by Karen Harper
Andrea did have an aggressive form of breast cancer, but she had been cleared of any crime. It was punishment enough, Kris had said, not only that she’d lost her husband after learning of his terrible acts, but that the Black Bog project—the Vances’ secret, private obsession—was now big news and in the government’s domain. Kris had been named as head archaeologist, and Claire knew that she still kept Andrea up-to-date on everything they found. At least there had been only depositions and not a trial for Claire and Dale to go through in the witness box. Of course, it had helped Dale’s reputation that he had donated Eva Braun’s diary to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans instead of selling it to the highest bidder.
The double whammy of notoriety in this case was that Dale was so relieved to be exonerated that he had agreed to scores of interviews—at the law offices, with Nick present—about his great-uncle’s ties to Hitler. Germany and Russia were calling the “Hitler’s Wife Lived in South Florida” story an elaborate hoax, but the United States and the United Kingdom had the story splashed everywhere as real, not fake news.
At least all the publicity had made Ken Jensen lay off pushing for Claire to join the NPD as a forensic consultant. He hadn’t been too pleased that Nick hadn’t cued him in on Dale’s Nazi connection or that Claire had not let him know about Brad Vance possibly selling knockoff jewelry and daggers. Ken had served a subpoena on both of the Vances’ antiques stores and learned that several wealthy Europeans had recently contracted to receive stone statues or metal bangle bracelets and necklaces emblazoned with the image of an ancient woman with her arms raised in prayer.
What Nick was calling The Black Bog Case had also made Kris and Claire famous—though at least not infamous—as they gave interviews about what they knew of the ancient people’s lives and artifacts.
Finally, when everyone had gone and Kris had left complete photos of all the latest finds for Claire to study before she could return to the bog and see the artifacts themselves, the Markwood family of four sat on the couch, Lexi holding Trey now, all quiet at last.
“Well,” Nick said, “that’s enough of special secret assignments.”
“Not secret anymore,” Claire said, leaning her head on his shoulder.
He sighed heavily. “And once you’re finished with Black Bog, let’s just move on to something light and lovely—and safe.”
“Like pretty butterflies,” Lexi said, “’cause they can’t hurt anybody.”
“Maybe,” Claire said with a smile at Lexi, “we can plant some flowers and put in a feeder out by the pool to draw them here.”
“Sounds good to me,” Nick agreed, as he put his arm around her shoulders. “And, like Lexi says, safe. But I think I’ve stupidly said that before.”
* * *
If you enjoyed Silent Scream, don’t miss the next suspenseful story in Karen Harper’s South Shores series, Dark Storm.
Coming soon from MIRA Books.
Author’s Note
Several books I’ve read on forensic psychology claim that “crime is character.” Circumstances, motive, opportunity, proximity—it all boils down to the character of the criminal, and character is a central focus of suspense writing. I may start with a fascinating or frightening setting or plot, but above all character counts.
I also thought the claim that Sherlock Holmes created forensic analysis is fascinating. He solved crimes by psyching out what sort of person would murder someone and why. So the idea of studying possible “perps” to solve crimes came far before CSI and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit or some of the popular fiction about not only who-dunit but why-dunit.
I have read several articles about Nazi war criminals hiding in the United States, most recently the Minnesota arrest of Michael Karkoc, the “Nazi next door.” One article, “There Could be ‘Hundreds’ of Nazi War Criminals Still Living in the United States” by Dan Amira appeared in NY Magazine on March 17, 2017, was especially helpful. Although war criminals would be in their eighties and nineties, we all must admit people are living longer these days. But I did make Dale’s great-uncle dead for years so that Dale has to deal with that tragic heritage rather than the man himself.
The idea of having Eva Braun not die with Hitler, but flee to the United States, is an idea that occurred to me while reading a book about Hitler’s fall in Germany. An author’s imagination is always dealing with “what if.”
