Jim De La Vega brings a lifetime of urgency, loss and real-world experience to Gone in Three Seconds, the explosive first installment in his Mind Hunter series. Drawing on his background as a TV news reporter and his encounters with some of the world’s most dangerous minds, De La Vega crafts a high-stakes thriller anchored by an unforgettable heroine in Cassidy Chord — a brilliant but deeply human forensic psychologist grappling with grief, trauma and a ticking clock she can’t ignore. In this Q&A, he shares the personal inspirations behind Cassidy, the chilling origins of his novel’s countdown premise and how his own experiences shaped both the story’s emotional core and its relentless pace.
Cassidy Chord is such a vivid protagonist — a forensic psychologist, former helicopter pilot, amputee and grieving fiancée all at once. How did you build her character, and did any real people inspire her?
Cassidy’s appearance is based on my cousin, her intelligence on my wife and all of her mistakes on me.
The book opens with an unforgettable hook — a countdown tattoo that appears on strangers’ wrists and ticks toward “BOOM.” Where did that concept come from, and how did you develop the mechanics of it without giving too much away too soon?
I have always been obsessed with time. And as a TV news anchor and reporter, that sense of urgency only grew even stronger. The news goes live at a specific time, whether everything is ready or not.
You dedicate the book to your brother Timmy. How much, if at all, did personal loss or grief shape Cassidy’s emotional journey — particularly her PTSD, her night terrors, and the way she carries Russell’s death?
Very much so. Timmy was my only brother and was younger than me. His sudden death created a chasm in my heart. Cassidy’s emotional journey was also mine. She helped me work out a lot.
The villain — “the man with two left hands” — is menacing from his very first scene. What was your approach to writing a killer who is clearly brilliant and organized, without making him feel cartoonish or over-the-top?
As a reporter, I’ve been covering serial killers, among others, since I was 15 years old. I’ve been in the room with a lot of very evil and often very smart killers. I drew on that experience in creating the man with two left hands.
You move between multiple settings and POVs very quickly — a hospital ER, a TV studio, an airport, a California hillside — and yet the pacing never loses momentum. Is that something that came naturally in the first draft, or was it shaped in revision?
It came naturally. I wanted that sense of urgency throughout the novel.
Cassidy is financially struggling, recently fired, still grieving and physically dealing with a prosthetic leg — she’s not the polished, invincible crime-solver we often see. Was it a deliberate choice to make her so vulnerable, and did that create any challenges in making readers trust her as the hero?
As a reporter, I’ve interviewed some truly amazing people. And the most impressive were people dealing with adversity, like most of us are. She’s brilliant, but she’s also very human.
This is Book 1 of the Mind Hunter Series. Without spoiling anything, what can you tell us about where Cassidy’s story is going — and is there anything about her you couldn’t fully explore in this first book that you’re excited to dig into next?
Book 2 will really highlight her skills as a profiler. Again, this is based on reality. I’ve interviewed a number of criminal profilers, including multiple interviews with former FBI agent John Douglas, considered the father of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit.
