Introduction

Memories of her dire past fade as Celia Hagen enjoys life in Switzerland as a best-selling author, surrounded by an extended family, her beloved Benicio, and their imaginative young son Benny. But when Benny disappears from a train during an unexpected stop in the French Provencal countryside, Celia suspects her past may not be buried after all. With Benny gone, she quickly realizes her life wasn?t nearly as idyllic as she believed. Infuriated by the unorthodox search efforts of Interpol and the French police, Celia, along with her older son Oliver, undertakes her own search, only to find that the village where Benny vanished has its own chilling history, and her interference in the case will have grave and irreversible consequences.

In the follow up to Audrey Braun?s best-selling debut, A Small Fortune, Celia discovers just how quickly everyone she loves can spiral toward a life?or death?that none of them could have seen coming.

Editorial Review

A Q&A with Audrey Braun

Question: Fortune's Deadly Descent is the follow up to A Small Fortune. What will readers need to know before starting this book?
Audrey Braun: Readers should know that while Fortune's Deadly Descent is the second book in a series, it is also a standalone novel. There is enough allusion to the first book for readers to get a sense of what came before without losing sight of what is happening in the new novel. Having said that, Fortune's Deadly Descent will certainly resonate deeper with readers who are familiar with A Small Fortune. When tiny details trigger knowledge of the story already existing inside the reader's head it's like being in on an inside joke. Inclusion is an extremely satisfying feeling.

Q: The main character, Celia, finds herself at odds with her lover, the law, and a tiny French town filled with secrets when her son Benny is kidnaped. What inspired you this time?
AB: Unlike A Small Fortune, which was inspired by wine, a tasty dinner, and a recession that had my husband and me brainstorming a genre novel I didn't think I'd actually write, Fortune's Deadly Descent was written with intent. At the end of A Small Fortune, a few threads are left dangling. Of course the reader could stop there and leave the rest up to her imagination, but if one were to carry those threads, say, to the south of France where the writer would be forced to travel for research [wink], where all of the senses would be evoked by the rich textures of Provence which would then be infused into the tension of the novel, allowing the reader to experience adventure, sensuality, and heart-pounding suspense in one package, I'd say that closely defines my inspiration for this novel.

Q: Fortunes Deadly Decent is a gripping, fast-pace thriller, but there are so many deeply emotional moments. How do you strike that balance?
AB: This is a very good question. Reading a thriller can sometimes feel like running a marathon. Just one more page, one more, just to get to the end of this chapter, and then ok, the next chapter, and the next, because I can't stop now! While this is exactly the kind of reaction every thriller writer hopes for, it can also be taxing on the reader. It's important to pull back a bit after times of extreme suspense to give the reader a break. That break is the perfect opportunity for the writer to go a little deeper inside the character's emotional core to remind the reader what is at stake. Flawed characters with broken hearts are the ones we love to root for and will follow every crisis they rake us through. Clearly defined vulnerabilities, faults, unmet desires, and regrets, resonate deeply with readers, and when they appear during or shortly after times of heightened danger, they pull the reader further into the story, far more effectively than mere facts of adrenaline rushes, gunshots, and kidnappings.

Q: What writers/books inspire your writing?
AB: Patricia Highsmith. I love The Talented Mr. Ripley for so many reasons, one of which is the strong sense of place. I'm also a huge fan of Benjamin Black, not least because he uses a pen name for his mystery novels and his real name (John Banville) for his literary work, the same way that I do. His protagonist, a coroner named Quirke (perfect) is a flawed old sod who plods through life trying to do the right thing by others as well as to himself. Same goes with Kate Atkinson. I love her writing. Her novels are written in big, sweeping arcs, very literary, and strong on suspense. Harlan Coben, Lisa Unger, and Laura Lippman are also writers I love, and they have influenced my own writing in the sense that each have novels featuring an everyman or everywoman thrown into extraordinary circumstances that they must work their way out of, and in the process discover exactly what they're made of. This rings true for Celia in the Fortune Series. She isn't the detective, doctor, or investigative journalist so often found in thrillers, she's a former editor and now a novelist who has been thrown into a life where she has to learn the skills of an investigator, or sniper, or heck, a marine, in order to survive.

Q: What's next for Celia, will there be a 3rd novel?
AB: Yes. I don't want to say too much about the plot as it's still very new, but I will say the 3rd installment of Celia's adventures takes place in Berlin, which has become the new "it" city of Europe. It is bustling with tourists and expats, the arts thriving, the rents miraculously cheaper than any other large European city at the moment. I think this makes for a fascinating backdrop for the 3rd and yes, final story of Celia's life.

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