Blackout by Alex Segura

Good morning, readers! If you follow me elsewhere online then you know that I am currently sick as a dog - and expecting. So please forgive me if I'm not at my best and brightest this morning.

But I am pleased as punch to be part of the TLC blog tour for Alex Segura's latest Peter Hernandez mystery, Blackout.

Ever since Pete's last case landed him on a hit list for one of Miami's most brutal gangs, he's been hiding out working as a PI in New York. But Miami comes calling when a case that ties into a mystery from his past lands on his doorstep. 

Miami politician Trevor McRyan has his eye on moving up the political ladder but fears his son could cause issues. Said son has recently gone missing and McRyan and his wife want to hire Pete to find him. Pete refuses, intent on staying out of Miami, until a picture of the son reveals a strong likeness to the one person who claimed to know what happened to a classmate of Pete's who went missing decades ago. 

Pete dabbled in Patty Morales's case a bit, at the urging of her aunt and his one time girlfriend, leading to the discovery of the dead girl's remains. But that's as far as it went. No suspects, no explanation as to her fate, and no resolution. But as Pete digs into Patty's murder and the whereabouts of the missing McRyan, it becomes clear that whoever is responsible isn't going to let Pete unravel this mystery without a fight. And Pete soon realizes that returning to Miami could be the last mistake he ever makes. 

This fourth in Segura's PI series is a doozy. Multiple timelines thread together to meet in the present as Pete at first reluctantly and then doggedly attempts to solve one of Miami's most infamous cold cases.

We meet Pete in high school serving detention after trying to steal liquor. His run in with Patty is brief and somewhat stinging considering he'd asked her to prom and she'd refused. That it was the last time he ever saw her alive still burns today and he's haunted by the idea that he could have saved her. Patty's ex boyfriend was murdered that afternoon, the body found in the school after hours. Patty was nowhere to be found.

For years that was the case. Her father, separated from her mother and devoted to his church, was always convinced that Patty was still alive somewhere. But it wasn't until 2013 that her remains were discovered - by Pete. Patty's own aunt, her father's much younger half sister, has never given up hope that the case will be solved and is part of the force driving Pete in his current investigation.

Of course, Pete (as mentioned above) enters the case reluctantly. Each of his investigations has landed him and those around him in massive trouble. And since his last case, he's basically burned every bridge he has. He's estranged from his partner, Kathy, and hasn't spoken to anyone in Miami since he moved to Rockland County. But he's managed not to return to the bottle, so there's that.

Pete is damaged goods, something those closest to him are tiring of. They're ready for Pete to deal with his inner demons and move forward but Pete stubbornly holds on, keeping everyone at arms length (or further, as is the case at the start of Blackout). He's a good detective, as everyone keeps telling him, but he bucks against it at every turn. And Patty is clearly one of the reasons for that.

Returning to Miami does force Pete to face some of his demons. But whether he'll come out alive and survive to see the end of the case is the biggest question.

If you're a fan of gritty detective series, Alex Segura's is absolutely one you need to check out. The setting, the cases, and the characters are the perfect mix, driving the series from one installment to the next and leaving the reader anxious for more.

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Alex Segura and his work you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Purchase Links: Indie Bound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A Conspiracy of Ravens by Terrence P. McCauley - Excerpt + a Giveaway

The third book in Terrence McCauley's James Hicks series is out now and I've got a sneak peek to share with you! I'm also giving away a copy, so be sure to read through to the end to enter.

Before we dive into the excerpt, though, here's a bit about the book from Goodreads:

James Hicks finally knows his true enemy: the criminal organization known as The Vanguard. They mysterious group has been known as an organization of weapons dealers, drug runners and money launderers for years, but has now decided to add regime change to the mix. But knowing the enemy is one thing. Being able to defeat it is another matter entirely. When Hicks uncovers a solid lead on his new adversaries, his world explodes. His home base is attacked, his operatives in the field are wiped out and, for the first time, The University finds itself in open combat against an unknown enemy. In a battle that rages from the streets of Manhattan to the halls of power in Washington to the dark alleys of Berlin, Hicks will have to use every resource at his disposal to defeat A CONSPIRACY OF RAVENS.

As I said, this is the third in the series, following Sympathy for the Devil and A Murder of Crows. And yes, you should read them in order. 

