Blog Archives
Fatal Consequences
Deadly Dial follows a radio host who takes a chilling late-night call that opens the door to a civic nightmare. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
When I began developing the novel, the country was on the verge of another government shutdown. Approximately 1.4 million people (670,000 federal employees and another 730,000—including personnel from the TSA, NASA, OSHA, and the EPA) were forced to work without immediate pay. With roughly $14 billion in wages temporarily withheld, localized consumer spending collapsed. The politicians orchestrating this crisis appeared entirely insulated from its fallout, detached from the reality of citizens struggling to afford basic necessities.
Simultaneously, public discourse was fracturing; people grew increasingly brazen, invoking their First Amendment rights while remaining blind to the consequences of their words. While no single event inspired this book, the collective anxiety and social friction of that era heavily shaped the narrative. This atmospheric tension is also why I chose to leave the setting unnamed—I wanted to capture a universal cultural climate rather than anchor the story to a specific location or headline.
Were there particular crime novels, political scandals, or media events that influenced the book?
Although I intentionally steered clear of writing the story based on direct current events, reality had a way of bleeding into the pages. A mere week into writing the manuscript, a well-known conservative commentator was assassinated during a Q&A session on a university campus as he fielded questions about violence. Ironically, he was a man of faith who prided himself on unfiltered speech, and his sudden death served as a chilling, real-time validation of what I was exploring in my fiction. It proved, in the most tragic way possible, that our current culture of reckless speech carries heavy, sometimes fatal, consequences.
Did you want readers to fear the Prophet as a person, or as a symptom of something larger within the city?
I wanted readers to fear the Prophet as a symptom of a much larger, systemic issue within society. On a personal level, the Prophet simply mirrors the dark realities we see every day: politicians driven by corruption, self-interest, and a complete disregard for the “ordinary person.” The true horror stems from the reality that, in our world, these figures rarely face consequences for the devastation they cause. In my novel, however, that immunity is stripped away. While I am certainly not advocating for real-world assassination, within the heightened dramatic stakes of the book, these corrupt actors are finally exposed and forced to face the ultimate reckoning for their actions.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Writing has truly become something I simply cannot put down; creating these worlds and sharing them with readers is incredibly therapeutic and fulfilling. Right now, I am juggling several exciting projects. I am currently finishing a medical-dental suspense thriller titled A Deadly Extraction. Additionally, I have three completed, fully edited novels ready to go for The Dante Villehart Files series, along with a few standalone projects. My main focus right now is deciding whether to continue down the self-publishing route or pursue traditional publishing for these next releases. Either way, there is a wealth of new material coming very soon!
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Amazon
In a world where words can wield deadly power, talk show host Riley Anderson finds herself at the epicenter of a possible political storm. When an anonymous caller, later dubbed “The Prophet”, rants about government corruption, his chilling threats suddenly turn into reality as the politicians he names, along with some of their associates, begin to turn up dead.
As fear grips the city, Riley struggles with the weight of her role in amplifying the chaos. Teaming up with seasoned detective Alex Thompson and tech whiz Eleanor “Ellie” Mitchell, Riley embarks on a harrowing quest to uncover the truth behind the calls. But when they discover that the number used by the caller belongs to a man who has been presumed dead for years, the lines between reality and conspiracy blur.
With each shocking revelation, Riley must confront the haunting legacy of a man driven by vengeance and the dark secrets that could change everything. As the clock ticks down to the next assassination, Riley and the team must race against time to unravel a deadly game that could cost her–and everyone in the city–everything.
Perfect for fans of political thrillers, murder mysteries, and fast-paced suspense, Deadly Dial delivers a pulse-pounding ride where the truth is the deadliest weapon of all.
