I’m glad you are here!
Just to introduce myself: I love books, dogs, and Jesus. Thirty years ago I was reading a lot of mystery/suspense: Grisham, Clancy, Cornwell … that sort of thing. They all included some philosophical basis for life, some worldview. I wondered, why have Christians abandoned the marketplace of ideas?
Then I got an idea for a story. What if … the son of a door-kicking FBI agent was kidnapped by the drug gang he was investigating?
Not coincidentally my husband, Larry, worked for the FBI. Not as an agent–he made Hollywood-style video training films.
Next thing I knew, he was dragging me (a stay-at-home mom!) to the FBI Academy and introducing me to people. Instructors. Agents. Firearms experts. I was intimidated but they were so kind. I learned all kinds of (non-secret) stuff about the FBI and started writing.
Fast forward 30 years (can you do that??) to 2024. I am about to release my 12th book. The first six are straight FBI thrillers–engaging characters, gripping plots, but clean reads that incorporate faith. (My original story? That’s “The Tiger’s Cage.”) The first three of my books were traditionally published, then my husband and I took over.
In 2017, my husband died after nine years of cancer. I wasn’t sure I was going to write any more. But God … In May 2018, I began (with the help of two real-life search and rescue volunteers) working on “All That I Dread,” a story about Jessica Chamberlain and her rowdy German shepherd, Luke.
Jess, a 9/11 orphan (now grown) and a former police detective begins learning search and rescue to channel some of Luke’s energy. Her mentor, Nathan Tanner, is a former military dog handler with scars from Afghanistan.
On Jess’s very first wilderness test, Luke easily finds the “lost” helper, then takes off into the woods after another scent. Jess chases him, and finds him lying near the body of a real murder victim, a young woman. What a shock! Nate calls law enforcement. Half an hour later, in walks FBI Special Agent Scott Cooper …
“All That I Dread” turned out to be the beginning of a bestselling series. Readers have followed Jess and Luke (and Nate and Scott) through training, private investigations, rock climbing, kid-finding, cold case murders, ridge running, through successes and failures, personal struggles, the ups and downs of love, and, finally, taking baby steps and tottering toward faith.
I’d love for you to join the journey. Books 1-5 are all bestsellers on Amazon. The first five SAR books are available in print, Kindle, in large print editions, and as audiobooks! All of them are in Kindle Unlimited as well. Book 6 releases May 6 in print and Kindle.
If you love dogs, you’ll love this series. If you love stories that include faith, you’ll find it hard to put these books down. If you want to be encouraged, be entertained, and find hope, you will in these books.
Thanks for stopping by! And happy reading…
God bless,
Linda
