Cold Case Suspense in Child Death Comes in Latest by DiAnn Mills!

"Kariss searched through the two-year-olds in her class, "Where's Nikki?"
"With Erin," the lead teacher said...
"Erin paled, and reality shook Kariss. She
raced to the side door of the day care...She ignored the many shouts and flung open the door. Smoke filled the room, clouding her vision and making it difficult to breathe. A child Coughed, then screams rose from a cot in the corner...She grabbed the little girl just as the wall collapsed. Flames cracked and sputtered, raining debris onto Kariss's lower back, burning her shirt and scorching her flesh. She fell with the weight, holding Nikki close to her chest. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I have you..."
"When Kariss had awoken in the hospital, her parents surrounded her bed. Her back felt like someone had lit a match to it, and her throat burned..."How's Nikki?"...
"Honey, she didn't make it."...
Nikki, my little angel. Pale-blue eyes mirrored the sky and a mass of thick, blong hair hung to the middle of her back. That's when I hit the Mute button on God...
Diann, Morgan (Photo credit: Tim Morgan)

The Chase


By DiAnn Mills




It wasn't surprising she had gone into depression. She still couldn't get the images from replaying over and over, Nikki! Once again she tried to push everything out of her mind, but sometimes it was just impossible. Still, if she was able to write this book, tell the story of Cherished Doe, maybe it would help.

All she knew was that she had to try...

But what would she do with the book if and when she finished it. She was well-known for her women's fiction books and fans were always waiting for her next one. Her agent demanded that she continue in this genre... Well, that agent worked for her...or not. She was going to work on this book, no matter what...

It would be a suspense...

Meredith had told her that changing genres in the middle of NY Times best-selling status would be suicide. Kariss had been a news reporter for many years and suspense intrigued her. She would still write in her present genre; but then she had shared with Meredith about the story that had never let her go--she could not not write it, even if she had to self-publish. Perhaps that was what she would have to do because she and Meredith had parted after that meeting.

The murder of Cherished Doe had been the last police case that Kariss had worked on as a reporter. It had since become a cold case with all agencies, but the two intimately involved officers had never really put it aside. Now Kariss, in having gotten prior permission to work with the FBI, had been assigned that officer, Tigo Harris. Harris was involved in a big drug and gun case and had just lost a female informant. He had no desire to be forced to work with the wannabe suspense writer! When she started to imply that her review of the cold case file might bring up a new lead, he was fuming...

Not a good way to develop a working relationship. And she was certainly not going to share with anybody just why this case affected her so much... In the meantime, Kariss was having similar thoughts since they had informally met on the highway that morning, nearly causing a fatal accident. Fortunately, she had somewhat of a personal relationship with Linc, Tigo's boss, and his wife was a fan of her earlier writing! In any event, nobody was going to persuade her to change her plans and she was going to make the best of it.

Interestingly, while Tigo was busy, Kariss started writing, characterizing her hero--Was Special Agent Santiago Harris the role model? "He had yummy-colored skin, reminding her of a man she'd met once in Cozumel. Huh. That line would look better in a novel." Kariss soon realized that dwelling on the looks of the main character was not what she should be dwelling on for a suspense novel. Still..."Tigo had coffee-colored eyes, deep with intensity, and his thick black hair begged to have a woman's fingers combing through it, feathering her touch around his temples..." She finally decided to wait and dwell on his FBI qualifications and experience for the hero's description...

Readers will love the spirited Kariss as she tosses back quick responses to Tigo as well as other officers and agents with whom she talked to discover more about the case. But she was also pulled more and more into Tigo's activities, working along side him and facing the same dangers he did as both cases led them deeper and deeper. Concurrent activities results in a complex narrative that should keep mystery lovers happy...

Later they decided that working together in the future just might work! I hope that means a long series of followup novels...These two are great personalities that are fun and intriguing!

Fans of suspense/thriller novels will love this one just as much as I did! Don't you think?


GABixlerReviews

About The Author:

Award-winning author DiAnn Mills is a fiction writer who combines an adventuresome spirit with unforgettable characters to create action-packed, suspense-filled novels. DiAnn's first book was published in 1998. She currently has more than fifty books published.

Her titles have appeared on the CBA and ECPA bestseller lists and have won placements through the American Christian Fiction Writer's Carol Awards and Inspirational Reader's Choice awards. DiAnn won the Christy Award in 2010 and 2011.

DiAnn is a founding board member for American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of Inspirational Writers Alive, Romance Writers of America, and Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She speaks to various groups and teaches writing workshops around the country. DiAnn is also the Craftsman mentor for the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild.

She and her husband live in sunny Houston, Texas.

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