Never Alone thriller
C.J. Carpenter
C.J. Carpenter is a new voice on the women’s thriller scene—and her debut novel entitled The Returned has her fellow authors abuzz. The blurbs the novel has received so far have been terrific. Daniel Judson, a Shamus Award winner and author of Voyeur calls C.J. and her manuscript “A terrific new talent and a promising new series. C.J. Carpenter’s The Returned—smart, fast-paced, written with precision—will draw the reader in at every turn.” And Ken Bruen, the Shamus Award-winning author of The Guards says, “If you were to take the sheer narrative skill of Laura Lippman, the artistry of SJ Rozan, and the intricate plotting of Tess Gerritsen, you’d have the fine debut novel that is The Returned by C.J. Carpenter. Reads like a seasoned writer at the top of her game.” Wow!
NYPD detective Megan McGinn is not in a happy place. Her father, a cop who inspired her to follow in his footsteps, has just died leaving her to care for her mother, Rose, who has practically forgotten her as Alzheimer’s disease robs her of her memory. And there’s no man in her life beside the occasional one-night stand…not counting her partner, Detective Sam Nappa. Nappa is a definite hottie…but…he’s her partner. That’s all. Damn!
Awaked by Nappa’s call, McGinn has a wicked hangover that's only going to get worse--there’s been a murder—a woman strangled to death, then meticulously washed, her nail polish removed, her nails clipped…and more. She is posed in death, appearing asleep…the picture of serenity. The victim: Irish Catholic, pious, charitable; a “good” young woman. Who could possibly want to kill her?
But there’s a killer loose—a twisted psychopath with incredible attention to detail. A nurse, scarred by childhood memories, especially the loss of her wonderful grandmother—how she was raped and beaten and burned, how she begged to be put out of her misery. And how she killed her. This trauma has set her on a collision course with McGinn. For she has decided that the good young women of New York City are simply too good to live and that they must be “returned” to God. And she’s going to mess with Megan’s mind every…step…of…the…way. Can McGinn catch the killer before she completely loses it?
NYPD detective Megan McGinn is not in a happy place. Her father, a cop who inspired her to follow in his footsteps, has just died leaving her to care for her mother, Rose, who has practically forgotten her as Alzheimer’s disease robs her of her memory. And there’s no man in her life beside the occasional one-night stand…not counting her partner, Detective Sam Nappa. Nappa is a definite hottie…but…he’s her partner. That’s all. Damn!
Awaked by Nappa’s call, McGinn has a wicked hangover that's only going to get worse--there’s been a murder—a woman strangled to death, then meticulously washed, her nail polish removed, her nails clipped…and more. She is posed in death, appearing asleep…the picture of serenity. The victim: Irish Catholic, pious, charitable; a “good” young woman. Who could possibly want to kill her?
But there’s a killer loose—a twisted psychopath with incredible attention to detail. A nurse, scarred by childhood memories, especially the loss of her wonderful grandmother—how she was raped and beaten and burned, how she begged to be put out of her misery. And how she killed her. This trauma has set her on a collision course with McGinn. For she has decided that the good young women of New York City are simply too good to live and that they must be “returned” to God. And she’s going to mess with Megan’s mind every…step…of…the…way. Can McGinn catch the killer before she completely loses it?
C.J. Carpenter has worked in the advertising industry for ten years. The milieu of The Returned comes from C.J.'s Irish Catholic family that continues to fill the ranks of the nursing profession. C.J Carpenter lives in New Jersey.
