Author Weaves More Twists, Plots, Murders In MIRA Books Sequel 14

More subplots, more twists, more turns and plenty of suspense. Readers will find all this in MIRA author JT Ellison’s gripping mystery thriller 14, the highly awaited sequel to her popular debut ALL THE PRETTY GIRLS. 14 will be in bookstores in early September.

Tough and beautiful Nashville Homicide Lieutenant Taylor Jackson is back! She has plenty to deal with: women murdered by a possible copy cat killer, striking fear in the city; a strained relationship with her live-on-the-edge father; New York mobsters and an impending marriage to FBI profiler John Baldwin. Ellison weaves it all together for a spine tingling read.

In the mid-1980s the Snow White Killer terrorized the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Then suddenly the murders stopped. A letter from the killer to the police stated that his work was done. Now four more bodies are found, marked with his fatal signature.

In 14 Ellison again uses her hometown of Nashville as the setting. But now the story takes on more complexity. Jackson, the author’s live-by-the rules lead character, faces all the challenges.

“Taylor doesn’t change from book-to-book,” said Ellison. “She’s still straight and narrow…everything is still very black and white. But in this second book readers will find she’s more open as a character. It’s more of seeing her delve into things that make her who she is rather than make her grow.

“In 14 she shows she’s harder in law and order, but we see her vulnerable side with Baldwin,” Ellison pointed out. “The love story is much more important in this book. You watch the two of them try to get normalcy in their lives, but normalcy is hard to find in the chaos that surrounds them. But it’s the lifestyle they’ve chosen.

“Taylor is also tested in the relationship with a father who, to put it mildly, is a stark contrast of her. His criminal past  haunts Taylor’s life.” In order to pull in New York City and its characters, Ellison once again did her homework before sitting down with the laptop to write 14. “I had never spent time in New York City,” she said. “So early last year my husband and I took the trip to do some research. I walked around the city to see it, get a sense of the energy, the people, the sounds, the smells. I felt it was essential for me to have an understanding of all this in order to write with authenticity.”

And it all comes together in this highly anticipated sequel

Booknote: Ellison is signed to follow 14 with four more novels in the Taylor Jackson series with MIRA.