About the Author
Laura Scott is honored to write for the
Love Inspired Suspense line, where a reader can find a heartwarming journey of
faith amid the thrilling danger. She lives with her husband of twenty-five
years and has two children, a daughter and a son, who are both in college. She
works as a critical-care nurse during the day at a large level-one trauma
center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spends her spare time writing romance.
Visit Laura at
www.laurascottbooks.com.
Q and A with Laura Scott
Did you always want to write romance
novels?
LS: Yes! I wrote my first romance novel when I was 16
years old and submitted it to Harlequin. They turned me down which in hindsight
was a very good thing as it was awful. I kept going though, and honed my craft.
When I sold my first book to Harlequin I was so excited! It was like a dream
come true. I have been reading Harlequin for so long, it's an honor to be
writing for them.
Share in your own words what it means
to experience That Harlequin Feeling.
LS: For me, its like being swept into a great adventure!
I read across all lines, but the romantic suspense remains my favorite. I love
the action, suspense, mystery and of course the romance! When I open a
Harlequin novel I can leave all my day to day worries behind. These days with
the stress of Covid-19 and everything else going on, that's twice as
important.
Can you share a recent book that you
have read that you would like to recommend?
LS: I have
just finished reading FalselyAccused by Shirlee McCoy. This is one of the
books in her FBI Special Crimes Unit and as always Shirlee crafts a great
story that has you rooting for the characters all the way to the end! I cannot
wait for her next book to come out.
About Copycat Killer
Murder strikes close to home for a new K-9 unit in Brooklyn.
When a double homicide is strikingly familiar to a twenty-year-old cold case,
Detective Nate Slater is rattled by the parallels. With a child as the only
witness, he and his K-9 partner must protect little Lucy and her aunt, Willow
Emery. Nate’s rough past means he always keeps an emotional distance…but in
this case getting closer is the only way they’ll all survive.
My Thoughts
Copycat Killer by Laura Scott has
Willow Emery finding her brother and sister-in-law dead with their toddler,
Lucy crying nearby. The killings are
identical to a crime that occurred twenty years prior. Detective Nate Slater and his K-9 partner, Murphy
take the traumatized pair home to find Willow’s apartment ransacked. Are the crimes tied together? Slater works to keep Willow and Lucy safe
while searching for the elusive criminal.
As Slater spends time with Willow, he begins to fall for her. Slater knows, though, that marriage and family
are not in his future. Can Willow change
his mind? Copycat Killer is the first
book in
True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn series. We are introduced to the staff of the newly formed Brooklyn K-9
Unit. Detective Nate Slater is nearby
when Willow calls 9-1-1. He is surprised
at the similarities to a 20-year-old cold case where the killer left 4-year-old
Penelope McGregor as the only witness.
Her older brother, Bradley was at a sleepover. Bradley is now a K-9 officer with their unit
and Penelope is the desk clerk. I
thought Copycat Killer was a suspenseful story.
There is action that kept the book moving forward at a fast pace. I liked the camaraderie between the members
of the K-9 unit and how sweet they were to Lucy. I, of course, loved following the
investigation as they searched for the guilty party. The romance is sweet and natural. I was amazed at the talents of the K-9 dogs. They have amazing sniffers. I was disappointed that the murder
investigation is not wrapped up in Copycat Killer. I hope we get the answers in the next
True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn novel. I especially enjoyed Willow’s strong faith
and how she shared it with Lucy and Nate.
Copycat Killer is an intriguing suspense with clever canines, a crazed
killer, a cute kid, an affectionate aunt and determined detectives.
Excerpt from Copycat Killer
Nate
suddenly heard a panicked shout. “Help! Police! Help!”
What
in the world? He turned to look over his shoulder. A young man in a baseball
cap and a Yankees jersey was waving his arms in a frantic attempt to get his
attention.
“Help!
Someone is being attacked!”
He
hesitated, unwilling to leave Willow and Lucy there alone. Willow was still
chatting with Angela, the two women cooing over Lucy, so he made a split-second
decision to respond. “Willow? Stay here. I’ll be right back. Come, Murphy.” “This
way!” The Yankees fan turned and disappeared around the corner, clearly
expecting Nate and Murphy to follow.
Nate
broke into a jog, dodging pedestrians while keeping Murphy close to his side.
