The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES C. J. Lyons's Book: Hard Fall which just won the International Thriller Writers 2015 Thriller Award.
New York Times and USA Today Best Selling Author C.J. Lyons is the author of twenty-nine thrillers.
HARD FALL
Lucy Guardino FBI Thriller Novels, Book #5
Author: C. J. Lyons
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59 days ago FBI Special Agent Lucy Guardino had a perfect life…and almost lost it all.
From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author CJ Lyons. WARNING: the Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers are NOT for the faint of heart! They depict adult situations, realistic violence with consequences, and delve deep into the darkness of the human heart and mind.
There comes a time in every hero’s life when they fall harder and farther than ever before and they face a choice that changes everything: to give up or claw their way back again. Lucy thought she’d made her choice two months ago when she sacrificed everything to save her family, but now she has to decide whether or not she can save herself…
When honor, duty, and family collide…who would you save?
Excerpt from Hard Fall
PROLOGUE
UNTIL FIFTY-EIGHT DAYS ago, Lucy Guardino never dreamed you could have a panic attack in your sleep.
It was the dog. Always the damn dog.
Haunting her day and night.
Lucy jerked upright, fingers clutching her throat, fighting to loosen a rope that was no longer there. She couldn’t breathe, was suffocating, terror throttling her as effectively as the real noose had.
Her heart beat so loud and hard it ricocheted through her body. Her gasps filled the darkness surrounding her, red streaks blazing through her vision, the pressure on her chest, pressure around her throat so tight… she was dying.
The damn dog would finally get what it’d wanted all along.
Lucy reached for her weapon. Her gun, where was her gun? Her hand flailed, hit the back of a couch. Awareness crept into the darkness. Her couch. The movement shook the blanket from her body and her left foot thudded to the ground.
Pain shrieked through her, slapping her fully awake.
She wasn’t choking to death, the pain reminded her. Wasn’t dying.
That’d been fifty-eight days ago. This was now. Her new reality.
Thanks to the damn dog.
She blinked, the room slowly coming into focus. The old steamer trunk they used for a coffee table. A fireplace, its mantel filled with family photos. The overstuffed chair from her mom’s house, now angled beside the bay window—her daughter Megan’s new favorite place to sit and pretend Lucy didn’t exist.
The way the shadows fell across the wing-backed chair, for a second, she thought she saw her mother sitting there, watching over her as she slept. Like she had when Lucy was a kid, after her father died.
I’m so sorry, Mom. Guilt settled like a rock in her stomach. She wished for tears to blink back, but she had none left. What good were tears, anyway? They couldn’t bring her mom back.
Her living room. In her house. The room where her mother had been killed by the man sent to kill Lucy. No wonder Lucy felt compelled to haunt it night after night.
Couldn’t change the past, just as she couldn’t save her mother. But she had been able to save her husband and daughter. She tugged the blanket closer to her body, her heart thudding against the T-shirt she’d worn to bed. Nick? Safe and sound asleep upstairs in their bed. Wasn’t that why she’d crept down here to the couch, so her night terrors wouldn’t disturb him? One of them deserved a good night’s sleep.
She leaned forward, bent over her ankle and massaged the nooks and crannies of scar tissue and missing muscle. Felt the alien bumps and knobs left behind by the surgeons with their plates and screws. Her ankle and foot now had more hardware than an erector set. The dog’s handiwork.
The dog was dead. Not by Lucy’s hand. It had been trained to kill—had done its best on her. Animal control had no choice. It had died peacefully in its sleep.
The man who’d turned a beautiful animal into a raging killing machine, he’d died as well. By Lucy’s hand. Not so peacefully and wide awake. His screams never haunted Lucy.
She shook away memories from fifty-eight days ago. Focused on the simple, undeniable fact her life centered on: her family was safe.
The pain in her leg subsided to its usual dull roar. Unlike the blinding blaze when the dog first mauled her ankle, the pain now danced across a spectrum. From the spiking intensity of infrared blasts to tooth-rattling ultraviolet electrical shockwaves, less intense but more unnerving. A rainbow of agony.
Although her bones had mended nicely, apparently nerves heal more slowly. The doctors said it might take years—or never. And while they were healing—or not—the electricity racing along their synapses jumped erratically causing random impulses the brain interpreted as pain.
Leaving Lucy with a choice: a life of painkillers, popping pills to numb her body and mind or a life of pain.
She couldn’t live without her job and when your job is an FBI Supervisory Special Agent leading a team of armed men and women, you can’t do that job while taking narcotics, so Lucy chose the pain. Treated it as she would any other suspect—observing, analyzing, predicting what it would do next, and preparing against it.
