I called it “When Alyssa and Sam Met the Dentist,” and it was more of a day-in-the-life character study of how previously cynical Alyssa is subtly being changed by her recent marriage to optimistic Sam.
This short first appeared in the back of
Flashpoint
, and interestingly, many readers didn’t recognize that it was just that—a short story. I got email after email, asking me when the rest of that book about that serial killer was going to come out. (Oops.)
At the same time, I knew that finding evidence of that killer’s handiwork was gnawing at Alyssa, so I wasn’t surprised when the Dentist came up again, in later Sam and Alyssa short stories (included in this collection, too). And for those readers who are thinking,
The Dentist sounds familiar …
, I finally allowed the deadly killer to go head-to-head with Alyssa (and Sam, naturally) in the full-length Troubleshooters novel
Hot Pursuit
.
For those of you who like to know
exactly
how it all fits together, I’ve included a timeline that allows you to see where each of the stories in this collection falls within the framework of the sixteen published Troubleshooters books, and the two e-published Troubleshooters short stories.
There’s also a glossary of terms, FYI, at the back of the book, as well as a special bonus short story called “Shane’s Last Stand,” which features the Navy SEAL hero of my futuristic paranormal book
Born to Darkness
. (Even in the future, SEALs are still SEALs, and the only easy day was yesterday.)
As always, with all the books that I write, any mistakes made or liberties taken are completely my own.
Suzanne Brockmann
May 12, 2012
1999:
When Frank Met Rosie
Timeframe: Thanksgiving Day
Hero: Navy SEAL Chief Frank O’Leary
Heroine: Rosie Marchado
2000:
1. The Unsung Hero
Timeframe: August
First Published: June 2000
Hero: Navy SEAL Lt. Tom Paoletti
Heroine: Dr. Kelly Ashton
Storyline: A SEAL recovering from a head injury spots a believed-to-be-dead terrorist in a quiet little New England town.
Secondary Romance: Tom’s niece Mallory Paoletti and comic book artist David Sullivan
World War II Subplot: Resistance in Nazi-occupied France, a love triangle between Charles, Joe, and Cybele.
2001:
2. The Defiant Hero
Timeframe: Spring
Note: Flashbacks to 1997, with young SEALs Nils, Sam, and WildCard
First Published: March 2001
Hero: Navy SEAL Lt. (jg) John “Nils” Nilsson
Heroine: Meg Moore
Storyline: The rescue of Meg’s kidnapped grandmother and daughter.
Secondary Romance: Navy SEAL Sam Starrett and FBI Agent Alyssa Locke
World War II Subplot: The evacuation of Dunkirk (Eve and Ralph).
3. Over the Edge
Timeframe: Summer
First Published: September 2001
Hero: Navy SEAL Senior Chief Stan Wolchonok
Heroine: Navy Reserve helo pilot Lt. (jg) Teresa Howe
Storyline: The Navy SEAL takedown of a commercial airliner hijacked by terrorists.
Note: This book came out two weeks before 9/11. Secondary Romance: Navy SEAL Sam Starrett and FBI Agent Alyssa Locke
World War II Subplot: The Holocaust in Denmark.
4. Out of Control
Timeframe: This book was written pre-9/11, and is set in that “before” world, even though the action was meant to take place in early 2002.
First Published: March 2002
Hero: Navy SEAL Chief Ken “WildCard” Karmody
Heroine: Savannah von Hopf
Storyline: Kenny and Savannah’s scramble through the Indonesian jungle.
Secondary Romance: Expat David Jones and do-gooder Molly Anderson
World War II Subplot: German Americans as spies in Nazi Germany (Rose and Hank).
2002:
5. Into the Night
Timeframe: Intentionally vague, to catch up to the post-9/11 world
First Published: December 2002
Hero: Navy SEAL Lt. (jg) Mike Muldoon
Heroine: Joan DaCosta
Storyline: The terrorist assassination attempt at the Coronado Naval Base.
