Guest Post: Shadowed Witness (The Secrets of Kincaid #2) by Angela Carlisle

Archaeolibrarian
15 hours ago
5 min read

Book Details:

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Published by: Bethany House Publishers

Publication Date: July 1, 2025

Number of Pages: 336

ISBN: 9780764242519 (ISBN10: 0764242512)

Series: The Secrets of Kincaid, Book 2

@AngelaCarlisle.Writer @partnersincrimevbt

@angelacarlislewriter @partnersincrimevbt

#RomanticSuspense, #ChristianFiction, #Mystery, #Thriller,

A haunting attack. A killer in the shadows. A protective love.

Murder--that's what photographer Allye Jessup knows she witnessed as she departed her studio one evening. Waking with bruises on her neck and a foggy memory, she believes she survived an attack, but everyone seems to think she simply sustained a head injury from falling down the stairs outside her studio. Plagued by an undiagnosed health condition, she is torn between the haunting reality of what she may have seen and the possibility that her mind is playing tricks on her.

Without proof the other victim ever existed, Detective Eric Thornton can hardly declare the area a murder scene. Still, he adds Allye's report to his already full caseload. But when new evidence surfaces to support her claims, Eric must stay one step ahead of a ruthless killer and uncover the truth before the suspect closes in on Allye again.

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"Fans of romantic suspense, add Angela Carlisle to your must-read list!"--Lynn H. Blackburn, bestselling and award-winning author

"Make room on your shelves--this is a keeper!"--Jaime Jo Wright, bestselling author on Secondary Target

"Surprising twists and unfolding mysteries kept me turning pages until the end."--Jerusha Agen author of the Guardians Unleashed series on Secondary Target

How to Balance Thrills with Romance: Crafting the Perfect Romantic Suspense Story

Who falls in love while they’re trying to escape a killer?

I’m glad you asked! While that may not happen very often in real life (I, for one, would prefer to find my soulmate in just about any other scenario, thank you very much), but in a romantic suspense, the hero and heroine had better do exactly that. Hazards of the genre, or so they tell me.

But that doesn’t mean we can throw in a few kisses among the flying bullets (or vice versa for those who lean toward a plot style with a heavier romance to suspense ratio) and call it good. For a great romantic suspense story, both the romance and suspense are integral—woven together in such a way that the story wouldn’t feel at all complete if one were ripped away.

Practically speaking though, how is that accomplished? I can’t give you beat-by-beat tips (sorry, trying to even decipher story beats makes this pantser’s head go fuzzy), but here are some of the elements I like to employ, with examples from my latest release.

1. Keep the main characters together as much as possible—both in the action and in downtime—and make it make sense. Maybe they seek each other out; maybe they’re thrown together by circumstances. I used a bit of both in Shadowed Witness.

For example, Detective Eric Thornton is a longtime friend of Allye Jessup’s family, so when she claims to have witnessed a murder, he’s more than willing to take a bit of time from his busy caseload to talk to her and look into it, despite the fact the responding officer thinks it’s all in Allye’s head. Or when Allye’s brother invites several people over for a cookout, they both show up. And when it becomes obvious Allye might really be in danger, Eric accompanies her to a photoshoot just in case—and sparks of both sorts begin to fly!

2. Give them a chemistry that isn’t just able to survive pressure but can be forged by it. Attracted to each other? Great. But look a bit deeper. Love takes more than a few beats of a butterfly’s wings after all, and that’s what we’re going for. What draws them together and makes the reader like them as a couple? Do they share the same witty sense of humor that helps them cope with almost being run off the road? Can they work together under pressure? Are their personalities complementary?

Allye and Eric are very different in some ways—she’s a free-spirited, chronically late, mother hen; he’s a by-the-rules professional, always on time, and not usually the coddling sort. But they both care about people and justice, and they admire each other for who they are. And just as importantly, they’re both tenacious enough to stick with the case until it’s solved.

3. Keep things moving. Don’t let the characters get too distracted from the danger—even if the distraction is their feelings for each other. Most romantic suspense readers live for the thrill or the puzzle (or both!), and they want to be kept on their toes. That doesn’t mean there needs to be a car chase every other page, but the no-man’s-land of inaction can drag your reader down fast, so be strategic. Intersperse action with thought. Have a ruminating character get interrupted by a phone call. Or maybe even let the villain take a potshot their direction.

Allye and Eric probably don’t approve of that last solution, but hey—it worked!

4. Give them a chance to breathe. Yes, I know that sounds like a contradiction to point #3, but hear me out. The characters (and readers, even if they won’t admit it) need a break from the action. We don’t want to give anyone a heart attack—that’s a job for the villain. But this isn’t wasted space. It’s a great place for character and relationship development.

One of those moments for Allye and Eric involves sharing dinner, looking over mugshots, and him finally convincing her to share her big secret—that she might be facing a life-changing health diagnosis. While not a particularly thrilling scene, it serves to further several plots/subplots at once—all while giving everyone a moment for their heart rates to drop below tachycardic levels.

Wherever you fall on the romantic suspense spectrum, the ultimate goal is a satisfying story with both elements fully fleshed out and properly wrapped up, and balancing them well throughout is a big part of achieving that goal. So here’s to characters who, against all odds, manage to survive, thrive, and find love—all in the space between “Chapter One” and “The End.”

Angela Carlisle resides in the hills of northern Kentucky and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and The Christian PEN. Angela’s debut novel, Secondary Target, was a Parable Weekly top seller and was included in the Library Journal Stars So Far listing. Angela is an editor by day and prefers to spend her free time reading, baking, and drinking ridiculous quantities of hot tea.