My Two Passions
The Winter Verdict follows a lawyer and dedicated skier who decides to take an early morning run, and gets brutally attacked on the mountain, finding himself and his family at the center of a conspiracy that stretches across the world. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I began working on the storyline for The Winter Verdict in late fall when my thoughts always turn to skiing. My family and I are avid skiers, and we spend most weekends during the winter in Windham, New York, which has become our second home. Windham is a beautiful small ski town with wonderful people and gorgeous views. It quickly became the inspiration for the fictional town of Castle Ridge. I also thought it would be fun to set a legal thriller in a small ski town instead of a big city metropolis, like I did with my first book, The Manipulator. So, I decided to marry my two passions: skiing and writing legal thrillers, and the result is The Winter Verdict.
How important was it to ground the story in family stakes rather than just plot escalation?
It was the main focus of my story. First and foremost, Tom Berte is a husband and a father, and family means everything to him. His day job happens to be working as a top-flight litigator, which gets him into all sorts of legal entanglements, corporate espionage, and international conspiracies with potentially deadly consequences. At the heart of The Winter Verdict lies not only the quest for justice, but Tom also battles to protect his family and the lives of millions of innocent victims.
How did you approach blending courtroom instincts with high-stakes action?
Being a successful trial lawyer involves good storytelling. And the stories I like to write about involve family relationships, lots of dramatic scenes, and literally life and death stakes. I can create all of that by using legal maneuverings for dramatic effect and to add a layer of complexity and heighten the tension. I don’t intend for the legal wranglings to take center stage or dominate the storyline; instead, I use the law as a backdrop for the high-stakes pursuit of justice and the battles Tom faces in combating terrorists intent on committing unspeakable atrocities.
What will the next book in that series be about, and when will it be published?
The third book in the Tom Berte Legal Thriller Series is System of Justice. A shocking murder strikes the Supreme Court, killing Tom’s former mentor. A young law clerk is accused of committing the murder, and when she reaches out to Tom, he can’t ignore her desperate pleas for help. Reluctantly stepping into criminal defense for the first time, Tom swiftly finds himself maneuvering through Washington’s hidden corridors of power. But he soon uncovers a dark secret that could mean the difference between the law clerk’s guilt and innocence. The only problem is that Tom can’t reveal the secret. The case becomes a game of life and death, where proving the law clerk’s innocence might cost Tom his life.
System of Justice will be released later in 2026.
Author Links: GoodReads | BlueSky | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Tom Berte, a former Department of Justice lawyer, thought he’d left his past behind when he moved to Castle Ridge with his family. But when a brutal attack leaves him fighting for his life, Tom and his family find themselves at the epicenter of an unfolding conspiracy that stretches from the local ski resort to a desert compound on the other side of the world.
At the heart of the mystery is Phoenix Holdings Group, a shadowy international conglomerate with its sights set on Castle Ridge Ski Resort. When a catastrophic “accident” at the resort claims dozens of lives, Tom uncovers a chilling connection to his own assault and a ruthless plot that could endanger millions.
With his wife and daughter’s lives hanging in the balance, Tom must navigate a treacherous path of legal intrigue, corporate espionage, and looming revenge.
For fans of John Grisham and Michael Connelly, strap in for a heart-pounding legal thriller with The Winter Verdict—where the pursuit of justice is as precarious as a black diamond run.
Murder on the Set: An Amanda Pennyworth Mystery
James Gilbert’s Murder on the Set drops Amanda Pennyworth, American consul, amateur sleuth, and increasingly conflicted woman, into a Puerto Vallarta movie production that begins as a logistical nuisance and turns into a double-murder investigation. A Hollywood crew arrives to film a glossy romance on location, Amanda is pulled in to smooth relations between studio egos and local authorities, and the novel steadily tightens from social comedy into a mystery about performance, authorship, and the things people will do to protect an invented version of themselves. The setup is clever on its face, but what gave it lift for me was the way the book makes the film set feel both seductive and faintly toxic, all bright surfaces and hairline cracks.
