An Interview with Krista Davis by E. B. Davis

  

Old Town Virginia’s entertaining guru and occasional sleuth Sophie Winston – a young Martha Stewart in the making – juggles Fourth of July fireworks, a houseful of guests, and homicide in the latest Domestic Diva culinary mystery from New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis.

With a big crowd descending on her Northern Virginia home, it’s a good thing event planner Sophie Winston is an expert at entertaining. Whipping up patriotic pastries is as easy as pie for her, though meeting the man her widowed Aunt Melly just impulsively married in Las Vegas is a little more awkward. Especially when Melly’s longtime, now-heartbroken secret admirer is there too, which could lead to some fireworks.

But the house party really gets explosive when Sophie’s favorite tour guide falls victim to a killer—and evidence points to Sophie’s own father. Will DNA really incriminate her dad? And what’s the real story with her new uncle-by-marriage and the mysterious pal he’s brought along with him? Some of the secrets Sophie’s discovering are raising flags—and while the police department casts suspicion on her father, she has to declare her independence as a detective to find the real culprit, and serve justice along with her red, white, and blue cupcakes . . .

Amazon.com

 

Krista Davis’s Domestic Diva mystery series never gets old for me. It’s more like coming home to friends and family. The Diva Hosts a Murderer is the nineteenth book in the series and was released yesterday. The story takes place over the Fourth of July in Old Town Alexandria. I was glad for the heat given off in the book since it’s been a cold spring, and it made me long for the warmer days of summer, soon to come, but not soon enough!

 

Second-chance romances versus the single life seem to be a topic that Krista explores for the middle and older characters in this book. It’s an interesting topic with no one answer as the characters find. And there are a lot of characters because Sophie is hosting her family: mother, father, sister, plus an aunt with her newly-wed husband and his friend, along with two men from Sophie’s hometown of Berryville, VA, where her family still lives. With that crowd, even a domestic diva can find being the perfect hostess problematic.

 

Please welcome Krista Davis back to WWK!                      E. B. Davis

When I started to read, I thought this was the first book in which you showed Sophie’s family. But over the years/books, you must have brought them into the story. Did you?

They were in the first two books and then occasionally showed up in holiday books.

 

Does Hannah, Sophie’s sister, still live with her parents in Berryville?

 

Hannah has been living in Berryville but not with her parents. She’s been in transition, spending a lot of time in Old Town, but not with Sophie!

 

Is Sophie being nosy by wanting Hannah to account for her whereabouts in the wee hours of the morning or is she just being an older sister?

 

Sophie lets her sister be an adult and do her own thing. But when someone comes home closer to the crack of dawn, and the bars closed at 2AM, it’s natural to wonder where she has been.

 

Sophie and Hannah don’t seem to have much in common. Is Sophie the extrovert and Hanna the introvert?

 

They just have different interests. Sophie loves entertaining, after all, she’s a professional event planner. But Hannah is a computer whiz.

 

Nina’s pathologist husband is usually off testifying somewhere. Although he doesn’t stay for long, he does make an appearance. Has he been in other books before?

 

He makes his sole appearance in this book! After all, it’s a holiday so he’s finally home for a few days.

 

Why does Officer Wong dismiss Sophie’s older neighbor Dollie’s account of seeing a dead man in her house?

 

Dollie has a record of calling the police to report sounds like creaking floors and footsteps in the night. But there’s never anyone there and no sign of a break-in, so the police think she has an active imagination. Her family has owned that house for generations, so there’s always the possibility of ghosts or just a creaky old house.

 

Are the Masonic Temple and the Apothecary Museum real and open to the public?

 

Yes, they are! Old Town Alexandria is often on lists of great places to visit. Good food, lovely old architecture, and loads of history. One of the popular restaurants was a hospital during the Civil War. And for history buffs, Alexandria found itself between the South and the North, so it was packed with spies!

 

Why did Natasha throw a 1820s costume party?

 

The 250^th celebration of the Declaration of Independence was coming up. Natasha was all in with a huge party. She asked guests to dress in the type of clothes people would have been wearing at the time. Even the menus were based on a typical dinner in the 1820s. Natasha always has a scheme in mind and this is another one of them.

 

What was the story about burying politicians in unmarked graves so their enemies wouldn’t find them and then the locations of the unmarked graves were lost?

 

The most notable story (true or false, it’s a fun legend) was about John C. Calhoun from Charleston, who was the Vice President of the United States twice. The story goes that he died in Washington DC and was buried there. But due to the Civil War, they feared his foes would disturb his grave, so in the dark of night they dug him up and moved him to an unmarked grave. His wife then asked that he be moved to Charleston, but apparently there was some confusion about which grave he was actually occupying at that point. Eventually, they dug him up again and moved him to Charleston. But he had been born upstate, not in Charleston, so he was buried across the street from the church, in the Stranger’s Graveyard for visitors and non-locals, not in the proper cemetery. Eventually, he was dug up again and finally moved to the St. Philip’s Episcopal Church cemetery.

 

It's a story that a lot of tour guides enjoy embellishing.

