Good Morning, Booklovers!
Today I’m featuring Not Your Child, a suspense novel by author Lis Angus. Please check out her interview on my JL Buck mystery blog, you’ll find it HERE.
Genre: suspense
When Ottawa psychologist and single mother Susan Koss discovers that a strange man has been following her twelve-year-old daughter Maddy, she fears he’s a predator. But it’s worse than that. The man, Daniel Kazan, believes Maddy is his granddaughter, abducted as a baby—and he’s obsessed with getting her back.
Susan insists on a DNA test to disprove Daniel’s claim, but the result is one she can’t understand or explain: it says she’s not Maddy’s mother.
Then Maddy vanishes. Susan’s convinced Daniel has taken her, but he has an alibi, and two searches of his house turn up nothing. The hunt is on—police are on full mobilization, and Susan fears the worst.
Buy links:
Note: There’ll be a special ebook 99¢ sale on NOT YOUR CHILD from April 12-26, to mark the book’s one-year anniversary.
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Your-Child-Lis-Angus-ebook/dp/B09QRST379?maas=maas_adg_8A6B91EC58EC3F0283D1E75DECA38D55_afap_abs&ref_=aa_maas&tag=maas
Universal book link: https://books2read.com/notyourchild
As I was putting on my coat, the doorbell rang. I looked out the window.
What the hell?
Daniel Kazan stood on my doorstep.
I went cold. How dare he? I flung open the door. “What are you doing here?” I exploded.
Confronting him, I saw that he was a few inches taller than me, and exuded a tense energy that raised my hackles. He raised his hands, palms out, a placating expression on his face. As if he were trying to calm me down or reassure me.
“I just want to talk to Hannah. I came early to catch her, before she leaves for school.”
I squared my shoulders. “Get out of here! You've been told to stay away from us!”
His face was in shadow. “I think it’s fair to want to see Hannah. I’ve waited a long time.”
The guy is nuts. “She’s not Hannah—she’s my daughter. Maddy.”
“You’re keeping her from me.” He was leaning toward me, and I had to keep from falling back. I couldn’t let myself seem weak. If he thought he’d intimidated me, what would be his next move?
My heart pounded. My hands were curled tight, my nails biting into my palms. “Damn right I’m keeping her from you. Now get off my porch before I call the police!”
What if he wouldn’t leave? I should call for help—but my phone was inside, and I didn’t want to leave him on the porch unattended.
I grew up in the western Canada province of Alberta. After high school I spent two years in Germany, then finished university in Ottawa, where I met my husband. We raised our two daughters in Toronto, and now live in a small town south of Ottawa.
I’ve been writing all my life, from childhood on, but abandoned fiction writing after my teen years. My early career was spent working with children and families in crisis, then later I was a telecommunications consultant and policy advisor, conference organizer, business writer and editor. I had always wanted to write a novel; after I retired I decided it was time, and plunged into writing a first draft. Meanwhile I took writing classes and joined a local writing group. I also joined the Sisters in Crime “Guppy” chapter, where I learned a lot from other writers.
My debut novel, NOT YOUR CHILD, was published in April 2022 by The Wild Rose Press, so this month is its one-year anniversary. I’m excited to celebrate this milestone—and meanwhile I am working on a second book, another standalone suspense novel.
Something unique/unusual that isn't in your regular bio: “Somehow, I’ve managed to take boat rides on several of the world’s great rivers: the Nile, the Amazon, the Danube, the Rhine, the Yangtze, the Thames. And I also toured the countries they’re in, of course. My usual travel companion is my husband, but the trip to China was with my two sisters. My older sister had dreamed of visiting China since she was a child, and we finally made it happen, and even visited sites in Tibet.”
Author links:
Website: https://lisangus.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lisangusauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lisangus1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisangus459/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59436824-not-your-child