And now for a peek inside the latest James Hicks thriller:

A Conspiracy of Ravens

by Terrence P. McCauley

CHAPTER 1

2:00 A.M.

James Hicks was two hours south of Manhattan, driving to a meeting he didn’t want to attend in Washington, when his dashboard screen flashed red. It was a Proximity Alert from OMNI.

POSSIBLE SURVEILLANCE IN PROGRESS

“Goddamn it.” Hicks pounded the steering wheel. “Not this shit again.”

Surveillance was the whole reason he was driving to Washington, D.C. in the first place.

The Optimized Mechanical and Network Integration System (OMNI) was one of the most advanced computer networks in the world, giving the University one of the few advantages it enjoyed over the larger, federally-funded agencies. OMNI’s access to satellites, data systems, and communications networks collected more data in a millisecond than any human mind could ever comprehend, and saw more than any human eye could see.

Since being selected as Dean of the University weeks ago, the network now dedicated part of its impressive bandwidth to constantly scan his immediate area for patterns and signals that may constitute a threat to Hicks.

He had refused the security measures at first, finding it intrusive for a man who had spent most of his life in the shadows. He had managed to stay alive this long without babysitting. He had seen no reason to allow it now.

But the protection came with the job and could not be refused, not even by the Dean. Given the number of people who had tried to kill him in the past few months, Hicks decided an extra set of eyes watching his back might not be a bad idea.

The automatic alert he was reading now proved he had made the right choice.

He tapped the dashboard screen for more information.
TARGET CAR: BMW 750i
TAIL TIME: 30 minutes and counting
SPEED: Matching 70 miles per hour
ERROR: New Jersey license plates do not match VIN on black box

The fact that a car had been behind him for thirty minutes didn’t bother him. People often popped on the cruise control and let the car do the driving in light traffic like this.

It was the problem with the plates that bothered him. They didn’t match the Vehicle Identification Number OMNI detected from the signal on the BMW’s black box. That was unusual. Too unusual for it to be written off as a mistake.

Hicks had been checking his mirrors constantly during the drive south. He hadn’t detected anyone following him, but it was difficult to track a car in the middle of the night.

Hicks tapped a button on the Buick’s steering wheel, accessing the OMNI network. “Get me an Operator.”

“Contacting an Operator,” the female electronic voice answered as it connected him to one of the dozens of technicians located throughout the world who constantly monitored OMNI’s field operations.

A man’s voice, betraying a slight British inflection, came over the Buick’s speakers. OMNI may have been a secure closed network operating entirely on its own bandwidth, but University Operators still answered using a standard protocol script. “You’ve reached the switchboard. How may I help you?”

“This is Professor Warren.” It was the signal that he was not in any immediate danger and free to talk. If he had given them any other name, the Operator would have assumed he was in trouble and activated necessary security measures. Even with twenty-first-century technology, old tricks like code words still had a place. “Looks like I’ve become pretty popular. I need more information.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, sir.” Hicks heard the Operator’s fingers work a keyboard as he accessed OMNI to find his location and the alert that had flashed on the dashboard screen. “I see the nature of the problem now. The plates match the exact make, model, and year of the BMW following you, but the VIN is completely different.”

Hicks knew that ruled out any government agencies following him. They would not need to steal plates for a vehicle.

But someone did.

“Who owns the car, according to the VIN?” He heard the Operator typing. “Records show it was delivered to a BMW dealership in New Jersey late last week.” More clicks. “No record of sale. No stolen car reports with the police, either. It’s possible they stole the car tonight from the dealership after it closed.”

Convenient timing. “Who owns the plates?”

More clicks of the keyboard. “Michael Spatola of Franklin Lakes, New Jersey. Zooming in to get eyes on his address now.” More clicks on the keyboard. “Satellites show his BMW is still parked in his driveway, but the license plates have been removed from the vehicle.”

Hicks kept his eyes on the road. Someone had been smart enough to steal plates matching the same make, model, and year of the vehicle they had just stolen. Even if a cop decided to run the plates, they would be close enough to match and the cop would probably let them go. Both the car and the plates would be reported stolen eventually, but not for several hours.