So far the pain was winning, able to sneak past her defenses, blindside her. Not for long. Because tomorrow—she glanced at the railroad clock on the wall, her eyes now adjusted to the dim light, 3:14 a.m.—no, today, today was the day she returned to work.
Fifty-nine days ago, she’d almost lost everything. Now she was taking it all back.
She pushed herself upright, reached for the cane propped against the couch, and grit her teeth against the purple haze of pins and needles as her foot brushed against the oak floorboards. Took one step, then another toward the bedroom upstairs where her husband slept.
Pain or no pain, panic or no panic, no way in hell was Lucy letting anything keep her from doing her job. From healing her family. From getting her life back.
Starting today.
Chapter 1
FRIDAY, 9:46 AM
LUCY’S FIRST INDICATION that this day wouldn’t be going as planned came when she entered Pittsburgh’s Federal Building and was stopped by security.
The Federal Protective Service guard, one she didn’t recognize, snapped to attention when Lucy swiped her employee ID at the turnstile and an alarm sounded. “Ma’am, step back, please.”
“I think it’s expired.” She hobbled to one side so she didn’t block anyone else and cursed herself for forgetting to check the date on her ID. Thankfully, she’d left plenty of time before she was due to meet with Isaac Walden, second-in-command of her Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement squad. She gestured to the cane. “I’ve been on medical leave.”
The guard didn’t relax his attitude. Instead, he nodded to one of his comrades at the security desk who came out from behind it to stand a few feet from Lucy, covering his partner. She almost laughed at the thought that she might be a threat to anyone—but forced herself not to. FPS guards were not known for their sense of humor.
Ever since the Zapata cartel had burned down a sizable chunk of the city last Christmas, security throughout Pittsburgh had been high.
No one was more paranoid than here at the Southside Federal Building where the Joint Counterterrorism Task Force was housed as well as several sensitive investigative units including High Tech Computer Crimes and Innocent Images. The FBI, DEA, ICE, ATF, US Marshals, and now Homeland Security Investigations all had a presence. One stop shopping for any wannabe terrorist trying to make his bones.
“The badge, ma’am.”
Lucy handed the first guard her building pass. He passed it to the second, who relayed it to the main security desk for validation.
“I have my credentials,” Lucy offered, keeping her hands at her sides, making no threatening movements.
The guard responded by sliding his right hand to the butt of his weapon, his left hand raised, palm forward in the universal gesture for “freeze right there.”
The second guard returned and handed her a temporary ID. “I’ve been instructed to escort you, Supervisory Special Agent Guardino. Do you have any weapons with you?”
“Of course I have weapons.” Why would he even ask? Federal agents were mandated to carry both on and off duty. “And I don’t need an escort.”
“Sorry, ma’am. Orders. Please remove all weapons prior to passing through the body scanner. We’ll need to examine the cane as well.”
She frowned at him. Agents didn’t pass through the scanner, only civilians. Was there a reason for their extra precautions? “Are we on alert?”
Neither answered her, focusing on her movements as she removed the forty caliber Glock from her belt holster and her backup weapon from her bag and carefully placed them, as well as her bag and cane, on the table beside the body scanner. The first guard checked her belongings while Lucy stepped into the scanner and raised her hands.
She grit her teeth. The cane helped her balance and eased the pressure on her left ankle until the nerves finished healing. She could walk without it—well, hobble would be more like it—but only with a lot of pain and effort. Better get used to it, she told herself as the machine whirled around her. She wouldn’t be using the cane forever—couldn’t if she wanted to pass her physical fitness assessment and return to full active duty.
The guard gestured for her to step free of the machine. “Stand here, please. Legs spread wide.”
Shit. The brace. Overtop her left sock she wore a plastic ankle-foot-orthotic brace or AFO that kept her toes from dragging on the ground. She winced as the guard patted down her leg. “That’s an ankle brace prescribed by my physician. I was injured in the line of duty two months ago.”
He didn’t look up as he rolled her pants leg high enough to examine the form-fitting plastic and its Velcro straps. Finally he nodded and stood. “This way, ma’am.”
Lucy collected her belongings and followed the guard onto the elevators. To her surprise he hit the button for the top floor.
“No, ma’am,” the guard said when she reached to hit the correct button.
“My instructions are to escort you directly to Administration.”
Admin? That usually meant a summons from the Special Agent in Charge. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spoken to Markel—but he had sent flowers while she was in the hospital. Or his secretary had. Shit, she probably was supposed to send a thank you note or something. She sucked at office politics.
As they rode in silence, an impulse to jab the button for the floor where her team and office were instead of riding to the top made her smile. What would the earnest guard do? Shoot her?
