{"id":19483,"date":"2024-03-04T00:01:13","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T08:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.themysteryofwriting.com\/2024\/02\/13\/struck-dead-suspense-thriller-by-andrea-kane-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-03-01T15:06:42","modified_gmt":"2024-03-01T23:06:42","slug":"struck-dead-suspense-thriller-by-andrea-kane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.themysteryofwriting.com\/2024\/03\/04\/struck-dead-suspense-thriller-by-andrea-kane\/","title":{"rendered":"Struck Dead: A Thriller by Andrea Kane"},"content":{"rendered":"

Struck Dead<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/em>a thriller by Andrea Kane<\/p>\r\n

Guest Post + Excerpt + Book & Author Info + a Giveaway!<\/h2>\r\n

Don\u2019t miss any\u00a0blog tours, click the link here to read more<\/a>!<\/h3>\r\n
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Struck Dead<\/em><\/h2>\r\n

\"StruckThe fragile line between life and death\u2026 Families that will never be the same\u2026<\/h4>\r\n

When a tragic hit-and-run takes the life of a hardworking family man, multi-millionaire Christopher Hillington becomes the prime suspect, and the whole city of New York alights with speculation as to what happened.<\/p>\r\n

But before the NYPD can establish Hillington\u2019s guilt, he himself is brutally murdered in his own home. As he lays dying, he scrawls the name Casey Woods with his own blood, and the Forensic Instincts team is drawn into a complex mystery that has placed its president in the sights of a desperate killer.<\/p>\r\n

A millionaire\u2019s life is full of secrets and suspects. So as the baffled NYPD investigates Casey for the murder, and the body-count ratchets up, Casey herself becomes another potential victim. The FI team\u2019s hardcore investigation has them twisting and turning through suspects and secrets, where the stakes intensify\u2015and so does the collateral damage. As Casey and the team get closer to finding the killer, the unthinkable happens, and the life of one of FI\u2019s own hangs in the blood-stained balance.<\/p>\r\n

They say dead men tell no tales, but blood doesn\u2019t lie. Peeling back layer after layer of deception, the team will cross whatever lines are necessary to solve the case, get justice for the families, and make their team whole again \u2026 unless the relentless killer gets to them first.<\/p>\r\n

Book Details:<\/h3>\r\n

Genre:<\/b>\u00a0Suspense Thriller
Published by:<\/b>\u00a0Bonnie Meadow Publishing
Publication Date:<\/b>\u00a0March 2024
Number of Pages:<\/b>\u00a0384
ISBN:<\/b>\u00a09781682320631 (ISBN10: 1682320634)
Series:<\/b>\u00a0Forensic Instincts (#10)<\/p>\r\n

To purchase Struck Dead<\/em> click on any of the following links: Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Barnes & Noble<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0BookShop.org<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Goodreads<\/a><\/h3>\r\n
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Guest Post by Andrea Kane author of Struck Dead<\/em><\/h3>\r\n

Why I Can\u2019t Write a First Draft<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

I\u2019m often asked how long it takes me to write a first draft.\u00a0 The answer?\u00a0 I\u2019ve never written one.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics.\u00a0 Every author\u2019s writing process is different.\u00a0 Some write detailed outlines.\u00a0 Others let their muse carry them in the direction that feels right.\u00a0 Many set a daily word count for themselves, not stopping until they\u2019ve reached that magic number.\u00a0 And still others work on a time schedule, say, writing 6-8 hours a day.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

There\u2019s also the way they handle the flow of words.\u00a0 Again, every writer is different.\u00a0 Some just fly with their muse until it pauses for breath, others stop every so often to double-check what they\u2019ve created thus far.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Then there\u2019s me.\u00a0 I am totally obsessive in the way I write.\u00a0 Yes, I write outlines.\u00a0 Yes, I call on my muse (who doesn\u2019t always answer, at least not fast enough for me).\u00a0 And, yes, I write long hours each day.\u00a0 But that\u2019s where I go off in my own frenzied direction.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