That kind of pairing took planning and access. It took effort that common car thieves wouldn’t have gone through. And the odds that common car thieves just happened to be following him this long by accident were astronomical.

Everything about the car and the plates showed intent. It showed planning.

Hicks didn’t like it. He needed answers and, under the circumstances, there was only one way to get them.

“Check traffic and toll cams based on my route. I’m looking for a visual of the driver. Send anything you get to my screen.”

Thirty seconds later, the Operator said, “Sending an image to you now.”

Hicks glanced at the screen while keeping his eyes on the road. A blurry image of two white males at a toll booth in the BMW appeared on his dashboard screen. Judging by the way they filled their seats, he guessed they were each over six feet tall and powerfully built.

The Operator explained, “That picture was taken as they blew through an EZ Pass station without an EZ Pass. I’ll keep looking for a clearer image, but that’s all I have for now.”

Hicks didn’t care about clearer pictures. He needed to find out who was driving that car.

“I’m in a generous mood tonight,” Hicks told the Operator, “so let’s do Mr. Spatola a favor. Enter the theft of the plates and the vehicle into the police network. Say the suspects should be considered armed and dangerous and are believed to be heading for the D.C. area.”

More keyboard clicks. “Doing it now, sir.”

Another idea came to him. “Show me the closest patrol unit on my map.”

A few more clicks. “I’ve just posted the location of the closest unit to your position on your map, sir. The blue icon is the closest police car—a county sheriff ’s deputy manning a speed trap approximately three miles and closing from your current position. The tail car is the red icon on your map, while your car is black.”

Hicks would have preferred a state trooper, but at least a county cop wasn’t some local Barney Fife looking to be a hero.

Hicks pulled the gloves tighter on his fingers. “Plot the nearest off-ramp between here and the speed trap. Something that gives me easy access back onto the highway.”

A blue line appeared on the map of his dashboard screen.

“There’s an off-ramp approximately two miles ahead of you, sir, but be advised: you may not be able to outrun the BMW. It’s got a twin 445 horsepower V8 engine. With all due respect, sir, that’s a tough engine for an old Buick to beat.”

Hicks smiled. That’s why I’ve got an Aston Martin V12 engine under the hood. “Consider me advised. Since the alert is already on the system, send a message directly to the deputy’s onboard computer. Tell him the vehicle is heading his way. Let’s see what he does.”

“Doing it now,” the Operator replied. “And good luck, sir.”

Hicks killed the connection. He never believed in luck. Only in himself.


Excerpted from A CONSPIRACY OF RAVENS © Copyright 2017 by Terrence McCauley. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.

About the Author: Terrence McCauley is the award-winning author of two previous James Hicks thrillers: SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL and A MURDER OF CROWS, as well as the historical crime thrillers PROHIBITION and SLOW BURN (all available from Polis Books). He is also the author of the World War I novella THE DEVIL DOGS OF BELLEAU WOOD, the proceeds of which go directly to benefit the Semper Fi Fund. His story "El Cambalache" was nominated for the Thriller Award by International Thriller Writers.

Terrence has had short stories featured in Thuglit, Spintetingler Magazine, Shotgun Honey, Big Pulp and other publications. He is a member of the New York City chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers and the International Crime Writers Association.

A proud native of The Bronx, NY, he is currently writing his next work of fiction. Please visit his website at terrencemccauley.com or follow him at @terrencepmccauley.

Big thanks to Terrence McCauley's publicist for sharing the excerpt and for letting me give away a copy today!

And now for the giveaway! To enter, simply fill out the Raffelcopter below before Monday, October 9. Open US only and no PO boxes please. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dangerous Ends by Alex Segura

Hello, everyone. Today I'm a stop on the TLC blog tour for Alex Segura's latest Pete Fernandez mystery, Dangerous Ends.

Maya Varela has always believed that her father was wrongfully convicted of her mother's murder. Varela, a cop, maintained that two men had broken into his apartment and murdered his wife. He also claimed that a witness, a woman in an orange dress, showed up in an attempt to help. Unfortunately, as the investigation progressed, the police - Varela's own colleagues - soon turned an eye to Varela himself as the killer, assuming he'd been lying about the two men. And even though witnesses did see the woman, when said woman took the stand she recanted, causing Varela and his attorney to lose ground with the jury. 

