Some Secrets are better Kept

This is the page to learn more about The Last Witnesses, book three in the Freddie and Kathy 1920s series. The book runs about 250 words long, and is available in paperback for $15.99 and in ebook for $3.99 at the below retailers.

The Last Witnesses Synopsis

In the exciting sequel to Bring Into Bondage, socialite author Freddie Little and his editor and not-so-blushing bride Kathy Briscow are happily enjoying their newly-married bliss when Freddie’s sister, Honoria, finds a dead body in her apartment. Honoria had taken the young woman in as a favor to a friend but it soon becomes clear that the favor caught up. Honoria goes into hiding and Freddie and Kathy take up a chase that will lead all three of them across the country and into a conspiracy that, no matter how unbelievable, could get them all killed.

How I wrote The Last Witnesses

Many, many years ago, I heard Mary Higgins Clark speak at a couple of different writers conferences. She was wonderful, but what really stuck with me was her assertion that the writer’s job is to ask, “What if…?”

Then, while I researched the 1920s for the first book in the series, Fascinating Rhythm, I stumbled across a fascinating conspiracy theory. I’m not going to write which one here – I do not want to drop a spoiler. And there were plenty at the time to choose from. But there was something about this one that seriously tickled my fancy, and I could not resist asking, “What if…?”

I began the story right after I finished book two, Bring Into Bondage. I had originally titled it “A Tangled Web,” and a significant part of it was going to be the tendency of Honoria (Freddie’s sister) to lie readily and easily. But I eventually decided that the original title was too awkward. Nor did it ultimately ring true to the character that Honoria became. Honoria’s search for herself remained a large part of the subplot, but it was less about her being able to tell truth from lies. Instead, it was more about her feeling she had to fit in with her social peers even when she didn’t really want to.

Freddie’s Mother

The other character that sprang to life in a way that I did not expect was Gloria Derby Little, Freddie and Honoria’s mother. It was not unusual for parents of their social status to be distant from their children. But I had two basic problems. We needed to see where Freddie and Honoria got their brains. Freddie’s father wasn’t working out that way at all. And I wanted Gloria to accept Kathy as her daughter-in-law, which meant that Gloria had to be far more open-minded than one would think of a society matron.

I did not expect the turns she took, however. But I’m glad they did. She grew even more in Blood Red.