It’s one of the inevitable elements of a mystery novel: The hero or heroine gets drawn into a predicament or runs into an impasse before breaking free and solving the whodunit. In Cold Revenge, book 6 in the Megan Scott/Michael Elliott Mystery series, my main characters encounter one of their most critical challenges yet. Here’s a brief look.
Crime reporter Michael Elliott’s world is turned upside down when he discovers that Megan Scott, the love of his life and frequent investigative partner, has vanished without a trace. He links her disappearance to the mysterious, one-word text messages he’s been receiving: vengeance. Convinced that an old nemesis is out for revenge and that Megan has been kidnapped, he digs up potential suspects who might be connected and passes their names along to the police detective working the case.
Since the first days are crucial to finding a lead, Michael begins his own search for Megan. He struggles to put aside his emotions, knowing that he has to approach her kidnapping in a logical and detached manner if he expects to find her in time. He narrows his focus and follows his best leads, which is almost impossible to do when the tentacles of his suspects are far-reaching—even from their prison cells.
Narrated from the alternating viewpoints of Megan and Michael, the story offers readers a lens into the thoughts and actions of these main characters as the horrifying dilemma unfolds. With time running out, Michael tracks down viable leads and hopes that his investigative instincts continue to serve him well. Given his undeniable love for Megan, he agonizes as he imagines a life without her should he fail. In the meantime, Megan fights her own battles. Her anguish is raw, her insights into her quandary are real, and her prospects of seeing Michael again are dim.
It was difficult to write my main characters into scenes that triggered their emotional and physical suffering. They are my creations, after all, and I want no harm to come to them. But Cold Revenge is a psychological suspense type of mystery, and to add credibility to the characters, setting, and plot, I raised the stakes.
As you read this book, and if you’ve read previous books in the series, you’ll recognize the vindictiveness of the suspects that Michael and Megan are potentially up against. I won’t say anything more about the perpetrator, but I do promise you’ll be on the edge of your seat once this formidable adversary surfaces!