Years after the jury returned a guilty verdict, Gaspar Varela has run through most of his appeals and it seems a new trial is their only hope for his release. But that means finding new evidence. 

That's where Kathy and Pete come in. After being involved in some highly publicized local cases, the two have become something of a team. And Maya has hired them to help with her father's case: Pete to investigate and Kathy to write a book about the case. And it seems, at least a little, that Varela's claims of innocence may have some truth to them. But as Pete and Kathy, paired with an ex FBI agent and former associate of Varela's, dig into the case, it soon becomes clear that no one wants them to succeed. When those threats turn into attempts on their lives, though, Pete becomes even more determined than ever to see the case through to the end. 

I'm a big fan of a great PI mystery and as one of my favorite of favorites winds down, I'll admit that I've been looking for a new detective to hook me. Alex Segura's Pete Fernandez has some big shoes to fill, but it seems he might be a good fit for me.

Set in Miami, this third installment in the series brings a dark and criminal underbelly to light - gangs and gang politics that tie all the way back to Cuba. In fact, Pete's own grandfather gets a bit of attention with chapters beginning in 1959 Cuba interspersed throughout the present day chapters.

It seems Pete's grandfather turned down an offer made by Castro's own men in his earliest days in power, leaving the elder Fernandez no choice but to flee to America with his family. And though Pete knows nothing about this at the start of the story, his family's past is eventually revealed to him as a possible connection to the current case.

I really appreciated the fact that while this was the third book in a series, it was easy to dive into as an introduction. That said, Segura does spend a bit of time bringing the reader up to speed (or offering a refresher, as the case may be) with Pete and Kathy, which could potentially mean a bit of spoilers for those of us who backtrack to the previous installments.

Pete and Kathy have a history - in fact, Pete was hired to find Kathy in Segura's first outing of the series, Silent City. Theirs is obviously a relationship built on a certain amount of shared danger and trust, and ample ribbing on the part of both characters. And again, diving in further into their story didn't leave me at any sort of disadvantage. Their characters were well built, without Segura ever leaning on or relying on the previous installments, making it easy for a newbie like me to easily get to know them and get a good feel for their relationship.

And as characters go, Miami itself is equally as important as Pete and Kathy. Miami isn't a place I've spent much time, but Segura definitely brought me there through Pete's eyes and experiences. From the Cuban cafes where Pete gets his cafecito fix to the beaches that play host to tourists by day and crime scenes by night, the setting is brought completely to life, making the story is that much more rich and intense as a result.

It's early days for me and Pete, but with Dangerous Ends I think we're off to a promising start!

To see more stops on the tour be sure to check out the official TLC tour page here.

For more on Alex Segura and his work you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.

Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Guest Post by Terrence McCauley

If you follow the mystery/thriller writing world then you know genre authors convened in New Orleans over the weekend for this year's Bouchercon. And I'm uber jealous! One of these days, Bouchercon! One of these days...

Thanks to Polis Books, I happen to know today's guest post writer was in attendance signing copies of his latest, A Murder of Crows, the second in his James Hicks series, which released this July.

Here's a bit about the book (from Goodreads) before I hand things over to Terrence:

THE CROWS ARE GATHERING. WAR IS COMING.

For years, every intelligence agency in the world has been chasing the elusive terrorist known only as The Moroccan. But when James Hicks and his clandestine group known as the University thwart a bio-terror attack against New York City and capture The Moroccan, they find themselves in the crosshairs of their own intelligence community.

The CIA, NSA, DIA and the Mossad are still hunting for for The Moroccan and will stop at nothing to get him. Hicks must find a way to keep the other agencies at bay while he tries to break The terrorist and uncover what else he is planning.

When he ultimately surrenders information that leads to the most wanted terrorist in the world, Hicks and his team find themselves in a strange new world where allies become enemies, enemies become allies and the fate of the University - perhaps even the Western world - may hang in the balance.

Can Hicks and the University survive an onslaught from A MURDER OF CROWS?

And now here's Terrence!

