“I’ll be with you in one moment,” Dr. Monk said, from her desk at the other end of the room. “I’ll just finish this memo and then we can begin our session.”
Zoe dug her cell out of her pocket, thinking that now was a good time to set it on silent. Then she hesitated, looking at the screen.
It could be a good time to do something else, too.
Before she could lose her nerve, she wrote up a new message and sent it, only reading it over once to check for errors. Not the dozens of times she might otherwise have wasted, proofreading and redrafting to try to make it sound more like something a normal person would say.
Are you free this Saturday? I’d love to go on our next date.
There was only a brief pause before John sent a message in response.
YES! 7pm? I’ll pick you up?
Zoe smiled to herself. She could do a whole lot worse than John. And, for the first time in a long time, she did not add an old habitual thought: that he could do so much better than her.
“All right, I’m sorry to keep you waiting,” Dr. Monk said, sitting opposite Zoe and shuffling the pages of her notebook to find the right session. “How are we doing today, then?”
Zoe cleared her throat and looked up to meet her therapist’s eyes. “Actually, Dr. Monk, I have something to tell you,” she said.
“Is it something to do with that message you just received that had you lighting up like a Christmas tree?” Dr. Monk smiled conspiratorially.
“No,” Zoe said. “Well, yes. I will tell you about that later. But there is something else first.”
“I’m listening.” Dr. Monk nodded.
Zoe took a deep breath. It was time. There was no more putting it off now. “I have synesthesia,” she said. “I see numbers everywhere. I understand them intuitively. It’s how I’m able to solve many of our cases. It’s a special ability I have.”
Dr. Monk nodded again, her pen poised above the page. There was no flicker of revulsion across her face. There was no recoiling in horror. In fact, she barely gave any sign of a reaction at all, as if what Zoe had told her was perfectly normal. “I see. Can you tell me more about that?”
And Zoe did—and, for something that she had feared for such a long time, it turned out to be not so awful at all.
NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER!
FACE OF FEAR
(A Zoe Prime Mystery—Book 3)
“A MASTERPIECE OF THRILLER AND MYSTERY. Blake Pierce did a magnificent job developing characters with a psychological side so well described that we feel inside their minds, follow their fears and cheer for their success. Full of twists, this book will keep you awake until the turn of the last page.”
–-Books and Movie Reviews, Roberto Mattos (re Once Gone)
FACE OF FEAR is book #3 in a new FBI thriller series by USA Today bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose #1 bestseller Once Gone (Book #1) (a free download) has received over 1,000 five star reviews.
FBI Special Agent Zoe Prime suffers from a rare condition which also gives her a unique talent—she views the world through a lens of numbers. The numbers torment her, make her unable to relate to people, and give her a failed romantic life—yet they also allow her to see patterns that no other FBI agent can see. Zoe keeps her condition a secret, ashamed, in fear her colleagues may find out.
Women are turning up dead in Los Angeles, with no pattern other than the fact that they are all heavily tattooed. With a dead end in the case, the FBI calls in Special Agent Zoe prime to find a pattern where others cannot—and to stop the killer before he strikes again.
But Zoe, in therapy, is battling her own demons, barely able to function in her world plagued by numbers and on the brink of quitting the FBI. Can she really enter this psychotic killer’s mind, find the hidden pattern, and come out unscathed?
An action-packed thriller with heart-pounding suspense, FACE OF FEAR is book #3 in a riveting new series that will leave you turning pages late into the night.
Book #4 will be available soon.
FACE OF FEAR
(A Zoe Prime Mystery—Book 3)
Blake Pierce
Blake Pierce is the USA Today bestselling author of the RILEY PAGE mystery series, which includes sixteen books (and counting). Blake Pierce is also the author of the MACKENZIE WHITE mystery series, comprising thirteen books (and counting); of the AVERY BLACK mystery series, comprising six books; of the KERI LOCKE mystery series, comprising five books; of the MAKING OF RILEY PAIGE mystery series, comprising five books (and counting); of the KATE WISE mystery series, comprising six books (and counting); of the CHLOE FINE psychological suspense mystery, comprising five books (and counting); of the JESSE HUNT psychological suspense thriller series, comprising five books (and counting); of the AU PAIR psychological suspense thriller series, comprising two books (and counting); and of the ZOE PRIME mystery series, comprising two books (and counting).
An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com (http://www.blakepierceauthor.com/) to learn more and stay in touch.
BOOKS BY BLAKE PIERCE
THE AU PAIR SERIES
ALMOST GONE (Book#1)
ALMOST LOST (Book #2)
ALMOST DEAD (Book #3)
ZOE PRIME MYSTERY SERIES
FACE OF DEATH (Book#1)
FACE OF MURDER (Book #2)
FACE OF FEAR (Book #3)
A JESSIE HUNT PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
THE PERFECT WIFE (Book #1)
THE PERFECT BLOCK (Book #2)
THE PERFECT HOUSE (Book #3)
THE PERFECT SMILE (Book #4)
THE PERFECT LIE (Book #5)
THE PERFECT LOOK (Book #6)
CHLOE FINE PSYCHOLOGICAL SUSPENSE SERIES
NEXT DOOR (Book #1)