What I liked most was the book’s sense of place. Puerto Vallarta is not a pasted-on backdrop here; it has weather, texture, sidewalks, petty irritations, good coffee, bureaucracy, sea air, gossip, and the faint shimmer of a life Amanda may not want to leave. That local fullness gives the novel ballast. I also liked Amanda herself. She is observant without turning brittle, competent without becoming superhuman, and her interior conflict about duty, desire, and departure gives the mystery a second pulse. The book is at its best when it lets the investigation move through social nuance, class signals, artistic vanity, diplomatic tact, and expat performance. There is a pleasingly old-fashioned intelligence to that.
The novel unfolds with a deliberate, almost courtly pace that lets the tension gather naturally, and I found that measured rhythm one of its strengths. Rather than chasing constant shocks, it rewards patience with richer atmosphere, sharper character work, and a deeper satisfaction as the story gradually comes into focus. Gilbert writes in a way that is more measured than trendy, and the book’s pleasures come from the sharpened dialogue, the sly observations, the metafictional wrinkle in the case itself, and the growing realization that this is a murder story about fabrication in more than one sense. By the end, I felt the book had earned its composure.
I’d hand this to readers of traditional mystery, cozy-adjacent mystery, international mystery, and murder mystery with literary elements, especially anyone who enjoys sleuthing mixed with atmosphere and character rather than nonstop mayhem. It reminded me a little of Donna Leon, if she wandered onto a film set in coastal Mexico, and readers who like Louise Penny’s interest in psychology over pyrotechnics may also find something to admire. This is a polished, sea-breezed mystery that knows glamour is just another kind of disguise.
Pages: 272 | ASIN : B0G87FDWB6
Organized Crime Stories
Lords of Sixty-Third Street follows a Chicago reporter who is investigating his friend’s brutal murder, leading him deep into mob deals, street gangs, and political corruption. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I wanted to write a story that corresponded with all of the gang violence headlines in the Chicagoland area. It seems that every time we watch the news, there is gang-style violence, and innocent people are always getting killed. Also, I liked the ‘Bugsy Siegel’ story and wanted to mix that in with this storyline.
The story jumps between the investigation, mob crews, and gang life without feeling scattered. How did you manage that balance?
I wrote the storyline as though I were watching the movie…different scenes, different characters, different plot structures.
An intriguing aspect of your story is the contrast between the Outfit’s old rules and the chaos of younger street gangs. What interested you about that generational divide?
Like the current organized crime stories, there seems to always be conflict between the ‘old guard wise guys’ and the young, violent gang members who run the Chicago streets without any rules, morality, or scruples.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when can your fans expect it to be out?
Russo’s Revenge, coming out in March, is about a Chicago Cop who is wrongly accused of selling drugs and weapons on the Chicago streets, and looks to pursue redemption and clear his name. The next book, hopefully this summer, is When A Thief Comes To Rome, about a Chicago ex-convict who is hired by the Sicilian Mafia to steal a rare, valuable artifact from a Roman Catholic church in Trastevere, Rome.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
McKay becomes entangled with both the Outfit and the street gangs, even taking in a young member of the O-Block gang, DeMarco Stevens. McKay attempts to save this young teenager from the city’s cycle of violence. But there is betrayal and violence at every level. The Sixty-Third Street crew is already skimming cash from its investors before the casino opens its doors.
With mob boss Little Tony DiMatteo’s blessing, everyone is getting a piece of the action, even though some are not willing to pay for it, including Chicago’s corrupt mayor, Bradley Jefferson. Giannini is under pressure to ensure all the investors are playing by the rules while trying to cover up the embezzlement by his Sixty-Third Street crew.
As Giannini’s Windy City Casino is about to have its grand opening, the Outfit’s Bugsy Siegel is going to realize his magnificent dream. But with all of the city’s bloody violence and corruption, is everyone willing to pay the ultimate price?
