Leslie Tentler | FALLEN Weaves High Emotion with Suspense

Thank you so much for inviting me to blog here today on Fresh Fiction. After completing the Chasing Evil trilogy, I had an idea incubating for a new romantic suspense, one that was still set against the investigation aspects of law enforcement, but that also told a parallel story about a once happy couple who had come apart in the face of a terrible loss. This book became FALLEN, and while its title refers to officers fallen in the line of duty, it also alludes to the journey (and current state) of its heroine, Dr. Lydia Costa.

Lydia, a skilled ER doctor at a large downtown hospital, is different from the other strong-but-fragile women I’d written about before. Brilliant, caring and brave, she’s also flawed, scarred by her recent loss and the cracks are beginning to show. I worried for a time that some readers wouldn’t like Lydia for some of the mistakes she’d made. But Lydia spoke to me…and I wrote on. I wanted to tell her truth.

This is also the first of my books set in Atlanta, which is where I reside. For the Chasing Evil trilogy, I set books in idyllic or exciting places that have always appealed to me. I sampled the gothic influences of New Orleans, the serene horse country of Virginia and a cozy beach bungalow on the Florida coast, respectively. But I wanted to place FALLEN in Atlanta; it just felt right. It gave me a chance to look at this place I’ve lived in for two decades now in a different way, to see it as a story venue. Some of my favorite areas and landmarks appear in the story, from Lenox Square Mall and the newly renovated Ponce City Market to stately Druid Hills and Olympic Centennial Park.

I don’t want to mislead. FALLEN is a romantic suspense story built around the tense hunt for a serial cop killer. But what is playing out at the same time between my two main characters—Lydia and her ex-husband, APD Detective Ryan Winter, who are thrown together again in the midst of chaos—is at the story’s heart.

The book has been out for a couple of months now, and the very good news is that so far, readers have responded well to Lydia’s character—her frailties as well as her strength. They’ve also told me they were touched by the sheer emotion of her and Ryan’s story and their path back to one another after going through so much. That, in turn, sincerely touches me.

If you read FALLEN, I hope that Lydia and Ryan will stay with you long after the pages are turned.

Do you enjoy second chance love stories with some nail-biting suspense thrown in? One lucky commenter will receive an ebook copy (Kindle or Nook) of FALLEN.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Leslie Tentler is best known as the author of the Chasing Evil Trilogy (MIDNIGHT CALLER, MIDNIGHT FEAR and EDGE OF MIDNIGHT). She was named as a finalist for Best First Novel at ThrillerFest 2012 for Midnight Caller, and as a finalist in the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Awards for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense for Edge of Midnight. She is also the recipient of the prestigious Maggie Award of Excellence.

Leslie is a member of Romance Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, The Authors Guild and Novelists, Inc. A native of East Tennessee, she currently resides in Atlanta.

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