Caffeine Can Kill by Bob Doerr

By Don Helin

Bob Doerr’s sixth mystery in the Jim West series finds Jim heading to the Texas Hill Country to attend the grand opening of a friend’s winery and vineyard. Upon arriving in Fredericksburg, Jim witnesses a brutal kidnapping at a local coffee shop. The next morning while driving down an unpaved country road to the grand opening, he comes across an active crime scene barely a quarter mile from his friend’s winery. A policeman who talked to Jim the day before at the kidnapping scene recognizes Jim and asks him to identify the body of a dead young woman as the woman who was kidnapped. Jim’s vacation is thrown into complete disarray, and Jim and a female friend are soon drawn into the sights of a killer.

Award-winning author Bob Doerr grew up in a military family, graduated from the Air Force Academy, and had a career of his own in the Air Force. Doerr specialized in criminal investigations and counterintelligence, gaining significant insight to the worlds of crime, espionage, and terrorism. His work brought him into close coordination with the security agencies of many different countries and filled his mind with the fascinating plots and characters found in his books today. His education credits include a Masters in International Relations from Creighton University. A full-time author with eight published books, Doerr was selected by the Military Writers Society of America as its Author of the Year for 2013. The Eric Hoffer Awards awarded No One Else to Kill its first-runner up to the grand prize for commercial fiction. Two of his other books were finalists for the Eric Hoffer Award in earlier contests. Loose Ends Kill won the 2011 Silver medal for Fiction/Mystery by the Military Writers Society of America. Another Colorado Kill received the same Silver medal in 2012 and the silver medal for general fiction at the Branson Stars and Flags national book contest in 2012. Bob wrote two novellas, The Enchanted Coin and The Rescue of Vincent, with his granddaughter for middle grade readers. In May 2014, he released an international thriller titled The Attack. Doerr lives in Garden Ridge, Texas, with Leigh, his wife of 42 years, and Cinco, their ornery cat.

I had the opportunity to catch up with Doerr the other day, and ask him a few question.

Is there anything special you’d like to tell us about CAFFEINE CAN KILL?

The setting for the book is special because it’s located along the Texas wine trail and in the Texas Hill Country. I try to find interesting settings for my books, and this is one of them.

Did any particular event inspire the plot?

While no specific event inspired my plot, I do a lot of my writing at coffee shops, and a couple barristers at my local Starbucks suggested I set my story in a Starbucks.  That gave me the idea, and while there is no Starbucks in Fredericksburg, I called the coffee shop where the story begins a Starbucks clone.

What are you doing to promote your books?

I’ll be promoting my book on my own social media, as a guest blogger on others’ blogs, at book signings, and some basic advertising.

What’s next?

I’m currently working on an international thriller that is separate from my Jim West mystery series. This book is set in Europe and the United States, and weaves a tale of deadly rivalry within the Bilderberg Group. The book should be available by the end of the year.

When you’re not writing, what are you doing? Any special hobbies or activities?

When I’m not writing, I like to travel with my wife, help babysit my grand kids, and play golf.

Thanks, Bob. CAFFEINE CAN KILL looks terrific. I plan to get a copy.

*****

Award winning author Bob Doerr grew up in a military family, graduated from the Air Force Academy, and had a career of his own in the Air Force. Bob specialized in criminal investigations and counterintelligence gaining significant insight to the worlds of crime, espionage and terrorism. His work brought him into close coordination with the security agencies of many different countries and filled his mind with the fascinating plots and characters found in his books today. His education credits include a Masters in International Relations from Creighton University. A full time author with eight published books, Bob was selected by the Military Writers Society of America as its Author of the Year for 2013. The Eric Hoffer Awards awarded No One Else to Kill its 2013 first runner up to the grand prize for commercial fiction. Two of his other books were finalists for the Eric Hoffer Award in earlier contests. Loose Ends Kill won the 2011 Silver medal for Fiction/mystery by the Military Writers Society of America. Another Colorado Kill received the same Silver medal in 2012 and the silver medal for general fiction at the Branson Stars and Flags national book contest in 2012. Bob wrote two novellas, The Enchanted Coin and The Rescue of Vincent, with his granddaughter for middle grade readers. In May 2014, he released an international thriller titled The Attack. Bob lives in Garden Ridge, Texas, with Leigh, his wife of 42 years, and Cinco, their ornery cat.

To learn more about Bob, please visit his website.