 

After her father is arrested for murder due to his DNA found on the victim, Sophie researches DNA evidence and finds that it may not be conclusive evidence since DNA could be spread by mere contact and not necessarily during the time of death. Since the victim was Sophie’s family’s tour guide, they were on his bus and in his proximity for several days. Would the police arrest him on just that evidence?

 

They did, based on the DNA. There is a difference between DNA from skin cells and DNA from blood, which yields a higher quantity and quality.

 

What is a Dunlap Broadside? Why do they call them that?

 

Remember that we’re talking about 1776 when there were no computers or copy machines that could copy papers in a minute. So a Philadelphia printer named John Dunlap churned out 200 copies overnight. They were the very first broadly distributed copies of the United States Declaration of Independence, now referred to as Dunlap Broadsides. Today, there are only 26 known copies still in existence. But every once in a while, one turns up in a basement or box of old papers. The last auction of one brought in $8.14 million.

 

What’s the difference among a buckle, crisp, cobbler, crumble, and a betty?

 

That’s a tough question. They are all baked desserts with fruit. According to the Farmer’s Almanac and St. Louis Magazine, these are the distinctions. https://bit.ly/42Iwc0H and https://bit.ly/4ulsGFG

 

A buckle has a streusel topping. The berries are folded into the batter.

A crisp usually has oats in it. Often confused with a crumble. It has a crumb topping and sometimes nuts.

 

A cobbler has a biscuit topping, sweetened fruit, and spices.

 

A crumble never contains oats, unless it does. Major confusion on this issue!

 

A Betty is like a crisp but has no oats. There are crumbs inside as well as on top in a buttery crumb topping.

 

Whew! Still confused? Me, too. LOL! They’re all delicious!

 

What’s next for Sophie?

 

Hmm. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, but a lot happens in the next book! Stay tuned!

An Interview with Susan Van Kirk by E. B. Davis

  

When Susan Van Kirk drove into little Monmouth, Illinois, in 1968—straight out of college, with her teaching degree in hand—she thought she was ready to teach English and speech to high school students. She didn't realize she would both teach and be taught by a town, a school, and the students who entered her life. A veteran of forty-four years of public high school and college teaching, Van Kirk will take you on a passionate and unforgettable journey through one teaching life. Meet her students and experience the events that molded a rookie teacher into a veteran. This montage of stories covers the years 1968 to 2008; they describe her early fears about classroom discipline, plots to overthrow "the rookie," handling drug overdoses, the devastating first student death, and a challenge to a major Kurt Vonnegut book in her classroom.

Mr. Vonnegut and Me (And Other Incredible Tales from a Teaching Life) is a second edition, and Van Kirk has added a new introduction plus updated material about where the students from the stories are now. These fifteen stories are incredible, inspiring, and filled with what makes us human.

Amazon.com

 

I’ve read all of Susan’s books, except Mr. Vonnegut And Me. Why? I guess I’m not much of a nonfiction reader, and that’s what surprised me. I started to read slowly and ended up being engrossed by her stories. For me, the times in which she taught were my history. Her first year of teaching was 1968, the year I entered 8^th grade, so when I got to high school, I might have had Mrs. Van Kirk as a teacher had I lived in Monmouth, IL.

Susan covers topics she dealt with while teaching: sexism, diversity, racism, classroom discipline, family backgrounds, pregnancy, politics, etc. We learn how much these affected her teaching and how they impacted her students.

 

This 2026 release allowed Susan to update her stories and follow her students after they left the high school, which I found very interesting, like seeing the before and after.

                                                                                                                                   E. B. Davis

 

Did retirement prompt you to reflect on your teaching, resulting in the book?  When was the book first published?

My memoir was first published as The Education of a Teacher (Including Dirty Books and Pointed Looks) in 2010. It was the first book I ever wrote, and the thought that I could write a book came about through a college professor and a college student. I was getting my master’s degree at University of Illinois, and I took a class called “reflective teaching.” The purpose was to reflect on how my values and beliefs affected the way I taught. The professor wrote on one of my papers, “You have a wonderful voice, and this story is incredible. Have you ever considered writing a book?” No, I hadn’t. Then, one of my college students said the same thing, only he was referring to an inspiring story I’d told about why teaching was an amazing profession. He suggested I write it so people who wanted to teach could read it. I did. And a magazine picked it up immediately and published it. I thought to myself, “I’ve taught for four decades and I could write a memoir that might explain what it’s like to teach.” I chose fifteen stories that were funny, sad, poignant, and thought-provoking. That became this book.

 

Is Monmouth, IL, the prototype of Endurance, the town in your first series? Why is it called “The Maple City?”

 People do, indeed, see aspects of both Monmouth and my home town, Galesburg, in my Endurance series. History is ubiquitous here. The Underground Railroad, a Lincoln-Douglas debate, Beecher Chapel (named for the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe), the birthplace of Wyatt Earp, and the extradition hearing of the Mormon leader, Joseph Smith, were all parts of our area history. My Endurance series has a lot of Midwest history as part of the setting. Monmouth is called the Maple City because it was founded in 1831, and maple trees lined the streets of the town. Western Stoneware, our internationally-known pottery company, used a maple leaf in its logo.

 

Did your kids have trouble due to your teaching at their school? How about grading their papers?