She’d like to see him try. Probably he’d just shout, “Ma’am, stop, ma’am.”
Well, she was losing her patience with all the damn ma’am-ing and searching and escorting as if she were a civilian.
The doors slid open and Lucy strode out, ignoring the guard she left in her wake. He hurried to pass her and lead the way—not difficult given her slower pace with the cane—but she felt a smug ray of satisfaction warm her from the inside out. Petty, she knew, but she’d take any opportunity to feel back in control.
They reached the Special Agent in Charge’s suite, but her escort led her past it to the Assistant Special Agent in Charge, John Greally’s office. John was a friend. They’d partnered in the field when Lucy was still in training, and their daughters went to school together. What was going on? He never asked her to come up to his office; John preferred a more casual and hands-on approach to supervising—something Lucy herself tried to emulate. If he had something to say, he would have come to her, not the other way around.
Lucy glanced at the secretary sitting at the desk, guarding the ASAC’s door. She was someone new; Lucy didn’t recognize her. No answers there.
“They’re waiting,” the secretary said, nodding to the door behind her.
They? Lucy wondered. The guard stood aside, allowing Lucy room to enter alone.
It always disoriented her when she entered Greally’s office because the space was the antithesis of the man. The office was Spartan, no clutter, not even a calendar in sight. Just a large, modern-style desk with a sophisticated computer set up and a single photo of his family. Two not-so-comfortable appearing chairs waited in front of the desk. The obligatory photos of the president, Attorney General, and Director lined the walls.
Typical generic administration office. No signs of Greally’s personality. The father who cheered and whistled at his daughter’s school plays. The boss who came down to gossip with Lucy’s squad and steal coffee from her private stash.
Or the friend who’d brought his work with him to the hospital so Nick could spend a few hours home with Megan.
This was the office of an Assistant Special Agent in Charge, an administrator. Not the real John Greally.
Who at the moment was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a woman hovered in the back corner, staring out the window with its view of the Steeler’s practice field. “Do you know when Greally will be back?” Lucy asked her.
The woman glanced over her shoulder at Lucy. Seemed especially interested in her cane. She twisted her mouth and slowly turned to face Lucy. “He’ll be joining us shortly, Special Agent Guardino.”
Most folks around here called her Lucy. She preferred it that way. “I’m sorry, have we met?”
“No,” the woman, a blond in her thirties said, clipping the syllable short.
“But we’ve spoken on the phone and you’ve ignored several appointments I scheduled.”
Right. Who could forget a voice more irritating than pepper spray? “Ah…Ms. Carroll from Employee Assistance. I explained over the phone that I won’t be requiring your services. I’m returning to duty. Before my sixty days of medical leave is up—as you can see.”
Because of the hazardous nature of the job, the FBI provided excellent health and disability benefits. Benefits Lucy was determined not to make further use of. It might take her a while to get back to full active duty, but she was determined to get there, right back where she was, leading her team from the front lines, just as she had fifty-nine days ago.
Carroll’s smirk made Lucy itch to look over her shoulder, check her back for an ambush.
Lucy went on the offensive. “I brought my doctor’s release for limited duty, my range qualification on both my service weapons, passed my psych eval, and a drug test showing that I’ve been off all narcotics for weeks.” Nineteen days to be exact. Her doctor told her it was too soon, but she was afraid that once she was placed on disability, it would be far too easy for administrative busybodies like Carroll to bench her with a medical pension rather than accommodate her return to modified duty.
She pulled the file from her bag and offered it to Carroll.
“I’m afraid none of that matters, Agent Guardino,” Carroll said, making no move to accept the paperwork. “If you’d bothered to consult with me—”
“All due respect, Ms. Carroll, but this has nothing to do with you. I’ve been cleared for modified duty. All that’s left is for me to speak with my supervisor about my squad’s open cases.” The administrator might be queen bee of her little cubicle hive, but Lucy had faced down serial killers, a vicious drug cartel, and even a psychotic bomber holding a hospital hostage. She turned the full weight of her glare onto the Employee Assistance functionary. Carroll looked away first.
Before Lucy could savor her victory, minor as it might be, the side door opened and Greally rushed in. “Lucy, you’re here,” he exclaimed, folding her into a bear hug. “Security screwed up, they were supposed to have your pass waiting.” He handed her a new badge. Then he spotted Carroll standing behind his desk and his demeanor shifted from friend back to boss. “Why don’t you both take a seat? And I gather these are for me?”
