DEAD COLD by Jennifer Chase, Crime Thriller, 326 pp., 99 cents
(Kindle edition).
Title:
DEAD COLD
Author: Jennifer Chase
Publisher: JEC Press
Pages: 326
Genre: Crime Thriller
What happens when one California
community has a disturbing spike in homicides? It catapults cops into a deadly
game of murder. Frozen human body parts hideously displayed at the crime scenes
offers a horrifying interpretation that only a sadistic serial killer could
design—and execute.
On the hunt for a complex serial killer, vigilante detective Emily Stone must
face her most daring case yet. Stone’s proven top-notch profiling skills and
forensic expertise may not be enough this time.
Young and ambitious, Detective Danny Starr, catches the homicide cases and
discovers that it will test everything he knows about police work and the
criminal mind. Can he handle these escalating cases or will the police
department have to call in reinforcements—the FBI.
Emily Stone’s covert team pushes with extreme urgency to unravel the grisly
clues, while keeping their identities hidden from the police. With one
last-ditch effort, Stone dangles someone she loves as bait to draw out the
killer. She then forces the killer out of their comfort zone with her partner
Rick Lopez, and with help from a longtime friend Jordan Smith. A revelation of
the serial killer’s identity leaves the team with volatile emotions that could
destroy them.
The killer continues to taunt and expertly manipulate the police, as well as
Stone’s team, and as they run out of time—they leave behind everyone and
everything—in Dead Cold.
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When I outline the bad guys for my novels, it often reads like a police rap sheet and a psychological profile. I cannot overstate the effectiveness for research and outlining in fiction writing. There are those little pieces of nuggets that you can weave into the story that gives it the added realism and authenticity. These nuggets are like pieces of gold for me, and I love hunting for them.
Research into creating new characters works well for me because I love learning new things that I didn’t know yesterday, but it can be a daunting task if you don’t enjoy the process. I’ve managed to streamline my development a bit, so that I don’t get overwhelmed with too much information and avoid a major time void sucking the life out of me.
PHYSICAL
This is where I create the actual physical qualities of the character, what he/she looks like, mannerisms, specific characteristics, how he/she dresses, and even habits. I begin to get a real picture in my mind how this person looks, walks, and talks. It’s a writer’s character rap sheet with an added dimension.
BACKGROUND
Now it’s getting to be fun. This is where I begin to develop who they are with a history, life experiences, family, work environment, criminal activity, relationships, living conditions, education, and anything that wasn’t addressed with the physical area.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
Now, I have an actual image of the character and some background information. It’s endless in creating the mind of a bad guy, and you can have so much fun with this area of writing. This is no doubt my favorite step to creating a bad guy. I like to have these characters answer a few questions for me, like what they would do if confronted with certain situations. This also includes their internal and external conflicts. Many of my bad guys are serial killers, so they are skewed with distorted perceptions, beliefs, and lack of impulse control. How fun is that?
A
Day In the Life of Jennifer Chase
I write in one hour or two hour increments during the day and evening. This
allows me to be able to complete other things such as household chores,
promotion, exercise, and errands. One of my favorite things is when I begin one
of my new thriller projects, I love creating the bad guys. I work out my Big
Three: Physical, Background, and Psychological.When I outline the bad guys for my novels, it often reads like a police rap sheet and a psychological profile. I cannot overstate the effectiveness for research and outlining in fiction writing. There are those little pieces of nuggets that you can weave into the story that gives it the added realism and authenticity. These nuggets are like pieces of gold for me, and I love hunting for them.
Research into creating new characters works well for me because I love learning new things that I didn’t know yesterday, but it can be a daunting task if you don’t enjoy the process. I’ve managed to streamline my development a bit, so that I don’t get overwhelmed with too much information and avoid a major time void sucking the life out of me.
