True Target by Austin S. Camacho

 

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Welcome to It's Raining Books. If someone were writing a story about you, what would your blurb say?

After writing a successful series of detective novels, local author Austin S. Camacho decided to launch a series focused on a professional assassin. His new protagonist is an African American woman in Washington DC. He has poured his heart and soul into exploring this character’s damaged psyche but will his efforts result in a slew of new readers, or just turn off his existing fans?

Would you tell us a little about your newest release that isn't in the blurb?

In the new book, Skye is the consummate professional but she knows there’s something wrong with the fact that she can kill without feeling anything. So she begins therapy. The conversations between Skye and her therapist reveal much about this character, but also about the world she, lives in. Skye isn’t always forthcoming and hates it when she explains something that happened in her life and the therapist asks, “How did that make you feel?” Which of course, she always does.

What was your favorite scene to write in this story?

Without giving too much away, my favorite scene to write was the scene in which Skye finally comes face-to-face with the master villain. This is where the villain reveals his true plot, And Skye seems unable to stop him. There is a lot of emotional conflict and tension in that scene, which is why it’s my favorite. I love being able to have a lot going on in a book and then pull it all together in a big climactic scene.

If you could trade places with one of your characters, who would it be and why?

I would love to trade places with Morris, the man who drives for Skye. Trying to stay off the grid she doesn’t own a car herself, but Uber driver Morris takes her where she needs to be to ply her trade. He is in the enviable position to know Skye very well and take her to and from her dangerous assignments, but he is in no danger himself. Skye protects him by not giving details about the work she does but he’s close enough to know it’s something secret and highly dangerous.

Skye Maddox is a contract assassin driven by both personal demons and professional discipline. Hired by grieving father Milo Williams to hunt down the chain of men responsible for his son’s death, Skye takes on a mission that escalates into a war with Washington, D.C.’s most dangerous underworld figures led by a man known only as Hetman. As she climbs Milo’s ladder of revenge, Skye uncovers a web of corruption that links drug dealers, judges, mobsters, and even international crime syndicates.

The story escalates through brutal shootouts, betrayals, and psychological games, as Skye pushes deeper into Hetman’s empire. Each success makes her a bigger target. In the end, she must weigh the cost of finishing Milo’s revenge against the danger of becoming just another expendable weapon in someone else’s war.

Read an Excerpt

When Jayla stood, Skye raised a palm to stop her. “Yes. Yes, all right. I just finished an assignment, but it was part of a larger contract so I’m feeling like both the situations you mentioned. I’m on the job, and I just took a player off the board.”

Jayla jotted in her notebook. She always collected the euphemisms Skye used for her profession. “So, tell me about this latest assignment. How do you feel about this player you’ve taken off the board? Was it, in your mind, a just action?”

“You always want to go there,” Skye said, shaking her head. “What did I tell you? The first rule of the assassin’s doctrine. The target has got to deserve it.”

“Oh, yes,” Jayla said with a half-smile. “Your job, while criminal, does have rules

“I misspoke earlier,” Skye said, sliding a slim dagger out of her boot. “It’s not a job. It’s a profession. All professions have their rules. For doctors, rule number one is ‘do no harm’, right? For an assassin, it’s that the target has got to deserve it.” Skye began to absently flip the dagger in the air, catching it by its tip each time. “In this case, this bastard kidnapped my client’s son. I don’t know how they got him. My client kept his family totally under the radar. But once he got the ransom demand, the client agreed to pay, and the ransom money was in transit but not fast enough to suit the kidnappers. They killed the boy, I think just to make a point. Just to be snotty. The action took place overseas and no way the police would ever have gotten close to the killer.”

Jayla nodded. “I think I understand. So, you were hired to…”

“Correct the balance,” Skye said, standing.

About the Author:

Austin S. Camacho is the author of eight novels about Washington DC-based private eye Hannibal Jones, five in the Stark and O’Brien international adventure-thriller series, and the detective novel Beyond Blue. His short stories have been featured in several anthologies and he is featured in the Edgar nominated African American Mystery Writers: A Historical and Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey. He is a past president of the Maryland Writers Association, past Vice President of the Virginia Writers Club, and one of the creators of the Creatures, Crimes & Creativity literary conference.

Website: https://ascamacho.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61572508767550
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/ascamacho135
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/austin-camacho-1a5a622/

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FV6FYVZK
B & N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/true-target-austin-s-camacho/1148461145?ean=9798988533351/br>