The Serena Wilcox Mysteries a series of thrillers by Natalie Buske Thomas

 

BLUEBIRD FLOWN LAUNCH WEEK MAY 7-MAY 14!

Entire trilogy on SALE for 99 cents! (Kindle links below or click here for Kobo, Apple, Nook, Paperback, etc.)

Amazon US: Angels Mark, Covert Coffee, Bluebird Flown Amazon UK: Angels Mark, Covert Coffee, Bluebird Flown

 

The Serena Wilcox Mysteries by Natalie Buske Thomas are published as separate trilogies with different themes: Books 1-3 prequels (Gene Play 1998, Virtual Memories 1999, Camp Conviction 2000) are light page-turners now published as a collection of short stories, Books 4-6 Dystopian Thriller Trilogy (Angels Mark 2011, Covert Coffee 2012, Bluebird Flown 2013) are hard-hitting full-length novels, and Books 7-9 (2014-2016, trilogy theme is a closely guarded secret for now) will also be full-length novels. While the themes and writing style are quite different in each set of three books, what remains constant is Natalie's signature style of plot-twists, creative crimes, humor, 3rd person POV and of course the inclusion of female protagonist Serena Wilcox.

Serena was a young single private investigator in the first set of three Serena Wilcox Mysteries that began in 1998 (Gene Play, Virtual Memories, Camp Conviction). By book #4 (2011) the Serena Wilcox character had evolved into a 40-something former private detective and married mother of three, hired by the President of the United States to conduct an independent investigation outside official government circles (Angels Mark, Covert Coffee, Bluebird Flown). The next trilogy (book #7 2014) will bring another change - a surprising new partnership and another new direction for Serena Wilcox.

Besides Serena Wilcox, characters from the Serena Wilcox Mysteries include President Ann Kinji, Agent Estep, The Beav, Lehman, and Nicholas. Settings include: Chicago, rural Indiana, Minneapolis, rural Minnesota and Germany. Plots involve government corruption, science fiction themes, and futuristic speculative fiction elements. The series is hard to classify because it crosses over into multiple genres and involves mysteries without following the standard format for the mystery genre. The Serena Wilcox Mysteries are a unique set of books that are unlike anything else - quirky, bizarre and sometimes controversial, while also relatively clean and even inspirational.

The character of Serena Wilcox was originally created for Natalie's first book 1998 Gene Play as almost an after-thought; Serena Wilcox was a private detective who appeared about midway through the book with the sole purpose of wrapping up the plot. However, readers liked Serena Wilcox and specifically singled her out: the Serena Wilcox mystery series was born! Readers also assumed that Serena Wilcox and her author Natalie Buske Thomas were essentially the same person - not true. However, it was impossible to convince readers otherwise. By Angels Mark (2011), Natalie gave in and changed Serena's character to become more like herself, even to the point of revising references in early works that contradict Serena's current personal history.

While Natalie and Serena are not the same person, Natalie has embraced Serena Wilcox as her alter ego and allows her own thoughts and humor to drive the stories. This merging of real life with fictional life has expanded to include some of Natalie's real life family and friends. Readers may be intrigued to know that The Beav is a real person and a dear friend; Beav's quirkiness is more truth than fiction, much like the Serena Wilcox series as a whole. The Serena Wilcox Mysteries are eccentric, eclectic, and have been the cause of readers becoming zombies after staying up all night binge-reading.

 

The Serena Wilcox Mysteries by Natalie Buske Thomas books 1 2 and 3

Angels Mark book 1 in the Serena Wilcox Mysteries Dystopian Thriller Trilogy by Natalie Buske Thomas

Covert Coffee book 2 in the Serena Wilcox Mysteries Dystopian Thriller Trilogy by Natalie Buske Thomas

Bluebird Flown book 3 in the Serena Wilcox Mysteries Dystopian Thriller Trilogy by Natalie Buske Thomas

 

The Serena Wilcox Mysteries began as mildly suspenseful short page-turners.The first three books (Gene Play, Virtual Memories and Camp Conviction), published in 1998, 1999 and 2000, received kudos for originality, likeability, and humor, but are not yet the polished effort that came over a decade after Gene Play was written. However, "the plots are impossible to guess, with many twists and turns" - the beginning of what would become known as the series' signature style.

The first three books (The Serena Wilcox Mysteries: Books 1, 2 & 3) serve as a prequel to the Serena Wilcox Mysteries Dystopian Thriller Trilogy, beginning with 2011 Angels Mark.

Angels Mark is a fast-paced novel of futuristic political (government corruption, post WWW3) suspense that hit the Bestselling list on Amazon. With Angels Mark the series shifted from "mildly suspenseful, light mysteries" to "hardboiled, intense thrillers". Angels Mark can be classified as dystopian literature, with an inspirational overtone of hope for a troubled nation.

Futuristic and "spellbinding", Angels Mark introduces the character President Ann Kinji and a team of government agents. The political and government backdrop is quite a change from the early Serena Wilcox Mysteries, but, as in the early books; conspiracies, greed and a lust for power are at the root of the multiple plot lines. The cast of characters and the plot foreshadowed in Angels Mark continues with the "eerie and intense" sequel Covert Coffee.

Angels Mark was quickly followed by Covert Coffee 2012, which was selected as an ALLI author pick shortly after its launch.

An asset to President Ann Kinji in the past, Serena is snatched in Germany and brought back to the United States for a covert mission run by former government agents. Realizing that her participation is not entirely voluntary, she is desperate to complete the mission so that she can be reunited with her family. As the case draws her ever closer to the conspiracy to kill the president, she reaches out to the criminally insane for help, sinking deeper and deeper into a rabbit hole where the bodies are piling up and nothing is as it seems.

Bluebird Flown launch week May 7-May 14, 2013. Bluebird Flown includes celebrity guest characters and brings additional new characters to the Serena Wilcox series. Bluebird Flown is the last book of the dystopian thriller trilogy and will bring closure to the storylines left open in Angels Mark and Covet Coffee. Bluebird Flown is book 6 in the overall Serena Wilcox Mysteries.

Book 7 containing the character Serena Wilcox (2014) will depart into a new trilogy, starting over again with Book 1. The new trilogy theme is a well guarded secret for now, revealed at the end of the book.

 

The Serena Wilcox Mysteries suspense thrillers by Natalie Buske Thomas

Series Credentials:

Reviewed favorably by Library Journal. Selected by Oprah's Reading Cafe (early works) and ALLI (Covert Coffee). Received 5/5 grammar category 2012 Writer's Digest awards (Angels Mark). Featured on radio talk shows, blogs, and websites

 

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