 I taught my three children two years in a row. Fortunately, they were excellent students. We had a deal. If they had problems or concerns with other teachers, they solved those problems themselves. If they heard rumors or gossip, they didn’t tell me. They did their own homework, and I imagine they occasionally heard thoughts about me from other students in my classes. But overall, those were smooth years. It was more difficult having the children of my friends.

 

In deciding which stories to include in the book, you asked yourself which students changed your teaching and you. How do you think you changed your students, such as John Critser?

This is a long answer! John’s story, “War and Remembrance,” was the first one I wrote that was published by Teacher Magazine. It illustrates the theme of the book: the profession of teaching puts you in a position to change students’ lives, hopefully for the better. John and I had a conversation after school that I didn’t remember until twenty years later when he told me about it at a reunion. He was a junior in high school trying to decide what to do about enlisting during the Vietnam War years. He would have a number in the draft lottery, and he was having moral concerns about killing people. On the other hand, he felt he should do his duty to his country. He stopped in to see me after school on a day when I’d received a telegram that a close friend from college had been killed in that war. I was not the usual “Ms. Van Kirk” who stayed as neutral as possible in class discussions about current affairs. (I’d always encouraged my students to think for themselves and back up their beliefs with logical arguments and evidence.) But that day after school, I was a mess. I didn’t remember, years later, our conversation. But he did. And more than that, he remembered how that death affected me. The next year, he made a decision to go to college, hope not to have his number called, and if it were, to become a conscientious objector. As it turned out, his number was not called before the war ended, and he went on to become a world-renowned research scientist, and, unlike me, remembered that conversation with his weeping teacher. He told me at his twentieth reunion that but for our conversation he might have enlisted, died in that war and never married, had children, or done life-saving research. For many years, we met for coffee when he came back to visit his mother. From him I learned that sometimes you change your students’ lives by tears rather than by Shakespeare.

What quality drew the troubled girls to you? Did they see you as a strong single mother or as a teacher they could trust?

Both of these girls, names changed, came to my house to talk to me over Christmas break. They had some serious problems and felt they couldn’t talk with their parents about them. One had recently discovered she was pregnant, and the other stated she was being abused by a foster parent. At the time, I was going through a divorce, and they’d silently watched as I’d lost weight, been preoccupied, and seemed sad. I think they believed I’d understand their very serious problems. I imagine they saw me as trustworthy and someone juggling a lot in my life. Their stories illustrate yet another moral dilemma. As a teacher, I couldn’t tell them what to do. I was legally required by the abuse situation to turn it in to child protective services. I did. The other was a situation where it was up to the student and her parents to make a decision about her pregnancy. I convinced her to talk with her parents, and we used role-playing to decide how she’d do this. Their stories illustrate some of the moral dilemmas teachers face when dealing with teenagers.

 

Trying to maintain discipline in the classroom led to nightmares for you. Did this problem get better with time and experience?

Absolutely it did. When you see my photo on the book cover, I was twenty-two. It was my second year of teaching, and my students were 17 or 18. Maintaining discipline was a real learning curve. Eventually, I was able to balance a sense of humor with definite rules and outcomes. I was never a friend to my students. I respected them, and I would say they respected me. Over the years, I learned that balance. This is why people are a much better teachers as time goes by. Experience really makes a difference.

 

Was your personal life affected by the expectation of professional behavior and decorum outside of school? 

It definitely was in a small town, especially when I first started teaching. I couldn’t walk into a bar, and if I went out to a restaurant with friends and had a drink, it was all right. But if students were working there, they might see me, and it would be discussed with their friends. Because I was married, I didn’t have to worry about the dating game and students talking. But teachers back then were held to a higher standard. There was a moral turpitude clause in our contracts, and being picked up for a DUI would definitely end a career.

 

When one set of parents tried to censor the reading of Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut, I wondered about their daughter. You didn’t influence her selection of the book. You allowed her to pick another book. You never knew how she felt about the book. Do you know what happened to her?

No, I don’t. Her parents still live in town, and I see them occasionally. Their daughter left town and has a life somewhere. I believe she got caught up in that situation and possibly lied, telling her parents she was required to read the book for my class. She wasn’t. I’m certainly not naïve enough to believe teenagers always tell the truth when they might get into trouble. It was a book she selected. But the parents really blew it all up and went to the principal, superintendent, the media, the school board, and didn’t talk to me. I would have given her a different book. But it was way-out crazy by the time it all ended after six weeks. And one of my children was in the class, so she was his friend. Now that was a difficult line to manage. It was a textbook case of a book challenge.

How did you connect to those featured students to find out how they led their lives?

I knew a student in town who knew “where all the bodies were.” I found many of them via social media, but if I couldn’t, she helped me find some of them. A few had kept in touch with me. One had passed away last year, and that was a blow. I knew the city where he lived and came upon his obituary. Mostly, the internet was very helpful. I don’t always say that! It was amazing to reconnect with them and hear how their lives had gone. They are doing incredible things, and they came from such a tiny town. Midwesterners from small towns are often known for their kindness. They sure showed me that continued to be true.

 

Why is it that some people determine their futures and others drift without direction? Is it family background, talent, or personality?

