Author's Own Words About Thriller, "Harmonic Deception"

Dec. 26, 2011 - PRLog -- Harmonic Deception is a book I couldn't wait to write.  As a professional musician, I've noticed an often over-done depiction of creative people as self-indulgent, child-like, and sometimes irresponsible, but in today's world (and often in the past), nothing could be further from the truth.  Music is a business.  Different from many others to be sure, but still a business, and with the modern trend toward Indie production, all artistic people have to be business savvy like never before.  So Liz Hanlon, my protagonist in this series, knows her stuff.  Yet there's no doubt she's got the "bug", the insatiable need to make music.  To her, the music is her voice, although as readers learn, her snappy one-liners fill that bill pretty well, too.  And opinions?  She's loaded with them!  And why not?  She's experienced every musical situation imaginable, from low-paying piano-dump gigs in the first book, "High Notes Are Murder" to the star-studded night of her first CD release party in "Harmonic Deception". . . until tonight, when a deranged teenage girl she's never met crashes the party.  Within minutes, one man is dead, another stabbed, two hundred patrons are held hostage, and the full impact of the girl's rage becomes clear, letting Liz know that this crime--is personal.  No matter what the risks, she will find this killer.

Synopsis:  Harmonic Deception:
Tonight's performance could make Liz Hanlon's music career. For Liz, the night is magical until three teenage girls in outlandish disguises burst into the LA nightclub with assault weapons. Within minutes, two hundred patrons are stripped of their cell phones and valuables, one man is dead, and two others are wounded. As the robbers make their getaway, the shooter's belligerent remarks let Liz know this is more than a random attack . . . and she is the target. Desperate to expose the shooter before she attacks again, Liz seeks help from an eccentric investigator and her brother, an attorney, but neither they nor the police detectives believe the crime was personal. Her debut is on hold, her love life in a tailspin. She devises a perilous plan to draw the shooter out of hiding, but the girl makes a counterattack and when face to face, Liz's desire for revenge forces her to make a choice. By morning, it's over, or so it seems. But an unresolved issue from the past comes to light and it changes everything . . .

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Jazz/R&B artist Barbara Reed composes and records original music as well as standards, then takes her talent to the mystery-suspense realm with her highly-acclaimed Liz Hanlon novel series which includes "Harmonic Deception" and "High Notes Are Murder." The series features accompanying music with lyrics written for and about the characters/stories.