books, and I hope to do more, but the thrillers come a little more naturally.

Will we see more of Rachel Marin?

YES! The second Rachel Marin book, A Stranger at the Door, will be out in early 2021. I love this book, as it allowed me to expand Rachel’s world, go even more in depth into the characters, and introduce new ones. In a lot of ways writing the second book in a series is the hardest, because in the first book you’ve introduced the characters and their world. And then you have to say, “Ok, what’s next?” And I’ll just say I’m very, very happy with the next book.

What’s next for you?

I’m already sketching out the story for what will hopefully be the third Rachel Marin book. And at the same time, I have a standalone suspense novel that’s been stuck in my head recently. So with any luck, in the not-too-distant future you’ll see even more of Rachel Marin, as well as something totally different.

Jason’s Social Media: Twitter | Instagram | Website | TikTok: What’s that? One of those newfangled ‘App’ things for kids? Get off my lawn.

Will you be picking up Hide Away? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Q&A: Jason Pinter, Author of ‘Hide Away’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

The book opens with Rachel making dinner for her family, living a life where her primary concern is potentially burning a casserole. But everything changes in the blink of an eye when a terrible crime rips their world apart.

We immediately skip forward 7 years to the current storyline and we can tell right away that this Rachel is an entirely different person. She has changed herself inside and out, in every possible way: a new identity, new mindset, new physical abilities, and more. She has set her mind to the ideas that she will always protect her two children, and that she will never EVER be a victim again.

But even in this new town, crime seems to find Rachel. When a body is found at the base of a bridge, on a frozen river, Rachel realises that without her this case might not be solved. Inserting herself into the investigation doesn’t sit well with some of the officers on the case, leading to a tumultuous partnership/competition/adversarial setting. Sometimes helpful, sometimes overstepping boundaries, Rachel is eventually made to realise that she is putting her children in danger – the one thing she swore she would never do.

But by this point, Rachel has sunk her teeth into a target. She remembers times where she let go, with terrible consequences. This time she is determined to keep going until the killer is found and apprehended. She has seen too many criminals victimise too many people, and she is determined that, at least in this case, she is going to see that this killer will never hurt anyone else.

Early on, Rachel comes across as a little bit over the top. She seems a little too able to do absolutely everything, bordering into Batman-territory. But as you get flashbacks about what she has done and how hard she has worked to get to this point, you can’t help but get behind her 100 percent. She isn’t perfect, she is very human, and extremely well written.

The non-linear timeline might be frustrating for some readers (even though it’s one of my favourite storytelling devices) as there are quite a few events referred to in the book that the reader has to wait quite a bit for their reveal. But the reveals do come, and they are always worth the wait.

Hide Away is certainly a thrill ride, but it is also a story about overcoming victimhood, maintaining family bonds, growing stronger, and learning who and when to trust. Pinter has created a heroine who is mentally and physically capable of holding her own against just about anyone, and I am here for it!

Hide Away is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of March 1st 2020.

Will you be picking up Hide Away? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

From the bestselling author of the Henry Parker series comes a page-turning thriller about a vigilante who’s desperate to protect her secrets – and bring a killer to justice.

On the surface, Rachel Marin is an ordinary single mother, on the inside, she’s a fierce, brilliant vigilante.  After an unspeakable crime shatters her life, she changes her identity and moves to a small town in Illinois, hoping to spare her children from further trauma…or worse.  But crime follows her everywhere.

When the former mayor winds up dead, Rachel can’t help but get involved.  Where local detectives see suicide, she sees murder.  They resent her for butting in – especially since she is always one step ahead.  But her investigative genius may be her undoing: the deeper she digs, the harder t is to keep her own secrets buried.

Her persistence makes her a target of both the cops and a killer. Meanwhile, the terrifying truth about her past threatens to come to light, and Rachel learns the hard way that she can’t trust anyone.  Surrounded by danger, she must keep her steely resolve, protect her family, and stay one step ahead, or else she may become the next victim.

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