Editorial Content for Stranger in the Room
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STRANGER IN THE ROOM by Amanda Kyle Williams is her follow-up to THE STRANGER YOU SEEK, the critically and commercially successful debut that introduced private investigator Keye Street. As Street informs readers in the first few pages of her new novel, she runs a “little” detective agency consisting of just her and her computer guy. What this complex and intriguing personality may lack in business size is more than made up for by the complexity of her cases and the tenacity she brings to each one, which concerns a relative with a troubled past and checkered career which exceeds Keye’s own.
"STRANGER IN THE ROOM is exceptionally well-paced and plotted. The book’s main strength is in its fine balance between Keye’s professional life and the personal demons she deals with on a daily, if not hourly, basis."
The family member in question is Miki Ashton, Keye’s cousin. Both women live and work in the Atlanta area, and as the city begins its Independence Day celebration, Miki finds herself under siege by an unknown assailant.The first manifestation takes the form of a threatening stalker, an event that sends Miki to Keye begging for help. It’s not Keye’s first rodeo with Miki. Keye is used to unusual situations: she is a recovering alcoholic, a Chinese orphan adopted by white parents, and has a gay black brother living on the West Coast. Miki is an addict who doesn’t quite have the “recovering” part down and is somewhat “high maintenance” to boot. When a particularly grisly and unexpected discovery is made in Miki’s house, it becomes clear that Miki has a legitimate concern. Miki’s stalker is much more than an erstwhile suitor with inappropriate intentions; he, in fact, may well be a serial killer who is being sought by the Atlanta police.
Miki is not the only case on Keye’s mind, either. While attempting to protect her cousin, Keye must also juggle another case, this one involving a man who had his deceased mother cremated but who got more --- and less --- than he expected. Keye’s prior experience as an FBI agent --- she was summarily dismissed from the agency, which put her on the road to getting her life in order --- hold her in good stead, and the fact that her boyfriend is a member of Atlanta law enforcement does her no harm professionally, either. Keye’s concern for her cousin places both of them in peril, and as her investigation brings her closer to the killer’s identity, she finds that her cousin may well be a dangerous hindrance that will doom them both.
STRANGER IN THE ROOM is exceptionally well-paced and plotted. The book’s main strength is in its fine balance between Keye’s professional life and the personal demons she deals with on a daily, if not hourly, basis. Her battle with alcohol addiction is exceptionally well-presented, especially in a scene near the beginning of the book where she struggles to resist Miki’s entreaties to sample the temptations that she fights against. Although she is only two books into the series, Williams establishes that this is a canon to dive into, head-first, and to anticipate with each new installment.
Teaser
Private Investigator Keye Street just wants to have a relaxing Fourth of July weekend with her boyfriend. However, with two strikingly similar murders and her cousin Miki claiming that a man is stalking her, Keye must give up her dreams of relaxation and stop a killer before he strikes those she loves.
Promo
Private Investigator Keye Street just wants to have a relaxing Fourth of July weekend with her boyfriend. However, with two strikingly similar murders and her cousin Miki claiming that a man is stalking her, Keye must give up her dreams of relaxation and stop a killer before he strikes those she loves.
About the Book
That bullet was meant for you.
Summer is smoldering through Atlanta on Fourth of July weekend, as fireworks crack through the air and steam rises from the pavement on Peachtree. Private investigator and ex–FBI profiler Keye Street wants nothing more than a couple of quiet days alone with her boyfriend, Aaron --- but, as usual, murder gets in the way.
I will find her.
A.P.D. Lieutenant Aaron Rauser is called to the disturbing scene of the strangling death of a thirteen-year-old boy. Meanwhile, Keye must deal with not one but two of her own investigations: In the hills of Creeklaw County, there’s a curious case involving chicken feed and a crematorium, and in Atlanta, Keye’s emotionally fragile cousin Miki is convinced she is being stalked. Given Miki’s history of drug abuse and mental problems, Keye is reluctant to accept her cousin’s tale of a threatening man inside her house late one night. But as a recovering alcoholic herself, Keye can’t exactly begrudge a woman her addictions --- especially since Miki drives Keye to near-relapses at every turn. And yet, Miki is family, and Keye must help her --- even if it means tempting her own demons.
I always find her.
All hell breaks loose when another murder --- the apparent hanging of an elderly man --- hits disturbingly close to home for Keye. And though the two victims have almost nothing in common, there are bizarre similarities between this case and that of Aaron’s strangled teen. Is there a single faceless predator, a calculating murderer targeting his prey at random? Only a skilled profiler like Keye Street can help the A.P.D. find him. With the threat of more deaths to come, Keye works on pure instinct alone --- and soon realizes that a killer is circling ever closer to the people she loves the most.
