One Final Breath by Lynn H. Blackburn

When investigator Gabriel Chavez had his cover blown by an aggressive reporter, the silver lining was being able to rejoin the dive team. The downside? Dive team captain Anissa Bell—a woman who both fascinates and frustrates him.

Anissa grew up as a missionary kid on the Micronesian island of Yap and always planned to return after college. But she remained stateside, determined to solve the case that haunts her—the murder of her best friend and the disappearance of a three-year-old child.

When Anissa’s fractured past collides with Gabe’s investigation into the tragic shooting death of a teenage boy in Lake Porter, they’ll have to put their complicated history with each other aside in order to uncover the identity of a killer. What they’ll discover is that revenge has no statute of limitations.

Award-winning author Lynn H. Blackburn met up with The Big Thrill for a quick interview about the final installment of her Dive Team Investigations series, ONE FINAL BREATH:

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

One random thing I discovered was how hospitals handle bomb threats. I knew it had to be something other than “evacuate everybody” and it was interesting to learn the steps that are taken to ensure the safety of the patients and staff. I also learned to dive while writing this book and it gave me a deep appreciation for what law enforcement dive teams go through as they search for evidence.

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

I read voraciously as a child and I think my love of books like Encyclopedia Brown, Nancy Drew, Trixie Belden, and the Hardy Boys might be where my love of mystery and suspense began.

Which took shape first: plot, character, or setting? 

A little bit of all three. I’m a very organic writer and I begin with a general idea of what’s gone wrong and a general idea of where it will all end, but the in-between is a mystery. ONE FINAL BREATH is the third book in the Dive Team Investigations series, so the setting was already well established before I wrote the first word. But the role of the town and the lake in this story emerged as I learned more about the characters and the difficulties they were facing.

*****

Lynn H. Blackburn is the author of Beneath the Surface, In Too Deep, Hidden Legacy, and Covert Justice. Winner of the 2016 Selah Award for Mystery and Suspense, and the 2016 Carol Award for Short Novel, Blackburn believes in the power of stories, especially those that remind us that true love exists, a gift from the Truest Love. She’s passionate about CrossFit, coffee, and chocolate (don’t make her choose) and experimenting with recipes that feed both body and soul. She lives in Simpsonville, South Carolina, with her true love, Brian, and their three children.

To learn more about the author and her work, please visit her website.