The Trilogy Wraps

I’ve been working on the Zone of Deceit trilogy since 2020. My reaction to the launch of the concluding volume, BEYOND THE BEYOND? Feelings!

It has been a journey. The trilogy began with a stand-alone novel centered around the question: Can we ever really know another person?  This was explored through a subjective first-person point of view, following Philip Sanders as he addressed not only destabilizing grief, but also a building sense of dread spread by misinformation, lies and threats.

That central question became infused with the social environment in New York City in 1984: the emerging crack epidemic, the nascent AIDS crisis and the drive to gentrify the city as new money flooded in and financial inequality began its long ascent. As I dug into the Iran-Contra debacle, the stand-alone novel grew from that initial personal inquiry into a more expansive three-book arc, and the central question grew from the purely personal to a broader lens: Can we ever understand what is going on around us?

As I wrote the sequels, the challenge became how to balance the personal and political. Living through an era, especially one filled with constant change, we see only what is essential to daily life; it is much later that we understand more fully what happened in our world. Compacting that learning process and making it active and real was essential to both THE COVER UP and BEYOND THE BEYOND.

Going forward, I’ll continue to write about periods of recent American history that offer insight and surprise. The people and fictional plots will continue to be the main focus. After all, part of the thrill of a Hitchcockian thriller is that we, the readers, are put into situations where everyday people face challenges that seem far beyond their capabilities. The aim, then, is to achieve an immersive, personal journey, but one with an added bonus: a reflected gleam of insight that stays with us after the story fades.

I hope that you will continue this journey with me; authors don’t exist without readers. If you enjoyed CLIFFHANGER and THE COVER UP, I hope you'll appreciate BEYOND THE BEYOND. It is available September 1, and if you intend to purchase it, do me a favor and purchase your copy in the first days of its release. When you read it, and if you enjoy it, consider posting a review wherever you discover or discuss books. This eally helps.

Finally! Here is the very first review of BTB, from a long-standing reviewer on NetGalley, the pre-eminent early reading site:

"A tense conclusion to a captivating trilogy, this book has the sense of chilling darkness which is reminiscent of early James Ellroy. The author focuses heavily on building the characters to a level where you feel very engaged in their fate, even if you may not like them or agree with them. It’s the sort of book you want to read twice as you power through the first read to find out what happens and then want to go back and immerse yourself in the details,"

Best wishes, Andy