For everything, there is a season.... and author Russ Taylor's novel A Season for Revenge is just what readers seeking a new crime thriller are looking for.
If you were a fan of the series Southland, or more recently Bosch you may want to pick up Russ Taylor's debut novel. Russ resides in Los Angeles, California, and has spent his entire life among the sun, beaches, and mountains, "It has an incredible history, culture, and natural beauty that makes it a great place to live."
At 56 Russ has begun to write crime fiction but in a broad sense, "I would also add detective, thriller, and vigilante. My books have many elements so it’s hard to narrow them down to any specific or broad category of the genre. I’ve been writing almost on a daily basis during my career in law enforcement. It was the biggest part of my job. I’ve written everything from basic crime to complex long-term investigative reports. While I realize it’s much different from writing a novel, there are many parallels. The story for my novel had been floating around in my mind for years. After my retirement, I began working on the novel and it just came alive and, in a sense, effortlessly wrote itself."
Like most writers, Russ told the blog that he enjoys writing anywhere there is quiet. "I'm not a multi-tasker and I do my best when I can concentrate without any interruptions or noise."
The unique thing about A Season to Avenge is Russ's ability to have combined his personal experiences as an officer with his writing skills. "The content of my writing draws directly from my imagination, coupled with experiences during my 35-year law enforcement career with the largest Sheriff’s Department in the US. I spent the majority of that time as a detective and as a detective supervisor. Mark Twain once said, “Write what you know.” I happen to take that quite literally, and this is a world I know extremely well. My book is entertaining and engaging. It’s infused with incredible detail that brings the reader into the fascinating world of crime, policing, and the criminal justice system in a unique way. The novel is like an onion, it has many layers."
A Season to Avenge is about a retired LA County Sheriff's Department Lieutenant named Jack Wilson who is enjoying his retirement working at home detailing cars. Then his friend's son is murdered while inadvertently interrupting a burglary. An investigation pursues, but his former friend is also his former partner and wants more than anything to find the killer, even saying he would take matters into his own hands. The main character Jack Wilson talks him out of this but starts to dig into the case for himself. Despite being warned by the lead investigator Wilson presses forward and finds the killers whose crime spree is spiraling out of control. Working alone, Wilson tries to outmaneuver the lead detective who had warned him, using some unconventional methods to get justice for his friend.
When writing any sort of crime or true crime novel research is often needed, depending on the topic. However, sometimes we research just to see if we can learn something new for ourselves, or for another novel. Having written true-crime myself I was compelled to ask Russ what he had researched for his novel and if there was anything that stood out to him?
"I researched computer forensics. I learned that even a completely shattered computer hard drive could be reconstructed to recover data."
Most of us writers have a fairly good image of who our main characters should be, and Russ offered that he could see Titus Welliver from the Amazon Prime series Bosch playing Jack Wilson. "When I play out scenes in my mind, he is the person I see as the main character. If he’s not available, Brad Pitt."
For the most part, Russ confessed that he still enjoys reading crime fiction books the most when it comes to his favorite go-to genre. When we caught up with Ross he was reading Lying Next to Me by Gregg Olsen. The quote that sticks with Russ Taylor most is by Joseph Conrad, "Only in men's imagination does every truth find an effective and undeniable existence. Imagination, not invention, is the supreme master of art as of life."
The good news is if you have checked out A Season to Avenge and loved it, you may not have to wait long for another Jack Wilson read. Russ Taylor confided that he is working on the second installment Return to Avenge. "It picks up the story two years later and has many of the same characters from the first book. I’m contemplating a third book as well.
When asked if he had any advice to give to writers who were thinking of self-publishing this year this crime thriller novelist shared this:
"Self-publishing is a great deal of work, but it also has a lot of benefits. One of the things that is really important to me is that I will not be forced to change any of my content by a publishing company.
An important piece of advice I would give is the need to collaborate with other authors directly or through social media. I was surprised by how many great people were willing to help me achieve my goals. Second, as you write your book, the primary focus needs to be to entertain and engage the reader. That’s been the primary characteristics of all the books I’ve enjoyed the most."
Want to know more about Russ Taylor? Read an exclusive excerpt from his debut novel below, check out his links, and follow him on social media for all the latest. The Writing Wall Blog team would like to congratulate Russ on his book and we wish him all the best for book two!
Excerpt
Jack was close enough now to see the thin man pulling on the rear hatch. When he found that locked, he first tried the sliding door on the passenger’s side and then the passenger door. The heavy man who was previously using his flashlight to peer into the van from the driver’s side walked to the driver’s door and yanked on it. He was surprised to find it unlocked.
