The Perfect Murder by Kat Martin

The eldest of the three wealthy Garrett brothers, Reese Garrett is in the middle of a major purchase for his multimillion-dollar oil and gas company, Garrett Resources. The Poseidon offshore drilling platform venture will greatly enhance the company’s value.

But when Reese is on a trip out to see the rig, his helicopter crashes, leaving him hospitalized and two men dead. It’s discovered the chopper was sabotaged, and Reese is determined to find out who’s behind the crash—and whether he was the intended target. Then, when his lover, Kenzie, is accused of her ex-husband’s murder—a man with a vested interest in the Poseidon deal—clues start pointing to a connection that puts Reese, Kenzie, and her young son in the sights of a killer.

From the Texas heat to the Louisiana bayous, Reese and his brothers must track down the truth before the body count gets any higher.

Kat Martin recently spent some time with The Big Thrill discussing her latest thriller, THE PERFECT MURDER:

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

THE PERFECT MURDER is a romantic thriller set around the purchase of an offshore oil drilling rig in Texas. Reese Garrett, CEO of Garrett Resources, is a man with a past who has redeemed himself and is determined to retain his hard-earned reputation by avoiding an affair with the beautiful woman who works for him, a valued and trusted employee. But when Kenzie is accused of murder, Reese is forced to make a choice—one that could destroy his career or get him killed. I want readers to enjoy a fast-paced, high-stakes action-adventure as well as a love story between two smart, determined people who refuse to give up no matter the odds against them.

Kat Martin

How does this book make a contribution to the genre?

I write Romantic Thrillers. The plot in this novel is extremely complex, and there is plenty of action and suspense. The romance between Reese and Kenzie is threatened by the danger Kenzie and her son, Griff, face, and enhances the life-and-death stakes of the mystery she and Reese must solve in order to stay alive.

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

I learned a lot about drilling for oil in the ocean, a difficult and dangerous job. It took a ton of research, but ultimately, I think it was worth it.

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

I learned that writing a book that deals with the MeToo subject of co-workers having an affair is challenging but not impossible, and I think it provided an interesting backdrop for the story.

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

I love to read bestselling authors. Early on, I read Wilbur Smith, Sydney Sheldon, John Grisham, Kathleen Woodiwiss, Anya Seta, and Frank Yerby, favorites who influenced me greatly.

What attracts you to this book’s genre?

Who doesn’t love mysteries, suspense, and thrillers? And what is not to like about romance?

Without spoilers, are there any genre conventions you wanted to upend or challenge with this book?

I do my best to make every book different, but I do it with plot and characterization. I’m not interested in making political statements. I just want the readers to have fun and keep turning the pages.

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

For me, every book is different. In this case, I wanted to wrap up the Maximum Security series, which featured the Garrett brothers. Reese Garrett needed his own story, so developing his character and a plot that dealt with his job as CEO of Garrett Resources was what shaped the story.

*****

New York Times bestselling author Kat Martin, a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, currently resides in Missoula, Montana with Western-author husband, L. J. Martin. More than seventeen million copies of Kat’s books are in print, and she has been published in twenty foreign countries. Fifteen of her recent novels have taken top-ten spots on the New York Times Bestseller List, and her novel, Beyond Reason, was recently optioned for a feature film. Kat’s latest novel, The Ultimate Betrayal, a Romantic Thriller, was released in paperback December 29th. The final two books in her Maximum Security series will be released in June, Come Midnight,” a short story, on June 1st, and THE PERFECT MURDER, a novel in hardcover, on June 22nd.

For more information on the author and her work, please visit her website.