He slid the file from Lucy’s hand and moved around behind his desk, displacing Carroll. She approached the chair but waited for Lucy to sit down first. Greally also sat, putting him and Lucy on an even level, but Carroll remained standing. Not hard to read the nonverbal power play there. Lucy shared a half-smile with Greally and was relieved when he returned it, obviously thinking the same thing.
“Did you go over Lucy’s options with her?” he asked Carroll.
“Option. Singular. At least according to the new personnel directives.” Carroll crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m afraid Supervisory Special Agent Guardino wasn’t very receptive.”
“You’re talking about me walking out with a medical pension. Quitting. For good. Of course I’m not receptive.”
Carroll stared down at Lucy. Lucy kept her focus on Greally. He broke the silence, clearing his throat. “Ms. Carroll, give us the room, if you please.”
Carroll sniffed, nodded, and walked out, back stiff, heels thudding against the institutional carpet. She didn’t quite slam the door behind her, but it definitely closed with a pissed-off exclamation mark.
“Sorry to have wasted her time,” Lucy said, edging forward in her seat. “I’ll go catch up with my team and their open cases.”
“I wish it were that simple,” Greally said, his expression turning serious. “A lot has happened since you left,” he began. “With the new director in DC and his mandate to turn the Bureau into the world’s best counterterrorism investigative organization—”
She’d seen the new director’s press conferences on CNN. Typical DC political posturing. “We’re already devoting ninety percent of our manpower and resources to counterterrorism. And Homeland Security Investigations was created to cover that territory, so why the pissing match? Ask me, we should be headed back to the reason why we were created in the first place: fighting crime.” Whoops. She hadn’t really meant to say that aloud. Two months off work and her diplomatic skills were rusty. Didn’t matter; Greally had heard it all from her before.
Then the meaning behind his words sank in. Greally had warned her weeks ago that with a new Director came changes, but she’d never dreamed…She swallowed against the metallic taste that filled her mouth.
“My team?”
“The Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement squads were experimental to start with,” he reminded her. “The new director is dissolving the program.”
“That’s ridiculous. Our unit alone has cleared over three hundred cases.”
“The director is giving ICE control of the online child pornography mandate since they already have the Innocent Images program. They’ll continue to coordinate with local law enforcement and the non-government organizations in the coalition you created.”
Just like that. The team, their entire reason for being—gone. Vanished in a political Ping-Pong game.
“My people? Walden? Taylor?”
Greally kept his face neutral—obviously this wasn’t the first of these kinds of conversations he’d had recently. But damn it, this was her team they were talking about.
“Reassigned. Taylor went back to computer crimes two weeks ago—the SAC felt he was much too valuable to be in the field.” Never mind that Taylor had originally left his job as an analyst with the High Tech Computer Crimes squad to endure the rigors of the FBI Academy because his dream was to be a Special Agent in the field.
Greally continued. “Come Monday, Walden will report to the bank robbery desk.” Because the FDIC insured most bank deposits, the FBI was required to be involved in bank robberies, but local law enforcement usually handled all the heavy lifting, so it was more a question of shuffling files than real investigation.
“Did he choose that or did you?” she asked, not bothering to filter the bitterness from her tone.
He jerked his chin up at that, accepting her challenge. “He did. He only has three years before he has his thirty in, said it was easy time.”
“That doesn’t sound like the Walden I know.” Except…it kind of did. Walden had been working crimes against children longer than any of them. The kind of cases that tended to consume most investigators, burn them out fast.
“I didn’t tell you earlier because, up until this morning, I was still fighting to keep you on board as a task force coordinator or the like. Even the SAC tried, but Washington isn’t buying it.”
Lucy’s chin sunk to her chest. The past two months only two things had kept her going: the fact that her family was safe and she had her job to return to. Without her job, what was she?
She knew the question was cliché, but that didn’t help her find an answer.
Greally stood and came around the desk to take the chair beside her. Back to being her friend instead of her boss. “Look, I know this isn’t easy. Believe me, your squad isn’t the only one being overhauled. We’ve been mandated to cut eight percent of our workforce. But you have options, Lucy.”
He glanced at the folder on his desk. “You can take a medical pension. I’ve read the reports. The doctors hold out very little hope that you’ll ever return to full active duty.”
“I’ve the right to a modified duty assignment.” They both knew it wasn’t about her rights.
This was about her family. Every few years she’d had to uproot her family, move to a new city, a new position. The one thing she hated about the paramilitary organization that was the FBI. Being promoted to lead the SAFE squad was supposed to end that.
Only she hadn’t counted on what had happened two months ago or on the political upheaval that came with a new director.
“There’s so much more you could be doing outside the Bureau,” he said.
Lucy shook off the idea of leaving the Bureau. “No. What are my choices if I decide to stay?”