Secondary Romance: Mary Lou Starrett and Ihbraham Rahman
World War II Subplot: The battle of Tarawa, and the formation of the UDT units, granddaddies to the SEALs (Vince and Charlotte).
2003:
6. Gone Too Far
Timeframe: June
First Published: July 2003
Hero: Navy SEAL Lt. Roger “Sam” Starrett
Heroine: FBI Agent Alyssa Locke
Storyline: The rescue of Sam’s missing daughter.
Secondary Romance: FBI Agent Max Bhagat and former hostage Gina Vitagliano
World War II Subplot: Tuskegee Airmen and the Women Airforce Service Pilots (Walt and Dot).
When Alyssa and Sam Met the Dentist
Timeframe: Autumn
2004:
7. Flashpoint
Timeframe: Summer
First Published: April 2004
Hero: James Nash
Heroine: Tess Bailey
Storyline: The search for a terrorist’s missing laptop in an earthquake-ravaged country.
Secondary Relationship: Friendship between Jim Nash and former SEAL Lawrence Decker
Waiting
Main Characters: TS Operative Sam Starrett and the wives of the SEALs of Team Sixteen
2005:
8. Hot Target
Timeframe: Late winter, early spring
First Published: January 2005
Hero: Navy SEAL Chief Cosmo Richter
Heroine: Jane Mercedes Chadwick
Storyline: The protection of a Hollywood producer receiving death threats for making a movie about a gay World War II hero.
Secondary Romance: FBI Agent Jules Cassidy and actor Robin Chadwick
World War II Subplot: Jack and Hal, and the ghost army of the 23rd HQ Special Troops.
9. Breaking Point
Timeframe: Summer
First Published: July 2005
Hero: FBI Team Leader Max Bhagat Heroine: Gina Vitagliano
Storyline: The rescue of Gina and Molly by unlikely allies Max, Jones, and Jules.
Secondary Romance: Expat David Jones and Molly Anderson
Sam Takes an Assignment in Italy
Timeframe:
Post–Breaking Point
Main Characters: TS Operative Sam Starrett and FBI Agent Jules Cassidy
When Jenk, Izzy, Gillman, and Lopez Met Tony Vlachic
Timeframe:
Pre–Into the Storm
Interview with Tom and Kelly
Timeframe: December
10. Into the Storm
Timeframe: December
First Published: August 2006
Hero: Navy SEAL Petty Officer Mark “Jenk” Jenkins
Heroine: Troubleshooters operative Lindsey Fontaine
Storyline: A combined winter training op with TS Inc. and SEAL Team Sixteen gets disrupted by a dangerous serial killer.
Secondary Relationships: Jenk’s SEAL friends Izzy, Gillman, and Lopez all loudly interact.
2006:
Trapped
Timeframe: Early 2006
Main Characters: TS Operative Alyssa Locke and FBI Agent Jules Cassidy
Conversation with Navy SEALs Mark “Jenk” Jenkins, Dan Gillman, Jay Lopez, and Irving “Izzy” Zanella
Timeframe: Shortly after
Into the Storm
Interview with Kenny and Savannah
Timeframe: Shortly after
Into the Storm
11. Force of Nature
Timeframe: Summer
First Published: August 2007
Romantic Couple One: PI Ric Alvarado and his gal Friday, Annie Dugan
Romantic Couple Two: FBI Agent Jules Cassidy and actor Robin Chadwick
Storyline: An investigation into a Florida crime lord with terrorist ties.
2007:
12. All Through the Night
Timeframe: September through December
First Published: October 2007
Hero: FBI Agent Jules Cassidy
Hero: Actor Robin Chadwick
Storyline: Jules and Robin get married in Massachusetts, and high jinks ensue.
Secondary Romance: Personal assistant Dolphina Patel and
Boston Globe
reporter Will Schroeder
E-Short-Story 1: When Tony Met Adam
Timeframe: December 2007 through February 2008
First Published: June 2011
Hero: Navy SEAL Tony Vlachic
Hero: Actor Adam Wyndham
Storyline: A romance celebrating the repeal of
Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
.
