Love and Murder & other thoughts from Chelle Cordero

I’m a gal who thoroughly enjoys a good, trashy romance novel complete with genre specific happily ever after endings; I am also a sucker for a good psychological thriller. So I tend to write suspense into my romance novels and indeed there is a lot of intrigue woven into Forgotten, Within the Law and Courage of the Heart. The first of my 2008 trifecta of novels was Bartlett’s Rule, an emotional drama involving the sensitive issue of rape and recovery.

During the mid 90’s I was enthralled by the movie Se7en starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman – it was a tense psychological crime mystery which also included lots of gore. Movie goers sat on the edge of their seats with each twist. I wanted to be able to create that level of tension, to captivate audiences in the same way. And so was born the idea of Final Sin, a story of horrific crimes and obsession. Alas, I wove a love story in because I am just too much of a romantic and the thought of Dudley Do-Right rushing to the rescue of the fair Nell is just that, romantic.

Final Sin
by Chelle Cordero

Deputy Sheriff Commander Jake Carson has his hands full with the investigation of a brutal multiple-homicide, a troubled son and a vindictive ex-wife when he meets young, free-spirited paramedic Julie Jennings. He is immediately drawn to her and finds himself unexpectedly falling in love. Julie finds herself just as drawn to him. When Julie becomes the object of an obsession, it puts both of their lives in extreme danger.

Final Sin opens at a crime scene. Two young women are staked to the ground in a dark, isolated shack – one is already dead, the other barely alive. And there is a third victim, a young man, burned when he tried to save the lives of his female companions. Julie Jennings and her paramedic partner Matt respond to the scene after a 911 call reports a burn victim. They had no idea what they were really walking into. Deputy Sheriff Commander Jake Carlson shows up to lead the investigation and begin the search for the perpetrator of the cold cruelty in that cabin.

That’s how they meet.

He wondered why it had taken him so long to realize that she was the one.

Usually he was able to tell with just a glance, but then he had been wrong before and had chosen women that had disappointed him terribly. It was so hard to suffer when they let him down.

It was only after he had thought about her while he watched another ambulance crew bring their patient in that he realized how gently she had tended to her patients, how light her touch had seemed, that he knew for sure. He knew that she had been sent to him for one purpose.

She really cared.

She was the one.

That’s how the obsession begins…
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As a writer I find it terrifying to switch genres when I have already met a comfortable level of success with another – but as a writer I found it impossible to avoid the draw of penning something that, I hope, will stimulate readers the way that Se7en did with me. I laughed when an early reader informed me that she began to read Final Sin while alone in her house and actually got up at one point to retrieve a kitchen knife to keep beside her.

At the same time I wanted a sensual and deep love story written between Jake and Julie. As most lovers do, they both have pasts and “baggage” to complicate their lives. There are antagonists like Jake’s ex-wife and her new husband, sympathetic innocents like Jake’s son, and friends who may mean well but don’t always say or do the right thing. Let’s not forget, there is also the killer. And there is danger.

Final Sin is already available for pre-orders on both Barnes & Noble.com and Amazon.com. It will actually be in print by May 1; it will also be available for Kindle and as a .pdf ebook.

I sure hope that I pull this one off…
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My wonderful editor put together a ChapBook which includes the first chapters for each novel through Final Sin – it’s FREE for the download, just go to http://tr.im/hv3I
I hope that it will intrigue you.

Thank you for stopping by,
Chelle
http://chellecordero.blogspot.com/