He frowned. “Not many if you’re restricted from the field. Maybe reviewing complaints for Employee Assistance—”
She scoffed at that. “You mean working for Carroll? No way. There’s got to be something else.”
“Not unless you’d consider moving. Maybe back to Quantico?”
“No. We can’t. Megan—” Lucy couldn’t leave Pittsburgh. Not after Nick had worked so hard to build his psychology practice. He couldn’t abandon his patients. And Megan. Lucy didn’t understand why, but Megan wouldn’t even consider moving out of their house after Lucy’s mom had been killed there. Lucy couldn’t upset what little stability and security Megan had, not now.
He frowned. “Then OPR. They’re always looking.”
OPR. Office of Professional Responsibility. The Bureau’s equivalent of Internal Affairs—policing their own.
“I’m not sure they’d consider you,” he continued. “You haven’t exactly made many friends over there these past few years.”
Especially not two months ago. When she’d been forced to betray the FBI in order to save her family.
“Would you have done anything different, John?” she asked. “If it’d been Natalie and Kate they threatened?”
He glanced at his desk and the photo of his family. Shook his head. “I don’t think anyone faults you for what you did, Lucy. But that doesn’t make it the right thing, either. At least not in the mind of the Bureau.”
One thing the Bureau hated: contradiction. Like an agent being forced to choose between the job and her family’s lives. Doing the right thing didn’t always mean following regulations.
“When do you need to know?” she asked, masking her exhaustion. And her day hadn’t even started yet.
“Take the weekend.”
She planted her cane and heaved her weight up out of the seat—sitting felt good but getting up always hurt like a sonofabitch.
Greally stood as well. “Lucy, I’ve been fighting like hell to make this all go away, wanted you to come back, and everything would be just the way it was.”
Her body felt heavy, reluctant to move. To leave the one place she’d felt most at home, to leave the people she considered family, to leave the job she loved and felt was her destiny.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
She nodded and shuffled out the door, wondering if she’d ever find her way back again.
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Romance, Medical Suspense
Website: CJ Lyons Thrillers with Heart
Author's Blog: Thrillers with Heart
Twitter: @cjlyonswriter
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Author Description: New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of twenty-nine novels, former pediatric ER doctor CJ Lyons has lived the life she writes about in her cutting edge Thrillers with Heart.
Two time winner of the International Thriller Writers’ coveted Thriller Award, CJ has been called a "master within the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) and her work has been praised as "breathtakingly fast-paced" and "riveting" (Publishers Weekly) with "characters with beating hearts and three dimensions" (Newsday).
Author's Book List
BAD BREAK
- A Lucy Guardino Novella -Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers Book 6FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino is ready for a well-deserved break from chasing the worst of the worst. She’s hunted serial killers, violent child predators, and vicious psychopaths but nothing has prepared her for spring break alone with her teenaged daughter in a secluded beach resort in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.
When Megan befriends a local boy who is accused of a brutal crime, it’s up to Lucy to soothe the ruffled egos of the well intentioned but ill equipped local police, prevent Megan from playing amateur sleuth, and track a cunning killer before Megan or her friend become the next victim.
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Watched
Jesse is terrified. For four years, a twisted hacker named King has hijacked his computer webcam, collecting incriminating photos and videos he uses to blackmail Jesse. So far, Jesse's given into King's ruthless demands in order to protect his family. But now King wants something that's too horrible to contemplate—and if he doesn't get it, he'll kill Jesse's little sister.
Jesse is trapped. King's always watching. There is no escape.
Then hope arrives in a plain manila envelope. Inside is a cell phone and a note: I can help.
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Audible
Fight Dirty
- Renegade Justice NovelsRaised to kill by her father, a convicted serial killer, Morgan’s problems aren’t those of the average teen. She wants only one thing: to protect her freedom and not get locked away. So, despite ongoing temptation and a bloody past, Morgan swears off murder.
Seeking to tame her sociopathic instincts, Morgan cons her way into working with security consultants Jenna Galloway and Andre Stone. For their first case, Morgan goes undercover to infiltrate ReNew, a treatment center for troubled teens, to investigate the suicide of a fourteen-year-old girl sent there by her wealthy parents.
While Jenna and Andre search for evidence from the outside, Morgan endures her own worst nightmare posing as an inmate. It isn’t long before she discovers that ReNew’s unstable patients are the ones who are really in charge—and that some of their psychopathic tendencies rival her own.
Even if Morgan can discover the truth behind the girl’s death and escape ReNew alive, what—or who—might be waiting for her on the outside?
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Blood Stained
- A Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers, Book #2Now Lucy's back and she's facing the fight of her life:
Just your average Pittsburgh soccer mom, baking brownies and carrying a loaded forty-caliber Glock...
