"Havoc"

Deborah J Ledford is the award-winning author of the Eva “Lightning Dance” Duran suspense thriller series, including Redemption and Havoc, set in Taos, New Mexico. Part Eastern Band Cherokee, she is an Agatha Award winner, The Hillerman Sky Award Finalist, and two- time Anthony Award Finalist for Best Audiobooks Crescendo and Causing Chaos from her Smoky Mountain Inquest Series set in the great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Ledford lives in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and awesome Ausky.

She applied the Page 69 Test to her newest release, Havoc, and reported the following:

From page 69:

It was a long drive back to the Windy City so Optum had plenty of time to ponder the next elements with his clueless partner, far more suited to play teacher than entrepreneur home builder. He would have Salas establish a formal corporation next month so that all financials would appear legit. A lot of his boss’s money would be run through what would incrementally become a large-scale venture. Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands—hell, why not millions—could be laundered.

The possibility bloomed and his heart thudded a quick beat, which grew even more rapid when he approached the street that led to the bank he’d hit earlier that morning. He craned his neck to get a better look. Yellow police tape remained strung across the road and a police cruiser, parked sideways, denied entry.

He thought about the night before when, always the cautious criminal, he had pulled on nitrile gloves, scrubbed a toothbrush dipped in bleach over the entire 3D printed handgun and ammunition to be sure any possible fingerprints or DNA residue would not be traced to him or Salas. Then he had loaded the rounds into the magazine and assembled the gun as Salas instructed. Maybe he hadn’t paid good enough attention to putting the thing back together but it turned out to be a useless hunk of plastic.

He knew that timing was crucial when it came to pulling off a perfect crime, essential to stick to every step and movement he rehearsed in his mind for multiple hours, sometimes days, before he initiated his fully formed plan. One second off, a single deviation from the intent, and you’re fucked. The fake gun could have cost him way more than time. He smiled. Because that was the fun of it. The rush. The adrenaline pump. The not knowing if he would survive the transgressions.

Although the main location of Taos, New Mexico, nor any of the Native American characters at the heart of Havoc are featured, the Page 69 Test is valid for Havoc, primarily because the page features illicit 3D guns, which becomes the inciting incident introduced in Chapter 1. This portion shows the antagonist at the height of his pre-planning stage to make 3D gun production profitable for his crime syndicate boss—and that anyone who stands in his way is expendable.

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The Page 69 Test: Redemption.

My Book, The Movie: Redemption.

--Marshal Zeringue