The Price of Deception follows a small-town murder investigation and a young woman’s disappearance as they uncover buried identities, family trauma, religious control, and the painful past one mother tried to escape. What inspired the murder and disappearance as the central mystery of the story?

When I considered writing a sequel to The Price of Revenge, fans agreed that Pepper Johns’ story screamed to be told. In Revenge, Pepper Johns, an important but peripheral character, is a quirky young woman with an over-the-top personality, numerous facial piercings, and a warm heart. The only thing we know about Pepper’s childhood is that she shared a broken-down mobile home with her mother, Anita Johns, a bitter, anti-social woman with a fondness for truck drivers—and a lifestyle that made her a prime candidate for murder. Pepper’s difficult relationship with her mother initially makes Pepper the prime suspect—until they discover she’d been kidnapped.

With that as my baseline, the fun began. One of the things I most enjoy about being a writer is creating problems and then solving them. Determining who murdered Anita Johns and why was an evolution. Creating Anita’s backstory led me to uncover a dark world where, in the name of religion, women are treated as chattel and brainwashed into accepting their fate. Sometimes truth is truly stranger than fiction, and I leaned heavily on the real-world Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (FLDS) in creating the world Anita escaped from.

Pepper feels like a character shaped by survival, love, and second chances. What was most important to you in developing her story?

I have a tendency to write stories about women who, when faced with overwhelming difficulties, find the will and strength to survive—and move on. Pepper is one of those characters. She has some innate toughness, honed by her difficult childhood. Knowing there are people who care about her bolsters her resolve when self-doubt creeps in. I try to create believable protagonists, not superwomen, and I believe in hopeful, emotionally satisfying endings. As a reader, that’s what I look for when I escape into a book.

The book moves between perspectives to reveal different parts of Anita’s past and the world of New Zion. How did you decide which characters needed a voice?

There are three main voices:

Cassie Deahl: Since The Price of Revenge, the initial book in the series, was Cassie Deahl’s story, the sequels, including The Price of Deception, will always include Cassie in a supporting role. I see Cassie and her adopted hometown of Jamestown, Colorado, as the center from which other stories evolve. I’m currently writing The Price of Secrets, which will take a similar approach.

Police Chief Donnie Smith: Since there is a murder to solve, it was important that Donnie Smith, the local chief of police who has also been a strong presence in Pepper’s life, have his own voice.

Pepper Johns: And of most importance, this is Pepper’s story, and she needed to be the one to tell it.

What do you hope readers take away from the novel beyond the mystery itself?

My primary purpose is to provide readers with an entertaining, thrilling, edge-of-the-seat story with an emotionally satisfying ending—an opportunity to step away from life’s problems for a little while.

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