2008:
Home Is Where the Heart Is (Part I and Part II)
Timeframe: Spring
Hero: Reporter Jack Lloyd
Heroine: Army Reserve Sergeant Arlene Schroeder, home from Iraq
Note: Arlene is the sister of
Boston Globe
reporter Will Schroeder, and the mother of Maggie, both of whom play major roles in
All Through the Night
.
13. Into the Fire
Timeframe: July
First Published: August 2008
Hero: Former TS operative Vinh Murphy
Heroine: Hannah Whitfield
Storyline: Former Marine Vinh Murphy is the prime suspect when the man responsible for his wife Angelina’s murder is found dead.
Secondary Relationships: The hardened operatives of TS Inc. are forced to talk to a therapist to finally come to terms with Angelina’s death.
14. Dark of Night
Timeframe: Summer
First Published: February 2009
Romantic Couple One: TS Operative and former SEAL Lawrence Decker and TS Inc. receptionist Tracy Shapiro
Romantic Couple Two: TS Operatives Dave Malkoff and Sophia Ghaffari
Storyline: TS Inc. goes up against the shadowy Agency when James Nash is targeted for removal.
2009:
15. Hot Pursuit
Timeframe: February
First Published: August 2009
Romantic Couple One: TS Operatives Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke
Romantic Couple Two: Navy SEAL Petty Officer Dan Gillman and Jennilyn LeMay
Storyline: Alyssa is targeted by the dangerous serial killer known as “the Dentist.”
A SEAL and Three Babies
Timeframe: Early March
Main Characters: TS Operatives Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke, and their one-year-old son, Ash; FBI Agent Jules Cassidy and his husband, Robin; FBI Agent Max Bhagat, his wife, Gina, and their children, Emma and Mikey.
16. Breaking the Rules
Timeframe: May 4–9, 2009
First Published: April 2011
Romantic Couple One: Navy SEAL Petty Officer Izzy Zanella and Eden Gillman
Romantic Couple Two: Navy SEAL Petty Officer Dan Gillman and Jennilyn LeMay
Storyline: Mortal frenemies and SEAL teammates Izzy and Dan are forced to work together when Dan’s little brother is in danger.
PRESENT DAY:
E-Short-Story 2: Beginnings and Ends
Timeframe: Undetermined
First Published: June 2012
Main Characters: FBI Agent Jules Cassidy and his husband, Robin Chadwick Cassidy
Storyline: Robin’s life gets intertwined with that of the closeted movie star he plays on his hit TV show,
Shadowland
, and he and Jules decide it’s time to make some changes in their lives.
The music made him stop and turn around.
It was just a solo voice—a man singing the richest, bluesiest version of
Silent Night
that Frank O’Leary had ever heard. It drew him closer when he should have headed away from the French Quarter and back toward his hotel.
Where his damn fool of a half brother was no doubt still holding court in the lobby bar. Lord Jesus save him from imbeciles. Of course, he himself could be included in that subset, considering he’d agreed to come to New Orleans for the holiday.
It was their mother who’d been the glue that kept them connected, Frank and Casey. Her constant smile and teasing words lightened the years of bad feelings between brothers who’d been born more than a decade apart. Now, though, they had less than nothing in common.
And yet Frank had come all the way from California on one of the busiest travel days of the year at Casey’s request.
Because he’d thought his mother would’ve wanted him to. Because she’d valued her precious family—her two such different sons—so highly.
Despite being just a few blocks down from the whorehouse-on-heavy-stun dementia of past-midnight
Bourbon Street, this narrow road was deserted. A right turn revealed a street just as empty of tourists, but it definitely brought him closer to that angelic voice. Not like Frank was in any danger from the flesh-and-blood demons who crept out of the rotting woodwork of this city at night, no sir.
With his thrice-broken nose, his hair grown out from his usual no-frills tight and square cut, and his PT-hardened body, he knew he looked like the type most folks crossed the street to avoid.