Elizabeth Goddard is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of more than fifty novels, including Present Danger and the Uncommon Justice series. Her books have sold over one million copies. She is a Carol Award winner and a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, traveling to find inspiration for her next book, and serving with her husband in ministry.
In this interview, Elizabeth talks with us about her newest release, Critical Alliance, book three in her Rocky Mountain Courage Series.
FF: Can you please provide a brief summary of your new novel, Critical Alliance?
Mackenzie is a cybersecurity professor who teaches ethical hacking, but she also has hacking experience on the wrong side of the law. Everyone makes mistakes—if only her mistakes hadn’t alienated her from her family in Montana. But when a threat arises, she goes back to Montana to help protect her family and the company. She crosses paths with Alex Knight, a Diplomatic Security Services agent she met in the past. As the threats increase, Alex and Mackenzie work together to stop a dangerous hacker from exploiting national security secrets.
FF: Each book in this series focuses on a different resident of Grayback County. Will characters from previous books in the series make appearances in your new novel?
Oh, absolutely! Readers love for characters to make appearances, and in this third installment, the characters play even bigger supportive roles.
FF: Can you please tell readers a little more about Mackenzie and her background?
As mentioned, Mackenzie is a cybersecurity professor at a Michigan university where federal agencies often go to hire cybersecurity experts. She has dreamed of working for a federal agency—and specifically the DSS, Diplomatic Security Service—but has been rejected because she was caught in a big hacking scheme as a teen.
FF: What do readers have to look forward to in this thrilling conclusion?
Critical Alliance dives deep into the disturbing ways every aspect of our lives can be affected by cybercriminals, and like most of my novels, all the activity happens in a place where the landscape offers dangers of its own. Readers can look forward to danger, adventure, and romance in a beautiful location.
FF: Are there any threads that run through the whole series that will be wrapped up in this book?
Alex is home to decompress, but he also solves a mystery that started in book 1. Readers will learn who vandalized the Rocky Mountain Courage Memorial set up to honor Alex’s father, Terra’s mother, and Erin’s stepfather—those who gave their lives on the mountain to save others.
FF: What makes this series stand out from the other books you’ve written?
I think the characters have interesting and unusual careers—not the typical jobs you see in romantic suspense. In book 1, Terra is a US Forest Service special agent; in book 2, Erin is a criminal psychologist and podcaster; and in book 3, Mackenzie is a hacker with a past. I had a lot of fun researching and writing these characters!
FF: What do you hope readers will gain from reading Critical Alliance?
As always, I hope readers will be glued to the pages and experience the tension all while learning about cybercrimes. In addition, Critical Alliance offers a message of forgiveness and second chances.
FF: What are you working on next?
I’ve started writing the first book in a brand-new series set in Alaska that focuses on missing people.
Critical Alliance
Rocky Mountain Courage Series #3
Elizabeth Goddard
Revell
Genres: Romance, Romantic Suspense
Release Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN-10: 0800738004
ISBN-13: 978-0800738006
Book Summary:
Leaving behind her criminal past, Mackenzie Hanson now uses her special set of skills in her successful new career as professor of cybersecurity at a cutting-edge university. But when her former partner in crime delivers a threatening cryptic message about her father’s tech company being under cyberattack, Mackenzie takes the threat seriously and heads to Montana to secure exposed assets, close security breaches…and save lives.
Diplomatic Security Services special agent Alex Knight is back home in Montana to decompress from a mission gone wrong. But a vandalism problem in his hometown gives him a new case to solve. Determined to learn who’s behind it all, he’s soon drawn into another mystery, complete with suspicious deaths, lethal threats, and whispers of espionage—all surrounding a beautiful cybersecurity expert with a dark past.
When someone tries to kill Mackenzie to prevent her from learning the truth, she and Alex must find the answers before someone can silence her…forever.
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