by Julie, enjoying spring in Somerville

I am delighted to welcome friend of the Wickeds Annette Dashofy back to the blog today. Let’s all help her celebrate her new release!

by Annette Dashofy

My thirteenth novel in the Zoe Chambers series comes out today. Lucky thirteen. I frequently get asked how I keep track of all my characters through thirteen books. The answer? Sometimes I don’t! 

This time, though, I decided to revisit a couple of locations from earlier books, and along with the locations came a few of the characters. 

Back in Fair Game (#8), I’d offered up naming rights as a giveaway. One of my regular readers, Sandy Giden, became the owner of the Vance Motel, a throwback to the days when motorists traveled two-lane rather than four-lane highways. Instead of devolving into a dive, my fictional motel owner prided herself on a family-friendly, affordable place for travelers to rest their weary heads. Alas, since she and her establishment reside in my murder mysteries, a dead body is traced back to one of her guests. She’s mortified, as any of us would be. 

Things get worse for Sandy and the Vance Motel in What Comes Around. This time, the quaint and retro venue is the scene of the murder. Sandy is contemplating selling. I hope she doesn’t.

I had no trouble recalling what this location looked like because it’s inspired by a real motel that’s seen its better days thanks to a four-lane highway taking traffic away from its two-lane address. I say “inspired by” because the real motel is a tad…well…seedier. No way would I spend a night there even for research.

I also revisit a location that first appeared in Under the Radar (#9). This location is even easier to recall because it’s real, and I frequently spend time there. In Under the Radar, Zoe’s husband (then fiancé) Police Chief Pete Adams travels to the Laurel Highlands in pursuit of a couple fleeing the law. He enlists the help of a Pennsylvania State Trooper since Pete is well out of his jurisdiction. Since I knew I needed a State Trooper, rather than creating one, I borrowed one. My critique buddy and good friend, Liz Milliron, writes the Laurel Highlands Mysteries which features PSP Trooper Jim Duncan. I asked her permission to “borrow” him for a scene, and she agreed. After all, as my critique partner, she could make sure I got her creation right.

Pete and Zoe return to the Laurel Highlands in What Comes Around while Zoe is digging into a cold case at the request of her currently incapacitated forensic pathologist, and Pete is digging into the past of the victim from the Vance Motel. Once again, Pete enlists the help of Jim Duncan with whom he’s become pals. Like last time, I thought I’d only need him for one scene, but Jim wanted a bigger part in this book and keeps showing up. Liz once again made sure I kept him true to her vision. 

As a side note, Liz is returning the favor by borrowing Pete for one of her upcoming novels!

I’m giving away three Kindle-format copies of What Comes Around. To enter, leave a comment, letting us know if, as a writer, you’ve ever borrowed a character from another writer…or…as a reader, if you’ve ever read a book with crossover characters. Did you enjoy it? You can also enter by leaving a comment and just say “hi.”

Just as Monongahela County Coroner Zoe Chambers-Adams decides to fire her abrasive chief deputy, Dr. Charles Davis, and put an end to his constant undermining of her position, a suspicious car crash severely injures the county’s only other forensic pathologist. To keep the office operational, Zoe has little choice but to keep Davis on staff.

When Zoe and her husband—Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams—respond to a brutal homicide, they quickly learn the victim had come to town for the sole purpose of sharing vital information with Zoe. And the decedent’s ex-husband is none other than Zoe’s deputy coroner.

As Zoe and Pete dig deeper into the victim’s past, more questions arise along with a tangle of connections between multiple cases, including a very cold one that leads Zoe and those she cares about directly into the crosshairs of a crazed killer. 

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today bestselling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series and the Detective Honeywell series. She won the 2021 Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for excellence in Thoroughbred racing literature for her standalone, Death By Equine, and has garnered multiple Agatha Award nominations. Her short fiction has also earned a Derringer nomination. Annette and her husband live on ten acres of what was her grandfather’s dairy farm in southwestern Pennsylvania with their very spoiled cat, Kensi.