1. Tell us about a moment when you were scared while writing your most recent mystery/thriller?

When I started writing it! Seriously, I always start a new story wondering whether I can pull it off. Can I write an engaging mystery? Will it be good enough? Will my editor hate it? Will I even be able to finish the darn thing. Those are always scary thoughts. I’ve learned I have to shove them aside and power through the doubt.

2. What secret have you kept hidden – until now?

When I was a senior in high school, a rival school spray painted graffiti on our baseball diamond. I was part of a group that returned the favor one foggy Saturday night. We dug up home plate and tossed it over the center field fence. We planted a mail box at first base. We took the tarp that was covering the pitcher’s mound, spray painted “The Rat Patrol” on it, ran it up a nearby flagpole, then made our getaway. We played that school later in the season at our place. Some friends held up a banner at the beginning of that game that said we led 1-0 because we stole home. As far as I know, the identities of The Rat Patrol are secret to his day.

3. Talk about a research result that horrified you and why you were researching it.

You know, I’ve been fortunate that most of the time, I’m able to conduct my research with a research perspective. I tend to look at things as a way to learn about unusual topics and how they may affect the human body. Though, to be fair, it was kind of disturbing when I was researching how one could commit murder by using an alligator. I used the research for Panic in the Panhandle. I won’t forget it any time soon.

4. What is the funniest feedback you’ve received on your book?

I don’t know that I’ve ever received feedback that was particularly funny. That’s okay, though. Most of the comments have been very kind. I’ll that that kind of feedback any day!

5. When did you know you wanted to write mysteries/thrillers? What led you to that genre?

I was writing in another genre when I shot my mouth off in my literary agency’s group chat. I responded to a photo another author posted by saying it looked like a good setting for a murder mystery. My agent replied by challenging me to write the story, which turned into A Literal Mess, which was published in 2019. I’ve had a ball writing mysteries ever since.

Thanks for joining us and congrats again on the release of Panic in the Panhandle!

About the Author

J.C. Kenney is the bestselling author of The Allie Cobb Mysteries, The Darcy Gaughan Mysteries, and The Elmo Simpson Mysteries. He’s also the co-host of The Bookish Hour webcast. When he’s not writing, you can find him following IndyCar racing or listening to music. He has two grown children and lives in Indianapolis with his wife and a cat.

1. Reputation – Ready For It? (Taylor’s Version)  ~ The Choice by: Melinda Di Lorenzo 

“But if he’s a ghost, then I can be a phantom”

Sadie Haller-Bent has already taken the first steps to putting her divorce and her father’s death behind her. She has a new apartment, a new job, and a new life ahead of her. And things are going okay. Maybe not perfectly, but at least she’s on the right road. She can see some light at the end of her dark tunnel.

That is, until tonight. Because tonight, she woke up to find a killer at her door and a strange woman on her balcony, promising help.

In a split second, Sadie makes the only decision she can and puts her faith in a stranger. Now she’s on the run, caught in the middle of deadly a chase that she can’t even begin to understand. She can’t trust anyone, not even the police. But if she wants to survive, she needs to answer three very important questions: Who could possibly want to kill her? Why? And most importantly, can she stop them before it’s too late?

2. Speak Now – Haunted (Taylor’s Version) ~ Black Cat Comes Back by: Emmie Lyn

“Can’t turn back now, I’m Haunted.”

I’m Audrey Fernsby, just a ghost of my former self floating around Moonlight Mansion in Frog Hollow, Georgia. My death was ruled accidental… but nothing is farther from the truth.

When my precious black cat, Mocha, returns on the same night that two friends, Tilly and Sunny arrive from Maine, I plan to out my ghostly self and enlist their clever sleuthing capabilities.

Mocha knows the truth but can she help catch the killer before someone else ends up dead in my rose bushes?

 Black Cat Comes Back can be read as a stand-alone. Chronologically it fits as the PREQUEL before Scents and a Suspect in the Accidental Ghost Detective series.

Black Cat Comes Back has characters from the Mint Chocolate Chip Series. Get started with Book 1 Claws of Justice or catch up with the full series.

3. Evermore – No Body, No Crime (Taylor’s Version) ~ Panic in the Panhandle by: J.C. Kenney

“I think he did it but I just can’t prove it. No body, no crime.”

In the sleepy panhandle of Florida, Benjamin “Elmo” Simpson has carved out a comfortable niche as the go-to wild animal removal specialist. Life is sweet until a peculiar service request takes him to a local condo and an unexpected scene. Retired lawyer Fran Cohen is missing and in his apartment is a well-fed alligator that appears to have enjoyed a nice breakfast with…or rather, of…Fran.

All evidence points toward murder, and local alligator farmer, Waldo “Rambo” Quigley has the motive and the means. When Rambo pleads for help to clear his name, old debts and a history of friendship leave Elmo no choice but to investigate. With his girlfriend, Nicola, by his side, and Rambo’s freedom on the line, Elmo’s on the hunt for the real killer, but don’t panic…Elmo’s got a plan…sort of. Maybe.

Reptilian clues lead to unexpected allies, and the call of danger is addictive. Can Elmo uncover the identity of Fran’s killer before becoming the next victim, removed from the scene like an unwanted pest?

Don’t think these quite fit? Send us your suggestions!