For starters, I can\u2019t write without a title.\u00a0 The book must have a GOOD title, not a \u201cworking title\u201d, in order for me to get off the ground.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Next: my characters.\u00a0 I have to know them inside and out, like my best friends (or my worst enemies) before I can start Chapter 1.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\r\n

Third: I need a solid understanding of exactly what I hope to accomplish in at least the first third of the book.\u00a0 (Until the first third is well underway, I can\u2019t fully tackle the 2<\/span>nd<\/span> and 3<\/span>rd<\/span> sections, since there are too many moving parts and new obstacles that come up.)\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\r\n

And fourth (which is necessary to accomplish \u201cthird\u201d): I need to have several months of hard-core, in-place research done.\u00a0 Even though my research is ongoing throughout the book\u2019s creation, I have to be on solid ground in a multitude of knowledge bases before I so much as begin.\u00a0 I\u2019m an authenticity freak, and I try as hard as I can to bring the necessary realities and depths of realities to the pages of my book.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Finally, I\u2019ve accomplished all of the above.\u00a0 Now I\u2019m ready to tackle that terrifyingly blank Page 1.\u00a0 With it comes the truly obsessive part of Andrea Kane, author.\u00a0 I can\u2019t write without a killer of a first sentence.\u00a0 I can\u2019t write without editing along the way.\u00a0 Every day.\u00a0 Every chapter.\u00a0 I start each day by rereading (and editing) everything I wrote the day before so it flows the way I need it to.\u00a0 I re-familiarize myself with where my head, my characters, and my plot were when I said good-night.\u00a0 Then I go on from there\u2014but not in a continuous fashion.\u00a0 I stop, rewrite, stop, reword, stop, re-engineer, stop, review details or red herrings previously created that need to glide seamlessly into my current scene.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Are you exhausted yet?\u00a0 There\u2019s more.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Every 75 pages or so, I go back and read the book from the beginning, just to make sure the consistency is there and the evolution of character and plot feel natural.\u00a0 Tedious though that may sound, it\u2019s not only necessary to my process, it kick-starts my mind into visualizing just what\u2019s to come next and how it\u2019s going to play out.\u00a0 So I smooth out some earlier wrinkles, focus on the current chapter, and jot down a few new notes about the pages yet to come\u2014notes that, inevitably, skew my outline.\u00a0 That skewing happens a lot.\u00a0 My characters are very didactic, and often tell me I\u2019m heading down a road not of their choosing.\u00a0 And that means stop!\u00a0 Time to reassess in order to move on.\u00a0 Which I do, even if it means rethinking and rewriting yet again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

I could go on and tell you that, if I get stuck on a particular word that doesn\u2019t feel right and I know there\u2019s another word out there which would be perfect, but which I just can\u2019t wrap my mind around, I find it next to impossible to move on.\u00a0 I hate blank spaces, and my mind just won\u2019t let it go.\u00a0 So I drive myself crazy yet again.\u00a0 Yes, sometimes I do have to move on with a question mark in my wake, but I\u2019m not a happy camper, and it niggles at me until it\u2019s fixed.\u00a0 I could tell you that, plus a whole lot more, but I think I\u2019ll leave it here, lest you think I\u2019m truly a crazy writer (which I suppose most of us are).<\/span><\/p>\r\n

After 30+ years and 32 books, you\u2019d expect that I would have taken it down a notch.\u00a0 But, no such luck.\u00a0 I\u2019ve never truly written a first draft, and I doubt I ever will.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

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Read an excerpt from Struck Dead<\/em>:<\/h3>\r\n
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1<\/h3>\r\n

Offices of Forensic Instincts
Tribeca, New York
Main conference room
Monday, 9:40 a.m.<\/h3>\r\n

Casey Woods, the president of Forensic Instincts, stood at the head of the oval table, her jaw having dropped. She pressed her iPhone closer to her ear, and tried to reconcile herself, both to who the caller was, and the reason for her call.<\/p>\r\n

She certainly didn\u2019t sound like the Angela King that Casey knew. And why in the name of heaven was she reaching out to Casey, of all people?<\/p>\r\n

