Today, award-winning and bestselling author Tim Smith is guesting. He’s talking about his latest release One Way Out, book nine in the Nick Seven series, a romantic mystery/thriller.
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I’m pleased to announce the release of my newest romantic spy thriller, “One Way Out” (Nick Seven, Book 9). This is another breezy adventure set in the exotic Florida Keys, with interesting characters, vivid atmosphere, snappy dialogue, fast-paced action, and a sensuous romance between the two leads.
This year marks my 22nd anniversary as a published author, and “One Way Out” is my 30th book. Not all of them were part of this series of Florida-based spy romances, though. I have a second ongoing series about a private eye named Vic Fallon, who hangs out on the Lake Erie shores in northern Ohio. I’ve also written several holiday romances, and another series of summer beach reads under the umbrella title “Key West Heat.”
I’ve referred to “One Way Out” as the book I wasn’t going to write. My previous release in this series, “Out of the Shadows,” did very well critically and commercially. I was surprised when fans of the Nick Seven adventures began asking “When will we see a sequel?” I hadn’t considered a follow-up to “Shadows” beyond another stand-alone series entry. Apparently, readers felt I had left some loose ends, and they wanted to know what happened next. The reality is that I ended “Shadows” with a question mark on purpose, sort of a “Did it happen or didn’t it? Will they discover the truth? Does the brass ring everyone is after really exist?”
The basic elements of “One Way Out” were influenced by some classic caper movies, like “Charade” and “The Maltese Falcon,” along with several Hitchcock films. There’s a strong current events element involving the young trophy widow of a convicted financial scammer and sex trafficker who was found hanging in his jail cell before he could testify in Federal court. It was suggested by actual events, and I’m sure you can fill in the blanks. I also included the governor of a southern state who has his eye on the White House, and may have been a guest at the island sex parties. You can probably name that person, too.
Of course, there are the usual lead characters, Nick Seven and Felicia Hagens. They both left the CIA to find peace in paradise, but somehow never manage to do so, thanks to past events intruding at unwanted times. They still generate more heat than Key West in July with their sensuous romantic banter and teasing.
If you’re in the mood for an escape to a sultry location populated by interesting characters and adventure, join Nick and Felicia as they outwit the bad guys in “One Way Out.” I think you’ll enjoy the trip!
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Title: One Way Out
Series: Nick Seven, book nine
Author: Tim Smith
Genre: Romantic Mystery/Thriller
Heat Rating: 4 Flames (open-door sex, explicit language used)
Length: 62,00 words/212 pages
Release Date: April 5, 2024
Publisher: Extasy Books
Blackmail, kidnapping, stalking, death threats…some days, you just can’t win!
Blurb: Lauren Scott is a wealthy widow with a lot of embarrassing secrets. Her late husband, a convicted stock swindler, died under mysterious circumstances, just as he was about to name names in Federal court. His legacy supposedly includes a list of VIPs who attended sex parties on a private Caribbean island, among other things. Now Lauren has become the target of too many people who think she holds the secrets he once kept, and they just might kill her for them.
She calls on her friends, former CIA spies Nick Seven and Felicia Hagens, for help. Despite initial misgivings, they agree to assist her. But their laidback Florida Keys life is quickly disrupted by those in hot pursuit, including a zealous podcaster who is making Lauren’s private life public, a Treasury agent, victims of her late husband’s Ponzi scheme, and a Southern governor who has his eye on the White House.
Looks like there might be trouble brewing in paradise.
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Nick pulled into a parking space then went inside to the darkened living room. He heard low music emanating from the stereo, but didn’t detect any other signs of life. He went to the deck and saw a note on the table. It was from Felicia, telling him he could find her in a special place. Nick grinned, knowing exactly where she was.
He descended the steps to the brick walkway that wound around the slips where charter boats and catamarans were docked, then alongside the Marina Del Mar resort, finally culminating outside Sharkey’s Pub where the channel ended and the Atlantic began. He saw Felicia sitting on a bench facing the vast ocean, staring into the distance. Nick casually approached so he wouldn’t startle her. The night sky was clear, and the horizon was dotted with lights from some boats out for night fishing and pleasure cruising.
“I remember one time you found me out here and acted like you were trying to pick me up,” he said. “You said something corny as a come-on line, but I don’t remember what it was.”
Felicia grinned and brushed back a stray strand of hair from her face. “Hi, sailor. Come here often?”
Nick snapped his fingers. “Now it’s coming back to me.” He sat next to her. “What’s wrong?”
“What makes you think anything’s wrong?”
“You don’t come out here by yourself very often, and you didn’t want to go to work. I can tell there’s something on your mind.”
“How?”
“When you left me that voice message, you said Come home, I need you here. You never say that.”
Felicia picked up a pebble from the ground then tossed it into the water. “Just thinkin’.”
Nick sat back, put his arm around Felicia’s shoulder then pulled her close. He inhaled her sweet musky scent when she rested her head on his chest. “What are you thinking about?”
“Somethin’ you reminded me of when we were talkin’ with Lauren. You brought up what happened a coupla years ago, when that girl you dated got killed on the casino ship and her old man tried to frame you for it.”
“Yeah, that was one I didn’t see coming. What about it?”
“It reminded me of all the other things that’ve happened to us since I came here to live with you.”
“Sounds like you’re regretting that decision.”
Felicia looked up at him. “Are you kiddin’? This is the best life move I ever made. Do you have regrets or second thoughts?”
“Of course not. I can’t imagine life here without you. I tried that once, remember?”
Felicia giggled. “You were kind of a nomad when I came here to visit then decided to stay when you asked me. Why did you do that?”
Nick thought for a few moments. “It was like I was alone on this deserted island. Then one day I saw some footprints in the sand, followed them, and they led me to you.”
Felicia lightly ran her fingers along Nick’s cheek. “I always figured you for a hopeless romantic, and you just proved it.”
“Thank you.”
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Tim Smith is an award-winning bestselling author of romantic mystery/thrillers and contemporary erotic romance. His books featuring former spy Nick Seven have garnered several awards and international critical acclaim. He is also a freelance writer, editor, and photographer. He can often be found in the Florida Keys, doing research between parasailing and seeking out the perfect Mojito.
Follow Tim: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon
Maggie Blackbird 