We are delighted to welcome Christopher back to Fountain! He will be in conversation with Emily Carpenter to talk about mystery, intrigue, and the search for answers after terrifying events! GM Andi will moderate.

About the Book: Nick Anthony has retreated to the North Carolina mountains to mourn the untimely death of his wife. Once a popular professor, Nick just wants to be left alone with his grief. But when his estranged brother and sister-in-law die in a house fire, a stunned Nick learns he has a niece who is missing…and may be a suspect in her parents’ deaths.

By the time the call came, her parents’ fate was sealed, but sixteen-year-old Annalise escaped the deadly fire with her life—and information someone is willing to kill for. At the scene of the crime, the men who set the fire spotted Annalise, and are now in a desperate search to find her. Feverish and exhausted, Annalise stumbles onto her uncle’s porch. Now Nick must protect her and unravel the mystery of his brother’s death.

Hired to retrieve stolen information at any price, private military contractor Cole and his team track down and kill the thief and his wife. But their daughter has vanished, along with the one thing Cole needs. When his search leads him to Nick’s cabin, Cole figures a retired professor will be easy enough to handle. But Nick has a hidden past of his own—and more than a few deadly tricks up his sleeve.

Christopher Swann is a novelist and high school English teacher. A graduate of Woodberry Forest School in Virginia, he earned his Ph.D. in creative writing from Georgia State University. He has been a Townsend Prize finalist, longlisted for the Southern Book Prize, and twice been a finalist for a Georgia Author of the Year award. He lives with his wife and two sons in Atlanta, where he is the English department chair at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School.

Emily Carpenter is the critically acclaimed, bestselling author of suspense novels, Burying the Honeysuckle Girls, The Weight of Lies (which received starred reviews by both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly),Every Single Secret, Until the Day I Die, all released by Lake Union. Her most recent release is REVIVING THE HAWTHORN SISTERS, which Publishers Weekly called a “refreshingly modern gothic tale” and Kirkus called “an exciting, gothic-tinged quest.” After graduating from Auburn with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication, she moved to New York City. She’s worked as an actor, producer, screenwriter, and behind-the-scenes soap opera assistant for the CBS shows, As the World Turns and Guiding Light. She’s a member of Tall Poppy Writers, International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters in Crime. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, she now lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her family. You can visit Emily at emilycarpenterauthor.com and on Facebook and Twitter (@EmilyDCarpenter) and Instagram (@emily.d.c).

Mystery and Intrigue with Christopher Swann and Emily Carpenter!