Unholy Alliance by Kathleen Rowland (2nd book in
the Irish American Donahue Cousins series)
A decade ago, Tori Rourke, and her cousin,
Vivienne, ran from the Irish mob after witnessing a brutal murder. Tori was
framed by the mob, and while she served time in prison, she worried that the
killer, Seamus McGinn, had kidnapped her missing cousin.
Attorney Grady D. Fletcher, defender of the wrongly condemned, appeals Tori’s case and wins her release. Now, going by Victoria Morningstar, she runs a food truck from a seedy waterfront neighborhood, hoping to find her cousin’s kidnapper.
When Grady agrees to defend a new client, Samuel Peterson, who’s been accused of beating to death the wife of a noted professor, the evidence mounts. The professor is missing, as well as his laptop that contains data dangerous to national security.
And Seamus McGinn is back, and rumors of a massive annihilation is about to begin. As they race to assist the FBI, the bonds between Grady and Tori are about to be tested. It becomes clear Grady and Tori are falling fast for each other, but what to do about it is a different story. He’s a divorced dad who wants more time with his kid. She brings danger to his front door.
Grady has questions of his own; Is Vivienne at the center of the mob’s operation? How much will it cost Tori before she learns the truth? All Grady knows is the biggest danger is the one standing right behind you.
Attorney Grady D. Fletcher, defender of the wrongly condemned, appeals Tori’s case and wins her release. Now, going by Victoria Morningstar, she runs a food truck from a seedy waterfront neighborhood, hoping to find her cousin’s kidnapper.
When Grady agrees to defend a new client, Samuel Peterson, who’s been accused of beating to death the wife of a noted professor, the evidence mounts. The professor is missing, as well as his laptop that contains data dangerous to national security.
And Seamus McGinn is back, and rumors of a massive annihilation is about to begin. As they race to assist the FBI, the bonds between Grady and Tori are about to be tested. It becomes clear Grady and Tori are falling fast for each other, but what to do about it is a different story. He’s a divorced dad who wants more time with his kid. She brings danger to his front door.
Grady has questions of his own; Is Vivienne at the center of the mob’s operation? How much will it cost Tori before she learns the truth? All Grady knows is the biggest danger is the one standing right behind you.
Excerpt:
“Don’t let the anxiety of freedom consume you.” Attorney Grady Donahue Fletcher clenched his
teeth and rehearsed what he’d say to his client, Victoria Morningstar. He’d won
her appeal and drove to pick her up at Gladstone Penitentiary. “At least you
won’t be placed in solitary.” That was worse.
Six months earlier Grady had phoned a reporter at the Los Angeles Globe. "Drew Barker.
Grady Fletcher here.”
“Ah, the lawyer. Calling about a tip?”
“I am. Here's something you can investigate. Tori Morningstar, did she
murder Irene Brennan?"
"I wrote that story many years back," the journalist had said.
“I assume you have new discoveries.”
"Fraud, illegal testimony. Do you want the story first?" A
second passed. "Otherwise, I'll call the Orange County Guardian."
"Okay, okay. We want it."
Three days later Grady had a hand in writing the first article in Drew
Barker’s column. "The public labeled Tori Morningstar as an undesirable.
Not black and poor, but disfavored, accused, incarcerated, and wrongly
condemned. Her cellphone has been recovered. Her call to 911 identified her
voice and substantiated screams of the victim in the background. Could she have
beaten someone while speaking to dispatch at the same time?"
The reporter had written the second article. "People who get their
ideas about criminal lawyers from TV probably would be disappointed in Grady
Fletcher. He lacks flash but stands up straight, his posture neither ramrod nor
slouched. He doesn't smoke, doesn't wear thousand dollar suits. His voice is
soft and low, one of his assets. He speaks truth with a voice inviting
confidences."
As nice as that was, Grady’s stomach cramped over pressure and strain
from Drew Barker’s final article with the headline, Tori Morningstar, Released Today. Picked up by the online service,
Newser, KTLA, and CBS Los Angeles, they planned to broadcast his arrival to
escort his client from Gladstone.
Tori’s decade-long prison sentence ended today but with a sobering fear
over tomorrow.
When was a July morning this hot? Grady balanced her release papers on
his lap as he rolled up one sleeve then the other while gripping the damp
steering wheel. Sweat blossomed on his throbbing forehead, wrapped like a
python’s grip. He adjusted the dial for the AC and embraced the challenge of
helping another client get back on track. Embrace and conquer. Or at least
sound like it.
You will
find all buy
book links for Unholy Alliance here.
Short Interview with Kathleen
Rowland
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to
grasp?
True colors, virtue and character, are revealed in
crisis. In their own ways, heroine Tori and hero Grady undergo personal drama
but exhibit calm and rationality when their loves are rocked by a murderer. She
stops beating herself up for her mob family’s mistakes. He becomes more
empathetic.
How do you come up with your characters?
Protagonists need four solid characteristics and one
flaw. Antagonists need one good quality. Otherwise characters would be
lifeless. After determining qualities (which involves their horoscopes) how
they react is set in stone.
Do you have any writing rituals that you do while
writing?
Prior to writing a book, I write the intended blurb for
the book, followed by a synopsis. I place chapter headings in Scrivener. This
avoids a saggy middle and forces forward writing with goal, motivation, and
conflict. Often another twist takes over, but I don’t stray far from the
intended plot points. I write tight and steamy romantic suspense.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I write every day but set aside time in mid-morning to
swim laps. After lunch I do floor stretches and gardening. Although I’m active on social media, I get out face-to-face. Conversation is stimulating at my weekly local book club. At the Orange County Chapter of Romance Writers of
America. I will chair The Orange Rose Contest for unpublished writers. I teach a writing class entitled: Spin reverberating scenes that resonate with your readers.”
Book
Buyers Best finalist Kathleen Rowland
is devoted to giving her readers fast-paced, high-stakes suspense with a
sizzling love story sure to melt their hearts. Writing a romantic suspense
Irish American series for Tirgearr Publishing, Deadly Alliance is followed by Unholy
Alliance. Bittersweet Alliance is
in the works. Keep an icy drink handy while reading these hot stories.
Kathleen
used to write computer programs but now writes novels. She grew up in Iowa
where she caught lightning bugs, ran barefoot, and raced her sailboat on Lake
Okoboji. Now she wears flip-flops and sails with her husband, Gerry, on Newport
Harbor but wishes there were lightning bugs in California.
Kathleen
exists happily with her witty CPA husband, Gerry, in their 70’s poolside
retreat in Southern California where she adores time spent with visiting
grandchildren, dogs, one bunny, and noisy neighbors. While proud of their five
children who’ve flown the coop, she appreciates the luxury of time to write. If
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