Until recently Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino was a shining star in the FBI's roster. But after killing a man and disobeying orders, Lucy's been sidelined, chained to her desk. When a mysterious letter arrives hinting that, thanks to Lucy, the wrong man was blamed for a string of serial rapes, kidnappings, and killings four years ago, Lucy jumps at the chance to re-open the case--despite orders to leave well enough alone.
Her unofficial investigation takes her back to the small town that thrust her into the spotlight four years ago when she saved the killer's last victims--before the killer took his own life and the life of one final victim, a mother who left a ten year old son and loving husband behind.
What Lucy doesn't know is that what happened four years ago was all a lie, fueled by sacrifice and betrayal, designed to shield the real killer.
With the lives of her family, a group of innocent children, and the future of one desperate boy at risk, Lucy races to stop an innocent from killing and a killer from butchering more innocents.
#1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child has called CJ's work "Everything a great thriller should be--action packed, authentic, and intense."
"Not for the faint-hearted! Fast-paced, with characters you can feel for and like, Snakeskin is part crime fiction, part thriller with a strong female protagonist." ~MysteryThriller.tv
4 1/2 Stars: "Combine Dirty Harry with a loving wife and mother and you might end up with Lucy Guardino. You won't be able to put this one down." ~RT Book Reviews
Book Trailer: Blood Stained
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After Shock
- A Novella - Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers Book 4As head of the FBI’s Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement Squad, Agent Lucy Guardino has made a name for herself bringing the lowest of lowlifes to justice. Rapists, serial killers, pedophiles—she’s faced them all down with her signature grit and determination.
But today is different. Because the man who has taken her prisoner has promised Lucy three things: that before this day is over, she will be dead; that someone in her family will also die; and that he always wins.
Trapped inside her worst nightmare, Lucy faces a ruthless killer as he plays Russian roulette with the lives of those she loves. Wounded and unarmed, how can Lucy defeat a psychopath who doesn’t play by any rules?
After Shock is a heart-pounding, lightning-paced thrill ride that will leave readers breathless as they root for the ultimate superheroine next door.
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It’s the one mystery Supervisory Special Agent Caitlyn Tierney has never solved: her father’s unexplained suicide after arresting his best friend for murder. It drove Caitlyn to become one of the FBI’s best agents—and often the most unorthodox.
Her latest case is no exception when the man she holds responsible for her father's death asks for help in finding his missing daughter. Caitlyn’s search brings her back to her North Carolina hometown, now vibrant with new money, old lies, and an unknown enemy who will do anything to keep Caitlyn from the learning the truth—and who will kill to keep it buried…
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Sarah Durandt knows the killer is dead. She watched him die from a lethal injection in the execution chamber. But Sarah finds little comfort in knowing that the deranged psychopath who murdered her husband and son will never kill again. Since he never revealed the location of their bodies, she never found a sense of closure. So now, Sarah has decided to return to her home in the Adirondacks, to search for whatever remains of her loved ones. An unmarked grave. An article of clothing. Anything to make this terrible dream seem real. But what Sarah uncovers is far more unnerving—and much too horrifying—to even consider…
Maybe they executed the wrong man. Maybe the killer is still out there.
Maybe, for Sarah, the nightmare is just beginning.
Sarah has just witnessed the execution of the man who confessed to killing her husband and son, among others. She leaves with no closure as the killer has refused her repeated requests to reveal the site of her family's graves. Sarah returns home to her small town of Hopewell in the Adirondacks Mountains and vows to search until she finds Sam and Josh.
Her hunt leads her to a trail of lies and unearths a new killer. In a race to save everything she holds dear, Sarah is forced to place her faith in the man who betrayed her…her husband
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Kill Zone
- A Lucy Guardino FBI ThrillerBreaking News: KILL ZONE has been selected as one of Suspense Magazine's Best of 2012 Books!
WARNING: the Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers are NOT for the faint of heart! They depict adult situations, realistic violence with consequences, and delve deep into the darkness of the human heart and mind.
Lucy's back! In a story ripped from the headlines, the violence is the worst she's ever seen, the stakes are higher than ever, and then...things get personal.
It's a vicious, horrific crime: the brutal killing of a teenaged girl. When Pittsburgh detectives call FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino to the scene, their focus is on who and why?
Was it the girl's Afghan father striving to regain his honor after she became too Westernized? Her Jewish boyfriend? Someone from Afghanistan settling an old grudge? Or one of the many drug cartels the father helped the DEA bring down seeking revenge?
