Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Wednesday Women: Jess Harris by Debra Webb

This week, Debra Webb brings the main character of her Faces of Evil series, Jess Harris, to the Wednesday Women table. "Vile" is the latest installment. Meet Jess below...and thanks Debra for visiting!

(Graphic provided by author)


My name is Jessie Lee Harris and I spent seventeen years working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation as a field agent and then a profiler. My parents passed away when I was ten years old and my older sister and I spent our formative years in foster homes. Life cheats you that way sometimes.

In high school I met and fell head over heels in love with Dan Burnett. He was a rich guy from the other side of the tracks, but that didn’t matter to us back then. We were in love and nothing was going to stop us. After graduation, I couldn’t wait to put my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, in my rearview mirror. Other than my sister, there was nothing left in the so-called Magic City for me. So Dan and I left for college full of passion and with big dreams. But sometimes passion fizzles and dreams don’t always come true. Four years later Dan returned to Birmingham without me. I focused on work, became one of the best damned profilers the Bureau has ever seen.

Fast-forward about twenty years and things have changed again. My personal and
professional life crashed down around me. I was put on administrative leave after a
bumbled investigation that resulted in a suspected serial killer going free. I welcomed an unexpected invitation to escape from my current reality. My expertise was needed on a case involving four missing young women. The problem was, the case was in Birmingham and the top cop was Chief of Police Dan Burnett.

I never was one to look back, but I was a little desperate and Dan needed help. Next thing I knew, I found myself spiraling into the past I thought I’d left behind. And if having sparks fly between us wasn’t frustrating and distracting enough, the serial killer who got away followed me to Birmingham! Before my head stopped spinning, I had resigned from the Bureau, accepted a deputy chief position with the Birmingham PD and was back in Dan’s bed. Who knows, maybe we’ll have better luck at love as forty-somethings.

Since the serial killer intent on having me just won’t let go, we’ve had some pretty bizarre cases to solve. Other than that one bumbled investigation, I’ve never failed to solve a case assigned to me. I learned something very important a long time ago: The motive will reveal the identity of the one committing the crime. It’s simple really. Any act of evil committed by one or more persons against another is driven by motive. Every motive tells a unique personal story, painting a vivid picture that reveals the dark inner nature hidden beneath the image presented for the world to see. All of us possess a basic goodness, but we each also harbor the potential for evil. The choice not to cross that moral line ultimately separates the good from the bad.

Come with me as Birmingham’s Major Crimes team and I climb to a higher level of evil with each case. You might discover that to find the face of evil you only need look in the mirror and, just maybe, when I catch that sick SOB obsessed with me, I can finally have a real life with Dan.

The Faces of Evil starts with Obsession, then Impulse, Power, Rage, Revenge, Ruthless, Vicious, Vile, Heinous, and Depraved. All are available now or for preorder exclusively at Amazon. The series finale, Most Evil, is coming this December!

Deb’s Bio:

DEBRA WEBB, born in Alabama, wrote her first story at age nine and her first romance at thirteen. It wasn’t until she spent three years working for the military behind the Iron Curtain and a five-year stint with NASA that she realized her true calling. A collision course between suspense and romance was set. Since then she has penned more than 100 novels including her internationally bestselling Colby Agency series. Don’t miss a single installment of her debut romantic thriller series, the Faces of Evil! Visit Debra at www.thefacesofevil.com or at www.debrawebb.com. You can write to Debra at PO Box 12485, Huntsville, AL, 35815.

10 comments:

  1. Great having this hx of Jess and Dan!

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  2. Good morning Deb! I always enjoy reading the histories of the characters leading up to the books I read. It can tell you alot about how the characters ended up where they are! I love the series and can't wait for the next book Heinous, the 9th book in the Faces of Evil series to be released! I'm looking forward to reading about Jess' next case and how the Player will affect it.

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  3. Good morning and welcome Deb!

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  4. Jess Harris is an amazing character. Her growth throughout the series is amazing. She has friends, most of whom come from Dan's wealthy side of the tracks, she has learned to trust people, she is beginning to believe that she will be a good mother, she and Dan's mother are making peace, and she knows Dan is the only one for her. Most importantly, she has realized that things don't diminish her or her ability to do her job, but rather enhance it.

    You must read this series!!!

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    1. I love how we've watch Jess grow and start trusting/befriending some of those around her.

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  5. Replies
    1. I posted the comment below with some minor corrections. I hit publish before proofing. Sorry Debra and Barbara

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  6. Through 8 books we have seen Jess risk her life for those she loves. For the first time in two decades of law enforcement work Jess is enjoying developing her team to investigate crimes her way. She has shown her team and her boss, lover, fiance, and father of the baby she is carrying that there is always a reason why a crime, murder, or kidnapping happens. If they find out who has a motive you will find the guilty person..

    Jess is finding that Birmingham, Alabama is a good place to live. She is looking forward to starting a family and living close to her sister. She hopes she can continue winning over Dan's mother. It seems the baby has created a bridge where she and Dan's mother can meet.

    Jess and Dan have several challenges ahead before they will be able to focus on the future. This is where we see the skills of Debra as she makes each character in her book come alive and even sets up a desk for her fans so they can be in the middle of her investigation. Jess is pursuing her investigation seeking the person who has a motive to ruin Dan and harm those close to Dan. There has to be something she has missed. With each page Debra captivates her readers with new directions and even dropping clues for us. Debra is building the resolve to the mystery and it might the reason why Jess is not seeing what she has missed is because it is to close to her.

    Jess is trusting and will do anything for a friend or family and she considers her team family. In the next book HEINOUS, (launching in 57 days) I am willing to bet every page will be unpredictable and Jess will need Dan, her family and team, to get through all the obstacles she will encounter. Debra has Jess thinking three things need to be resolved before she can stop looking over her shoulder, Finding who is framing Dan, Catching Eric Spears. Resolving issues with her parents death and the family mysteries she has uncovered. Then she can look forward to her life with Dan. There are times that I don't think Debra knows how things will be resolved. We all will have to get to the end together.


    Those of us who have walked the path Jess and Dan are following know Debra will keep us on pins and needles, until we get to the last page of #12

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  7. Debra has creating a series that you really get to know the character. But the main character is Jess and Dan. You get a chance to see their up and their down, on the job and off the job.it has a lot of suspense, and romance with a lot of twist and turn. Than this is the series for you, for me I can’t wait until the next book to come out!!!

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