What Would You Do?

While working on my latest Mindhunters book (Acceptable Risk), I knew the ins and outs of my heroine, since I'd been getting to know her for years. Catherine Montague has been the receptionist at my fictional organization, SSAM (The Society for the Study of the Aberrant Mind), since Book 1 (Only Fear). However, in Books 1-4, because Catherine was a minor character, my editor often had me cut physical or behavioral descriptions that detracted from the main characters, so Catherine was still a bit of an enigma to readers. This turned out to be a blessing as I began writing Book 5. The sparseness of description in previous books meant I could do anything with Catherine. She could be anybody.

So, of course I wanted her to be a surprise. I wanted my heroine to have a secret, and to be tormented by it because she’s been lying to the hero, a coworker with whom she’d fallen in love. 

But I also needed her to be a likable liar, so I gave her a strong motivation: her family. The betrayal she harbors runs deep—her behavior, her entire life until the point the book opens has been to repay what she’s seen as a family debt. But she’s come to the point in her life where she can no longer be untrue to herself…or to the hero she loves.

While working on this story, some interesting questions arose. What wouldn’t I sacrifice for my loved ones? What betrayals can I forgive, and why? What would be unforgivable? 

Today, Catherine's story (and her secret) is available to the world, and she can no longer hide. 

How do you feel about secrets? Are some betrayals unforgivable? What makes you more likely to be merciful?

ACCEPTABLE RISK

Book five of The Mindhunters

To repay a debt, resourceful receptionist Catherine Montague has been living a lie, and her secret betrayal eats at her conscience. She knows what she has to do to reclaim her life, but revealing the truth could mean losing everything, including the agent she’s fallen in love with.

For sexy ex-SEAL Max Sawyer, hunting killers gives him a sense of fulfillment he never would have found if he’d followed the path that was his birthright. However, when his latest mission goes horribly wrong, releasing a hardened criminal in Max’s hometown of San Antonio, Texas, it’ll take all of his charm to convince the beautiful and resilient Catherine to serve as a buffer between him and the painful ties from his past.

Amid a manhunt, the re-emergence of a serial killer, and the activity of an organized crime ring known as the Circle, Max and Catherine may be the only ones who can set things right again. That is, if Max can forgive Catherine for her deception before a killer claims her. But is mercy a risk he’s willing to take?

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