Good grief, Elaine. If I knew the answer to this question, I’d bottle it and make millions. It’s a combination of all of those things plus a bit of luck along the way. One of my children went to college not knowing what he wanted to do. He thought about teaching, but I knew that wasn’t for him. He drifted in that direction. But finally, through classes and reflection, he ended up in a job that was perfect for his personality. In his case, college exposed him to a lot of possibilities, and he was open to testing it all out. So, sure, it’s those items you listed. But never discount luck. I often enjoy going back to reunions of my former students because I enjoy hearing what happened to them after school.

 

Would you change anything in your career and/or student interactions if you could?

I was very fortunate. I could usually find positive qualities in most of the students I taught. Teaching was the perfect vocation for me. I wish I could have gone back to graduate school before I had a family. But in those days, the social pressure was to marry and have children. And once I became a single mother, going back to school was impossible. On the other hand, graduate school after all that experience made my understanding of education discussions richer. So, who knows? I wouldn’t exchange those years for anything.

Catching Up with V. M. Burns By E. B. Davis

  

Nana Jo has volunteered her lawyer granddaughter, Jenna, to teach estate planning to retirees—with Sam providing her bookshop as the venue. But during the seminar, entitled Getting Your Ducks in Order, it quickly becomes clear someone’s up to Fowl Play. When elderly Alva Tarkington, accompanied by her niece, sits down for a consultation, Sam realizes the woman’s frequent blinking is actually Morse Code—S.O.S. The sisters get her alone, and Alva tells them she believes her life is in danger and must change her will . . .

 

Unfortunately, Alva is found dead the next day—seemingly from natural causes. But Nana Jo and the sisters suspect otherwise. In between penning her latest historical mystery, set in 1939 as England declares war on Germany and Lady Elizabeth Marsh pursues stolen paintings and a traitor, Sam teams up with the senior sleuths of Shady Acres to search for motives—beginning with Alva’s family. They soon learn not everyone is who they say they are, and someone is more than qualified to teach a class on cold-blooded murder . . .

Amazon.com

 

Does main character Sam Washington solve mysteries in her fiction that apply to her current case? Or does she work out the mystery and put the solution into her fiction? I think only V. M. Burns, the author of Murder from A to Z knows the answer to that question. This novel is the eleventh in the Mystery Bookshop mystery series, and was released on January 27^th. It’s definitely a fun read!

 

Please welcome Valerie to WWK.                                                               E. B. Davis

   

Where is Sam’s and Jenna’s mother? Grace Robertson, Sam and Jenna’s mother, has been in Australia with her husband, Harold. After wildfires devastated the koala population, Grace and Harold moved to Australia to assist with koala rescues.

 

Sam says that Nana Jo volun-told her to host Jenna’s “Getting Your Ducks in a Row” course in her bookshop. Does Nana Jo have other tasks she volun-tells Jenna and Sam for? Nana Jo has volunteered her granddaughters for various tasks. Sam and Jenna are adults, and could decline, but they love and respect their grandmother. So, while they may not have initially wanted to do whatever tasks she has for them, they are willing to do it out of love. Fortunately, Nana Jo loves her granddaughters and never volunteers them for anything they would hate. 

 

Jenna seems to be having a hard time with empty-nest syndrome. Did the twins live at home during their college years? The twins, Christopher and Zaq did not live at home during their college years, but they were close, and she saw them much more frequently. Now that they’ve graduated, they have moved further away and visits aren’t nearly as frequent.

 

Do the “A” and “Z” in your title referring to the victim and her twin sister, Alva and Zelda? Yes. That’s where I got the idea for the title.

 

Does Sam identify with Lady Elizabeth? There are a number of similarities between Samantha and Lady Elizabeth. Neither woman had children of their own. Both are intelligent and strong. Both are excellent leaders. And both are great at solving mysteries. 

 

What was the Night of Broken Glass? The Night of Broken Glass or Kristallnacht, occurred on November 9-10, 1938 in Germany and Austria. Jewish business, homes, hospitals, and schools were ransacked and destroyed. The attacks were retaliation for the assassination of a German diplomat by a 17-year-old Polish Jew who was living in Paris. Over 7,000 Jewish businesses were damaged or destroyed. The episode is referred to as the “Night of Broken Glass” because of shards of broken glass that littered the streets.     

 

What is a Fifth Columnist? Fifth Columnist are people who sympathize with a country’s enemy and work from within to sabotage and undermine a nation. This was a large fear during WWII. In England, there were many people with ties or connections to Germany and other Axis nations. After Pearl Harbor, fear that Japanese Americans would provide critical information to Japan resulted in the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII.

 

Was Paul Klee real?  Paul Klee was a German artist born in 1879 in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland. Klee was a modernist and was known for his use of color. Hitler objected to modern art. Klee and other modern artists’ works were labeled by the Nazis as “degenerate” and were banned (and in some cases destroyed) in 1937.  

 

The Marsh family sponsored three Jewish children, who now live with them, from the Kindertransport. Was this common? The Kindertransport or Children’s Transport, was an organized effort to rescue children, primarily Jewish children, from Nazi occupied areas between 1938-1939. More than 10,000 children were taken to the United Kingdom. Belgium, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the Netherlands also took children, but the vast majority of children went to the U.K. The Marsh family are wealthy aristocrats who live in the country. They had the space, the staff, and the resources to care for the children.

