Wild Women Authors feature Australian author Stephen B King as he announces the release of Glimpse: The Tender Killer, book 3 of his Deadly
Glimpses Trilogy. This brings an end to the saga of Criminal Psychologist Patricia Holmes' partnership
with Detective Sergeant Rick McCoy of the Western Australian Major
Crime Squad.
Combined, the three books totaled around 300,000 words and
each covers their hunt for a different serial killer while
combined looks at their relationship, their desire, and its effect on
their married partners. There is some talk there could be a
fourth installment, but SBK is not being drawn on its validity.
Stephen granted us an interview about
each book in the trilogy and brought Pat Holmes along with him.
Today: Book 1: Glimpse, Memoir of a Serial
Killer.
In
1999 Australia, Sergeant Rick McCoy investigates the murder of a
woman found packed inside a suitcase.
The
Killer abducts another victim and threatens to dismember her slowly.
His life is further complicated by a marriage in tatters. Frustrated
at every turn, he is paired with glamorous Criminal Psychologist and
profiler, Patricia Holmes.
While
trying to rebuild his marriage, he finds himself in a desperate race
against time to free the victim and fight his desire for his new
partner.
https://amzn.to/2UURXVS
What was your motivation for this
story?
SBK: During my working career, that’s
my day job - not being an author, I’ve had the pleasure of working
with some incredibly beautiful women. I am by nature flirtatious and
have always enjoyed better friendships with women than men. I wanted
to show that thrill of working with someone you fancy like crazy, but
you are married and resist the urge to do anything about it for all
the right reasons. So, my putting Pat with Rick and giving them both
dysfunctional marriages I thought I would build drama around the
police investigations into three separate serial killers. In each of
the books I also wanted to give the reader an insight into the mind
of the murderer. To give a narrative from their own point of view,
hence each book has the word Glimpse as part of the title. The reader
will get a glimpse into their very troubled minds.
So, this was planned as a trilogy
for you right from the start?
SBK: Yes, it was never intended to go
beyond the three books. That felt right to me. The problem now is
that my editor, narrator of the audio books, and three Beta readers
have all demanded more. It’s just about the biggest compliment as a
writer I’ve ever had, that people want to know what happens to Rick
and Pat next. Watch this space, it’s possible this could be the
first ever trilogy comprising of four books.
Pat, what did you think of Rick at
your first meeting?
PH: Well, looking back, no one thing
struck me immediately, but several things were very vivid. I knew I
was attracted to him; he is a good-looking guy and has a confidant
air about him. He’s no pin-up, and he’s not muscle bound, but
there is something about him. He has nice eyes, and, the most
attractive thing to me was that while I knew he came to me for advice
under sufferance, he listened to me. I’d been married to a man for
over twenty years who never listened to me, or gave a damn about my
career, his only interest was I cared about his own.
You also must understand, here was a
cop seeking my professional advice and this was something I had
dreamt of for many years; to be at the forefront of a major criminal
investigation where my skills as a profiler could aid in catching a
very troubled individual and thereby save lives.
Why was Rick there under sufferance?
PH: Well, it’s no secret that back in
2000 most police officers saw psychologists as the enemy rather than
an ally. He thought consulting with me was on the one hand consorting
with the enemy and on the other a complete waste of his valuable
time. The assistant commissioner, whom I was at university with,
ordered that I be consulted when the killer, PPP, progressed from the
Body in the Suitcase murder. He had abducted another victim
and threatened the police in general, and Rick in particular he would
send a piece of her body every two days he went uncaught. The
escalation, the taunting of the police, and the dire situation the
victim was in, forced them to ask my opinion.
Did you feel an urge to start an
affair with Rick?
PH: No, not at all. In the beginning, I
liked him, and I’ve always worked best with a man, especially if
there is a mutual attraction, which we had in spades. But Rick and I
are from different walks of life, and we were both married. There was
no possibility of jumping into bed, no matter how much the idea was
appealing. There was also a very dangerous serial killer to catch.
That’s a good segue into PPP.
Based on what Rick told you of the investigation, what were your
initial thoughts?
PH: That he had done it before. What he
was showing us then was a progression. I knew the only way to stop
him, and save the victim was to look for what I called his footprints
in the sand, his previous murders for which he hadn’t sought the
limelight. I also realised he had some previous connection to Rick,
that because of something in their past, their future was irrevocably
bound together. PPP gave all the signs of being a sociopathic
narcissist. He would feel no emotions, or regret. You couldn’t hurt
him because he had been hurt all his life. You couldn’t threaten
him, he had no concept of fear, and you couldn’t rationalise with
him because he thought he was normal, and everyone else had the
problem.
I was able to give Rick some insights
which made him realise I had something to contribute. He went from
being against my being involved to my biggest supporter. Together we
trolled thought PPP’s previous unsolved crimes to try to find him
before time ran out for the abducted woman, whom PPP was cutting bits
off, and sending them to Rick. It has to be said, that the closer
Rick and I worked together, the more our mutual respect and desire
for each other grew. It also led to my husband, Tom becoming more
jealous and boorish which didn’t help the situation.
The psychology in this trilogy is an
important part of the story isn’t it?
SBK: Yes, it is. My daughter has a
degree in criminal psychology and justice. A good friend, and his
wife are both prominent psychologists, and I did a lot of research
into the subject matter. Thankfully, people like PPP are very rare.
That said it seems like almost every day we see another story of
another mass murderer somewhere in the world, and I think everyone
has a morbid fascination about the subject. PPP is the evillest
killer I’ve ever created, and I assure you residing in his mind to
tell his story was not a pleasant place to be. But what I wanted to
show is why is he that way, what happened in his life to cause it.
Some reviewers have said that portrayal was remarkable, and that some
even felt sorry for him. I can think of no higher praise for my
writing than that.
Glimpse, The Tender Killer is released
on September 11th as an eBook, paperback and audio.
For
the month of September Glimpse 1, Glimpse Memoir of a Serial Killer
is on Sale for 99c
Stephen
B King can be reached at:
twitter:
@stephenBKing1
Facebook:
@stephenbkingauthor
