Knockout (Ava #3)
The Patrick Flint Trilogy: A Spin-off From What Doesn’t Kill You
Switchback (Patrick Flint #1)
Snake Oil (Patrick Flint #2)
Sawbones (Patrick Flint #3)
Scape Goat (Patrick Flint #4): Fall 2020
Snaggle Tooth (Patrick Flint #5): 2021
Stag Party (Patrick Flint #6): 2021
The What Doesn’t Kill You Box Sets Series (50% off individual title retail)
The Complete Katie Connell Trilogy
The Complete Emily Bernal Trilogy
The Complete Michele Lopez Hanson Trilogy
The Complete Maggie Killian Trilogy
The Complete Ava Butler Trilogy
The Complete Patrick Flint Trilogy (coming in mid-2020)
Nonfiction from SkipJack Publishing
The Clark Kent Chronicles
Hot Flashes and Half Ironmans
How to Screw Up Your Kids
How to Screw Up Your Marriage
Puppalicious and Beyond
What Kind of Loser Indie Publishes,
and How Can I Be One, Too?
Audio, e-book, and paperback versions of most titles available.
Acknowledgments
When I got the call from my father that he had metastatic prostate cancer spread into his bones in nine locations, I was with a houseful of retreat guests in Wyoming while my parents (who normally summer in Wyoming) were in Texas. The guests were so kind and comforting to me, as was Eric, but there was only one place I wanted to be, and that was home. Not home where I grew up, because I lived in twelve places by the time I was twelve, and many thereafter. No, home is truly where the heart is. And that meant home for Eric and me would be with my parents.
I was in the middle of writing two novels at the time: Blue Streak, the first Laura mystery in the What Doesn’t Kill You series, and Polarity, a series spin-off contemporary romance based on my love story with Eric. I put them both down. I needed to write, but not those books. They could wait. I needed to write through my emotions—because that’s what writers do—with books spelling out the ending we were seeking for my dad’s story. Allegorically and biographically, while fictionally.
So that is what I did, and Dr. Patrick Flint (aka Dr. Peter Fagan—my pops—in real life) and family were hatched, using actual stories from our lives in late 1970s Buffalo, Wyoming as the depth and backdrop to a new series of mysteries, starting with Switchback and moving on to Snake Oil and Sawbones. I hope the real life versions of Patrick, Susanne, and Perry will forgive me for taking liberties in creating their fictional alter egos. I took care to make Trish the most annoying character since she's based on me, to soften the blow for the others. I am so hopeful that my loyal readers will enjoy them, too, even though in some ways the novels are a departure from my usual stories. But in many ways they are the same. Character-driven, edge-of-your-seat mysteries steeped in setting/culture, with a strong nod to the everyday magic around us, and filled with complex, authentic characters (including some AWESOME females).
I had a wonderful time writing these books, and it kept me going when it was tempting to fold in on myself and let stress eat me alive. For more stories behind the actual stories, visit my blog on my website: http://pamelafaganhutchins.com. And let me know if you liked the novels. I have three more in my hip pocket, waiting to be written if you want them: Snaggle Tooth, Scape Goat, and Stag Party.
Thanks to my dad for advice on all things medical, wilderness, hunting, 1970s, and animal. I hope you had fun using your medical knowledge for murder!
Thanks to my mom for printing the manuscript (over and over, in its entirety) as she and dad followed along daily on the progress.
Thanks to my brother Paul for the vivid memories that have made Perry such an amazing fictional kid.
Thanks to my husband, Eric, for brainstorming with and encouraging me and beta reading the Patrick Flint stories despite his busy work, travel, and workout schedule. And for moving in to my parents’ barn apartment with me so I could be closer to them during this time.
Thanks to our five offspring. I love you guys more than anything, and each time I write a parent/child (birth, adopted, foster, or step), I channel you. I am so touched by how supportive you have been with Poppy, Gigi, Eric, and me.
To each and every blessed reader, I appreciate you more than I can say. It is the readers who move mountains for me, and for other authors, and I humbly ask for the honor of your honest reviews and recommendations.
Thanks mucho to Bobbye for the fantastic Patrick Flint covers.
Sawbones editing credits go to Karen Goodwin. The proofreaders who enthusiastically devote their time—gratis—to help us rid my books of flaws blow me away.
SkipJack Publishing now includes fantastic books by a cherry-picked bushel basket of mystery/thriller/suspense writers. If you write in this genre, visit http://SkipJackPublishing.com for submission guidelines. To check out our other authors and snag a bargain at the same time, download Murder, They Wrote: Four SkipJack Mysteries.
About the Author
Pamela Fagan Hutchins is a USA Today best seller. She writes award-winning romantic mysteries from deep in the heart of Nowheresville, Texas and way up in the frozen north of Snowheresville, Wyoming. She is passionate about long hikes with her hunky husband and pack of rescue dogs and riding her gigantic horses.
