Spotlight & Giveaway: Dead Man’s List by Karen Rose

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Karen Rose to HJ!

Hi Karen and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Dead Man’s List!

Hello and thank you for inviting me! It’s always fun to chat with readers!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

DEAD MAN’S LIST is the third book in my San Diego series, and it picks up with Kit and Sam going on their much-anticipated second day—a desert hike in the Anza-Borrego state park. Alas, their date is ruined when their dogs discover a dead body. It’s one of the San Diego city council members and he is very dead, indeed. He’s well loved by many, but intensely hated by others. Kit and Sam are on the case, and must navigate the world of the city’s wealthiest people as they search for the killer.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Navarro pointed to her and Sam. “You two. It’s always you two.”
Kit bristled. “Sir?”
Sam’s mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”
“Trouble just seems to find you,” Navarro muttered, sitting down at his desk. “And you can’t even deny it.”
Sam sighed. “No, I guess I can’t, but it’s not like we found the body on purpose. It spoiled our entire day. And my appetite for the next week.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

The working title of the book was KILL SWITCH, but it eventually became DEAD MAN’S LIST, because it was a list and not a switch . The switch was probably a leftover from my engineering days, LOL. I usually have one song that I play on infinite loop while I’m writing. I turn it down low—hopefully low enough that it doesn’t bother my husband! This book’s song was “Goodbye Girl” by David Gates. Spotify says I’m in the top 0.1% of his fans, having listened to it close to 1500 times this year, which I think is funny. (In the past it’s been Rainbow Connection by Kermit T. Frog or Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival or I Can’t Smile Without You by Barry Manilow).

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Sam respects that Kit is so passionate about finding justice for the victims few people care about. When Kit first sees his face in book one, she’s struck by how sincere he is. Plus, she likes his Clark Kent glasses.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

I love the relationship that Kit has with her adopted sister, Akiko. In this book, Akiko has a personal problem that upsets her. Kit finds her tipsy, in one of the twin beds they’d slept in when they were teenagers, living in McKittrick House. Kit kisses her forehead and promises to stay with her. Akiko wonders if it’s her birthday, since Kit kissed her. It hits Kit hard, making her see that by protecting her own heart, she’s hurting the people she loves the most. It’s a moment of growth for her and it makes my heart happy to see it. I’ve grown so fond of Kit and Sam and their inner circle!

Kit continued to stroke her sister’s hair. It was long, black and so silky. “You’ve always had the prettiest hair. I wished mine looked like yours when we were teenagers.”
Akiko huffed a laugh. “I wanted blond hair like yours. You’re pretty.”
“You’re prettier.”
Akiko pinched her hard.
“Ouch! What was that for?” Kit asked rubbing her arm.
“For not just saying thank you. Just say thank you, Kitty-Cat.”
“Thank you,” Kit said obediently. “You ready to sleep now?”
“You’ll stay here with me?”
“Until I have to go to work in the morning.”
“I got no work in the morning,” Akiko lamented. “Had to cancel my charter because I’m too chickenshit to go out on my own.”
“Not chickenshit. Smart is what you are. Say it with me. Smart.”
Akiko giggled, sounding like the girl she’d once been. “Smart. Love you.”
“Love you, too. Here.” Kit got an aspirin from the bottle Betsy had left on Akiko’s nightstand along with a bottle of water. “Take this. You’ll thank me tomorrow.”
“Can I thank you tonight?”
Kit leaned down and kissed Akiko’s forehead. “Sure.”
Akiko snuggled closer. “You kissed me. Is it my birthday?”
She’d meant the question in jest, Kit was certain, but it still stung.
Am I that stingy with my affection?
That had to stop. She was protecting her own heart and hurting those she loved in the process. No more.
“Not your birthday. Not yet. Go to sleep. I won’t leave you.”
“M’kay.” Akiko rolled over and in less than a minute was snoring delicately, just as she done when they’d been McKittrick House roommates all those years ago.
Kit got in her own bed, immediately noting that Betsy had set out her old quilt. Betsy had made two back then, one for her and one for Wren. It was as close to a security blanket as Kit had ever had.
(Betsy is Kit’s mother and Wren is the sister who was murdered when they were fifteen. Her murder is what spurred Kit to want to become a cop.)

Readers should read this book….

…because it’s exercise for your brain (the mystery) and your heart (the friends and family). I love Sam’s sincerity and Kit’s snark. I just plain love these people and accompanying them on their mystery-solving adventures has been a delight!

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

My next release is DEAD MAN’S LIST in March and, after that, KNIFE IN THE BACK, the fourth book in the New Orleans series. This is Burke’s book and will be released in August, 2025.
 
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 finished giveaway copy of DEAD MAN’S LIST (US winner only)

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: Have the people who love you ever forced you in a direction that you knew was good for you, but that scared you to death? Who were the people, what was the situation, and what happened?

This happens to Kit in DEAD MAN’S LIST. It also happened to me more than twenty-five years ago when my husband gently nudged me to submit the stories I’d been writing (for fun) to agents and editors. I was so scared, but it led to where I am today, so I’m incredibly grateful.
 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
 

Book Info:

Homicide Detective Kit McKittrick’s latest case exposes the dark side of San Diego’s high society in this nerve-shattering tale of romantic suspense from New York Times bestselling author Karen Rose.

On a long-anticipated second date with police psychologist Dr. Sam Reeves—right as things are getting steamy—Kit stumbles across the mutilated body of a local San Diego politician. The man was loved by many of his constituents but is hated and reviled by many more. That the suspect list is long surprises no one, but exactly who ends up on it stuns Kit and her team.

As the SDPD reveal the victim’s sinister dealings, Kit and Sam are forced to navigate the closely guarded world of the city’s richest and most powerful citizens to find answers. But time is rapidly running out, with their sources of information dropping like flies as the killer methodically eliminates loose ends—and anyone else who stands in the way.
 
 

Meet the Author:

Karen Rose is the New York Times bestselling author of more than thirty novels, including the bestselling New Orleans, Sacramento, Baltimore, and Cincinnati series. She has been translated into twenty-three languages, and her books have placed on the New York Times, the Sunday Times (UK), and Germany’s der Spiegel bestseller lists.