Book Title - Darkness Knows Me - Olivia Gates & Will Green Crime Series
Author - Chrinda Jones
Publisher - Wing and a Prayer Publishing
Publication date - 19 December 2013
Pages - 297 pages
Synopsis
Richard McMann hangs by his arms from the rafters of Red Curtain Club- naked. His ankles are bound together and his throat is cut in what appears to be a gruesome still-life tribute to Christ’s crucifixion. There is no blood in spite of the gaping wound to his throat and his entire body is covered by what looks like a fine white powder. The salt granules scattered on the dance floor beneath his feet and the fact that his body faces due east, make his murder different yet similar to the death days earlier in a club a few blocks away.
South Dallas police detective, Olivia Gates and British criminal psychologist, Dr. Will Green, engage in a game of wits with a serial killer who haunts the nightclubs of Deep Ellum, leaving behind ritualistic sacrifices of those people he believes deserving of the act. Is he a raging psychopath, killing just to kill, or is there method behind his madness?
South Dallas police detective, Olivia Gates and British criminal psychologist, Dr. Will Green, engage in a game of wits with a serial killer who haunts the nightclubs of Deep Ellum, leaving behind ritualistic sacrifices of those people he believes deserving of the act. Is he a raging psychopath, killing just to kill, or is there method behind his madness?
INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR CHRINDA JONES
 |
| Chrinda and I at Billy Bobs HonkyTonk Nightclub in Fort Worth Texas 2013 |
1. What got you interested in writing a book?
What got me interested in writing a book? I would say it had to be
the terrible books I read, one right after the other, about four years ago. I
remember getting nearly 75 pages into what was supposed to be a mystery ( I
believe in giving a book the chance to redeem itself before I stop reading it)
and saying to myself “I could write something better than this.” Unfortunately,
my husband heard me and the glove was thrown. It took me about six months after
that moment to finally sit down and start the Darkness Knows Me manuscript.
2, What or who are your influences?
If I were pressed to list influences, I would have to say Scottish
author, Val McDermid and American author, Martha Grimes have influenced me the
most. They both have a way with characters and story lines that I love and
admire. There are others, like Henning Mankel, but McDermid and Grimes standout
to me.
3. What do you want your readers to gain from your books?
My novels have a very small thread of faith running through them.
The reader discovers Olivia Gates has a faith that guides her life. They also
discover that her friend, Will Green, has faith in nothing but Olivia and
himself. I hope people who read the continuing story of Olivia and Will, step
away at the end of the novels thinking, “I hadn’t thought of God or faith quite
like that before.”
4. Where do you do your writing?
People will think it weird, but I lay prostrate on the floor in my
bedroom. A neck injury keeps me from being able to sit in a desk chair for any
length of time. It looks quite a mess with all my reference books stacked and
sprawled on the floor around my laptop, but it works for me. The only drawback
to this arrangement is that my Jack Russell/Pug, Abby, seems to think that
because I’m lying on the floor at her level, I’m fair game for fun.
5. In the theme of my blog, if you could go anywhere in the world to write your next book, where would it be?
It’s interesting that you should ask this particular question. Book
3 of this series takes my characters to Newcastle –Upon –Tyne, in England. I
plan to visit the area soon to do research and get a visual and mental picture
of Newcastle and the North East. If I could, I would stay until the book was
completed, but I don’t think the money will hold out that long. It probably
sounds awful, but I’m hoping archives reveal some sort of strange murder or
series of murders I can loosely add to the existing story line.
BOOK TRAILER
· Quick fire:
1. Kindle or tree book?
Tree- I love the way a book feels and smells when I
read it. Those physical things contribute to how I enjoy the book.
2. Tea or Coffee?
Tea- I love iced teas.
Coffee is just too bitter sometimes, especially the way my family makes it.
3. Cats or dogs?
Dog- I just find dogs more soothing than cats.
4. Beach or snow holiday
Beach- If there is sand,
there is water and I love the water!
MY REVIEW
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chrinda Jones was born in 1964, in Sacramento,CA. She lived the first 30 years of her life in Oregon and has since lived in several different states across the U.S. She began learning to write in earnest when her four children started leaving the nest. She is the author of the Olivia Gates and Will Green crime series set in Dallas, Texas, of which "Darkness knows Me" is the first installment. A musician and lover of books, she lives in Murphy, Texas with her husband and her Jugg, Abby.
MY REVIEW
This was a great debut thriller from Chrinda Jones. I loved how the characters Olivia and Will worked together and I found similarities to the Wire in the Blood series by Val McDermid.
The Simmering relationship sometimes overpowered the story line of the serial killer which is the only reason I dropped the book by 1 *, however I thoroughly enjoyed the story nonetheless. The book was full of suspense and intrigue.
The author had obviously done her research well, which made the book flow well too.
It was certainly a promising start to what I think will be a great book series and I cant wait to read the authors next novel "Angels sing to rest"
Chrinda Jones was born in 1964, in Sacramento,CA. She lived the first 30 years of her life in Oregon and has since lived in several different states across the U.S. She began learning to write in earnest when her four children started leaving the nest. She is the author of the Olivia Gates and Will Green crime series set in Dallas, Texas, of which "Darkness knows Me" is the first installment. A musician and lover of books, she lives in Murphy, Texas with her husband and her Jugg, Abby.BOOK TRAILER
COMING WINTER OF 2014 FROM CHRINDA JONES
Angels Sing to Rest (Olivia Gates & Will Green Crime series)
Whilst reading this book I liked to have music on in the background. This book was read whilst listening to Zane Williams. Catch them here
a Rafflecopter giveaway
RAFFLECOPTER STARTS 16/04/14
ReplyDelete