My nineteenth novel is coming out in just a few short weeks. Nineteenth. I never dreamed I’d ever reach that number.
Hell Hath No Fury is the fifth in my Detective Honeywell series. Back when I had to come up with a proposal for the third, fourth, and fifth, I looked into my writerly crystal ball to give my publisher a paragraph summarizing the plots of each book. The third (The Devil Comes Calling) was no problem. The fourth (No Stone Left Unturned) drifted a little farther away as I put words on the page, but the basic premise clung to the proposed story.
But this one? Not even close. The change was partly because of research I did on what I’d intended to write. Or more specifically, where it was to be set. I had proposed transporting Matthias and Emma out of downtown Erie, to a nearby wooded gorge for a romantic get-away, only to have murder interrupt their plans.
A research trip revealed the location where the mystery was to take place was not the sprawling, secluded park I’d pictured. It was too small for anyone to realistically get hopelessly lost in. Nope, this wouldn’t work. I considered exploring the area further to find a better spot.
Before that happened, I finished writing No Stone Left Unturned, which ended with a bit of a cliffhanger, providing the perfect location for the next book, although the romantic getaway was off the table.
Hell Hath No Fury picks up where Stone leaves off. Matthias and Emma are summoned back to Emma’s former home in Washington County.
Washington County is where I live. The individual locations in the book are vague and mostly fictional, but the county is real. In fact, for those of you who have read my Zoe Chambers series, the fictional Monongahela County of Zoe’s world is based on Washington County. Not that I expect this tidbit to come up in any game of Trivial Pursuit, but there you have it.
No sooner do Matthias and Emma arrive, than they manage to stumble across a dead body—someone with whom Emma has just had a very public argument. Being off his home turf, Matthias is limited as to how much investigating he can “legally” do. Keyword: “legally.” Plus, he comes face to face with an old nemesis, who is now the lead detective on the case.
There’s a lot of history in this story. Not “history” as in historical fiction. History as in Matthias’s history with this investigator. Emma’s history with the victim, her sister, and a couple of her childhood friends. Their pasts are all coming back to bite them.
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I’m so eager for this one to be out in the
world. I just received an email notice that my author copies have been shipped!
Release Day is coming!
