Book Title: DEAD MAN'S LIST
Character Name: Detective Kit McKittrick
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
Not great, to be honest. I grew up in foster care and I was in a lot of homes. I wasn’t the easiest kid to manage, usually mouthy, and I never liked rules that didn’t make sense. I had a few close calls with predatory foster parents and, when I was twelve years old, I ran away with Wren, the girl who was my sister in all but blood. We ended up hiding in a barn to get out of the cold—and it changed my life. The barn belonged to Harlan and Betsy McKittrick and, over time and with a lot of patience on their part, I became their daughter.
What was your greatest talent? I’m logical and I can tell when people are lying. Lie detection was a useful skill when growing up in foster care. It’s also useful now that I’m a cop.
Significant other?
No one at the moment, but there’s this guy named Sam who … likes me. I have no idea why. He’s wonderful, really. He could have anyone—which is what everyone tells me. “Snap him up before someone else does.” But damn. He’s too nice for me. He deserves someone better. But he says he wants me. That I’m worth waiting for. So … yeah. We’ll see how it goes.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
Having one. I don’t trust easily. I don’t love easily. I’m prickly and snarky and it takes a lot of patience to love me.
Where do you live? San Diego, CA.
Do you have any enemies?
Oh sure. Probably every killer I’ve ever arrested. And there’s this reporter, Tamsin Effing Kavanaugh (self-edited here because my mother taught me not to swear … too much). Kavanaugh loves to follow me around and ask me stupid, intrusive questions. I think she’s an enemy. She certainly is not my friend.
How do you feel about the place where you are now?
Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place? I live on a boat. It’s my brother’s boat and it’s tiny, but I don’t need much room. Just enough for me and my dog. And my collection of carved birds my father made for me. But honestly, I spend a lot of my nights back home with my folks at McKittrick House. It’s homey and warm and smells like apple pie, clean laundry, and lemon furniture polish.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
No kids. Shudder. I don’t know that I’m mommy material, to be honest. But I like teenagers, and my folks have several fosters. They are wonderful. I also have a dog. Her name is Snickerdoodle and she’s a standard poodle. The girls at McKittrick house love her. There’s always someone to give her pets and treats.
What do you do for a living?
I’m a homicide detective—a pretty darn good one, if I say so myself.
Greatest disappointment? You mean my greatest devastation? The murder of my sister Wren and my inability to catch her killer. He’s still out there, walking around free, while my sister’s life was ended at fifteen. If I ever find him, he will know justice.
Greatest source of joy?
My family and my dog. I love watching the new kids come through McKittrick House and know that I can help guide them the way Mom and Pop and the older fosters guided me.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun? Um, fun? I’m not sure what that is, exactly. I do go out with my sister Akiko on her fishing boat. I’m her first mate whenever I have the time. I love the water, which is good since I’m a former Coastie (Coast Guard for those not in the know). And I play with my dog, of course.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view? I’m selfish with my affection and I’m a bad bet for anyone who wants romance.
What keeps you awake at night?
Knowing that the person who killed my sister Wren still walks the earth.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment? At the moment? It’s this guy named Sam who thinks he wants me. He’ll learn that I’m too broken and then he’ll find someone who’s good enough for him. Oh, I also have this mystery to solve. Someone killed one of our city council members. He wasn’t a nice man and there are way too many suspects. But I’ll get to the bottom of this. I always do.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have?
For yourself or for someone important to you? I want my parents to have an easy life, to be able to take vacations and put their feet up. But they’re farmers with a houseful of foster kids, so they don’t get to rest often. I want to be worthy of them and their sacrifice.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
I’m in the way. I want to be nicer, to be sweeter, but I’m just me. Mom and Pop and my sister Akiko love me anyway and that’s really all I could ever need. Unless it’s this guy named Sam. He’s gotten under my skin. If I could be good enough for him … well, I’d really like that.
The San Diego Case Files , #3
Homicide Detective Kit McKittrick's latest case exposes the dark side of San Diego’s high society in this nerve-shattering tale of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose.
On a long-anticipated second date with police psychologist Dr. Sam Reeves—right as things are getting steamy—Kit stumbles across the mutilated body of a local San Diego politician. The man was loved by many of his constituents but is hated and reviled by many more. That the suspect list is long surprises no one, but exactly who ends up on it stuns Kit and her team.
As the SDPD reveal the victim’s sinister dealings, Kit and Sam are forced to navigate the closely guarded world of the city’s richest and most powerful citizens to find answers. But time is rapidly running out, with their sources of information dropping like flies as the killer methodically eliminates loose ends—and anyone else who stands in the way.
Mystery Police Procedural [Berkley, On Sale: March 4, 2025, Hardcover / e-Book , ISBN: 9780593817179 / eISBN: 9780593817186]
Internationally bestselling, RITA-award winning, author Karen Rose was born and raised in the Maryland suburbs of Washington, DC. She met her husband, Martin, on a blind date when they were seventeen and after they both graduated from the University of Maryland, (Karen with a degree in Chemical Engineering) they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. Karen worked as an engineer for a large consumer goods company, earning two patents, but as Karen says, “scenes were roiling in my head and I couldn't concentrate on my job so I started writing them down. I started out writing for fun, and soon found I was hooked.”
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