Creating Secondary Characters 

- by Terrence McCauley

One of the things I enjoy most about writing is the feedback I receive on my secondary characters. People who read my work tend to find them as compelling – if not more so – than some of my main characters. For example, in PROHIBITION, people were as concerned about how mob boss Archie Doyle survived his difficulties at the end of the book as they were about what happened to the protagonist, hit man Terry Quinn. In SLOW BURN, readers wanted to know about what happened to Alice (who also appeared in PROHIBITION). They were also interested in seeing if the protagonist Charlie Doherty ever tangled with Chief Carmichael or with the wealthy Mr. Van Dorn again. (I plan to answer those questions in subsequent books.)

In my spy thriller SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL and A MURDER OF CROWS, I’ve been fortunate enough to have readers tell me they’re not sure if they like my protagonist James Hicks, but they’re very interested in his colleagues Roger Cobb and Tali Saddon.

I’ve known a few writers who didn’t like it when secondary characters seemed to be as popular or resonate more with their readership. I happen to love it. Every bit of feedback I’ve ever received has helped me become a better writer one way or the other. So when I hear that they’re interested in learning more about the co-stars of my work, it means I’ve done my job as a writer. I’m not just writing about one character doing brave or heroic things. I’m creating a world in which the reader can lose themselves for a few hours. A place where they can invest their time and money to escape their everyday world while they explore the one I have created for them.

From a plot perspective, I think secondary characters are very important. They can enhance the action and advance the plot so the protagonist doesn’t have to do it all on his or her own. They can show aspects of the protagonist’s character without the writer having to spell it out in detail. It affords the writer the opportunity to show, rather than tell.

Let me explain. Since I write mostly thrillers, I do my best to try to do something different that separates my work from other books in the genre. One set piece expected in spy novels is the obligatory exposition of the protagonist’s past. It often takes place when a secondary character is reviewing the protagonist’s file. There we clearly learn all of the protagonist’s skills and accomplishments. The medals he has won or the demons she’s trying to fight from a bad op gone wrong. It’s an easy way to convey a lot of information about the protagonist quickly and it’s a device I try to avoid at all costs.

Although the reader certainly needs to know about the protagonist, but I chose to hint at it rather than have two characters discussing what they’re reading in a file. James Hicks is the protagonist of my University Series of novels and I intentionally keep his past vague because it adds to the overall covert, secretive nature of his work. I have decided to show how capable he is not only by what he does, but how the secondary characters react to him. Roger Cobb mentioning an op they ran in Africa or Roger being concerned about Hicks’ temper. Tali saying she can’t trust Hicks because she knows how he operates. The Dean of the University discussing Hicks’ strengths and abilities rather than having him review his file with a third party. These secondary characters aren’t just window dressing. They contribute to the plot and convey a sense of who Hicks is and his capabilities. His strengths and weaknesses are reflected in their reactions to him, which allows the reader the chance to fill in the blanks on their own.

Given the feedback I’ve received from my readership, I’m pleased with the results. After SYMPATHY came out, I heard from readers who wanted to see more of Roger Cobb. They wanted to see more of Tali and see her in action. They wanted to learn more about the Dean’s plans and how the University might change in future novels. That feedback helped me craft the sequel – A MURDER OF CROWS – where those same characters play vital roles in how the plot unfolds. It is a tactic I will employ in the next book in the series and in all of my writing in the future. Because strong secondary characters not only make the protagonist more interesting, they add another layer to the plot that keeps the reader invested and engaged.

Creating interesting secondary characters is yet another part of the art of writing that I thoroughly enjoy. 

About the author: Terrence McCauley is an award-winning writer of crime fiction. His first techno-thriller, SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, was published by Polis Books in July 2015. Polis also reissued Terrence's first two novels set in 1930 New York City - PROHIBITION and SLOW BURN.

In 2016, Down and Out Books also published Terrence's World War I novella - THE DEVIL DOGS OF BELLEAU WOOD. Proceeds from sales go directly to benefit the Semper Fi Fund.

Terrence has had short stories featured in Thuglit, Spintetingler Magazine, Shotgun Honey, Big Pulp and other publications. He is a member of the New York City chapter of the Mystery Writers of America, the International Thriller Writers and the International Crime Writers Association.

A proud native of The Bronx, NY, he is currently writing his next work of fiction.

Big thanks to Terrence McCauley for being here today and to his publicist for setting up this post! For more on Terrence McCauley and his work you can visit his website here. You can also like him on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.