PHYSICAL
This is where I create the actual physical qualities of the character, what he/she looks like, mannerisms, specific characteristics, how he/she dresses, and even habits. I begin to get a real picture in my mind how this person looks, walks, and talks. It’s a writer’s character rap sheet with an added dimension.
BACKGROUND
Now it’s getting to be fun. This is where I begin to develop who they are with a history, life experiences, family, work environment, criminal activity, relationships, living conditions, education, and anything that wasn’t addressed with the physical area.
PSYCHOLOGICAL
Now, I have an actual image of the character and some background information. It’s endless in creating the mind of a bad guy, and you can have so much fun with this area of writing. This is no doubt my favorite step to creating a bad guy. I like to have these characters answer a few questions for me, like what they would do if confronted with certain situations. This also includes their internal and external conflicts. Many of my bad guys are serial killers, so they are skewed with distorted perceptions, beliefs, and lack of impulse control. How fun is that?
ESCAPE WAS IMPOSSIBLE. TEARS STREAMED down her
face as she sat in the darkness and waited for the man to return. There was no
other choice—but to wait.
She hadn’t eaten anything in three days and had only a
limited amount of water—her strength continued to fade with every hour. With
her wrists and ankles secured with duct tape, her skin stung with pain every
time she struggled to move. At least the man had peeled the tape from her eyes
and mouth so that she could see something besides pitch-blackness.
Even if she could escape, the only way to safety was jumping
into the frigid water, but she could not swim and would drown before ever
reaching the shore.
The only thing thirteen-year-old Kayla Swanson thought about
was home. Fond memories flashed through her mind of her parents, her little
brother, and her dog Charlie. She was never going to see them again. Their
smiling faces were forever etched in Kayla’s mind, and she constantly held them
close to her heart.
The boat rocked, and seemed to sway more violently as the
tide flooded in and out of the harbor. Kayla could hear a consistent clanking
noise above her as the boat rolled back and forth. The sound had a hypnotic
quality, and kept her mind on something else besides when the man would return
and what he would do next.
Her lips were dry and cracked as she bordered on dehydration.
Even her tears dried on her cheeks, leaving her skin stiff and drawn. Her body
began to shake, not only from fear, but also because of the extreme exhaustion
and the constant dampness all around her.
The boat rocked more, but this time it shifted from the
opposite sides. Kayla heard soft footsteps above, which she knew wasn’t her
captor’s heavy walk. She strained her eyes in the darkness and thought she saw
a thin shadow stealthily move along the upper deck.
Was it a ghost?
Kayla remembered a television series where a team of people
hunted ghosts and they had said that ghosts could
occupy any type of space, house, property, and even a boat.
She blinked her eyes several times and hoped that she could
catch a glimpse of the ghost again. With every ounce of declining strength,
Kayla scooted her body closer to the narrow stairs leading to the upper deck.
Painfully craning her neck, she strained to see something up
in the darkness.
The dark shadowed areas played tricks on her eyes—it was
there, then it wasn’t.
She waited for several minutes.
Nothing appeared.
The only sounds she heard were the usual boat noises she had
grown accustomed to hearing. Whatever she thought she heard was gone now. It
was most likely her imagination trying to give her some hope and a few moments
break from her dire circumstances.
As she relaxed her shoulders and leaned back against the
wall, the reality of her world pressing down hard. Tears streamed down her
face. She tasted the saltiness that settled around her mouth. Her last moments
were approaching, and there was nothing she could do.
Jennifer
Chase is a multi award-winning crime fiction author and consulting
criminologist.
Jennifer holds a bachelor
degree in police forensics and a master's degree in criminology & criminal
justice. These academic pursuits developed out of her curiosity about the
criminal mind as well as from her own experience with a violent sociopath,
providing Jennifer with deep personal investment in every story she tells. In
addition, she holds certifications in serial crime and criminal
profiling.
She is an affiliate member of the International Association of Forensic
Criminologists.
Her
latest book is the crime thriller, Dead
Cold
.
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