Michael P. King

First off, thanks for your reviews on Amazon. They really do help other readers find these books.

I’ve been trying to think of something special to share with those of you who’ve been reading right along without creating spoilers for newer readers. Here goes—

In each of the Travelers books, there is always a main plot—a crime that turns complicated. That’s the main event of each book. For example:

Book 1: the land swindle and the money laundry

Book 2: the theft of the computer program

Book 3: the blackmail of the wannabe congressman

But, usually, there is also a subplot that moves along from one book to the next, with more or less emphasis. For the first three books, the subplot is, for lack of a better word, the Travelers’ shared mid-life crisis. Is he still up to the task of taking care of business? Does she still believe in him? Can they trust each other? Can they re-cement their relationship? Should they each go their own way?

If you’ve read the prequel, The Double Cross, you’ve got their starting point as a comparison—how they met and started grifting together, and how their relationship developed into a trust that enables them to take on all comers.

Now in book 1, The Traveling Man, the mid-life crisis subplot is very important to the action in the first half (Have they assumed the wrong things about each other? What are the dangerous repercussions of those assumptions?), then slips to the back burner for the second half and for book 2, The Computer Heist, as they try to feel their way back to their old comfortable pattern.

But the issue jumps to the front again in book 3, The Blackmail Photos, where previously unknown hopes and dreams collide with a treacherous reality and where, by the end, the mid-life crisis issue has been transmuted into a different sort of concern, which get explored in books 4 through 6.

My hope is that the subplots make the books more fun to read by making the characters more complex and more realistic. But that’s for you to judge.

If you haven’t read the first three books, you can pick them up as a discounted eBook boxed set here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FWC9BFK

And if you’ve read The Traveling Man, but not books 2 and 3, you can pick them up as a discounted eBook boxed set here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0788QZRQ8

Finally, if you’re into free eBook promos, the Page Turning Mystery/Thriller Giveaway, a free book in exchange for an email list signup, is live now. There are 64 eBooks in the promo, with enough new ones to make it worth a look. And even though the link says “cozyreaders,” this list contains eBooks that cover the spectrum from cozy to hardboiled. Here’s the link: https://books.bookfunnel.com/cozyreaders/1wet1az9hk

Happy reading!