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The Killer’s Wife, a thriller by Susan Furlong

Author Interview + Book & Author Info + Author Pet Corner + Giveaway!

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The Killer’s Wife

A serial killer, a woman on the run, and an obsessive parole officer tangle in a psychological net of death and secrets. . .

When a severed finger was found in her car four years ago, Kerry Grey was arrested as an accomplice to the brutal slayings of three young women. Unbeknownst to Kerry, her husband Lucas was not only missing, but a deranged serial killer. Finally out on parole, she is ready to start anew and reunite with her young son. However, when a vigilante group inflamed by fear and motivated by reward money sparks a fevered hunt for Lucas, the nightmares of her past return.

Only one person can help Kerry evade the hysteria of the media—her parole officer, Adam Nash. But can she trust him? Was his move to the backwoods town of Joy, Montana coincidental or does Nash have his own obsessive hidden agenda involving the Hatchet Killer mystery, her husband and sweet justice?

It is not long before Kerry’s new life turns dark when she discovers that Lucas has been secretly giving their son carvings made of bone. And when a freshly dismembered victim is uncovered in the forest, the law is after her once again. Left with nowhere else to run, Kerry escapes up a mountainous trail to find Lucas and, one way or another, put an end to the real-life nightmare.

In a final twist of lies and betrayal, Kerry finds Lucas and the truth that will change everything.

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Suspense
Published by: Seventh Street
Publication Date: July 2023
Number of Pages: 334
ISBN: 9781645060574 (ISBN10: 1645060578)

To purchase The Killer’s Wife, click any of the following links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | SimonAndSchuster.com

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Read an excerpt:

It’s Monday morning and still dark outside when I slip from bed and creep away from my sleeping wife to hide in the attic and watch, for the umpteenth time, my favorite episode of Strange Murders.

Lucas Yates, “the Hatchet Killer.” Three bloody murders, all in one summer. The year was 2014, and back then the story was a blip on my radar, news lost amidst bigger headlines: ISIS, Robin Williams’s suicide, the Ebola outbreak . . . a dreary year in the news, but I paid little attention to any of it. At twenty-two, I lived a self-absorbed life thousands of miles away in Chicago, on break from my college classes, partying, and hanging with Miranda, my then girlfriend, now wife. What did Lucas Yates and the women he murdered in Joy, Montana, have to do with me?

Nothing. Until the story became an episode on Strange Murders.

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Author Interview with Susan Furlong

The Killer’s Wife centers on a woman whose husband is a serial killer. What drew you to that topic to delve into?

 I’m a fan of true crime podcasts and am intrigued by crimes where a serial killer has eluded authorities and those around him for years. I always wonder how a killer keeps such horrendous acts a secret, especially from the one person who knows him best—his wife? It leaves so many questions unanswered. Did the wife know? Was she in denial about her husband’s crimes? What is the aftereffect of learning your husband is a serial killer? 

My character, Kerry, is struggling to answer all those questions after her husband has been accused of several brutal killings. Readers will be fascinated by her story as she struggles with the reality of her marriage and the challenges of becoming known as “the serial killer’s wife.” 

What would you like readers to know about her husband Lucas?

Lucas seemed like a normal, hardworking husband and father, until evidence was found linking him to several local murders.

He fled the area before he could be arrested, leaving his wife behind to face an accessory charge and prison time. Lucas has never been found, although he’s been spotted from time to time in the mountains around Joy, Montana. He’s become the subject of a popular true crime television series and the target of several vigilante groups, as well as his wife, Kerry, who claims that Lucas framed her.

The Killer’s Wife is set in Joy, Montana. Tell us about that location and why it was the perfect place to set your novel?

I spent a college summer working in northwest Montana and got to know the area well.

Joy is loosely based on the real-life town of Eureka, Montana, which is just south of the Canadian border, surrounded by mountains and the Kootenai forest. When I began plotting The Killer’s Wife, that area came to mind as the perfect spot for my serial killer to hide. 

You have several mystery/crime/suspense novels out. How has your writing style/process changed over the scope of your career?

This is a great question. I’m not sure if my style has changed so much, but I do tend to write across subgenres, from cozy to dark suspense and everything in between.

All my stories are based on crimes/mysteries, but some are more visceral than others, or perhaps more realistic. I mostly write the stories that come into my mind, and feel fortunate that my readers follow me into different subgenres. 

Tell us about the New York Times bestselling Novel Idea series, and your role in it:

The Novel Idea mysteries were conceived and developed by two authors, Sylvia May and Ellery Adams, writing under the pen name, Lucy Arlington.

They wrote the first three books in the series before other projects took them in different directions. At that point, I was offered a chance to write book four and five under the same pen name.

Learning other writers’ characters and replicating their writing style was a ton of work, but it turned out to be a way for me to get my foot in the door with the publisher. Eventually, I was able to get another series published under my own name.

What are you working on now?         

I’m currently promoting The Killer’s Wife. If you’ve enjoyed my previous work, please consider giving this book a try. It has a fun twist at the end! 

Words of Wisdom for Aspiring Writers:

Read a lot, write a lot, and submit a lot. Getting published is really about perseverance. 

Author Pet Corner

This is Iris.

Her favorite thing to do is cuddle, but she also loves staring out the window at birds and imagining that she’s a ferocious huntress stalking prey in the Serengeti.

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Susan Furlong, author of The Killer’s Wife

Susan Furlong is the author of several mysteries including the acclaimed Bone Gap Travellers series, and SHATTERED JUSTICE, a New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year.

She also contributes, under a penname, to the New York Times bestselling Novel Idea series.

Her latest novel is the THE KILLER’S WIFE. She resides in Illinois with her family.

To learn more about Susan, click on any of the following links: Website, Goodreads, BookBub, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

 

 

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Visit All the Stops on the Tour!

07/03 Review @ Guatemala Paula Loves to Read
07/03 Showcase @ Fredas Voice
07/03 Showcase @ The Book Divas Reads
07/04 Showcase @ 411 ON BOOKS, AUTHORS, AND PUBLISHING NEWS
07/06 Interview @ The Mystery of Writing
07/06 Showcase @ BOOK REVIEWS by LINDA MOORE
07/07 Review @ Book Reviews From an Avid Reader
07/10 Review @ Novels Alive
07/11 Showcase @ Books, Ramblings, and Tea
07/12 Review @ reviewsbyrudra
07/13 Showcase @ Silvers Reviews
07/14 Review @ Binge Reading Books
07/24 Review @ nanasbookreviews
07/26 Review @ Wall-to-wall Books
07/29 Review @ feliciaisbooked
07/30 Review @ Confessions of the Perfect Mom
07/31 Review @ elaine_sapp65
08/01 Review @ Catreader18
08/02 Review @ mokwip8991
08/04 Review @ Archaeolibrarian – I Dig Good Books!
08/04 Review @ Lynchburg Reads
08/07 Review @ mysteries. and. mayhem
08/08 Review @ fundinmental
08/09 Review @ readwithme702
08/10 Review @ amandainpa
08/10 Review @ Celticladys Reviews
08/11 Review @ Melissa As Blog
08/14 Review @ ashmanda. k

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