Lynn Hesse photos
The Forty Knots Burn, a suspense novel from Lynn Hesse
Atlanta, Ga. — Award-winning novelist Lynn Hesse is achieving notoriety for her fast-paced stories featuring astute, gutsy women. The multi-genre fiction writer’s work traverses mystery, domestic noir and crime. Her new suspense novel, The Forty Knots Burn, is a page-turner highlighting a feisty principal female character with unconventional skills. The novel, published by Blue Room Books, can be purchased from Amazon or ordered through your local bookseller.
In the novel, a con artist trio are stuck in Atlanta without funds. The oldest member has a heart attack and suddenly dies. Clara Shannesy Blythe and her adopted Uncle Roman are crushed at their mentor’s death. To get the money to move and set up operations in a new town, Clara must take over the reins of a cutthroat crew and pull off the risky art heist of an Edward Hopper painting. She falls in love for the first time at twenty-seven and realizes too late that her boyfriend, Hernando, is the Hopper painting’s forger and his brother is the man trying to kill her.
Lynn Hesse won the 2015 First Place Award, Oak Tree Press, Cop Tales, for her mystery, Well of Rage, a crime novel about a female rookie cop accused of mishandling evidence. Another Kind of Hero was a finalist for the 2018 Silver Falchion Award and won the International Readers’ Chill Award in 2021. The mystery unfolds when a casket full of drugs and money is found, putting two contentious sisters and an undercover DEA agent in jeopardy.
Hesse’s short stories have been widely published and well received. Recently, her short story “Bitter Love,” a humorous view of a bad day involving a murder, appeared in Crimeucopia: The I’s Have It in 2021 by Murderous Ink Press, UK. “Jewel’s Hell,” a story about domestic violence, was published in 2019 in Me Too Short Stories: An Anthology by Level Best Books, edited by Elizabeth Zelvin.
A retired police lieutenant, Hesse draws from her experiences on the force to create gripping plot twists and multi-dimensional characters. She enjoys a daily yoga practice, and as an accomplished dancer she performs with several dance and theatrical troupes in Atlanta.
For more information, contact blueroombooks@outlook.com.
Early Praise for The Forty Knots Burn
“A gripping tale of an anti-hero con artist—Ms. Hesse builds the story around the fascinating Roma culture, weaving courage, grief, and love to deliver a high-octane ride.” Cynthia Tolbert, author of Out Of Silence and The Redemption
“Rich language and a fascinating look at the Roma in America.” Elizabeth Zelvin, author of two series, Bruce Kohler Mysteries and Jewish historical Mendoza Family