An intriguing tale of whirlwind romances, corruption and kidnap will entice readers looking for a thrilling suspense story thanks to the latest novel from Stansted author AJ Campbell.
Having kick-started her writing career at the start of the Covid pandemic, Amanda launched her latest book, The Wrong Key, on January 12 and is already working on her sixth.
Her debut story, Leave Well Alone, was an Amazon best-seller and the 54-year-old mum of three sons, who lives in Bentfield Green, is now supporting her family having taken up writing as a full-time job.
Her success story has seen her passion for writing and love of crime thrillers combine to create page-turning books that have developed quite a following. She describes the process as her “escapism” and “time out” from caring for one of her twin teenage sons, who has cerebral palsy. Together with her husband, Andy, they have three sons and a cocker spaniel called Max.
And what started out as journal writing and short stories has now become her full-time occupation.
She actually began writing her first book in 2017 after graduating from the Faber Academy’s Writing a Novel course, but it was the first lockdown that really gave her the opportunity to sit down and finish it.
Since then, using her pen name of AJ Campbell, she has also published Search No Further, Don’t Come Looking and The Phone Call – all in the psychological suspense genre.
The latest tale, The Wrong Key, is about recent divorcee Steph Knight, who is sent to New York to cover for a colleague injured in a serious car accident. Seeing it as the perfect opportunity for a fresh start, she travels over with her teenager daughter, Ellie, before she heads off to university.
AJ says: “In New York, Steph meets corporate lawyer Edward, and Ellie meets bartender Jack. Both women become embroiled in whirlwind romances that intensify over a hot and sultry New York summer. But as Steph begins to uncover a web of corruption within her company that seemingly reaches right to the top, she feels increasingly threatened, with no idea who she can trust. Not even the men they’ve fallen for are beyond suspicion.
“And just when it appears things can’t get any worse, Ellie disappears. When Steph receives an ominous text message and a video, she knows her daughter has been kidnapped. To secure her safe return, Steph must stop her investigation. The clock is ticking. Ellie’s life is in danger.
“Alone, terrified and far from home, Steph has to draw on all her inner strength and investigative skills to find Ellie before it’s too late.”
* The Wrong Key is available now on Amazon.