Former Marine Sergeant Andre Stone has been home a month, but he has yet to leave the safe haven of his grandmother's house--other than to go to his appointments at the VA's burn clinic. Andre's disfiguring physical scars are the least of his worries. The emotional wounds of seeing his men massacred in a DEA raid gone horribly wrong have left him a walking dead man, numb to anything.
All he can think about is revenge. On Rashid Raziq, the man behind the raid. When Andre is offered a chance at vengeance, the only question left is: How far will he go to get it?
The answers seem clear when Pittsburgh becomes engulfed in flames as a violent narcoterrorist turns the city into a kill zone...But in the dark of night, surrounded by men intent on destroying the truth, Lucy and Andre both learn that secrets hide in shadows.
Book Trailer: Kill Zone
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Kill Zone
- Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers, Book #3Breaking News: KILL ZONE has been selected as one of Suspense Magazine's Best of 2012 Books!
WARNING: the Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers are NOT for the faint of heart! They depict adult situations, realistic violence with consequences, and delve deep into the darkness of the human heart and mind.
Lucy's back! In a story ripped from the headlines, the violence is the worst she's ever seen, the stakes are higher than ever, and then...things get personal.
It's a vicious, horrific crime: the brutal killing of a teenaged girl. When Pittsburgh detectives call FBI Supervisory Special Agent Lucy Guardino to the scene, their focus is on who and why?
Was it the girl's Afghan father striving to regain his honor after she became too Westernized? Her Jewish boyfriend? Someone from Afghanistan settling an old grudge? Or one of the many drug cartels the father helped the DEA bring down seeking revenge?
Former Marine Sergeant Andre Stone has been home a month, but he has yet to leave the safe haven of his grandmother's house--other than to go to his appointments at the VA's burn clinic. Andre's disfiguring physical scars are the least of his worries. The emotional wounds of seeing his men massacred in a DEA raid gone horribly wrong have left him a walking dead man, numb to anything.
All he can think about is revenge. On Rashid Raziq, the man behind the raid. When Andre is offered a chance at vengeance, the only question left is: How far will he go to get it?
The answers seem clear when Pittsburgh becomes engulfed in flames as a violent narcoterrorist turns the city into a kill zone...But in the dark of night, surrounded by men intent on destroying the truth, Lucy and Andre both learn that secrets hide in shadows.
Book Trailer: Kill Zone
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Borrowed Time
New York Times Bestseller CJ Lyons has been praised as a "master of the genre" (Pittsburgh Magazine) for her "breathtakingly fast-paced" (Publishers Weekly) romantic medical thrillers.
Pittsburgh Police Officer Kate O'Hern is on the trail of a killer targeting cops. Only problem, he's already killed her once...
Trauma surgeon Joshua Lightner saved Kate's life, only to have her awaken suffering from an unexpected side effect: visions of other people's deaths. As a doctor, he refuses to believe in "psychic mumbo-jumbo" but as a man, he can't deny his feelings for Kate.
When the killer targets them both, are they living on BORROWED TIME?
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Lost in Shadows
- Shadow Ops, Book #2Following a group of covert operatives, men and women who risk their lives to protect our country--but are they ready to risk their hearts?
A West Virginia mountain, the middle of a blizzard, killers on his trail...no place for a city boy like Lucky Cavanaugh, an ATF explosives specialist. Out-manned, out-gunned and shot, he takes Forest Service Wildlife Biologist Vinnie Ryan hostage until he convinces her that he's one of the good guys.
Vinnie heals not only his injuries but also his broken heart. But when they uncover a terrorist plot, Lucky is forced to choose between duty and passion, risking the life of the woman he loves in order to save the lives of thousands.
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Chasing Shadows
- Shadow Ops Book #1Following a group of covert operatives, men and women who risk their lives to protect our country--but are they ready to risk their hearts?
Going undercover, playing the part of a disgraced former Marine, is easy for Chase Westin--until a Christmas Eve mission takes him back to his hometown and face to face with his estranged brother.
When KC, an undercover FBI agent, flies into Chase's life with her Doc Martens, purple, punk-rock hair, and Hollywood-hype leather and chains, Chase realizes that falling in love is more dangerous than catching bullets.
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Face to Face
- Hart and Drake, Book #3Now, see what happens when they lose it all...
Drake hunts a stalker with deadly intentions. Hart fights for justice for one special victim while also fending off her ex and his family as they try to destroy everything she holds dear.
Neither realizes the real danger lies with an old enemy whose fury has grown and will not be satisfied with anything less than Hart and Drake's blood.
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Sleight of Hand
- Hart and Drake, Book #2Warning: the Hart and Drake thrillers contain explicit sex and scenes of graphic violence. For mature audiences only.
