Janice Cantore has written over 15 romantic suspense novels and most have been set on the West Coast. In Edge of Truth, Janice expands further into the Pacific and sets part of the novel in Hawaii.
In this guest post by former-police-officer-turned-novelist Janice, she explains more about the setting of the novel. Janice talks about how she picks settings for her novels and what inspired the specific setting for Edge of Truth.
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Setting is important for a book. It may not be the main point, but it should help the reader slide into the story world seamlessly. If the setting is a real place, named as such in the story, it may make you want to visit, or if you live there, it may spark familiarity in your mind. When I’m reading a story, the setting helps put me there, in the story. It can ignite my imagination, and it can make the characters more three-dimensional. In the same way, when I’m writing a book, the setting helps me plot the story, diagram the action, and work with the characters.
Most of my early books were set in Long Beach, California. I lived and worked in Long Beach for over 22 years, so I wrote what I knew. I did make up a different name for the city, but it was always Long Beach in my mind’s eye, the streets I patrolled, the places etched in my mind because of the crime or call set there. My knowledge brings realism to the stories, and I love it when readers contact me and say, ‘I live there, I know that place!’
I’ve moved around a lot since I retired from law enforcement. Living in Oregan for five years spawned ideas for stories set there. For my In the Line of Duty trilogy, I made up my own town, set on the Rogue River, near Shady Cove. I even had a talented friend draw a picture of my fictional town of Rogue’s Hollow. The drawing was incorporated in all three novels. Sprinkling in real Southern Oregon towns helped make the stories and the setting come alive.
Now, living in Hawaii, the settings that surround me are very different than what I grew up with, or what I saw where I lived and worked. It’s not a concrete jungle, nor is it fields and farms. Here, on the Big Island, I am far removed from the streets of Long Beach or the forests of Southern Oregon. I’m fortunate to be close to some beautiful beaches, and I swim a lot. The beach is a setting that tickles my imagination, and it was the beach that spawned the plot for Edge of Truth.
I pay attention to news about sharks and attacks. A poorly written news article about a fatal shark attack at a beach on Maui intrigued me and set the gears of my mind spinning. A woman and her husband were snorkeling, when she suddenly disappeared. Basically, the husband saw a shark, then didn’t see his wife, then he came ashore, and she was never found. Sounds, hinky, right? Even two of my swim buddies thought it sounded as though there was foul play involved.
I immediately thought that the husband was the bad guy, and he was not telling the truth. Standing on the beach where I swim, looking at the water I swim in, and yes, I have seen sharks there, a million ‘what if’ questions were spawned by the setting, and Edge of Truth was born.
Edge of Truth is partially set at Anaeho’omalu Bay, or, A-Bay. It’s a beautiful bay, with great snorkeling and a nice beach. We often see many colorful fish, and sometimes turtles and manta rays. Aside from the drama of the shark attack, I wanted to give the reader a word picture for a little bit of paradise.
The shark attack allowed a plot twist that I hope surprises readers. A large part of the book takes place on the island, I tried to take readers to the places I go to on a regular basis, where I live, where I swim. I hope the setting resonates with readers, that it puts them comfortably in the story world and makes Edge of Truth real and engaging.
Edge of Truth by Janice Cantore
As a detective in the Long Beach Police Department’s violent crimes division, Lainie Jensen is no stranger to hard-to-crack cases and unusual disappearances, but then her sister Evie vanishes on a trip to Hawaii. After traveling there to look for her, Lainie quickly realizes her brother-in-law Stan is telling law enforcement a story that doesn’t appear to add up.
FBI special agent Ben Isaacs has spent six months collecting evidence to take down a money laundering operation. While his fellow agent Efren Gomez goes undercover to infiltrate the ring, Ben investigates those connected to it, including Stan Moffitt, who Ben believes could help lead to the criminal kingpin. Then Stan’s wife goes missing just days after Ben contacted her seeking information, and he knows there’s more to this case, especially when he loses contact with Efren and law enforcement comes up short in their search for him.
When Ben’s and Lainie’s investigations converge, Lainie’s not eager to work alongside Ben given their complicated history, but she’s willing to do so if it means figuring out what Stan knows and locating Evie. Soon, Lainie can’t deny Ben’s dedication to finding the truth or her growing admiration for him. And the more the two examine the evidence, the more they suspect Evie’s disappearance is tied to a highly publicized criminal case from Lainie’s past . . . and someone is playing a perilous game aimed at personal revenge.
A former Long Beach, California, police officer of twenty-two years, Janice Cantore worked a variety of assignments, including patrol, administration, juvenile investigations, and training. She’s always enjoyed writing and published two short articles on faith at work for Cop and Christ and Today’s Christian Woman before tackling novels. She now lives in Hawaii, where she enjoys ocean swimming, golfing, spending time on the beach, and going on long walks with her Labrador retriever, Tilly.
Janice writes suspense novels designed to keep readers engrossed and leave them inspired. She has penned more than a dozen novels including the Line of Duty series, the Cold Case Justice series, and several standalones. Visit Janice’s website at janicecantore.com and connect with her on Facebook at facebook.com/JaniceCantore and at the Romantic Suspense A-TEAM group.