Hooked by Caitlin Rother
Caitlin Rother brings verisimilitude from her previous career to her carefully crafted latest novel Hooked, a fast-paced crime thriller pairing for the first time investigative reporter Katrina Chopin with Ken Goode, a surfing homicide detective. This is the first in a planned series featuring the charismatic, well-matched pair of investigators with the second slated to be published in early summer.
Paradise Shattered by a Double Murder
The novel is set in the small, exclusive enclave La Jolla Farms with multi-million dollar luxury homes, stunning ocean views on the cliffs above the popular but hard to reach surfer’s favorite Black’s Beach. The quiet harmony is shattered when Simon Fontaine, a physician and biotech executive is found dead with his daughter Victoria Fontaine in the home they share. Initially considered suicides, the evidence seems to indicate they were murdered with the real killer attempting to falsify drug overdoses.
Southern California native Katrina Goode has returned after spending five years on the east coast followed by another five in Chicago where she worked as a journalist on a major paper for the smaller San Diego-Sun Dispatch. She is determined to make her mark on home turf as an investigative reporter with the unspoken ulterior motive of solving the twin murders of her parents and the mysterious death of twin brother Franny.
Along with his athletic surfer’s body, Ken Goode possesses a keen, analytical mind. When Hooked begins, he has arrived from the airport after ten vacation days of riding the waves in Maui and visiting with his Aunt Katherine who raised him and younger sister Maureen after their mother committed suicide. He was six years old, seated in the back seat of the family car when mom suddenly pulled over, got out, climbed over the railings of the Coronado Bridge and jumped.
Secrets, Power and a Deadly New Drug
Ken stopped for a drink and dinner at favorite restaurant Piatti’s where he sat in the only open seat at the bar next to beautiful Katrina Chopin as she sipped a drink. Their immediate mutual attraction smolders tantalizingly throughout this thriller. Goode was summoned to work on the Fontaine murders. Sharing dinner was on hold along with any potential thoughts of getting together in order to avoid compromising the murder investigation with a potential conflict of interest. As the case progressed, aggressive investigator Katrina shared some of her discoveries while occasionally Ken discreetly spoke off the record. He kept a closer watch on her as she began to make connections pointing to the killer or killers and it became clear her life was in danger.
The two homicides began to shed light on closely guarded secrets. The Fontaines were spearheading a biotech company that had been developing and testing a new drug with the potential to improve upon, rival and even outsell Viagra. It uses dopamine receptors to alter brain chemistry to enhance and perpetuate sexual attraction for both sexes. The company became involved with right-wing politicians with a view to gaining support in marketing this miraculous stimulant to evangelical Christian married couples. If testing results are not misleading, the investors stand to earn billions. Failure is not an option. Greed, avarice, corruption, off-shore accounts, addiction to drugs, alcohol and power coalesce into a devil’s brew bubbling just under the surface.
Victoria Fontaine was involved with both Michael and Alex Battrelle, nephews of Vincent Battrelle, influential owner of the newspaper employing Katrina. As she digs deeper seeking verifiable facts, and fighting her editor to print the truth rather than placating her employer, Katrina discovers an unexpected personal connection. Her late brother, Victoria and Alex were all addicts who had met in the same upscale rehab facility. Who among the growing list of suspects has the most to lose and the greatest motive for murder? Katrina Chopin and Ken Goode alternate in the narration of this tightly crafted plot.
Let yourself be reeled in by Caitlin Rother’s gripping tale of the dark side of this slice of California paradise with Hooked. With the connection to her own murdered family too strong to be coincidental, Katrina and Ken will doubtlessly become better acquainted when they join forces again in Staged, the upcoming second installment.
About Caitlin Rother:
New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother, an award-winning investigative reporter for nineteen years, has published sixteen books, from crime novels to crime narrative nonfiction and memoir. Rother’s journalistic work has been published by Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, The San Diego Union-Tribune, and The Daily Beast. Her more than 250 media appearances include 20/20, People Magazine Investigates, Crime Watch Daily, Australia’s World News, and numerous shows on Netflix, Investigation Discovery, Lifetime, HLN, and REELZ. A popular speaker, the author also works as a writing-research coach and consultant. For fun, she binges on limited series, sings and plays keyboards in a jazzy bluesy trio with her partner, and swims in the ocean. Rother holds a BS in psychology from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MS in journalism from Northwestern University. To learn more, please visit https://caitlinrother.com.