The Kirkwood Killer
Justin Foster’s The Kirkwood Killer is a brutal, fast-moving horror-crime novel that follows Brandon Walls, a man shaped by violence from childhood and unleashed into a quiet golf-club community where his killing spirals into something almost mythic. The story moves from one shocking act to the next, weaving in twisted alliances, bizarre loyalty, and a growing sense that no one in this place realizes the monster living among them. It’s a grisly, relentless ride, and it never pretends to be anything else.
The writing is blunt and unfiltered, almost like someone telling you a wild story they shouldn’t be telling. At first, I wondered if the simplicity was intentional, but the more I read, the more it felt like the right fit for this kind of horror. The murders are vivid and disturbing, not in an artistic way but in an uncomfortably direct way, which honestly makes them land harder. The book doesn’t linger on psychological depth; instead, it barrels forward with raw energy, like the narrative is sprinting to keep up with Brandon’s impulses. It’s not graceful, but it is gripping in that “I shouldn’t look, but I can’t look away” kind of way.
What surprised me most was how strange and darkly fascinating the world around Brandon becomes. This isn’t just one man doing horrible things. The people around him, especially the cart-girl twins and later even the chef, get pulled into his orbit in ways that are unsettling and weirdly believable in the logic of this book. There’s a twisted humor to some scenes, the kind that makes you question whether you should be laughing. And while the plot is outrageous, it’s paced in a way that kept me turning the pages because I truly didn’t know what boundary the story would cross next. Sometimes it felt like watching a late-night slasher film with a friend where you keep elbowing each other with “Are you seeing this?” energy.
The Kirkwood Killer is not subtle. It’s pure horror with a crime-thriller backbone, told in a voice that’s bold enough to commit fully to its own chaos. If you’re someone who loves slasher stories, extreme horror, or villains who are monsters without apology, you’ll probably have a wild time with this. It’s definitely for fans of gritty, bloody, over-the-top horror.
Pages: 130 | ASIN : B0F9ZZCZ4K
Comfort and Risk
In Dead Reckoning, a group of detectives and their families find themselves embroiled in a mystery complete with missing passengers and eerie mysteries on what should have been a relaxing Mediterranean cruise. Where did the inspiration for this mystery come from?
I’ve always been interested in how a normal setting can suddenly turn dangerous. Cruises are supposed to be fun and relaxing, but they’re also closed‑off worlds where people can’t just walk away. That mix of comfort and risk gave me the idea for Dead Reckoning.
How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
For me, they go hand in hand. A twist works best when it grows naturally out of the story. I like to drop little clues along the way so readers feel surprised but also realize the twist makes sense.
What do you find to be the most challenging aspect of writing a trilogy? What is the most rewarding?
The hardest part is keeping everything consistent from book to book — characters, details, timelines. The best part is being able to spend more time with the world and the people I’ve created. It lets me go deeper and give readers more to enjoy.
Can fans of The Stanton Falls Mysteries look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
Yes! Dead Reckoning is a stand‑alone mystery, separate from the Stanton Falls trilogy. I wanted to give readers a fresh story with new characters and a different setting. At the same time, I am continuing to develop future projects — including more mysteries — so fans of Stanton Falls can look forward to new work from me soon.
Last of the Autumn Rain
Diana Louise Webb’s Last of the Autumn Rain is an emotionally charged novel that weaves together trauma, tragedy, and mental health through the voice of a haunted narrator named Julie. The story opens with a deadly accident at a nightclub that kills Julie’s best friend and spirals into a psychological journey touching on abuse, betrayal, obsession, and revenge. As Julie revisits past experiences from her childhood in New Jersey to a near-fatal spring break trip to Mexico, she reflects on the forces that shape identity, morality, and the thin line between sanity and madness. With fictionalized events that feel brutally real, Webb holds nothing back in her mission to spotlight the stigma and neglect surrounding mental health.