Angela repeated her original demand: \u201cI need you to meet me now\u2014as in drop everything and get over here.\u201d This time her voice was commanding but shaken.<\/p>\r\n

Shaken? Angela King?<\/p>\r\n

Casey\u2019s mind raced.<\/p>\r\n

Angela was a high-powered and aggressive criminal defense attorney at Harris, Porter, & Donnelly. A virtual barracuda. Rumor had it that she was next up to make partner. No surprise. She successfully defended the richest of the rich, from corporate executives, to wealthy entrepreneurs, to \u201cbusinessmen\u201d with rumored links to Organized Crime\u2014a fact she chose to overlook since they were affluent enough to pay her fees. She and Forensic Instincts were on opposite sides of law enforcement. They\u2019d battled it out more than once the criminals that FI had helped catch becoming the very criminals Angela would defend.<\/p>\r\n

Needless to say, the FI team and Angela weren\u2019t friends.<\/p>\r\n

And yet, here she was, calling Casey on an urgent, time-is-of-the-essence matter\u2014one she seemed incredibly high-strung about.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cCasey?\u201d Angela repeated. \u201cDid you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Casey lowered herself into a chair. \u201cI heard you. What is this about? And why me, of all people?\u201d<\/p>\r\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll see for yourself,\u201d Angela replied. She rattled off the address of a luxury skyscraper on Manhattan\u2019s Upper East Side. \u201cHurry. I\u2019m jeopardizing my career by waiting to call 9-1-1. I can\u2019t wait much longer. But you have to view the scene first and later provide me with some answers. No more questions. Just come. I have a key to the building\u2019s back door. I\u2019ll let you in. We\u2019ll use the freight elevator.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Casey\u2019s common sense was urging her to refuse. 9-1-1 meant a crime scene, and questions meant involving her. Both those things were screaming for her to stay away. She pushed aside that inner voice. She was too intrigued to refuse. \u201cI\u2019m on my way.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

She shrugged into her wool winter coat as she called John Nickels, Forensic Instincts\u2019 number one on their security team. Then, she blew out the front door, not waiting to fill the FI team in on where she was going. There was no time. Plus, they\u2019d only try to talk her out of it.<\/p>\r\n

Holiday decorations were glistening everywhere, and tiny snowflakes danced in the air.<\/p>\r\n

Casey didn\u2019t notice any of it.<\/p>\r\n

John pulled around a few minutes later, and Casey hopped into the car, gave him the address, and urged him to hurry.<\/p>\r\n

With a brief nod, John was on his way, navigating the FDR Drive in record time. He got Casey to her destination in thirteen minutes. He dropped her off around back, far from the doorman\u2019s view. Then, he waited to return her to the brownstone once her meeting was over, as per her instructions.<\/p>\r\n

Angela was pacing inside the building, and opened the door to let Casey in the moment she saw her. No matter how dire the occasion, Angela always looked stunning. An Armani cobalt blue pants suit that set off her dark skin, matching four-inch Louboutin heels, and long wavy black hair styled at the highest end salon. She carried herself like a queen. In short, she was a knock-out.<\/p>\r\n

Now she looked more rattled than Casey had ever seen her.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go,\u201d she said. She led the way to the freight elevator, where she and Casey rode up.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cTell me what\u2019s going on,\u201d Casey stated flatly.<\/p>\r\n

Angela didn\u2019t answer. She glanced at her Apple Watch, her gaze snapping up as the elevator stopped on the twenty-first floor.<\/p>\r\n

The doors slid open.<\/p>\r\n

Angela paused only long enough to ensure that Casey was right behind her. Then, she strode down the hall, made a turn, and halted in front of Apartment Twenty-One B. She unlocked the door, pulled Casey inside, and faced her to offer the first few words of an explanation.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cThis is the home of my client, Christopher Hillington. We had a nine-thirty AM meeting scheduled to be held here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Casey\u2019s brows rose. Christopher Hillington was a renowned and phenomenally wealthy managing director of the private equity firm YNE. He was also a major suspect in a vehicular homicide, and Casey knew through various news sources that he\u2019d been questioned several times by the NYPD and was on the verge of arrest.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cI see you know of him,\u201d Angela said. \u201cGiven the circumstances, I\u2019m not surprised.\u201d She gestured toward a breathtaking sunken living room. \u201cIn here.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