 

Although only one young woman, Isabella, seems to mourn Alva’s death, she also has more than one reason to have murdered Alva. Why would Sam offer her a place to stay? Sam was touched by Isabella’s grief. She seemed to be the only person genuinely mourning Alva. Yet Isabella is also the person who is being taunted and harassed. Alva trusted Isabella and despite the circumstances, Sam was willing to trust her, too.

 

After Sam and Nana Jo interest the police in Alva’s death, the police find that arsenic killed her. From her research, Sam suspects the wallpaper in Alva’s bedroom was Scheele’s Green, a historic wallpaper, which was made with arsenic. Is this true? How did they find out about the arsenic and its poisonous effects? Sadly, this is true. Scheele’s Green was popular in the 18^th and early 19^th century. The vibrant color was made with an arsenic-based pigment. In the 19^th century, arsenic (in small doses) wasn’t considered lethal and was used in food, medicine, face powder, paints, and wallpaper. The vibrant colored wallpaper was often used in nurseries. High mortality rates in nurseries were troubling to 19^th century scientists. They believed flaking pieces of the wallpaper may have been consumed by small children. Fireplaces may have also combined with the arsenic to create a toxic gas. Hard to believe that the people knew that the wallpaper contained arsenic and did nothing?  Coca Cola used to contain cocaine.

If Nana Jo is a grizzly, and Jenna is a lioness, what animal is Sam? Sam is more of a golden retriever. She is friendly, good natured, and fun-loving. She is intelligent, calm, a quick learner, and she gets along with just about everyone. She isn’t known for aggression, but will do what she has to in order to protect those she loves.

 

Was Isabella’s necklace an Egyptian artifact that was given to her illegally? Isabella’s necklace was an Egyptian artifact. It was more than likely given to her illegally, although there is a slim possibility that it wasn’t. Years ago, archeologists often removed artifacts from dig sites. The practice was made illegal in Egypt in 1983.

 

Is there still missing art from WWII? YES. There is still a great deal of art that has been missing since WWII. Some art was stolen from museums, churches, and institutions. Other art and valuable objects were stolen from private collections and homes.

 

Who or what is John Wick? LOL – John Wick is the title character in an action/thriller. Wick is a former hitman who comes out of retirement to get revenge against the underworld thugs who kill his dog. Keanu Reeves plays the main character.

 

Did Winston Churchill really say, “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”? (Loc 2932) Winston Churchill is attributed with making a similar quote, although it is believed that the word “appeaser” was added in the 1950s. On January 20, 1940, Winston Churchill gave a speech that was broadcast over the BBC. The New York Times reprinted the speech the next day. Referring to nations that remained neutral during the war, Churchill said, “Each one hopes that if he feeds the crocodile enough, the crocodile will eat him last.” There was also a metaphor about a storm, which was confusing and eliminated in future publications of Churchill quotes.

 

Sam gets flashes of insight, and then loses the connection before making a realization. Why the lost connection? Too much information? Samantha and I share a lot of character traits. Sadly, one of them is getting a flash of insight, an idea, or a thought. But, within moments, it’s gone. Generally, if I stop trying to grab hold of the idea, it comes back.

 

Was the 2010 case of Cornelius Gurlitt real? Yes. Cornelius Gurlitt was the son of Hildebrand Gurlitt, an art dealer for the Third Reich. Art that wasn’t stolen was bought at ridiculously low prices from Jews. Cornelius Gurlitt was a recluse living in Munich, who was found to have had over 1,300 pieces of looted art in his Munich apartment that he inherited from his father, Hildebrand.  

 

Sam works on a notepad, do you? Sometimes. Most of the time, I write on my laptop. However, when I am away from home, I find that I’m more productive writing in a notebook.

 

What’s next for Sam, Jenna, Nana Jo and the rest of Nana Jo’s friends at the Shady Acres Retirement Village? Sam and Frank are finally going to tie the knot in the 12^th installment of the series. The working title is, A Prologue to Murder.

 

 

An Interview with James M. Jackson By E. B. Davis

 

When your name is a lie, every truth can kill.

Three months after cutting a secret deal with the FBI's Deputy Director, ex-Special Agent Ashley Prescott gets her first off-the-books assignment: go back undercover as Niki and infiltrate Greenwar, a radical eco-cell executing executives of America's biggest polluters. Her way in? A dangerous cover as special assistant to the head of a powerhouse D.C. energy lobby. Access that could expose buried studies and dirty money—and paint a target on her back.

The assignment is already a death trap. But her real nightmare? The FBI surveillance team tracking her every move. Her former boss wants her silenced, buried, gone—and he's sent agents to make it happen. Now Niki is racing against two countdowns: Greenwar's next kill and the federal raid that will blow her cover wide open. One mistake, one moment of exposure, and she loses everything—her freedom, her mission, and the only life she wants.

The terrorists want justice. The agents who destroyed her career want her gone for good. And Niki? She just wants to survive long enough to take them all down.

Amazon.com

 

Niki Unleashed is the second novel in James M. Jackson’s Niki Undercover Thriller series featuring Ashley Pendergast Prescott, a federal agent, who undercover goes by the name Niki. She goes undercover for a special assignment for the FBI’s Deputy Director Ambrose, an assignment he created because he’s trying to protect a friend of his.

