Night Killers: A Crime Thriller by R. Barri Flowers

By Azam Gill

Award-winning and bestselling crime writer R. Barri Flowers has been acclaimed as “one of the best voices in modern mystery writing” by Statesman Journal, and “masterful” by Douglas Preston, bestselling author.

In his latest novel, NIGHT KILLERS, the stories of two main characters intersect and collide in an intense climax.

In the town of Night, Oregon, homicide detective Trudy Clawson and FBI special agent Daryl Hatcher investigate two apparently dissimilar, yet inexorably connected, serial killings. The duo race against the clock to catch the unknown subjects involved in the crime.

Dawn Whelan is a beautiful psychologist who is stunned when a patient confesses to being part of the gang rape and murder of a teenager 20 years ago. The revelation sends Dawn on a deadly path of vengeance—in turn setting off a series of interrelations and heart-pounding events.

They lead to a dramatic conclusion that will forever turn the quaint Pacific Northwest town upside down.

Flowers is also a decorated criminologist who has authored more than 100 books. They include mystery and thriller fiction, relationship novels, young adult mysteries, true crime books, and children’s books.

As an expert on violent criminality and offenders, Flowers has appeared on the Biography Channel, Investigation Discovery, and Oxygen television documentary crime series. Within the spectrum of Flowers’s productivity, crime fiction is a flagship component stacking an impressive array of titles.

He describes himself as somebody who has “always loved mystery and thriller fiction as something that can keep you guessing and/or putting yourself in the shoes of victims, investigators, and even the perpetrators, depending on the nature of and motivation for the crime.”

It would be natural for such a person to want to structure this passion and share it with others to enrich their lives.

Flowers writes with verve. His standing as a criminologist and true crime writer imbues his crime and suspense fiction with singular authority. “I enjoy using my expertise to give credibility,” he says.

The interdependent and indissociable relationship of the past and present in NIGHT KILLERS could well elicit a Faulknerian nod. The novel’s moral stance is as clear as its moral order.

Flowers “would like readers to take away the reality that one’s dark past— no matter how distant—can come back to haunt you. Too often in real life, people tend to distance themselves from past sins, as if that was then and this is now. But bad choices have a way of catching up to you—and in some cases, you never see it coming—till too late. That is the essence of this suspense thriller that will resonate with readers long after finishing the book.”

The structure of and characterization in NIGHT KILLERS contribute to the crime fiction genre by mirroring the reality of modern police procedures. Two different killers with totally different motivations are brought to justice by “up-to-date investigative techniques and forensics.”

Set in the Pacific Northwest, this serial-killer thriller focuses on diverging rationales for two similar crimes. The study of criminal motive in itself is a case-study of the somber side of human nature. Weaving two different stimuli with the same end-game goes beyond the ambitions of most thrillers. Flowers’s choice will inspire other writers and embellish the stature of the genre.

Furthermore, Flowers says: “… in this novel, I present to readers the classic paradox between good and evil and how the two can blur when the right (or wrong) circumstances present themselves. Basically, we never know what we are capable of till faced with a situation that can challenge everything we thought we believed in—as will play itself out in this suspense thriller.”

Indeed, this no-man’s land formed by the overlap of right and wrong will provide readers with a long-term critical perspective.

“With a long career in criminology and writing true crime books, NIGHT KILLERS has the verisimilitude that makes the novel … realistic, gritty, and captivating..” Flowers says. “It is sure to keep the reader engaged throughout.”

Multiple strains underlying Flowers’s writing represent the influences over his talent—the mood and resonance of Daphne du Maurier, Hardy’s blind forces and destiny, Ludlum’s conspiracy and the individual, Steinbeck’s alienation, and even Brontë’s moral realism. Like Truman Capote, he weaves with ease between the non-fiction novel and fact-based fiction.

Hard-working and disciplined, Flowers’s daily writing schedule takes up a regular working day.

Although he does sketch out plot and characters, it’s a lithe framework for an open mind which allows the stories and characters spatial freedom to develop. Flowers is dedicated to his craft, enjoys writing, and takes the perks that come with it in his stride—as a full-time writer, he enjoys the freedom of not being a nine-to-fiver and between books, being able to take his wife on vacation to exotic places.

*****

R. Barri Flowers is an award-winning criminologist and bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including mystery and thriller fiction, relationship novels, young adult mysteries, true crime books, and children’s books.

Fiction titles include A Reason to Live, Alive in the Rose City, Before He Kills Again, Dark Streets of Whitechapel, Dead in Pukalani, Dead in Kihei, Deadly Defense, Forever Sweethearts, Fractured Trust, Graduate Circles, Justice Served, Kauai Killer, Killer in the Woods, Murder in Maui, Murder in Honolulu, Murdered in the Man Cave, Murder on Kaanapali Beach, Persuasive Evidence, Seduced to Kill in Kauai, and State’s Evidence.

Young adult fiction includes Count Dracula’s Teenage Daughter, Daughter of Count Dracula, Danger in Time, Ghost Girl in Shadow Bay, Teen Ghost at Dead Lake, Out for Blood, and Summer at Paradise Ranch.

True crime titles include Murder of the Horse Trainer’s Rival, Murdered by the King of Western Swing, Murder During the Chicago World’s Fair, Murder of the Doctor’s Wife, The Sex Slave Murders 1, 2, and 3, The Pickaxe Killers, Murder at the Pencil Factory, Murder of the Banker’s Daughter, Killers of the Lonely Hearts, Dead at the Saddleworth Moor, and The Dreadful Acts of Jack the Ripper and Other True Tales of Serial Murder and Prostitutes.

Children’s books include the popular A to Z Things series, Christmas and the Lost Elf series, Willa’s Halloween Adventure series, A Kangaroo’s Pouch, Abby Appleton’s Apple Farm, The Mystery of Christmas Tree Village, The Runaway Rabbit Named Robbie, and Toby the Talking Tree.

As an expert of violent criminality and offenders, R. Barri Flowers has appeared on the Biography Channel, Investigation Discovery, and Oxygen television documentary crime series.

Follow R. Barri Flowers on Twitter (@RBarriFlowers), Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Goodreads, and LibraryThing.

Learn more about the author and upcoming titles in Wikipedia and on his website.