He listened intently but didn’t hear any sounds indicating an attack. He hoped
he wasn’t going to be too late. As they turned the corner, he raked his gaze
over the area, searching for anything suspicious. There
was no obvious sign of an attack, but the Yankees fan was still several paces
ahead. “Hurry! Over here! In the alley!”
Nate
darted around a group of tourists. He came to the spot where the Yankees fan
had been, in front of a long narrow alley, but the guy was gone. He’d vanished
like some sort of magician’s trick. There
was no attack. His
gut clenched with fear. Willow! Lucy!
He
whirled around and instantly ran back to the café. The sidewalk seemed to
stretch forever. He’d followed the stupid Yankees fan farther than he’d
realized. And
it had been nothing but a clever ploy to get him and Murphy out of the way. No!
How could he have been so gullible? He quickened his pace, unable to bear the
thought of something happening to Willow and Lucy.
He
wheeled around the corner, his heart lodged in his throat. Even more people
crowded the sidewalks now. Lucy
was crying, loud screeching sobs. “Aunt Willow! Aunt Willow! Come back!” A
pedestrian got in his way and he nearly plowed the guy over in his haste to
reach Willow and Lucy.
“No!
Stop!” Willow’s voice was muffled. He caught a glimpse of someone dressed in
black with a hat pulled low over his forehead dragging her toward a black sedan
double-parked a few spots up from the café.
“Stop!
Police!” He shouted as loud as he could to be heard above the din. Realizing he
might be too late, he reached down and released Murphy’s leash. “Get him,
Murphy. Get him!” Murphy
took off running. Like a racehorse, he closed the gap between him and Willow
faster than Nate ever could.
The
man with the hat must have realized the same thing, because he abruptly pushed
Willow toward Murphy, then spun and took off running in the opposite direction. It
all happened like a scene unfolding in slow motion. Willow tripped over Murphy.
His partner yelped as the two of them tangled together. Then Willow hit the
pavement with a thud. Lucy was still crying, her stroller several feet away
from Willow and Murphy.
“Willow!
Are you okay?” He finally caught up to them, crouching down to check Willow and
his partner. Murphy had managed to free himself from Willow. He was up on his
feet, staring in the direction the intruder had gone. “Get
him,” Nate repeated. He didn’t like sending his partner off alone, but he
couldn’t leave Willow and Lucy.
The
yellow Lab took off, trotting fast, his nose periodically going to the ground. Murphy
could track just about anything, but he wasn’t trained to go into subway
stations without Nate. A fact he hoped the assailant didn’t know, as there was
a subway entrance at the opposite end of the block.
“What
happened?” He helped Willow to her feet. “He—came
out of nowhere.” Her voice was shaky, her hands trembling. Her palms were
scraped and bleeding, but she didn’t seem to care. “I didn’t notice until he
grabbed me.”
“Shh,
it’s okay.” He caught her in his arms for a quick hug, then turned toward Lucy.
Some instinct had him lifting the girl from her stroller and handing her over
to Willow. They clung to each other, much the way they had outside the scene
of the Emery murders.
His
gaze fell on the license plate of the black sedan abandoned by the would-be
kidnapper. He quickly memorized the plate number, hoping it would be a clue as
to who’d attacked Willow. A
sharp dog bark caught his attention. His heart was hammering, and he
desperately wanted to go after Murphy. What if the assailant tried to hurt him?
Nate took one step forward, then another, but stopped.
He
couldn’t leave Willow. He had to trust in his partner’s training. The K-9 would
soon return. Murphy
came running through the crowd of onlookers, returning to Nate’s side. “Murph!”
He went down to his knee and wrapped his arms around his partner. From what he
could tell, Mur-phy wasn’t hurt. Unfortunately,
the assailant had gotten away.
Are you ready to read
Copycat Killer and meet the Brooklyn K-9 Unit? Copycat Killer is available from
Amazon*,
Barnes & Noble,
Google Play,
Goodreads,
Indiebound, and
Harlequin. The other novels in a
True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn are
Chasing Secrets by Heather Woodhaven (May 1),
Deadly Connection by Lenora Worth (June 1),
Explosive Situation by Terri Reed (July 1),
Tracking a Kidnapper by Valerie Hansen (August 1), and
Scene of the Crime by Sharon Dunn (September 1). Thank you for stopping by today. Tomorrow I am featuring
The House at the End of the Moor by Michelle Griep. I hope you have an enchanting day. Take care, stay safe and Happy Reading!
Kris
The Avid Reader
*This post contains affiliate links.
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