"There's an oath doctors take," Detective Mickey Drake said.
"Primum non nocere," the shrink supplied. "First do no harm."
Two months ago Dr. Cassandra Hart was forced to kill a man. The man who murdered her best friend, almost killed Drake and seriously wounded her. Now she's back at work in her Pittsburgh ER, but nothing seems the same.
When she fears that a young boy is being abused by his "perfect" mother, her friends and colleagues worry that she's returned to work too soon, imagining dangers that don't exist. Others accuse her of trying to cover up her own alleged mistakes in the boy's treatment by making a false report of abuse.
Drake's facing problems of his own, trying to cope with the aftermath of the night two months ago when his passion for Cassie led to a confrontation with a killer. He's on desk duty, reviewing cold cases, and delves into the homicide case that killed his father seven years ago. But after so long, what good can he do, a cop without a gun?
The stakes escalate when Cassie is almost killed and Drake finds evidence that the killer his father was tracking might be planning to strike again--this time targeting a young boy.
With the lives of two children at stake, how can they walk away?
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Snake Skin
- Lucy Guardino FBI Thrillers, Book #1Just your average Pittsburgh soccer mom, baking brownies and carrying a loaded forty-caliber Glock...
Lucille Teresa Guardino. A woman of many identities. Lucille to her doting mother, Lulu to her devoted husband, Mom to her pre-teen daughter, Lucy to her friends, LT to her co-workers, and Supervisory Special Agent Guardino to the criminals she captures for the FBI's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement squad.
A loving mom and wife, dutiful daughter, consummate professional, and kick-ass federal agent, Lucy is living the perfect life.
Until the day she comes up against a predator more vicious and cunning than any she's ever tackled before, one who forces Lucy to choose between the life of the young victim she is fighting to save and her own daughter's….and Lucy's dream life is shattered.
Book Trailer: Snake Skin
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Nerves of Steel - Hart and Drake, Book #1
Dr. Cassandra Hart is fighting a war. And losing. A deadly drug epidemic, a killer stalking her hospital...meet the ER doctor who never gives up.
Cassie's Pittsburgh ER has been deluged by young patients who have overdosed on a new drug, FX. After Cassie discovers that the source of the FX on the streets is her own hospital, her best friend is killed, and Cassie's life is threatened. She is forced to place her trust in Detective Mickey Drake.
Drake's irascible charm eventually penetrates the barriers Cassie has built around herself, and their relationship progresses from professional to passionate. After Cassie discovers the truth behind the thefts, she and Drake must confront a killer. In the end, their only weapons are their new-found love and the courage it gives them.
Written by a pediatric ER physician, NERVES OF STEEL combines gritty realism with the adrenalin rush of the ER. New York Times Bestseller CJ Lyons uses her insider's knowledge of life behind the scenes to reveal the hidden truth of the medical world: No one is immune to danger.
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Write Your Novel!
- Tips from a NYT BestsellerI'm CJ Lyons. And I'm a writer....
If you also need a twelve-step program to stop writing, then you've come to the right place.
I don't like rules. I don't like people telling me what to do. I don't like complex formulas or graphs or charts that I have to consult because that's the "right way" to create a compelling story.
So I've taken everything I've learned about the essence of good storytelling and I've distilled it all into a few simple concepts. Things so easy that by the time you've finished this book and practiced using these techniques, you'll be able to not only craft a great story but also to complete your novel.
In fact, by the end, you'll be saying: Wow! This is so easy, it makes so much sense! I can use this every day I write...
No Rules, Just WRITE! Table of Contents:
* INTRODUCTION
* Lesson 1: Three Secrets
* Lesson 2: What is story?
* Teaching Point: Emotion as a Guide
* Lesson 3: Theme, the Intersection of Plot and Character
* TEACHING POINT: Theme in the Real World
* Lesson 4: Reversals and Pinch Points
* TEACHING POINT: Promise of the Premise
* Lesson 5:Ancient Secrets of Storytelling
* TEACHING POINT: Attitude Says it All
* Lesson 6:The Hero's Journey
* TEACHING POINT: Crucible Stories
* Lesson 7: Putting it all together
* TEACHING POINT:The Middle Road
* Lesson 8: Building 3-D Characters
* TEACHING POINT: Know your characters
* Lesson 9: WORLD BUILDING
* Lesson 10:Block Busting
* TEACHING POINT: Know your audience
* CONCLUSION
* RESOURCES
There's also a companion workbook available on NoRulesJustWrite.com
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Author Recommended by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner
Mystery Reader’s Circle
Check out the index of other Spotlight authors. Spotlight Index.
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