Review Dead After Midnight Interview with author CP Daly

 A while ago this debut author reached out to see if I would be interested in reading and reviewing her novel. While I'm always happy to help promote a book especially a debut I don't often have time to read those offered novels. Well I'm happy that this time I did and Cynthia also was gracious enough to let me pick her brain.
Enjoy!

ISBN-13:  978-1999134518
Publisher: Twister Publishing
Release Date: 9-16-2020
Length: 227pp
Source: Author for review
Buy It: Amazon- (free on KindleUnlimited)

ADD TO: GOODREADS

Overview:

Suzie Q is a prostitute and determined to get out of her current line of work and excited for a fresh start with best friend Lucy by her side. Her dreams come to an abrupt halt, when, during a night of turning tricks, she stumbles upon Lucy's brutally murdered body. Fearing for her life, Suzie runs to her neighbor, Luke's, to regroup, where she discovers he's not just a creepy client, but an undercover FBI agent. He blindsides her when he reveals that she's mixed up in an FBI investigation, and that she's been unknowingly working for Johnny Stone, New York's notorious crime boss. Suzie flees from New York, hiding in a quaint seaside town in Maine. She changes her identity and her life. Now she has to survive, to keep the life she has come to love.

This is the first novel in the Kelsey Woods thriller series.

My Interview with CP Daly: 

Cynthia welcome to The Reading Frenzy
I really enjoyed your debut.

I’m so pleased you enjoyed the book.

Tell my readers a little about it.

It’s about a young woman who had a rough go in life. She’s a good person, who made bad decisions.  Suzie has goals and dreams, and she’s determined to achieve them.

 I adore Suzie, flaws and all, she’s a survivor.

 

Dead After Midnight is a mix of genres, thriller, mystery, coming of age and even a future romance.
Where did the idea come from?

The idea came from a story I heard about twenty years ago. A prison was smuggling in prostitutes, staff and inmates were involved.  The story stayed with me, and I knew this could be interesting. 

 

I loved Suzie but I have to say I was caught off guard that the star is an ex-prostitute.
Did you always know she would have this background?

Yes, Suzie being a prostitute is what she did to survive. She made bad, impulsive decisions, to keep a roof over her head. Young and alone in the world, what would any of us do to keep a roof over our heads?

 Did her vocation make it easier or harder during her character conception?

Her vocation gives me a lot to draw from.

 

When you started writing Dead After Midnight did you know it would be the first in a series or did that make itself apparent during the creative process?

I knew this would be a series. Suzie has much to learn, and much to give.

 

I won’t go into detail about this because it would give too much away, but one thing I really liked in the novel was how you demarked the very thin line between love and hate.
Was this intentional or just a writing by product?

In my opinion, there is a fine line between love and hate. She goes from one extreme to the other.

 

I’m assuming that Luke who is an important costar of this novel will be back in future novels.
Will any of the other characters be coming back in the future?

Yes, Luke and some of the other characters will be in future books.

 

Now I’d like to get a little personal.
Tell us about your road to authordom, did you always want to be a writer or are you an accidental author?

I started writing in my thirties. At that time, I thought it was an unattainable dream, I kept writing and here I am. No one is more surprised than me, that I finished a book.

What kind of writing if any did you do before your debut novel?

I wrote short stories.  I started this novel many years ago, but it wasn’t until I retired that I got serious, and finished it.

 

Thanks so much for answering my questions.

Debbie thank you for supporting authors.

 

When can we expect book 2 in the series?

Dead Before Sunrise, will be released in the next couple of months.

My review:

Dead After Midnight
C.P. Daly

 

Armed with a solid plot, some really good sub plots and starring the most unconventional protagonist Daly delivers a page-turning debut novel and first in a brand new series. Dead After Midnight takes readers on a fast paced wild dark roller coaster ride where the turns get twisty-er the more the story unfolds and by the end the audience will be picking their jaw off the ground impatiently waiting to find out what happens in book 2. Using a former prostitute to star in a series is unique and a bit of a risk but Suzie steals the show with her vulnerability, her moxie and her smart often getting her into trouble mouth. The secondary characters in this episode are also fantastic especially Luke who it seems readers will be seeing in future novels too. Fans of the thrillers of JT Ellison and the romantic suspense novels of Laura Griffin will really enjoy this novel.

Suzie’s life hasn’t been easy, going from the horrors of foster care to the horrors of prostitution, the only thing that’s keeping her sane is her best friend Lucy and their plan to make enough to finally get off the streets and make a fresh start. To make their dream come true they need a big payday so they agree to service some inmates at the state prison. But something goes terribly wrong Lucy is brutally murdered and Suzie finds herself alone on the run. Not knowing where to go or who she can trust she takes a chance and goes to their neighbor Luke for help, but when he reveals he’s really a federal agent and Lucy was working for him it’s just too much to take so Suzie takes off on her own hoping she can outrun both the feds and the mob.

 

About the author:
In May 2020, C.P. Daly made the leap from writing short stories to releasing her first novel.
Her reading tastes are an eclectic mix of thriller, crime, romance, and the occasional fantasy novel. 
She has written two novels in The Kelsey Woods series, Dead After Midnight (debut novel, released in spring 2020) and Dead Before Sunrise - which is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2020.