February Newsletter Special Edition

Vol. XXXIII

 “Exceptional character development distinguishes Thriller Award–winner Ellison’s third Samantha Owens novel, the best yet in the series.”

– Publishers Weekly Starred Review
– Publishers Weekly Pick of the Week 

Gentle Readers:

My eleventh novel, WHEN SHADOWS FALL, has been born into the world today, and I want to celebrate with you!

Over on my Facebook page,  I’m giving away 3 $50 gift cards to your favorite bookstore. All you need to do is leave a comment on the post to be entered – and in the interest of spreading the word, if you share it on your page, you’ll be entered twice. How’s that for a deal? I’ll announce the winners on Friday, February 28th at noon.

Every series has a path, planned or unplanned. When I started writing my Taylor Jackson books, I had no idea it was going to be a series. I hadn’t thought about extended story, structure, character development. I created a finite character in a finite world, and it was difficult to see where to take the books.

With Sam, it was the opposite. I knew I wanted a character who could grow and change remarkably. I knew I wanted to allow her the freedom to move around the country, the world, with relative ease. As my then editor and I were planning the first book in the series, I mentioned I wanted Sam to be the Indiana Jones of forensic pathology. The idea stuck.

This third book is a seminal part of the series. Sam is faced with the biggest decision of her life, one she must grapple with over the course of the strangest case she’s seen to date. She receives a letter from a man begging her to solve his murder, but a quick look into his death shows he is a clear suicide. Sam discovers his body has DNA from a twenty-year old cold case, linking him to a kidnapped child whose remains were recovered years earlier.

The book unfurls from there, traveling all over D.C. and Virginia, from Georgetown to Lynchburg, and the beautiful Great Falls – all my old stomping rounds – delving into the a world of killers and cult leaders and things that go bump in the night.

I hope you’ll love this third installment in Sam’s story, enjoy watching her truly come back to life, moving forward with her new love and her dear friends at her side, into a mind-bending case that will decide her fate for years to come. Here’s a quick excerpt from the book to give you an idea of what’s ahead. 

For those of you in the Nashville area, I will be reading from and signing WHEN SHADOWS FALL at the Barnes & Noble in Cool Springs tonight at 7:00 p.m. I hope you’ll join me for an evening of fun and frivolity and murder.

Thank you, as always, for being the best readers on the planet. I wouldn’t be here without you! Cheers!

xoxo,

JT

Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-a-Million / iBooks / Kobo / Walmart 
IndieBound / East Side Story / Parnassus / Reading Rock

Audiobook available March 31, 2014 from Tantor Audio

 ___________________________________

Praise for WHEN SHADOWS FALL 

“Ellison has crafted a terrific thriller, and fans of forensic mysteries, such as those by Patricia Cornwell, should immediately add this series to their A-lists.”
-- Booklist (starred review)

“Skillfully seasoned with suspense, intrigue, adventure, and a dash of romance, [WHEN SHADOWS FALL is] essential for suspense junkies.”
-- Library Journal

“Ellison excels at imaginative and terrifying plots, and this thriller is a fine example that sucks readers in at the beginning and spits them out at the end, emotionally drained. The latest Samantha Owens installment is a complex story with interwoven mysteries and a frightening conspiracy. Villains range from just greedy to truly evil.”
-- Romantic Times Book Review (Top Pick!)

“Exceptional character development distinguishes Thriller Award–winner Ellison’s third Samantha Owens novel (after 2012’s Edge of Black), the best yet in the series. The author’s ability to neatly tie together the mysterious clues helps make this a standout in the romantic thriller subgenre.”
-- Publisher’s Weekly (Starred Review)

“You want compelling characters, warp-speed action, a complex, terrifying plot, then Ellison's When Shadows Fall, with Dr. Samantha Owens, is for you. Be prepared for calloused fingers you’ll be turning the pages so fast.”

-- Catherine Coulter, #1 New York Time Bestselling Author of Bombshell