Other somewhat unusual things mentioned in the book are fact, not fiction. It is difficult for most of us to understand that some people cannot recognize others’ faces, even those close to them. The July 14, 2017, issue of Time Magazine had a fascinating article on this written by Kate Samuelson. An expert on face blindness, she believes that as many people as 1 in 50 have some degree of prosopagnosia. So I thought it might be interesting to link the big boom in facial recognition technology to that disability. Also, the fact that Claire suffers from narcolepsy bonds her with Kris even more.
As Kris mentions in this story, the prehistoric Windover Bog Culture, a 1982 archaeological discovery near Titusville, Florida, was a shock to the sedate, touristy south. It is now on the US National Register of Historic Places. Archaeologists used forensic psychologists to help them probe the ancient culture at that dig. Researching Florida Bog Mummies online will lead you to several articles about this site. NOVA has an official website about this on their PBS site under Ancient America’s Bog People. There is also a video online entitled Windover’s Ancient “Bog People” Among Most Significant Archaeological Finds in North America.
I hope you will watch for Dark Storm, the next book in the South Shores series. After all, Nick is finally convinced nothing bad or dangerous could possibly happen in connection with beautiful butterflies. He’s been wrong before when he thought Claire’s working with prehistoric dead bodies would not lead to danger. Stay tuned.
Special thanks to my great support team at MIRA Books, especially my editor, Emily Ohanjanians, and my agent, Annelise Robey. Thanks to my brother Tom in Atlanta for the information on Zebulon, Georgia. And, as ever, to my husband Don for proofreading my stories.
Karen Harper
February 2018
Suspense in Real Life
By Karen Harper
I didn’t realize that, for years, my contemporary novels have been what’s currently referred to as “domestic suspense” or “domestic thriller.” To use several high-profile examples, think Gone Girl or Girl on the Train. (Hmm, should I start putting the word girl in my titles? Girl Gives Silent Scream?) Obviously readers love novels with marriage or family drama as well as the solve-this-scary-case stories.
Literary domestic dramas mixed with mayhem and murder are not new. The popular 1930s/1940s Thin Man series, featuring Nick and Nora Charles, became a television show. Also in that era on the brink of World War II, Dorothy L. Sayers wrote the delightful Lord Peter Whimsey/Harriet Vane series. Another domestic drama/suspense series with cozy and humorous touches were novels under the Mr. and Mrs. North umbrella which also was a television series. More recently Anne Perry’s Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novels featuring a historic Victorian inspector and his wife are a continually fresh, charming and suspenseful blend of mystery and domestic drama.
I had written both stand-alone novels and an earlier series (The Queen Elizabeth I Mysteries) without categorizing them as domestic suspense. All I knew was I wanted to give my readers books with mystery, romance and complicated human relationships.
In my earlier stand-alone MIRA books, the two main characters fall in love while trying to solve a crime and stay alive. The romance evolves during the deadly suspense. The main characters have problems, but the stories end in commitment, usually an engagement or plans for a future wedding.
However, in this South Shores series, I stirred up this pattern by creating a very real heroine who has some modern “complications” she must work through in her domestic life as well as in her c
areer: forensic psychologist Claire Markwood has narcolepsy, she is divorced with a child, and her ex-husband is one of the main viewpoint characters even as her new relationship with Nick, a criminal lawyer, develops. Lexi is a troubled child for reasons obvious in the first three books. Claire is trying to balance her career with family life; Nick is too. Their commitment to their work is admirable but is also a problem.
Does anything here sound familiar when we look at “real life” in today’s demanding world? We have all observed stressed romantic relationships and marriages through media, family ties—hopefully not too close-up and personal. I know my silent study of such situations has helped me to create reality, tension and resolutions through my plots, characters and dialogue.
Perhaps how my main characters work through their problems now and in the future—as do the other secondary pairs of romantic characters in the series—will not only interest but also encourage readers in their own domestic dramas and suspenseful lives.
ISBN-13: 9781488088520
Silent Scream
Copyright © 2018 by Karen Harper
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