Pelican Beach, Florida Detective Katerina “Kat” Andruko, the heroine in COURTING DANGER (Book 1) and the new release LAST DAYS (Book 2) lost both her Ukrainian immigrant parents to a drunk driving accident right before her junior year in high school. This, set off a chain reaction of events some good, some horrifically bad that made Kat the woman the reader meets in these two detective stories. Kat’s story could be pulled from the pages of a human-interest-story, or may even be the story of someone readers know personally.
After the death of their parents, Kat’s older sister Larissa started drinking heavily and found herself pregnant. The baby’s nere-do-well father abandoned Larissa and his unborn child when she refused to sign her parents’ restaurant over to him. For the baby’s sake, Larissa stopped drinking. However, she couldn’t handle keeping the restaurant afloat and raising a new baby, as well as caring for a teenage sister. So, she shipped Kat off for two years to live with their college music professor aunt and their Ukrainian Orthodox priest uncle in Ukraine.
Fast forward as these detective stories open. Now an adult Kat has been installed as a detective in the Pelican Beach Police Department where she seeks justice for crime victims. She also finds swoon worthy Dimitri Garmonin, PhD, the police department’s profiler, to be of interest, So much so, that she once had him pegged as her prime suspect in a series of serial killings. Oh, how things change.
Readers (and advanced copy readers of LAST DAYS) have recognized alcohol abuse and recovery from alcoholism as sub-themes in the Katerina “Kat”/Dimitri Garmonin novels. Quite a few of them said they identified with and appreciated this aspect of the story. Either they or someone they knew had struggled with this issue.
New Release, LAST DAYS in a nut shell…
A spry elderly woman has died mysteriously in a Florida coastal town, and the head of a clandestine organization in Washington D.C is interested in the case. All evidence, or lack thereof, points to accidental death, but Detective Katerina “Kat” Andruko has nagging doubts. She also has doubts about a mysterious phone call profiler Dimitri Garmonin, PhD, her intended, took and hid from her.
As if that wasn’t enough, Kat’s former fiancé and fellow law enforcement officer gleefully taunts her, predicting the demise of her relationship with Dimitri. Her future mother-in-law thinks she’s less than demure and not suitable marriage material for her son.
Meanwhile, all leads on the elderly woman’s death go nowhere. Old enemies at the local TV station are calling the police incompetent. They air an unfavorable segment about Dimitri. Just as Kat and Dimitri reluctantly begin to believe the death was accidental, the woman’s neighbor goes missing.
Purchase LAST DAYS and COURTING DANGER at Nike’s Amazon Author page.
Visit Nike on her Blog; Mystery & a Merry Heart
Nike N. Chillemi writes murder mysteries/detective novels. Plenty of action, a dash of grit, wry humor as her characters navigate through situations and relationships. There’s usually a national security/public safety underlying theme to her work with an uplifting message. She likes her bad guys really bad, her good guys fighting for justice against steep odds. Her newest endeavor is LAST DAYS. Her blog, Mystery & a Merry Heart, delves into murder mystery/suspense writing as well as faith, health issues, and the challenges of life. She lives in NE coastal Florida with one small dog and five cats, is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Chair off Grace Filled Fiction Spotlight.
Thannnk you for having me on your blog. I’ve enjoyed sharing about Katerina ndruko.
Katerina Andruko. Ooops, typo above.