 

The assignment is to find the killer of the CEOs targeted by the environmental extremist organization Greenwar, and to do so she must infiltrate the splinter group. While trying to balance her personal problems with her family and its corporation and working undercover, Niki also finds that her old boss, Gex, is gunning for her.

 

As usual, Jim’s knowledge of technology keeps readers fascinated!                                                                                        E. B. Davis

 

When, after months of not hearing from Ambrose about an assignment, she meets him at a Nationals’ game where he creates a breach of security from the onset. Niki tells him about his breach and coaches him on undercover protocols. Why does Niki have to do so? Isn’t he well versed in FBI undercover procedures?

 

Thanks so much for another wonderful interview, E.B.

 

Ambrose is the #2 person at the FBI and is not versed in day-to-day operational details regarding undercover operations. Because Niki’s assignments are sub rosa, he can’t use Bureau resources who understand the complexity of successful undercover work.

 

Did you interview FBI and U.S. Marshals Service personnel to research this book?

 

In addition to reading books, articles, and training manuals, one of my past neighbors was a retired FBI Special Agent who worked many undercover assignments (mostly financial crimes). Besides taking me to a range to teach me how to shoot a pistol, we talked about his work. Everything I know about the US Marshals Service came from books or my imagination.

 

After spending years undercover infiltrating militia groups, Niki tells Ambrose her cover can’t be blown or her previous work will be for naught when she accepts the assignment of protecting the CEO, Jim Ford—an old friend of Ambrose’s, of American Hydrocarbons Institute from being targeted for assassination by the environmental extremists of Greenwar. How really can Ambrose ensure that Niki’s cover won’t be blown?

 

Blown-cover risk is something undercover agents fear because it endangers their lives. No one can guarantee a cover won’t be unmasked, but through meticulous backstory preparation, agents minimize the risk. Despite whatever Ambrose may claim, he can guarantee nothing.

 

To infiltrate Greenwar, Niki must ask Jim Ford to give her proof of environmental violations so she has the fodder Greenwar is looking to expose. This puts Jim Ford in the awkward position of trying to protect his life but by doing so compromising the integrity of the very organization he heads. Is it any wonder Ford only helps but so much?

 

How much is pride worth to you? Is it worth dying for? Not to me, but the rich, like Ford, have a different calculus and think they can escape paying a price for their misdeeds.

 

The Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau (ATF) has an undercover agent already in place at Greenwar. If they are after the same thing, why duplicate efforts?

 

As Ambrose explains it, they aren’t after the same thing. The ATF tasked Mike, their undercover agent, to discover who in Greenwar is using explosives and where they are getting them from. Ambrose and the FBI are trying to find whoever is killing the executives and stop that person before they strike again.

 

If Niki is now with the U.S. Marshals Service, doesn’t she have a boss she needs to report to?

 

She would, except the Marshals Service is unaware she’s a badge-carrying member of their organization. They don’t find that out until Hijacked Legacy (Seamus McCree #8). [Although published earlier, that novel occurs chronologically two years later.]

 

Since Greenwar is a midwestern group, Ashley decides to stay at her father’s house, which now belongs to her sister Tabitha, who allows their brother’s destitute family to live at the house. Ashley meets her nieces and a nephew, Jacob, who loves baseball. Since Ashley was a college softball star at UCLA, she takes a shine to Jacob, who is going through hard times since his father’s suicide and bankruptcy. Why is Ashley so drawn to Jacob?

 

In the beginning, guilt played a role: Ashley blames herself for Jacob’s father’s death, which brought on the financial hardship. It starts as an athlete-to-athlete connection, but grows deeper. Jacob needs a protector and a mentor, and Ashley steps into those roles—only later realizing the relationship has given her an impetus for personal growth.

 

Ashley and Seamus McCree have become lovers and partners especially when dealing with her family’s corporation, but he also helps with the logistics of her undercover assignments. Why wouldn’t Ashley read Seamus’s emails?

 

The emails relate to the Pendergast family business, of which Ashley wishes she had no part—but that’s not her fate. Given the choice of doing Pendergast business or almost anything else, she avoids the business. It’s not one of her strong points. Seamus’s emails are about business, so when she’s the least bit busy, she ignores them until they become critical—which, given we’re talking about a thriller, they do.

 

What are beta blockers that Ashley takes when she gets stress headaches? Is that like Prozac? Why does it help headaches?

 

Beta blockers are drugs that slow heart rate by blocking the effects of stress hormones, like adrenaline. Doctors sometimes prescribe them to reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety, such as a racing heart, shaking hands, and excessive sweating. Performers with anxiety often use beta blockers, as do people, like Niki, who have a fear of flying. In Ashley’s case, the beta blockers allow her shoulder and neck muscles to remain loose, and she doesn’t get tension headaches.

 

Does a water belt have a long straw so she can sip water when she runs?

 

Niki’s water belt carries two water bottles.

 

When Niki realizes that her old boss Gex is out to get her, she contacts Patrick McCree, Seamus’s son and technology expert, to make sure she has a way for Seamus, Rick, and her to communicate securely. Patrick recommends an online secure site where they can text only since there is technology that can conjure voices from vibrations on windows and ripples in water glasses. Is that a real thing? What’s it called?

