About the Author...
James A. Ross has at various times been a Peace Corps volunteer in the Congo, a Congressional staffer, and a Wall Street lawyer. His debut novel, Hunting Teddy Roosevelt, won the Independent Press Distinguished Favorite Award for historical fiction and the American Fiction Award in the Adventure/Historical category. It was also a finalist for the National Indie Excellence Award and the American Book Festival Award for historical fiction. Ross’s debut mystery novel, Coldwater Revenge won the Firebird Book Award for legal thrillers, the Maincrest Media Award for Mystery/Suspense, the American Fiction Award for Hard-boiled Crime, and the Pencraft Award in the Thriller-Terrorist category. His short fiction has appeared in numerous literary journals and his short story, Aux Secours, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Ross is a frequent contributor to, and several times winner of, the live storytelling competition Cabin Fever Story Slam, and he has appeared as a guest storyteller on the Moth Main Stage. His live performances, online stories, newsletter sign-up, and more can be found on his website. |
About the Books...
The Coldwater Mystery Series Coldwater Revenge (2021) Coldwater Confession (2022) Coldwater Endgame (2023) News and Reviews... "From the first page, I was drawn into Jim Ross' captivating novel, Coldwater Revenge. More than a crime novel over the death of a local boy who ran with the wrong crowd, this story has layers in the depths of its characters. The warmth between Tom Morgan and his brother as they work to investigate the murder adds a touching humanity to the story, and the care with which Tom nurtures his neurodiverse nephew brings the dynamics of this family alive on the page. It doesn't stop there. Ross imbues the many characters in his setting with rich backstory that comes out in the present. In the hands of a lesser writer, the intensity of the different sub-plots might overwhelm the main story, but Ross deftly brings all the story threads together in a gripping read. This is a book not to miss!" - Vanitha Sankaran, author of Watermark: A Novel of the Middle Ages "Author James A. Ross grabs you and keeps you spellbound as this fast-paced thriller plunges into the icy depths of a dangerous lake on the Canadian border, and two brothers reconnect to solve a crisis which grows from a murder investigation into potential international terrorism." - Lenore Mitchel, author of DYING TO RIDE "Coldwater Revenge by Jim Ross is a testament to how great mystery stories should be written; with grit and style, and with unnerving characters that blossom into palpable genre-representations that foil each other marvelously with each new page. Detailed and vividly conceived, there's little doubt the story takes its readers to a place of intrigue where it's near impossible to gage an outcome, and instead we must let it come, sometimes suddenly, while praying that there will continue to be more left to read. To call it a page-turner would be an understatement." - Josh Michael, Associate Fiction Editor, Mud Season Review “Like the lake from which it takes its title, Coldwater Confession will settle into your bones and hold there. Long after finishing the novel, you’ll find yourself thinking about its setting and its characters, imagining the places that are critical to its plot: the high rocks of Pocket Island, a partially destroyed Frank Lloyd Wright house, underwater caverns, a boggy marsh that harbors secrets in its muck. James Ross has created a splendidly suspenseful story where the relationships among characters are as mysterious and intriguing as its thrilling plot. The novel’s protagonists, the Morgan brothers, are extraordinarily well-written, well-conceived characters, both brilliant in differing ways, both unsettled, often contentious, yet ultimately dedicated to discovering the truth underneath what has swept into their lives. As the lives and deaths of near strangers require the brothers to put aside their differences in order to bring answers to their small lakeside community, they must also face the intersection of current events with their own family’s mysterious history. As much as readers will enjoy the novel, they will exit eagerly wanting a third installment in Ross’s Coldwater series.” — Mark Leichliter, author of The Other Side “With an explosive cast of often tragic, dysfunctional characters in this small upstate New York town, James Ross masterfully weaves a tale fueled by decades of deceit, delusions and missed chances in this action-packed thriller.” — Mim Eichmann, author of A Sparrow Alone and Muskrat Ramble “Need compelling characters and atmospheric setting? Look no further than the latest of James Ross’s Coldwater mystery series, Coldwater Confession. I envy Ross’s ability to create people and places that really stick!” — Robert Juckett, author of Alfajiri, a novel of the Congo |
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