Casey bit back her question about what Angela had just said. She sensed she was about to get her answers. So she remained silent.<\/p>\r\n

The two women stepped down and Angela stood to a side and waited.<\/p>\r\n

Casey got the full view immediately.<\/p>\r\n

Christopher Hillington\u2019s body was crumpled on the Oriental carpet beside his desk, blood pooling out around him. His head was bashed in, clearly having been struck multiple times by a heavy object. The bloodied sledge hammer lying next to the body was obviously the murder weapon. Judging from the damage done, the killer had been, not only determined, but brutal.<\/p>\r\n

Casey eyeballed the scene, feeling sickened as well as confused. She was about to ask Angela what this horrific scene had to do with her when she spotted the letters, written in blood, on the lower edge of the desk, right beside Hillington\u2019s outstretched arm.<\/p>\r\n

She walked over, careful not to touch anything, squatted down, and squinted. The two words were completely legible, and they made Casey\u2019s blood run cold.<\/p>\r\n

Casey Woods.<\/p>\r\n

***<\/p>\r\n

Excerpt from\u00a0Struck Dead<\/i>\u00a0by Andrea Kane. Copyright 2024 by Andrea Kane. Reproduced with permission from Andrea Kane. All rights reserved.<\/p>\r\n<\/div>\r\n

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Andrea Kane \u2014 Author of Struck Dead<\/em><\/h2>\r\n
\"Struck<\/a>
Photographr Information
Stevenson\/Lupke
1924 Rittenhouse Square
Philadelphia, Pa 19103
215-627-3777
amandastudio@yahoo.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

Andrea Kane is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty-two novels, including eighteen psychological thrillers and fourteen historical romantic suspense titles. With her signature style, Kane creates unforgettable characters and confronts them with life-threatening danger. As a master of suspense, she weaves them into exciting, carefully-researched stories, pushing them to the edge\u2014and keeping her readers up all night.<\/p>\r\n

Kane\u2019s first contemporary suspense thriller,\u00a0Run for Your Life<\/em>, became an instant New York Times bestseller.
She followed with a string of bestselling psychological thrillers including\u00a0No Way Out<\/em>,\u00a0Twisted<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Drawn in Blood<\/em>.
Her latest in the highly successful Forensic Instincts series,\u00a0Struck Dead<\/em>, showcases the dynamic, eclectic team of investigators as they hunt down a desperate killer who\u2019s threatened one of their own.<\/p>\r\n

The first showcase of Forensic Instincts\u2019 talents came with the New York Times bestseller,\u00a0The Girl Who Disappeared Twice<\/em>, followed by\u00a0The Line Between Here and Gone<\/em>,\u00a0The Stranger You Know<\/em>,\u00a0The Silence That Speaks<\/em>,\u00a0The Murder That Never Was<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0A Face To Die For<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0Dead In A Week<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0No Stone Unturned<\/em><\/a>,\u00a0At Any Cost<\/em><\/a>, and\u00a0Struck Dead<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Kane\u2019s beloved historical romantic suspense novels include\u00a0My Heart\u2019s Desire<\/em>,\u00a0Samantha<\/em>,\u00a0Echoes in the Mist<\/em>, and\u00a0Wishes in the Wind<\/em>.
With a worldwide following of passionate readers, her books have been published in more than twenty languages. Kane lives in New Jersey with her family. She\u2019s an avid crossword puzzle solver and a diehard Yankees fan. Author Hometown \u2013 Warren, New Jersey<\/p>\r\n

To learn more about Andrea, click on any of the following links.: Website<\/a>, Goodreads<\/a>, BookBub,<\/a> Instagram<\/a>, Twitter\/X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>.\u00a0<\/h3>\r\n
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