If you'd like Pamela to speak to your book club, women's club, class, or writers group, virtually or in person, shoot her an email. She's very likely to say yes.
You can connect with Pamela via her website
(http://pamelafaganhutchins.com)
or email (pamela@pamelafaganhutchins.com).
Praise for Pamela Fagan Hutchins
2018 USA Today Best Seller
2017 Silver Falchion Award, Best Mystery
2016 USA Best Book Award, Cross-Genre Fiction
2015 USA Best Book Award, Cross-Genre Fiction
2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-finalist, Romance
Patrick Flint: Wyoming Mysteries
“Best book I’ve read in a long time!” — Kiersten Marquet, author of Three Reluctant Promises
"SWITCHBACK starts at a gallop and had me holding on with both hands until the riveting finish. This book is highly atmospheric and nearly crackling with suspense. Highly recommend!" — Libby Kirsch, Emmy award winning reporter and author of the Janet Black Mystery Series
"A roller-coaster ride from the first page to the last!" — Amazon reader
“A Bob Ross painting with Alfred Hitchcock hidden among the trees.” — Terry Shepherd, author Retribution: A Jessica Ramirez thriller
"Edge-of-your seat nail biter." — Amazon reader
"Absolutely unputdownable wonder of a story." — Amazon reader
What Doesn't Kill You: Katie Romantic Mysteries
“An exciting tale . . . twisting investigative and legal subplots . . . a character seeking redemption . . . an exhilarating mystery with a touch of voodoo.” — Midwest Book Review Bookwatch
“A lively romantic mystery.” — Kirkus Reviews
“A riveting drama . . . exciting read, highly recommended.” — Small Press Bookwatch
“Katie is the first character I have absolutely fallen in love with since Stephanie Plum!” — Stephanie Swindell, Bookstore Owner
“Engaging storyline . . . taut suspense.” — MBR Bookwatch
What Doesn't Kill You: Emily Romantic Mysteries
“Fair warning: clear your calendar before you pick it up because you won't be able to put it down.” — Ken Oder, author of Old Wounds to the Heart
“Full of heart, humor, vivid characters, and suspense. Hutchins has done it again!” — Gay Yellen, author of The Body Business
“Hutchins is a master of tension.” — R.L. Nolen, author of Deadly Thyme
“Intriguing mystery . . . captivating romance.” — Patricia Flaherty Pagan, author of Trail Ways Pilgrims
“Everything about it shines:
the plot, the characters and the writing. Readers are in for a real treat with this story.” — Marcy McKay, author of Pennies from Burger Heaven
What Doesn't Kill You: Michele Romantic Mysteries
“Immediately hooked." — Terry Sykes-Bradshaw, author of Sibling Revelry
"Spellbinding." — Jo Bryan, Dry Creek Book Club
"Fast-paced mystery." — Deb Krenzer, Book Reviewer
"Can't put it down." — Cathy Bader, Reader
What Doesn't Kill You: Ava Romantic Mysteries
"Just when I think I couldn't love another Pamela Fagan Hutchins novel more, along comes Ava." — Marcy McKay, author of Stars Among the Dead
"Ava personifies bombshell in every sense of word. — Tara Scheyer, Grammy-nominated musician, Long-Distance Sisters Book Club
“Entertaining, complex, and thought-provoking.” — Ginger Copeland, power reader
What Doesn't Kill You: Maggie Romantic Mysteries
“Murder has never been so much fun!” — Christie Craig, New York Times Best Seller
“Maggie’s gonna break your heart–one way or another.” — Tara Scheyer, Grammy-nominated musician, Long-Distance Sisters Book Club
"You’re guaranteed to love the ride!" — Kay Kendall, Silver Falchion Best Mystery Winner
Other Books from SkipJack Publishing
Murder, They Wrote: Four SkipJack Mysteries,
by Pamela Fagan Hutchins,
Ken Oder, R.L. Nolen, and Marcy Mason
The Closing, by Ken Oder
Old Wounds to the Heart, by Ken Oder
The Judas Murders, by Ken Oder
Pennies from Burger Heaven, by Marcy McKay
Stars Among the Dead, by Marcy McKay
The Moon Rises at Dawn, by Marcy McKay
Bones and Lies Between Us, by Marcy McKay
Deadly Thyme, by R. L. Nolen
The Dry, by Rebecca Nolen
Tides of Possibility, edited by K.J. Russell
Tides of Impossibility, edited by K.J. Russell and C. Stuart Hardwick
My Dream of Freedom: From Holocaust to My Beloved America,
by Helen Colin
Copyright © 2020 by Pamela Fagan Hutchins
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Sawbones is a work of fiction. Period. Any resemblance to actual persons, places, things, or events is just a lucky coincidence. And I reserve the right to forego accuracy in favor of a good story, any time I get the chance.