The writing is sharp, vivid, and unsparing. Webb’s prose can be poetic in one moment and violently raw in the next. Her scenes of abuse and trauma are gut-wrenching without being gratuitous. I often found myself re-reading lines, not just for their emotional weight but because they caught me off guard in how directly they confronted the reader. There’s a beautiful messiness in the storytelling. Fractured timelines, flashbacks, inner monologues, and haunting hallucinations that all blend into Julie’s spiraling mental state. At times, the chaos felt overwhelming, but it always felt deliberate. It’s like the author doesn’t want you to read this passively, she wants you to feel every drop of blood, guilt, and silence.
I found myself torn over the narrator. Julie is not a reliable or particularly likable character. She is violent, self-serving, and damaged. But that’s kind of the point. I couldn’t shake the feeling that Webb was daring me to judge her. One moment, Julie is saving someone from abuse; the next, she’s casually describing a childhood act of horror with a twisted sense of pride. I didn’t always agree with the choices she made. The novel sometimes seemed to blur the line between victim and perpetrator, and I admired Webb’s courage in forcing us to sit with those contradictions. It’s rare to see a female protagonist written with this much moral ambiguity and rage. And it’s even rarer for a book to make me feel that conflicted and still want to keep reading.
Last of the Autumn Rain is not a light or easy read. It’s intense, messy, and emotionally exhausting, but in the best way. This book is for readers who crave raw truth over tidy resolution. It’s for those who have battled demons or known someone who has. I would especially recommend it to fans of Gillian Flynn or Alice Sebold, readers who don’t mind going into the darker corners of the human mind. Webb has something important to say about pain, silence, and survival, and she says it with brutal, unforgettable honesty.
Pages: 235 | ASIN : B0FGQMMC27
Let Them
Until I Come Back for You follows a young girl, the youngest of five siblings, as her family escapes the dangers of Detroit and tries to build a new life in the countryside, only to encounter a menacing and violent new neighbor. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
That’s easy – my real life! My family really did leave Detroit in the early 70s, and my city-slicker parents really did buy a small farm on a dirt road in rural Michigan. The bad guy is fictionalized, but the setting and family characters are all real.
What was your approach to writing the interactions between characters?
For me, the key to dialogue is to let it come quickly, naturally, and not overthink it. Don’t argue with your characters – let them speak. Let them stutter. Let them mispronounce words. Because that is how humans talk. Dialogue should “play” in the readers’ heads as if they can hear it, and so it has to “sound” authentic. If a writer edits dialogue the same way she edits the narrative, you lose that authenticity.
How do you balance story development with shocking plot twists? Or can they be the same thing?
For story development, I’m an avid plotter. I map out the big parts of the story, the bones. For this story, I focused on “the event” and worked backwards to include everything that had to come before it. Then worked forward, writing all the consequences and fallout.
The plot twist(s) were afterthoughts that organically stemmed from the story. There is a writing rule: “Get your protagonist in trouble. Then get them in more trouble and more trouble.” When I did that, she really surprised me, and it was just my job to capture that.
What is the next book that you’re working on, and when can your fans expect it out?
For right now, I’m having so much fun with this book, I can’t even think about another. This was a bucket list goal for me, so I’m just allowing myself to revel in this moment.
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Right where she left it.
UNTIL I COME BACK FOR YOU invites you to wallow in the comforting nostalgia of the 1970s, a simpler time when there were only three TV channels, two colas, and one phone in the house. Smell the honeysuckle of lazy summer days; listen to sisters sharing whispers in bunk beds before drifting to sleep. Just when you get comfortable, you’ll find yourself stranded in a tree, dragged across a field, held down on a cold examination table. Taste the blood in your mouth from a lost tooth. Feel the breath of a predator on your neck. Hear the death rattle of a lost soul.
Follow one family’s history woven into the tattered fabric of the Midwest and witness one girl tear at the seams of girlhood, suspended between the generations of women who reinvented womanhood.