 

It's a real thing that spy agencies have been using for years. They use laser microphones to detect the vibrations and sophisticated software to convert the vibrations into sound.

 

What was the Silk Road takedown? What is Tor?

 

Tor (The Onion Router) is software that provides online anonymity through encryption and hiding where the data is coming from. Ross Ulbricht founded Silk Road in 2011 as a darknet market that used Tor and bitcoin to hide transactions (the vast majority illegal—narcotics and other illegal products and services). The FBI cracked the network in 2013. Two years later, Ulbrick was convicted on multiple charges and given two life sentences without the possibility of parole. President Trump pardoned Ulbricht in January 2025.

 

Along with FBI Deputy Director Ambrose, Niki’s other boss is the Assistant Director of National Intelligence Park. Is that part of the NSA? Does he have access to FBI intel?

 

The Director of National Intelligence oversees many U.S. intelligence programs, including the National Security Agency (NSA). That includes FBI intelligence. Park, as an assistant director, would also have that access.

 

Is OnX some sort of GPS program?

 

OnX is a GPS-mapping app that combines GPS location and tracking with accurate land ownership maps. It’s used by hunters, hikers, off-road enthusiasts, and me.

 

What’s the difference between Cell Site Location Information (CSLI) and GPS?

 

GPS uses satellites to pinpoint a location. Every time a cell phone connects to a cell tower, it generates data (CSLI), which includes which cell tower, and the time and duration of the connection. CSLI is not as precise as GPS, but is still very useful in law-enforcement suspect analysis.

 

What is water poisoning that occurs during rehydration?

 

When a dehydrated person drinks too much water without added electrolytes, it screws up the mineral balance of their blood, particularly regarding sodium. In severe cases, it can cause confusion, seizures, coma, and death.

 

Ashley worries that her ideals are greater than her loyalty to the people who sacrifice for her, like McCree. Why does she think that about herself?

 

Ashley is an extremely competent woman who has focused almost exclusively on doing her job as best she can. Like many people focused on work, she has compromised other aspects of her life. In her undercover assignments, she’s dealt with many individuals who, while motivated to correct what they perceive as wrongs against society, have changed from principled do-gooders to become judge, jury, and executioner. She hasn’t gone that far, but she’s crossed some lines, and it makes her wonder if she’s abusing her relationships to bring “justice” to those who need it.

 

What’s next and when?

 

Niki Undercover and Niki Unleashed took place in 2000. Two books in the Seamus McCree series, Granite Oath and Hijacked Legacy, occur in 2002. The third book in the Niki Undercover Thriller series takes place in 2025-6. She’s still working undercover, but a lot has changed since Niki Unleashed: in her life, in Seamus’s life (as Seamus McCree series readers know), and—as readers will learn—to Ambrose and Park. But bad actors are still threatening the government, and Niki faces her largest challenge ever to save the country, or (as they say) die trying.

Annette Dashofy Interview By E. B. Davis

 

“I got tired of waiting on karma.” Loc 6248

“Criminals fall into one of two categories. Brilliant or stupid.” Loc 410

Annette Dashofy,

 

“Two bodies. One male, approximately fifty years old. One female, mid-twenties. Both shot execution-style, with one bullet to the back of the head.”

 

When a murderous ghost from Erie City Police Detective Matthias Honeywell’s past appears unexpectedly, his investigation into a double homicide in a quiet residential neighborhood gets increasingly complicated, and puts everything and everyone he cares about at risk – including photographer Emma Anderson.

 

Emma’s first day as the crime beat photographer for ErieLIVE wasn’t meant to see her photographing the scene of her predecessor’s murder, and with ties to the victim as well as a deadly fire that follows in the wake of the crime, she fears she may also be in the killer’s sightlines.           

                                                                        Annette Dashofy

The Devil Comes Calling is Annette Dashofy’s third book in the Detective Honeywell Mystery series. For me, this was a “wow” book. It led me gently, then smacked me. Emotionally charged, it portrayed two parent/child relationships—from one extreme to the other—love and hate. One mother belatedly redeems her daughter. The tale also shows why Detective Honeywell is who he is. Parents are transformational, which isn’t always a good thing, but strengthens character for those equipped to deal with adversity. Honeywell passed the test. But it impacts Emma and his relationship.

 

This book will be released on November 7th, just in time for the holidays. It’s a bargain priced at $2.99!

                                                                                                                 E. B. Davis

 

There are a lot of connections among the characters in this novel. Is Erie, PA a small town?

 

The definition of “small town” varies depending on who you’re talking to. Erie has a population of just under 93,000 and is the fifth most populous city in Pennsylvania, but compared to New York City or Los Angeles, yeah, it’s a small town.

 

Matthias and Emma both seem preoccupied and obsessed; Matthias with his father, Isaiah, and Emma with Russ Carlisle, a killer who messed with her sister. Part of each of them are living in the past or with the past. Are they out of touch even though they seem comfortable together?

