"Killing Fear"

Allison Brennan is the author of The Prey, The Hunt, The Kill, Speak No Evil, See No Evil, and Fear No Evil.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her new novel Killing Fear, and reported the following:

Killing Fear starts with an earthquake at San Quentin. Escaped killer Theodore Glenn vowed revenge on everyone who put him behind bars, including Detective Will Hooper who arrested him and former stripper turned night-club owner Robin McKenna, the prosecution's key witness. Glenn takes responsibility for only three of the four murders he was convicted of, and enlists the unwilling help of a ladder-climbing reporter to help prove he's innocent of at least one crime, all the while going down his own personal kill list of those who were against him.

Page 69 is from a scene in Glenn's POV. Leading up to this page is introspection about his first kill. Now, he's planning on meeting one of his many "fans"-Sara, who wrote to him in prison. The end of the page is a pivotal turning point as Glenn's own plans start to fall in place. It's representative of the tone of the book, but is more introspection and less action than the majority of scenes.

Sex wasn't that important in the whole scheme of things. BASE jumping gave him a greater thrill than screwing. But now, after being celibate for so long, he suspected the thrill would be worth the risk.

The police probably didn't even know about Sara, not this quickly.

But he would be careful. He'd fucked up before, he wouldn't this time. He needed to dump Jenny's car. Sara would have one for him.

He followed William Hooper to a quiet little middle class neighborhood. Hooper stopped in front of a weed-choked yard framing a dilapidated house. Theodore drove on. He didn't need to know who lived there. He would find out soon enough.

He went back to the dive motel near the police station where he'd paid cash for a week and the fat broad behind the counter barely looked up from her soap operas except to count his money. It had taken him an hour to find the perfect place. He'd done some shopping earlier, and now took the time to ready his room. The sheets on the bed had to go. He would not sleep on sheets others had used. He made the bed with new linens. Topped it with a new blanket. The sheets and filthy spread were folded and put in the closet.

Using the industrial strength cleansers he purchased, he scoured every surface of the motel room. Adequate. The carpet he could do nothing about, but he would simply wear his shoes at all times, even when he slept. He sanitized the toilet and shower, then stripped and took a hot shower.

Better.

He drove back to the police station just as a news crew began to set up. It was dark and he blended in well.

Trinity Lange was talking to her cameraman. She had covered Theodore's trial and asked the tough questions. She was a sexy little thing, with blonde hair and dark eyes, a hint of Latina in her skin tone. He didn't particularly like mixed race women, but this reporter could pull it off.

He didn't plan on fucking her, anyway. He had other plans.

Read an excerpt from Killing Fear and learn more about the author and her books at Allison Brennan's website and her blog.

Visit the complete list of books in the Page 69 Test Series.

--Marshal Zeringue