Travel writer Genie Clarke arrives in Rome seeking inspiration, but her trip turns deadly when she overhears two mafia operatives discussing a secret "Project." Before she can escape, she's attacked and left for dead. Awakening in a hospital-alive but hunted-Genie finds the police unwilling to believe her. Only Detective Leo Angelini takes her seriously, uncovering ties between her assault, a murdered woman, and a powerful criminal network.With the threat escalating, Leo moves Genie into hiding, where she becomes both key witness and prime target. Cut off from safety and unsure who to trust, Genie must outthink the conspirators determined to silence her.
From Rome's bright piazzas to its shadowed alleys, she faces a terrifying fight for survival-and an unexpected connection with the detective risking everything to protect her. She Knew Too Much is a lean, suspenseful psychological thriller about fear, courage, and the price of knowing too much.
The main character in my new thriller She Knew Too Much is someone I’ve written about before in several short stories. She’s American travel writer Eugenia Clarke (Genie), and because she’s savvy and observant, she sometimes sees or hears things she’d be better off ignoring. She Knew Too Much takes place mostly in Rome, and she speaks Italian pretty well. In the opening scene, she overhears a group of gangsters planning some kind of crime. When they realize she’s listening, one chases her down and beats her up. He would have done worse, but was interrupted. From there on, the gang members are out to get her. Because I’ve written about Genie before, I have a good handle on her personality and how she’d be likely to react to these events. She’s angry.
When I needed to introduce a new main character into the story, Polizia di Stato detective Leo Angelini, I was starting from scratch. Don’t tell my husband this, but I modeled him on a man I had an enormous crush on in college. That let me absolutely picture him, his appearance, his worldview, even his voice. Of course, it was very hard to keep Genie from falling in love with him! You’ll have to read the book to find out whether she does and whether—between keeping her safe and stopping several significant crimes—she and Leo even have time to think about a relationship.
I’ve visited Italy several times, and it’s where my husband and I spent our honeymoon. It truly is a romantic place. The history. The charming countryside. The people! The food!! It was fun working all that into the novel. One character is at kind of a career low point, and to him the long history is not so charming. It’s like a weight on his shoulders. It’s all about perspective, I suppose.
Genie’s perspective, despite the deadly danger she’s in, is the typically American “can-do” attitude. Hospitalized after the gangster’s attack, she meets Leo. He believes she’s not safe there—too many people in and out—and moves her to a quiet place where she can recover in peace. In that low-key environment, they have a chance to get to know each other, but very soon the retreat comes to feel like more of a necessity than a luxury, when a woman mistaken for Genie is murdered in the very hospital bed that she vacated hours earlier. The stakes are very clear and very high. Genie, having seen and heard the gang members doing their planning, is not only a vital witness, she’s a prime target. As the dimensions of the gang’s plot gradually become clear, the risk to Genie only increases. Yet her sense of justice predominates, and she is determined to help Leo defeat the criminals—if only he’ll let her.
I hope your readers take the opportunity to read She Knew Too Much. I think they will find it a fast-moving story with touches of romance, humor, and a big dose of humanity. I welcome their responses. Thank you for inviting me to share these few words.
No time for second-guessing.
The usually busy street was unaccountably deserted. Where was everybody? I reached a corner and again glanced behind. He wasn’t running, but the distance between us was closing.
How was this happening? To me? As a seasoned traveler and, I believed, savvy woman of the world, I told my readers how to have fun while staying out of trouble. Thousands of them relied on my advice. They emailed and tweeted and messaged to tell me so.
My gaze darted left, right, looking for refuge, a person in a doorway, help of any kind. A side street to the left was jammed with parked cars. No people. On the right, a trattoria a few doors down. Closed. Even the cats slept. Hearing the clomp of boots from behind, I kicked off the annoying sandals and ran.
The sound of the boots grew louder, faster, racing my pounding heart. My mouth filled with the metallic taste of adrenaline. Another few strides and, ahead on the right, was the Anglican All Saints’ Church. I knew that church. I’d been there!
I dashed across the Via di Gesu e Maria—Thank you, Jesus and Mary! Through the church’s main doors and into a hallway alongside the nave.
“Hello?” I panted as I streaked past unattended offices. Silence. Desks abandoned. Phones stilled. Empty on Sunday? Nobody counting the collection, choir practice—nothing?
Vicki Weisfeld is a Midwesterner (Go Blue!) transplanted to New Jersey. Her short stories have appeared in leading mystery magazines, including Ellery Queen, Sherlock Holmes, and Black Cat. Find her work also in a variety of anthologies: Busted: Arresting Stories from the Beat, Seascapes: Best New England Crime Stories, Murder Among Friends, Passport to Murder, The Best Laid Plans, Quoth the Raven, and Sherlock Holmes in the Realms of Edgar Allan Poe. She's a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, which awarded "Breadcrumbs" a best short story Derringer in 2017, and the Public Safety Writers Association, which gave a similar award to "Who They Are Now" in 2020. She's a reviewer of New Jersey theater for TheFrontRowCenter.com and crime/mystery/thriller fiction for the UK website, crimefictionlover.com. 
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Thank you so much for featuring SHE KNEW TOO MUCH.
ReplyDeleteThank you for inviting me to describe a bit of the "story behind the story." I hope your readers will enjoy She Knew Too Much!
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