 

Matthias and Emma are both haunted and wounded by their pasts. Since I first conceived this series, I’ve felt that both suffer survivor’s guilt. It’s been an underlying theme for the stories. In the first two books, the focus was on Emma’s past. This one shines a light on Matthias’s tortured history, but Emma has yet to resolve her inner demons. I don’t see these battles with the past as putting them out of touch. In fact, in both cases, their histories connect them and give them a greater understanding and appreciation of one another.

When another photographer leaves ErieLIVE, Emma fills her spot. Emma’s used to working on her own, but now she’s partnered with a journalist. On an assignment, Emma finds Matthias, who is a detective on the case. She realizes that having information could help Matthias, and yet, when he confides information in her, it puts her in a sticky situation with her new professional partner. How does she handle the problem?

 

It really is a sticky situation. Emma wants to believe that merely being a news photographer, not a reporter, means she shouldn’t have a conflict of interest with dating a cop. But Matthias shares information “off the record” and she also learns things about Preston that may impact the investigation, so she’s constantly put in a position that tests her loyalties … which are, of course, with Matthias. But she soon learns that telling him unsubstantiated rumors and her own suspicions might mean throwing her colleague under the bus when he may not deserve it.

 

I’ve heard of BOLO and Amber alerts, but what is an ATL, and are there other alerts we don’t know about?

 

ATL means Attempt to Locate. It’s a type of bulletin the police can issue to other law enforcement officers. In this case, they don’t have enough evidence for an arrest warrant, but they need to keep track of where this person is, so they specify they only want information on his address or the make and model of his car. They do not want him to be pulled over or detained. They only want the information to be relayed to them. Honestly, I hadn’t heard of it either until a police detective friend of mine suggested it for this situation.

 

“His biggest talent in life is figuring out a person’s weakness.

Their greatest fear. And playing on it.” Matthias assessing his father, Isaiah. Loc. 5709

 

After spending twenty-five years in prison for killing his wife, Matthias’s mother, Isaiah comes to Erie and insinuates himself into Matthias’s life. Isaiah says he wants to reconnect with Matthias, but he lies about him, transferring his own characteristics and actions onto Matthias. Isn’t that the definition of narcissism, and since he’s a killer, a narcissistic   psychopath?

 

Pretty much, yep. Isaiah is one nasty dude.

 

Does Detective Sergeant Cassie Malone ever use her superior rank on Matthias to her advantage?

 

Cassie has a lot of respect for Matthias, but she’s willing to remind him who’s in charge when need be. And since he’s hardly objective where his father’s concerned, she definitely needs to keep Matthias in line. Or try to.

 

Why doesn’t a revolver leave casings?

 

With a revolver, the bullet casing remains in the cylinder when the gun is fired. After all the rounds have been discharged, the shooter needs to empty the cylinder and reload. A semi-automatic pistol, on the other hand, ejects the casings.

 

In Colorado, was Havana Carlisle’s death ruled a homicide?

 

The powers that be in Colorado ruled her death as accidental. A skiing accident. Conveniently, the only “witness” to the accident was her husband, Russ. Matthias has been trying to get evidence that Russ was actually responsible for the death for quite a while to no avail.

 

Cassie likes to play with suspects. Is this a ploy or does she get her kicks messing with them?

 

She doesn’t get her kicks from it—unless she can get them to slip up and admit to lying. That definitely brings a smile to her face.

 

Why did Darcy’s parents dislike Preston?

 

They were fiercely protective of Darcy and believed Preston was dangerous and would harm their daughter. Also, I don’t think there was anyone they felt was good enough for her.

 

Although the first two murders looked like professional hits, there was inconsistent evidence confusing them. What didn’t seem professional to Matthias and Cassie?

 

Tossing the murder weapon where it was too easily found, for starters. The murder just feels too sloppy to be professional. While there are a number of suspects, none seem cold and calculating enough to be (or hire) a hit man.

 

Emma becomes suspicious of Boze, another journalist, because she’s learning from her past mistakes of trusting the wrong people. But when Isaiah lies to her about Matthias, she doubts Matthias, at least temporarily. Why?

 

It’s a kneejerk reaction for her. She trusts Matthias, but she had trusted another man in her past only to find out the hard way that her trust was misplaced. She questions if she’s doing it again. Thankfully, she does come to her senses relatively quickly when she thinks back on all Matthias has done to prove himself to her.

 

Cassie researches the money. Matthias researches relationships. Is this typical in their partnership?

Not necessarily, but Cassie knows Matthias isn’t fond of being stuck with financial reports. If she was annoyed with him, she’d definitely assign him that task and take the rest of the investigation for herself.

 

When you plot, do you have a general outline and then get more specific as you write? Do you make a series arc?

 

I’m a bit of a hybrid plotter/pantser. I know who the killer is and his/her motive, so I basically know the ending. I know a few of the plot twists I want to include along the way. But beyond that, I outline a few scenes or chapters ahead and then just write. As for a series arc, I do have a pretty good idea of how the characters will grow and how the end of one book will be the beginning of the next. But that’s for however many books are under contract rather than for an entire series, because, well, I don’t know how many books that will end up being!

What’s next for Emma, Matthias, and Cassie? 

 

The fourth, No Stone Left Unturned, (December 19^th released date) Detective Honeywell Mystery focuses on Cassie Malone’s family when Matthias must race to find out who shot Cassie’s much-loved husband.