About the Book

Book: Anchored by Death

Author: Catherine Finger

Genre: Christian Mystery/Thriller

Release Date: June, 2017

Police Chief Jo Oliver needed a little time to herself. But when her escape to Wisconsin turns deadly, she teams up with FBI agent Nick Vitarello, hoping to catch the Bow Tie Killer. Their romantic past and complicated present leads them into uncharted territory as they match wits with a psychopath bent on destroying everything they hold dear.

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About the Author

Catherine Finger loves to dream, write, and tell stories. Retired from a wonderful career in public education, she celebrates the ability to choose how to spend her time in a new way during the second half of life. So far, she chooses to write books, ride horses, serve others, and generally find her way into and out of trouble both on the road and at home. She lives in the Midwest with a warm and wonderful combination of family and friends.

More from Catherine

Thank you for your interest in the Jo Oliver thriller series. Today we celebrate Anchored by Death—book three in the series. The basic plot for this book came as a result of an FBI workshop I attended on how profilers track killers. A particular method was presented that really stuck with me. As I thought it over, I had the idea to combine a map of Wisconsin with the tracking technique I had learned, and I actually built the crime scenes around the theory. I then created a killer who would do the sorts of things I had mapped out, and in that order. This was a satisfying challenge for Josie and I enjoyed my research jaunts throughout Wisconsin while writing the chase and takedown scenes.

When Josie’s off the clock and spending time with family and friends, you can catch our heroine in the kitchen. Ever since her infamous Flourless Chocolate Cake appeared in Anchored by Death, fans have requested the recipe. For the epicurean readers, here is the recipe she used when preparing this special treat:

Ingredients:

12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 ½ sticks butter

¼ salt

6 eggs, room temp

1 ½ cups sugar (white granulated or brown will do)

Confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder for dusting top and cake stand

How To:

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare springform or regular round pans with nonstick spray or butter and flour.

Melt chocolate, butter, and salt—microwave will work in a pinch—or add all to heatproof bowl and place over small saucepan of simmering water to melt without burning. Set aside to cool.

Beat eggs and sugar until light and thickened, around 6-8 minutes. Fold in melted chocolate mixture until completely combined.

Pour batter into buttered and floured cake pan—springform or regular round—and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 90 minutes, until a toothpick comes out wet but relatively clean.

Allow cake to cool completely before removing from pan. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and cocoa—Jo used a stencil for a quick and pretty design.

Thanks again for celebrating Anchored by Death—and know that I appreciate you. Readers are a special breed. As a lover of the written word and an author, I invite you to enjoy the read.

My Review

Book three in the Jo Oliver Thriller series, “Anchored by Death” offers a mixture of mystery and romance as Jo becomes involved in another case despite being on vacation to recover from the last one. This is one series that needs to be read in chronological order in order to fully understand each character’s backstory. Because of time constraints, I have not been able to do so and have, due to my blogging schedule, instead been reading them in reverse order, which does give away the details and outcomes of the previous story. This is my issue, certainly not the author’s, and it does not affect my rating, but I want to let other readers know that the books in this series are not meant to stand alone.

Catherine Finger includes a more complex crime plot in “Anchored by Death” than in “Capsized by Death”, in my opinion. This story has a more forensic aspect to it, but it seems to me that there is too much romance and relationship drama. It does have an impact on the case, but I feel that too much time is spent on it; it distracted me from the story. While I consider this book to be a work of romantic suspense, it appears to be primarily listed as a mystery and thriller, so I was definitely expecting more from that angle. However, I will say that this is still a clean, Christian read, which is the most important aspect. I also appreciate that the characters are not stereotypical, nor are they perfect. Each has their own quirks and issues, but Finger demonstrates that God still uses them, weaknesses and all, and He will use us, too. The plotline involving the crime is one that bears fruit in an interesting way, tying main characters small-town police chief Jo Oliver and FBI agent Nick Vitarello, as well as a few other friends and agents, together. Once the dominoes begin to fall, the action intensifies, making the second half of the story my favorite.

For readers of clean, relatively short Christian mysteries with a strong dose of romance, the Jo Oliver series will likely be a good fit.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to post a favorable review. All opinions are my own.