Launch Day Update

Today is launch day for BEYOND THE BEYOND, Book Three of the Zone of Deceit trilogy. I'm feeling a mix of relief and pride at bringing ZOD to its amazing conclusion. Relief about the writng, the endless revisions and proofreading, and of course, the complicated and time-consuming marketing. Pride beacause there have been victories. When these happen, it's important to acknowledge them.

Here is the first major review of BTB, from Publishers Weekly, a trusted source for both mainstream publishers and independents. This starred review is long (TL; DR?), but I couldn't ask for a better explanation of what I've tried to accomplish:

Foster sticks the landing in his engrossing and complex finale to his Zone of Deceit thriller series, which examines life after exposing injustice—and discovering there always are more secrets. Philip Sanders has been working as a consultant for the FBI on the investigation of CondoGate, a New York City real-estate scandal, in the Reagan era. Aided by the research of his documentary filmmaker wife, Ellie, Philip uncovered extortion, fraud, cocaine dealing, and a connection to the Iran-Contra conspiracy, in which profits from illegal arms sales to Iran were funneled to the right-wing opponents of the Nicaraguan regime. Now, as the 1990s dawn, Philip knows that there's more to uncover, specifically, a pornography operation involving the trafficking of Nicaraguan women. His perilous pursuit of the truth endangers the couple’s precocious son, Chris, though Ellie also is determined to expose more human evil, despite the physical and psychological danger.

Their persevering efforts, in the face of a plot that involves the most powerful people in the U.S. government, are conveyed through their perspectives, plus that of Chris, for whom “normalcy is only some place he’s heard about.” As lines like that suggest, Foster grounds this story of investigating sinister conspiracies in careful, nuanced characterization and relatable emotions. Dialogue is crisp and convincing, rendered with colloquial power: “I wish our lives had left us more room to be soft,” a supporting character says, stirring a gush of real feeling.

Climactic developments will have the greatest impact on returning readers, though Foster masters the challenge of making it easy for first-timers to feel what matters. Foster takes seriously all that his characters have lived through, such as Ellie's facing, with professional help, her horrific experiences of assault and captivity; this extends beyond the traumatic experiences of thrillers, as Chris turns to breathing exercises to calm himself in school. Also touchingly human is the thrill of working the case, setting up a sting, and exposing the truth, as Philip feels “Alive like I hadn’t felt in years.”

Takeaway: Satisfying, richly human finale to a complex thriller trilogy of the 1980s and 1990s.

My wriitng journey is officially moving on. I'm deep into research about a period of time in the mid-2000s, when shock waves from 9/11 still limited the attention paid to other growing threats. As much as terrorism dominated our concerns, the online space, including early AI development, may have been the real Wild West. For insights, anecdotes and early reading opportunities as I continue to develop another multi-volume arc, join the mailing list (thanks to all of you who have already done so!) on apfosterbooks.com.