In the Spotlight: The Code by Sean Keefer

Title: The Code
Author: Sean Keefer
Publisher: Rivers Turn Press
Pages: 319
Genre: Mystery/Suspense/Legal Thriller

It should have been an otherwise uneventful Sunday morning for Charleston attorney Noah Parks. Perhaps a trip to the beach or a run with his new Australian Shepherd, Austin. But with a cryptic voicemail, everything changes.

A client has vanished, leaving nothing behind as a clue to where he may be. Neither his family, friends, nor neighbors are able to provide help.

Turning to his friend Emmett Gabriel, Charleston’s newest police detective, Parks can only watch as what started with a simple voicemail takes on a sinister life of its own. 

Parks soon finds himself entangled in an affair that spans centuries, going back to the time of Charleston’s birth.

With a focus on learning his client’s fate, Parks will soon find himself facing a mystery that will not only be a test of his wits but leaves him challenged in ways he never imagined.

Facing down twists, turns, betrayals, and traditions of honor, will he break The Code?

Release Date: October 7, 2022

Publisher: Rivers Turn Press

Soft Cover: 978-0998575575; 319 pages

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IETRpM 

Rivers Turn Press: https://bit.ly/3V9725u  

Excerpt:

He looked into my eyes with something that could only be described as desperation. Suddenly, his look of despair faded as if a veil was lifted from his face. He stopped speaking and stood straight. His hands stopped moving, and he looked at each of them, turning them over, back to palm, as he examined them. He raised his head back to my eyes. As he looked at me, in an instant, the fearful look drained from his face, replacing it, a blank, expressionless gaze took hold of his features. He moved his eyes to my hand on his bicep, then shifted his gaze back to my face. He slowly twisted his arm from my slight grasp. He spoke slowly and methodically.    

“No, Cash didn’t call. No one called. There was nothing from Cash.”

“But you just said…”

“I didn’t say anything. Nothing,” he said as he turned and faced the rear of the lot. 

Meet the Author

Sean Keefer is the award winning author of three legal thrillers, The Trust, The Solicitor, and The Code, all set in and around coastal South Carolina.

He is also the author of Mediation in the Family Courts of South Carolina, a legal treatise on family law mediation.

He lives and writes in Charleston, South Carolina.

In addition to his writing, Sean is a recording and performing guitarist/singer/songwriter of Americana and Alt-Country music. Watch him sing Carolina Sunset which was inspired by his latest book, The Code. Listen here!

For more information about his writing and music, visit SeanKeefer.com and ADogNamedBear.com.

Follow him on Facebook @theNoahParksMysterySeries and @SeanKeeferMusic. Follow him on Instagram @NoahParksMysteries and @1ADogNamedBear1 

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads

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A Conversation with ‘The Solicitor’ Sean Keefer

While growing up in South Carolina, Sean didn’t realize it, but he was absorbing the styles, mannerisms, idiosyncrasies, dialects and the culture of his home.   Add to this the time he spent traveling the other Carolina for school and then North America for work, he collected a vast array of experiences and observations from which to draw upon and bring together in his writing.

After studying law in North Carolina, Sean settled in Charleston, South Carolina and instantly became enamored with the people as well as the city.

One day he started writing and the words, generally, kept flowing. A page became a chapter which ultimately became a book known as The Trust.  After this the process started again and The Solicitor was the end result. Hopefully, if you are reading this you either have, or soon will have, your very own copy of one or both.

The experience of taking two novels from conceptualization to print has been one of frustration peppered with increasing amounts of reward.  Each step from the first words hitting the page to ultimately holding a book in hand has been a personal reward.

When Sean is not writing he practices Family Law and works as a Domestic Mediator and lives with his Wife and an ever-expanding pack of rescue canines – the current count is 4.  As well, Sean can frequently be found wandering the lowcountry of South Carolina with his camera, playing guitar in assorted venues around Charleston or exploring the underwater world of the southeast.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

WEBSITE | TWITTER | FACEBOOK

About the Book:

 

When you make your living fighting for justice, the last place you expect to wake up is behind bars.

Attorney Noah Parks has spent his life keeping people out of jail.  When he’s charged with the murder of a candidate for Charleston County Solicitor he finds himself on the wrong side of the law for a crime he says he didn’t commit.

No longer fighting for others and now relying on the help of the few people he does trust, Noah must fight to clear his name and find the real killer before it’s too late.

His search will lead him through a maze of deceptions, lies, family turmoil and treachery that spans generations.

The Solicitor is set in historic Charleston and the surrounding South Carolina Lowcountry where under the surface things are not always as genteel as they appear.

ORDER YOUR COPY:

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Would you call yourself a born writer?

I wasn’t born a writer, I became one. Reading has always been a passion (and remains so) and one day I had an idea that stayed with me. That idea became the basis of the plot for my first book. Had it not been for this persistent idea that wouldn’t leave me alone, I’d likely not be answering questions about writing.

What was your inspiration for The Solicitor?

I live in the Charleston, South Carolina area and a number of years back there was a local election for the position of county solicitor. (In South Carolina we refer to our district attorneys/prosecutors as solicitors.)

The campaign was not the cleanest and as it progressed, I began to wonder what it would be like if one of the candidates was murdered and the first case the new solicitor handled was the murder prosecution of his former political rival. From this The Solicitor was born.

What themes do you like to explore in your writing?   

In The Solicitor, the main character, Noah Parks, is an attorney, in part, a criminal defense attorney. He is charged with the murder of his best friend. A large part of the story is a study of how someone who is versed at handling specific problems for others changes or reacts when the tables are turned and the problem becomes personal to them. In The Solicitor the criminal defense attorney who usually represents defendants becomes a defendant being prosecuted for murder.

How long did it take you to complete the novel?

I was able to write the first draft in about 8 months, but the editing and rewrites took more than a year to complete.

Are you disciplined? Describe a typical writing day.

When I am writing, I try to write 3-5 days a week for several hours, at least two, at a time. As much as having a dedicated writing schedule, the consistency makes the process move along much quicker and in a more productive fashion.

Part of my writing days are planning on where the next day will go and also some review of the progress to date.

What did you find most challenging about writing this book?

Being able to resist the urge to do “just a bit more polishing.” I have a hard time letting go….

What do you love most about being an author?

There are a number of things that I really love.

First, I love seeing my characters come to life, seeing how the stories develop and how the characters evolve.

Second, I love meeting readers. It makes me a better writer being able to interact with readers and to see what they pull away from the book, how they experience a scene or a character I have created.

Finally, knowing that when I put forth the effort, the end result can be a complete book.

Did you go with a traditional publisher, small press, or did you self publish? What was the process like and are you happy with your decision?

My first book was published by a small press. As I was finishing book two, they folded. Rather than delay the release of the book while I searched for a new publisher, I formed a publishing group and the book was published through them.

Where can we find you on the web?

SeanKeefer.com

 

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