BooksChatter: ✉ Introducing The Zermatt Group

Today returning author Andrea Kane takes over our blog to introduce us to The Zermatt Group, the protagonist in the latest novel, Dead in a Week (19 March 2019, Bonnie Meadow Publishing, 280 pages), a Suspense Thriller, book seven in the Forensic Instincts series and the first with the Zermatt Group series.

"The FI books, in their own right, are amazing. But when you pair them with the Zermatt group they are off the charts. I loved the intricacies in this story as well as the intrigue and dangerous situations. I love the brilliance of the characters, each having their own refined skill that is tapped into when needed." ~ Amazon Verified Purchase

"The best part of Andrea Kane’s writing is that she puts you dead center in the scene and action. The victim’s terror was palpable. I was never lost, wondering what just happened, or who said what to whom. It made the flow of the story so exciting and smooth. Andrea didn’t dilly dally in writing trivial dialogue or action. Andrea Kane is a gifted writer. I recommend her novels to anyone who loves a spine tingling, sit-on-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller." ~ Feather Stone, author

|| Synopsis || Teaser: KCR Preview || The Series || Author Guest Post || About the Author || Giveaway & Tour Stops ||

Introducing The Zermatt Group

by Andrea Kane

DEAD IN A WEEK was the most difficult suspense thriller I’ve written to date (and I’ve written close to 30 books!). It involved my doing months and months of research, including everything from international locations (especially Croatia) to industrial espionage. It was consuming and fascinating, and I’d love to share it all with you.

But I’m not going to.

Why not? Because as much as I want to draw you into the world of DEAD IN A WEEK, what I most want to share with you are my new characters: The Zermatt Group. I want to tell you a little bit about them, as well as how they work together with team members of Forensic Instincts to bring home a kidnapped college student who’s being held overseas by brutal terrorists.

The Zermatt Group is a brilliant covert team—the “Core Four”, as I call them—of military and spy agency operatives who search the data stream for troubling events in an increasingly troubling world and take on near-impossible, global cases. They come from completely different backgrounds—the military, corporate giants, MI6, and the NSA. Each of them has his/her “real job”, but Zermatt is their diehard commitment.

At the helm, is Aidan Devereaux, former Marine and now communications expert for one of the largest financial firms in the world. If his name sounds familiar to my Forensic Instincts readers, it should. Aidan is the brother of FI’s Marc Devereaux, and he’s assisted their team on several cases in the past. He’s also the daddy of four-year-old Abby, who made her precocious appearance in the same books that showcased her daddy. In DEAD IN A WEEK, it’s Marc’s turn to jump in with both feet and assist his brother big-time, working the case overseas, from Munich to Zagreb to Osijek. I loved writing the two brothers’ professional and personal relationship, and you’ll learn so much more about Aidan through Marc’s eyes. He’s a major force to be reckoned with—with one very soft spot: Abby.

Next comes Aidan’s right-hand, Terri Underwood, who, like Aidan, is based in Manhattan. Terri is a former NSA technical analyst and now an independent consultant. She knows more about PRISM, the U.S. Government’s not-so-secret data collection and spying efforts, than the people running it. She’s Zermatt’s technical genius and the best part is that she gets to team up with FI’s Ryan McKay, combining their different skills to set the tech world on fire as they push all the boundaries to bring home the kidnapped young woman.

Simone Martin is the team’s “people whisperer”. She has incredible natural instincts, and her ability to read people and pick up on their “tells” bring a strong component to the team’s success. She and Aidan go way back, and their relationship is way more than just professional. They have a sizzling on-again, off-again love affair that’s definitely ON again in DEAD IN A WEEK. As a human resources VP for McKinsey, Simone lives in Lyon, France, but this case brings her to Silicon Valley and in close proximity to Aidan as they work feverishly together to figure out who’s behind the kidnapping and how to stop them.

And last we have Philip Banks, former MI6, British to the core, and now happily retired and enjoying his wine and his women—until a Zermatt case comes up. Then he snaps back into James Bond mode and there’s no one better than he at surveillance and action. They call him the bloodhound, because there’s no one and nothing he can’t track down. He and Marc are boots on the ground in Europe, finding and interrogating their way to the kidnapping location. And Aidan is right in there, flying from Silicon Valley to Croatia when they’re down to the wire.

So that’s a small introduction to The Zermatt Group, who challenged me throughout the writing process, but who I now feel a strong bond to. And speaking of strong bonds, having FI team members on board was the icing on the cake! Sit back and enjoy the ride!

What would you do if your daughter was kidnapped and given only a week to live?