The Hitman’s Woman by Devon Vaughn Archer

by Paula Tutman

“A passion for killing…”  That phrase alone lures you into the lives of the characters in THE HITMAN’S WOMAN released in September of 2011 (Kensington Publishing Corp).  That phrase alone entices you with a promise of murder, lies, deception and sex.  That phrase alone alerts you that you are about to envelope yourself in the new thriller written by R Barri Flowers, cloaked in the pseudonym of Devon Vaughn Archer.  His latest novel follows the lives of a killer-for-hire, his girlfriend, her best friend, and a journalist who’s made it his primary assignment to avenge the murder of his brother.

The book is not for the faint of heart or nuns.  It’s soaked with raw sex, written to be as dangerous as a Glock.  Flowers/Archer wields a wicked pen in the bedroom and a terrifying one on the streets of Detroit, where a band of modern-day gangsters satisfy their lusts, both carnal and greed.  But the bad guys have killed the wrong brotha’, and his brother has decided to even the score.  “Dante Sheldon came to Detroit for one reason: to avenge the murder of his brother, Russell,” says Archer/Flowers.  “What he didn’t count on was being seduced by a beautiful woman he can’t seem to get enough of.  He’s thrown for a loop when he discovers that his lover is in fact the hitman’s woman.”

The plot thickens because that beautiful woman, Beverly, is living three lives-all of them lies.  She believes she’s the girlfriend of a well-to-do finance guy who’s generous with his cash but stingy with his sexual favors.  This doesn’t sit well with Beverly who’s busty, lusty and fussy about important matters like satisfying her ravenous libido.  She considers herself to be the good friend of Marylyn, who’s actually the reason the hitman’s not hittin’ it with his full time lady.  And Beverly fancies herself a romantic who’s fallen for a mysterious stranger who’s given her more than a one night stand-he’s given her a reason to live and love.

But then in a twisted fate, by chance the hitman, Eric, meets Dante, the man who wants to take him down.  “Eric has never had trouble separating his work as a hitman from his personal life with the gorgeous young Beverly.  Those two worlds collide when he meets Dante in a pool hall and takes a liking to him.  Little does he know he’s just invited his enemy into his home,” Archer explains.

What ensues is a psychological game of cat and mouse where deception plays the concierge to everyone’s wants and needs.

Archer toys with his readers with abandon-tricking them into not being able to tell the difference between the really good guys and the really bad guys until it’s too late.

R. Barri Flowers is the bestselling author of THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS: The True Story of Serial Killers Gerald and Charlene Gallego, a former St. Martin’s Press true crime book, now enjoying a resurgence as a bestselling eBook in Kindle, Nook, Smashwords, and Google; as well as in print and soon to be audio in Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. He has been interviewed about THE SEX SLAVE MURDERS on Biography Channel’s Crime Stories, episode, “The Love Slave Murders;” Investigation Discovery’s Wicked Attraction series, episode, “Twisted Twosome;” and numerous radio shows.

Flowers latest crime nonfiction book is PROSTITUTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE: Selling Sex from the Suite to the Street (Praeger, 2011). He uses his expertise in the subject matter in THE HITMAN’S WOMAN, where street prostitution and pimping are prominent as a subplot. Other criminology material penned by the author include STREET KIDS (McFarland, 2010), COLLEGE CRIME (McFarland, 2009), and the bestselling true crime reference work, MURDERS IN THE UNITED STATES: CRIMES, KILLERS AND VICTIMS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (McFarland, 2004).

As a novelist, the prolific Flowers has written a number of highly acclaimed mystery, thriller, and young adult mystery ebook and print novels, including MURDER IN MAUI: A Leila Kahana Mystery (Kindle, 2011), DARK STREETS OF WHITECHAPEL: A Jack the Ripper Mystery (Kindle, 2011), KILLER IN THE WOODS (Kindle, 2011), PERSUASIVE EVIDENCE (Kindle, 2011), and GHOST GIRL IN SHADOW BAY (Audible, 2011).

A former Detroiter he first dreamed up THE HITMAN’S WOMAN as two separate plots.  “One was to do a story about a professional killer and the dynamics that may be at play in his personal life.  The other was to write a tale where deception was at work from every angle.  Both plots fit well within this story.  I also wanted to write such a tale in which I was able to use my hometown of Detroit as the setting, instead of typical places, such as Los Angeles, New York, and Miami.”

A write-a-holic, Flowers/Archer works at his craft seven days a week, ten hours a day until a project is finished.  “I do call upon experts in field where it concerns CSI, homicides, police work, etc., to give my crime tales more authenticity.  Also, in my other life, I am a criminologist, so it comes in handy when crafting plots for my crime and thriller novels.”

An export from the Motor City, Flowers/Archer now lives in the Pacific Northwest with his wife/college sweetie.  But when writing he often has that Detroit state of mind, “I grew up in a family of seven in a middle class neighborhood in Detroit.  Had fun in childhood and still look back upon days fondly.”

What’s next for Devon Vaughn Archer?  More write-a-holism.  “I am working on a new book. It is titled, HIS TEEN DREAM, which follows my bestselling coming of age novel, HER TEEN DREAM.  In HIS TEEN DREAM, a teenager enrolls in a new school where he reconnects with his grade school sweetheart, now a beautiful teenager.  When he discovers she is in an abusive relationship, he tries to extricate her from while winning her heart back.  I also have several Devon Vaughn Archer upcoming books, including PRIVATE LUAU (Kimani, November, 2011), HER TEEN DREAM: Junior Year (Kindle, March 2012), DANGER AT EVERY TURN (Urban Books, April 2012),  and ALOHA NIGHTS (Kimani, May 2012).”

Flowers/Archer is also very social with social media and readers can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Goodreads, and MySpace or visit him at his websites, www.devonvaughnarcher.com and www.rbarriflowers.com.

“I’d like readers to see that everything is not in black and white.  There are plenty of gray areas that shape our thoughts and actions every day.”  But for now Flowers/Archer can be read all over.  His latest novel, THE HITMAN’S WOMAN is a Black Expressions Book Club selection and also in print at major online bookstores and eBook through Kindle and Nook.  And for those with authentic, old fashioned tastes, his novels can always be found in actual bookstores.  No doubt, to his throngs of fans, THE HITMAN’S WOMAN will be a homerun.

As for R. Barri Flowers aka Devon Vaughn Archer… shhhhhh!  Writer at work.

*****

Devon Vaughn Archer is the pseudonym of bestselling thriller writer R. Barri Flowers. Archer has written a number of successful urban suspense and mainstream novels, including THE SECRETS OF PARADISE BAY, PLEASURE IN HAWAII, and LOVE ONCE AGAIN. Devon Vaughn Archer is on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and MySpace.

To learn more about Devon, please visit his website.