A little girl has been slain. Is it Special Agent Sam Jameson’s fault? Homeland, Justice, and a powerful US senator think so.

And Sam is afraid they might be right. She’s been suspended, and she even faces an indictment. With her beau stuck on an overseas deployment, she’s left alone with her guilt and heartache - until a cryptic and terrifying message propels her out of her darkness and into a morass of international intrigue. Along the way, the clues start to add up, and Sam begins to wonder: Was the little girl’s tragic death an accident, or something much worse? And what does the CIA have to do with the horrible tragedy?

Halfway across the globe, Sam runs into someone from her past. But something’s different about him, and it quickly becomes clear he’s in a desperate struggle of his own. Three important people in his life have been kidnapped and face a brutal death - that he himself has set in motion.

Are all of their fates intertwined? Are Sam and the man from her past fighting the same battle against the same adversary? Can they unravel a vast and deadly conspiracy in time to save their own lives?

Blowback is a classic spy thriller in the tradition of the best espionage novels from Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Daniel Silva, Mark Greaney, and Frederick Forsyth, told with the entertaining style and flair that have made number-one best-selling author Lars Emmerich one of the thriller genre’s most promising stars.

Interview with Number-One Best-Selling Author Lars Emmerich

Q: Who are your influences?

A: Too many to list! I started out years ago as a Tom Clancy addict, and I thoroughly enjoy many of Nelson DeMille’s novels. I regularly read David Baldacci, Vince Flynn, Barry Eisler, Michael Connelly, and John Grisham. James Patterson has redefined what it means to be a working author, and I read his stuff as well. My top picks are usually espionage and private detective novels, any of the thousands of thrillers and mystery best sellers, and, of course, books featuring classic pulp heroes. And I’m greatly influenced by all sorts of nonfiction, as well. I read all the time, and I’m a bit of a magpie about the topics - science, economics, finance, politics, history, mathematics, engineering, biomechanics, medicine…it’s a big world out there, and I love learning more about it. Many of those topics find their way into my fiction, so I can justify it all as “research”.

Q: The Sam Jameson series has become quite a phenomenon. What do you think has been the driving force behind the books’ success?

A: I think Sam has something of a unique voice. She says the things we all wish we could say, and she gets away with it about half of the time. The other half of the time, not so much. I think she’s also a very human heroine. She has plenty of flaws and weaknesses, yet she accomplishes some amazing things. She’s like every one of us in that regard, which resonates.

Q: You have developed personal relationships with your readers over the years, which is a little unusual in the publishing business. Was that a conscious choice?

A: Absolutely. Books are intimate things. They occupy a person’s mind and thoughts for hours at a time. Good books leave a lasting impression, and great books might even change the way we think about things, but all books are a relationship. I always wanted a conversation.