Synopsis:
A serial killer bent on revenge . . . and striking too close to home.
Teagan O’Rourke has always loved murder mysteries. In her job as a court reporter, she has written official records for dozens of real-life murders. She’s slapped evidence stickers on crime scene photos. She’s listened to hours of chilling testimony. But she’s never known the smell of death. And she never thought she might be a victim.
Until now.
A young police officer is murdered just inches away from her, and then a man calling himself a serial killer starts leaving Teagan notes, signing each with the name of a different murderer from her favorite mystery novels.
Panicked, Teagan turns to her friend Max Kennedy. Max longs for more than friendship with Teagan, but he fears she’ll never trust someone with a past like his. He wonders how much of God’s “tough love” he can take before he gives up on love completely. And he wonders if he’ll be able to keep Teagan alive long enough to find out.
As Teagan, Max, and Teagan’s police officer father race to track down the elusive killer, they each know they could be the next victim. Desperate to save those she loves, Teagan battles fears that once haunted her in childhood. Nothing seems to stop this obsessed murderer. No matter what she does, he seems to be getting closer.
Book Details:
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Publication Date: June 9th 2020
Number of Pages: 352
ISBN: 0785231862 (ISBN13: 9780785231868)
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
“We’re almost there, Ms. O’Rourke.” Officer Moreno came to a full stop at the corner of Park and Academic Court, where the glass-covered police department recruitment center and property room facilities glinted in the late-afternoon sun.
A smile brought out dimples on Moreno’s cherub-cheeked face. Her assignment to escort a court reporter and the evidence to the property room was almost to the halfway point. Teagan had told Moreno to call her by her first name, but the patrolwoman couldn’t seem to manage it. “I’ll get us through security, we’ll stow the evidence, and I’ll have you back to your car in a jiffy.”
Did people still say “in a jiffy”? Teagan’s grandma might, but this woman was no more than twenty-four. A couple of years younger than Teagan. She studied the officer’s face as she turned onto Academic Court and accelerated. The woman was for real. A straight shooter determined to be successful in a man’s world.
Teagan smiled, but Moreno had already returned her gaze to the road, hands at the proper ten and two positions on the wheel. “I know there’s plenty of other things you’d rather do than babysit evidence—”
The driver’s side window exploded.
The force knocked Teagan’s head against her window. Sudden pain pricked her face. Fragments of glass pierced her cheeks and forehead.
The car swerved, jumped the curb, and crashed into the wrought-iron fence that protected the academy.
Was this what Mom felt the day she died? The inevitability of it?
Air bags ballooned.
Teagan slammed back against her seat.
I’m sorry, Max.
I’m sorry I never said it.
A second later the bag deflated. The smell of nitrogen gases gagged her. Powder coated her face. The skin on the back of her hands burned.
Time sped up in an odd, off-kilter tick-tock.
Teagan struggled to open her eyes. Pain pulsed in her temple. Her stomach heaved. Waves of adrenaline shook her body as if she’d grasped a live electrical wire.
I’m alive. Today’s not my day to die.
The evidence. Protect the evidence.
***
Excerpt from Closer Than She Knows by Kelly Irvin. Copyright 2020 by Kelly Irvin. Reproduced with permission from Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Kelly Irvin is a bestselling author and two-time Carol Award finalist. She is a former newspaper reporter and retired public relations professional. Kelly lives in Texas with her husband, photographer Tim Irvin. They have two children, three grandchildren, and two cats.
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More "stuff" about Kelly Irvin...
Does this book have
a special meaning to you? i.e. where you found the idea, its symbolism, its
meaning, who you dedicated it to, what made you want to write it?
This book is
dedicated to my grandchildren and the dedication reads: “You are the hope of a
new generation. (No pressure!). The world is such a mess right now. I often
lament, along with my protagonist Teagan O’Rourke in Closer Than She Knows,
that we are leaving a dirty, ravaged, embattled world to our children, and in
my case, my grandchildren. I hold out hope that the next generation will do
better. I don’t want to reveal too much about the romantic arc, but this is
part of a bigger dilemma that Teagan will have to resolve in order to find
happiness with the man she loves.
Where do you get
your storylines from?
From various places.
Sometimes from newspaper articles. Sometimes from my journalism career. In the
case of Closer Than She Knows, I drew on a period in my life when I freelanced
as a proofreader for several court reporters. Reading those court transcripts
taught me about crime scene investigations, police procedure, autopsies,
ballistics, etc. I have tremendous respect for the court reporters who
transcribe every word said in a courtroom. Most people never notice them or
they think they’re stenographers. They’re so much more. I’ve never read a crime
novel where the main character is a court reporter so I decided to write one.
Was this book
easier or more difficult to write than others? Why?
This was a tough one. I’m a
seat-of-the-pants writer (I don’t outline) and this story has multiple murders
investigated by more than one jurisdiction. They occurred over a long period of
time. I really had to bear down on the details to keep them straight. When my
editor read it for the first time she felt it was too easy to figure out who
the killer was. I had to do an extensive rewrite. I also revamped the
relationship between Teagan and Max. I did more rewriting on this book than any
other one I’ve written. I also did more research with this book. I had to wade
through it and figure out what to use to create an authentic serial killer
world. It was fascinating, but also repulsive.
Do you write in more than one genre?
I do. My first two
published novels were romantic suspense. Then my agent asked me to try an Amish
romance. I thought she was crazy, but I like a challenge so I gave it a shot.
She sold it before I finished writing it. My writing career blossomed from
there. I’ve published 18 Amish romances with four more contracted as well as
several Amish novellas. Two years ago HarperCollins Christian Publishing agreed
to go out on a limb with me with a romantic suspense novel called Tell Her No
Lies. It did well so we’ve continued to alternate between the two genres. I’m
blessed to have a publishing house willing to do this. Writing in two genres
allows me to stretch in my craft and keep from getting stale.
Give us a picture
of where you write, where you compose these words…is it Starbucks, a den, a garden…we
want to know your inner sanctum?
A little over a
year ago my husband and I left the San Antonio suburbs and moved to a more
rural patch of land about 30 minutes from the city. I turned a bedroom with two
floor-to-ceiling windows into an office. I can sit at my desk and look out at
an open field with huge trees. Cardinals, hummingbirds, butterflies, squirrels,
and big green lizards keep me company. I find myself staring out the window
often as I contemplate story lines. Occasionally deer trot down the road in the
front of our house. My office is a mess, filled with research books, files, and
boxes of my books, but I’m happily playing with my imaginary friends.
And finally, of
course…was there any specific event or circumstance that made you want to be a
writer?
I don’t remember
not wanting to be a writer. My older sister and I started our own newspaper in
first and second grade. I wrote poems, short stories, and plays in middle
school. By high school I’d found my niche in journalism and creative writing
classes. Coming from a working-class family, I knew I wanted to be able to
support myself so I chose a journalism career where I would get paid to write. But
I always knew I wanted to write novels. One day I turned 45 and thought I
better do it before it’s too late. I may have started early but I’m a late
bloomer. Four years ago I retired from my day job because of my health. Now I
write full-time. I’m living my dream!
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This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Harper Collins and Kelly Irving. There will be 1 winner of CLOSER THAN SHE KNOWS by Kelly Irving (print). The giveaway begins on June 22, 2020 and runs through July 26, 2020. Open to U.S. addresses only. Void where prohibited.
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