A Merciful Death

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In 2014 I was on a plane to Thrillerfest in NYC. My third book, Buried, had been nominated for a Thriller Award, and an editor from a different publishing house had reached out to me, saying she loved my work and wanted to know if I’d be interested in writing something for their house. I agreed to meet her in NYC, and on that plane ride I had a moment of terror as I realized I didn’t have a concept to pitch. Ideas are difficult for me. I’m not that writer who has so many ideas she doesn’t know where to start. I stress and moan to come up with every single one. I whipped out my notebook on the plane and started brainstorming. Mercy Kilpatrick was born at thirty-five thousand feet, and that editor was enchanted with my concept.

Long story short: I asked my agent to first officially offer the idea to my current publishing house. My editor loved the concept, and I was relieved because I adore my Montlake team and there’s no one I’d rather have publish my books. They took a chance on me when no other house would and are the coolest, most innovative people on the planet. This is my tenth novel with them, and I look forward to the next ten.

Ten books? How did that happen so fast?

Thank you to Special Agents Devinney and Gluesenkamp for answering all my questions. Maybe I need to write an FBI duo with those names. Thank you to Charlotte Herscher for her editing expertise. Thank you to my agent, Meg Ruley, who has been an enthusiastic Mercy fan from day one.

My last book was dedicated to my espresso maker. This book is 100 percent caffeine free, so I hope my readers still enjoy it.