Article and Interview by Elise Cooper
Body of Evidence by Irene Hannon, as with her other suspense books, has strong women with high morals. They find themselves in dangerous situations where they step up to the plate showing courage, perseverance, intelligence, integrity, and determination. Although this is the last of the series readers are still able to enjoy the banter between the sisters.
“I wanted something difficult to trace, which did not necessarily turn up in an autopsy. I did a lot of research to find something easily available for the villain. I did run it by a forensic pathologist to make sure the scenario was realistic. The killer pulled it off on being natural. Yet, by the end I always want the book to have an uplifting ending, encouraging, and hopeful.”
The youngest of the three sisters is Forensic pathologist Grace Reilly, who works in rural Missouri. She notices a curious pattern in autopsies of elderly residents. On the surface, their demise appears to be natural, but Grace suspects that there is something else going on as the bodies pile up. Although she takes her suspicions of foul play to Sheriff Nate Cox, he is skeptical about the link she has found. But he is willing to start an investigation, especially after she has been threatened with weird notes and her car damaged. Because of these incidents Nate comes around to Grace’s way of thinking realizing that someone is going to great lengths to stop the investigation. As they search for the person involved, they develop feelings for each other. They must find the killer before Grace becomes one of the victims.
This is an exciting mystery. The story has fun loving sisters, great dialogue, and an interesting plot.
Elise Cooper: Did the killer ever have a motive?
Irene Hannon: There were suggestions because they were mistreated with bad things happening in their life. The killer had a callous attitude.
EC: How did you get the idea for the story?
IH: I wanted something difficult to trace, which did not necessarily turn up in an autopsy. I did a lot of research to find something easily available for the villain. I did run it by a forensic pathologist to make sure the scenario was realistic. The killer pulled it off on being natural. Yet, by the end I always want the book to have an uplifting ending, encouraging, and hopeful.
EC: How would you describe the relationship between the sisters?
IH: They have a very close bond, which comes across in how they care about each other and the banter between them. They always tease each other but have each other’s backs.
EC: How would you describe Grace?
IH: Of the three sisters she is the most romantic at heart. Her sisters say she picked the wrong profession because she must handle dead people. They are always kidding her. Unlike the other two sisters she is not in the line of fire and is less adventurous. Grace is very kind, committed, and savvy. Overall, she is calm, thorough, curious, honest, driven, and determined.
EC: How would you describe Nate?
IH: He has a military background as a Green Beret, which affects how he looks on the world. He is very committed to justice. Nate feels guilty about what happened. Overall, he is professional, diligent, detail oriented, has integrity, and compassionate.
EC: What about their relationship?
IH: There is a mutual attraction from the beginning. As they begin to work together it becomes clear there are sparks and that they have a lot in common. This is a relationship that developed over time. They get to know each other very well before they get serious.
EC: You explore the dating scene?
IH: It is a situation people can relate to. Usually either one side or the other care more for the other. When that happens, inevitably, people get hurt. It can be very hurtful if someone has more feelings than the other. The couple decided not to stay with for the wrong reason.
EC: Next book?
IH: In the spring the series book “Return to Hope Harbor” comes out, titled Windswept Way. The plot has a woman travel to Hope Harbor to start a new life. She and an older woman hire the hero to fix up this historic house. They find a new beginning and a new life. Next fall, I start a brand-new series, “Undaunted Courage.” The first book in that series is titled, Into the Fire that has a woman fire investigator. She is investigating the death of a retired fire investigator. Also investigating with her is an ATF Agent.
EC: THANK YOU!!
