Angela Carlisle resides in the hills of northern Kentucky and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and The Christian PEN. Angela’s debut novel, Secondary Target, was a Parable Weekly top seller and was included in the Library Journal Stars So Far listing. Angela is an editor by day and prefers to spend her free time reading, baking, and drinking ridiculous quantities of hot tea.
Angela talks about how she balances suspense and romance in her novels.
FF: Can you give us a brief summary of Shadowed Witness?
Allye Jessup is certain she witnessed a murder in progress and that the killer attacked her. But she’s still alive, and there’s no body or any evidence of what she saw. Maybe the brain fog surrounding her deteriorating health has progressed to hallucinations, but she isn’t so sure. Even her friend Detective Eric Thornton is skeptical—until it becomes obvious that someone doesn’t want her to tell what she knows.
FF: Shadowed Witness is an addition to The Secrets of Kincaid. How does this novel build off of your debut novel?
Shadowed Witness is a return to the fictional small town of Kincaid, Kentucky. Though the stories can stand alone, readers of book one will be familiar with photographer Allye Jessup and now-detective Eric Thornton—and they’ll also enjoy catching a glimpse of Corina and Bryce and getting to know the Jessup family better.
FF: Our main character, Allye Jessup, is a witness to a murder, but no one believes her. How does this affect her development throughout the story?
Coupled with the other challenges she’s facing, Allye has points where she even begins to doubt herself. As you can imagine, that ratchets up her anxiety and affects her willingness to ask for help. It’s one thing to face a murderer, but it’s quite another to have no idea if you’re actually in physical danger or if you’re losing your grip on reality.
FF: Were there any challenges writing through the perspective of a character whose memories may not be reliable?
The hardest part was keeping everything plausible without making the conclusions too obvious. Allye is sure of what she sees—it’s just as clear to her as any other experience. But she can’t deny that some details sound absurd, nor can she explain why the evidence points to an entirely different conclusion.
FF: What inspired you to make Allye a photographer?
Photography and self-employment fit Allye’s free-spirited, creative personality when I developed her character in book one. It also played a major part in early ideas for the plot of this book, though those changed drastically in the drafting process.
FF: How does Allye and Eric’s dynamic develop throughout the novel?
While the two have known each other for years, they’ve never been more than casual friends—and neither is in a position where they can see their relationship developing into anything more. But as Eric investigates the increasingly pointed incidents involving Allye, they find a deep connection forming that catches them both by surprise.
FF: What research went into portraying the law enforcement aspects of the story?
Because Eric is a police detective, I needed to know a bit more about how certain situations (such as a missing teen) are handled from a law enforcement perspective. Of course, much can be found on the internet if you know what questions to ask and where to look. One of the things that has been immensely helpful is being part of an online group specifically designed for people with law enforcement experience to answer questions from writers. I’ll admit to often reading questions and responses even if they don’t directly apply to my story, because it helps me build a better framework for understanding that world.
FF: How do you balance writing the romantic and suspenseful elements?
While each story calls for its own balance of these elements, I tend to write heavier on the suspense side with the romance growing in the downtime between incidents until both crescendo at the end.
FF: How did you map out the escalating danger throughout the story?
As a seat-of-the-pants writer, I tend to figure it out as I go—sometimes jumping around to write the scenes as I “see” them. Having a grasp on my characters and their motivations really helps, though, because if I know what they want and what they’re capable of, then I can more realistically portray what they’ll do and when.
FF: How do you approach writing suspense and crime scenes while maintaining a Christian perspective?
We live in a broken world, and acknowledging that bad things happen is not the same as glorifying those things. Yes, readers—myself included—are largely reading for entertainment and may enjoy suspense for the “thrill” of it (and the brain exercise), but I think there’s more to it. There’s value in seeing even a fictional example of how others respond to adversity, how God can work the bad things for good, and how there is always hope—even in the hardest of circumstances.
FF: Can you share what you’re working on next?
Book three of The Secrets of Kincaid follows one of Bryce and Allye’s cousins as she inadvertently stumbles onto a criminal scheme. She knows she should report what evidence she’s found, but it isn’t conclusive. Worse, it could implicate her in a crime she didn’t commit. The clock is ticking, and whatever decision she makes could have disastrous consequences for her and her young daughter.
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Shadowed Witness
The Secrets of Kincaid #2
Angela Carlisle
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Genres: Suspense, Romance
Release Date: July 1, 2025
Available Formats: Paperback, Hardcover, Audiobook, eBook
ISBN-10: 0764242512
ISBN-13: 978-0764242519
Book Summary:
A haunting attack. A killer in the shadows. A protective love.
Murder – that’s what photographer Allye Jessup knows she witnessed as she departed her studio one evening. Waking with bruises on her neck and a foggy memory, she believes she survived an attack, but everyone seems to think she simply sustained a head injury from falling down the stairs outside her studio. Plagued by an undiagnosed health condition, she is torn between the haunting reality of what she may have seen and the possibility that her mind is playing tricks on her.
Without proof the other victim ever existed, Detective Eric Thornton can hardly declare the area a murder scene. Still, he adds Allye’s report to his already full caseload. But when new evidence surfaces to support her claims, Eric must stay one step ahead of a ruthless killer and uncover the truth before the suspect closes in on Allye again.
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