“Hey bro, check it out, it’s unlocked,” whispered the heavy man who was standing just behind the opened driver’s door.
“Unlock all the doors,” whispered the thin man who was still standing on the other side of the van.
A crow cawed twice as Jack put his jacket hoodie over his head. He emerged from the shadows of the cars and approached the heavy man from behind silently. Using his left foot, he kicked the door of the van shut startling the man, who jumped and turned around.
“You know, the guy who owns that van gets kind of grumpy when strangers get inside and look for things to steal,” said Jack quietly.
“Who are you?” asked the heavy man angrily as the thin man walked around the van and stood beside him.
Jack paused for several seconds before saying, “I’m a man who doesn’t like thieves.”
The thin man said, “Man, this is our street. We do what we want! Is this your van? Because if it is, it’s ours now! So, you better just hand over the keys before you get hurt.”
Jack smiled and said, “I’ll tell you what, why don’t you two boys kiss goodnight and go home. I think you’ve had enough fun for one night.”
The heavy man turned to the thin man smiling and said, “Can you believe this guy, insulting us like that. He must think we’re punks.”
“What I think about you doesn’t matter. Get away from the van,” said Jack forcefully.
The thin man suddenly produced a long dagger and waved it in the air. The reflection of the nearby street light made it light up as if it were glowing. Jack took two steps back and put his right hand inside his jacket pocket.
“Looks like you’re the one who is leaving old man,” said the thin man as he laughed.
Jack smiled and said to the thin man, “If you take one step towards me with that knife, it’ll be the last step you ever take.”
The thin man laughed and said, “First you insult us and say we’re gay. Now you have the nerve to threaten me?”
“I’m not the one waving a knife around, am I?” said Jack.
“Pretty soon you won’t be waving anything around after I slice you up,” said the thin man as he leaned forward and charged Jack with the knife pointed in front of him.
Without any hesitation, Jack fired three hollow point rounds in rapid succession from the .38 caliber revolver concealed in his right jacket pocket. Over 30 years of training both mentally and physically for an event like this had made Jack’s response instantaneous. The first round hit the right ventricle of the man’s heart and obliterated the entire bottom half. The second round struck about six inches higher, between the pulmonary artery and the aorta causing massive tissue damage and his heart to cease beating entirely. The third round destroyed his right eye and the bullet traveled through the parietal lobe of his brain before blowing out the back of his skull. He instantly died and fell to the ground with the knife in his hand.
“That’s the reason you don’t bring a knife to a gunfight,” said Jack to the heavy man who was frozen with fear and had put his hands up in the air. Jack motioned with his revolver for the man to leave and he ran away as fast as he could. Jack placed his revolver back into his jacket pocket as he noticed lights coming on and heard windows and doors opening. He hastily got to the van and without turning on the headlights drove off slowly. When he got several blocks away, he turned on his headlights and headed for the freeway on-ramp. Instead of parking the van at the apartment complex like he usually did, he made his way to a residential street that bordered the national forest area about five miles from his house. After parking in an area with several other cars nearby, he retrieved a mini tri-fold shovel from his van and his backpack and hiked into the forest in the dark using his flashlight as sparingly as possible.
After digging two deep holes about ten feet from each other with the shovel, he removed the remaining three bullets from the revolver and the expended casings. He put the revolver in the first hole and the expended casings and latex gloves in the other hole. Using the shovel again, he filled the holes with dirt and tamped them down with his feet repeatedly. Next, he scattered leaves and dried brush evenly throughout the area. As he made his way back about half way to the edge of the forest, he removed his jacket and folded it up into a tight ball. This he placed under a large pile of tree branches with dried leaves and then he continued back to the van.
Jack drove to the apartment complex and found a parking spot in the very back of the lot. He hid everything away inside the trim panel. Using Clorox wipes, he wiped down the interior of the van and also the exterior door handles. After turning the kill switch on, he locked the van and discarded the wipes in a trash bin.
Author Bio
Russ. J. Taylor’s career in law enforcement spanned 35-years with the largest sheriff’s department in the USA. The contents of this story draw directly from his experiences. The addition of his recognized ability for superb writing serves to fill this novel with authenticity. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice Administration. A SEASON TO AVENGE is his debut novel.
Connect with the author on Social Media at:
Instagram: russj.taylor or
Twitter:@RussJTaylor1
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