Blood Legacy by Gary Williams & Vicky Knerly

An expedition off the Italian coast reclaims a World War II-era German midget submarine. When the two-man sub is opened, it contains a single corpse, and an artifact from Adolf Hitler’s bunker that was thought to be lost to history.

On Long Island, an elderly man and woman are brutally murdered. FBI Agent Link Johnsten is called in to assist local authorities and to maintain the victims’ secret. When six unsent letters are discovered in their home, one piques his interest. It’s addressed to his friend, CIA agent Samuel Tolen.

Chinese-American physicist Dr. Sing Liao is abducted after making an astonishing, yet terrifying, scientific breakthrough. The intersecting lives of Dr. Liao, a rogue FBI agent, and a billionaire shipping magnate collide. With ties to Nazi Germany, Tolen and Johnsten are swept up in a frantic chase to uncover Adolf Hitler’s darkest secret. At stake is the life of an 11-year-old savant–and possibly the end of the world.

The Big Thrill recently caught up with co-authors Gary Williams & Vicky Knerly to discuss their latest thriller, BLOOD LEGACY:

What do you hope readers will take away from this book?

As with all of our novels, we hope readers will recognize that the background has been well-researched and the story is well-written. We always try to blend actual history with imaginative extrapolation so the plots are not too “out there” and seem plausible. As with our other novels, we hope our readers will learn something as well as be entertained, and equally as important, we want them to feel a connection with the characters and the challenges they must overcome.

How does this book make a contribution to the genre?

This is our second novel with CIA special agent Samuel Tolen, and our readers have provided a lot of positive feedback about his character and “adventures.” Tolen has developed a following among our readers, and we strove to satisfy their requests for more adventure, suspense, and thrills by this larger-than-life character. As for the story, we’d like to think we’ve taken an actual historic event and introduced a very plausible “what if” scenario woven within a suspenseful plot.

Was there anything new you discovered, or that surprised you, as you wrote this book?

Since the plot is based loosely on the end days of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime, we did a great deal of research, especially on Hitler’s bunker, where he and Eva Braun committed suicide. We learned a lot of details about that bunker that we were not aware of previously. We also came across some very interesting and little-known facts regarding Hitler and the Nazi agenda, some of which are incorporated into the story.

No spoilers, but what can you tell us about your book that we won’t find in the jacket copy or the PR material?

The world does not, in fact, end, and the most intelligent person on the planet is an 11-year-old girl.

What authors or books have influenced your career as a writer, and why?

For Gary, it’s authors such as Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, Matthew Reilly, Steve Berry, and James Rollins. Vicky enjoys all kinds of genres and authors, with a special shout out to Stephen King for the sheer variety of eclectic and often bizarre plots.

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Gary Williams was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, and resides in St. Augustine, Florida, with his wife. He attended Florida State University and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from University of North Florida. After many years as a senior manager with a Fortune 500 company, he now writes full time. His hobbies include reading, fishing, history, agonizing over his favorite football teams, and raising two yellow Labrador retrievers.

Vicky Knerly is a native of Syracuse, New York. She has two grown sons and resides in Melbourne, Florida. She has a bachelor’s degree in English, two masters’ degrees, and is currently working on her doctorate in business. She has won awards for and has presented papers based on her academic writing. She currently works as the Assistant Director of Student Services and is an adjunct professor for Florida Institute of Technology.

Gary Williams and Vicky Knerly partnered in 2008 and in 2011, they signed with Suspense Publishing based in Los Angeles, California. As of January 2017, they have released seven novels and one short story, all thrillers or historic mysteries, most with an emphasis on Florida locales.

To learn more about Gary and Vicky, please follow them on Facebook.