Kevin O’Brien

QUESTIONS FROM READERS

Kevin O'Brien answers readers' questions about the outcome of FINAL BREATH, real-life experiences with ghosts and the release of his next book.

SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't read FINAL BREATH yet, you may want to proceed with caution as some plot details are revealed in this Q&A.

Tia from Collinsville, AL: Have you thought about writing a sequel to FINAL BREATH?

Kevin O’Brien: None of my thrillers have had sequels or become part of a series --- at least, not yet! If Sydney were a different kind of reporter, perhaps working on criminal investigations, I might consider bringing her character back for another thriller. Then there would be a reason for her to become involved in a dangerous, scary situation again. But she loved doing human interest stories, not crime reporting. Plus I’d need to invent some reason for her son, Eli, to get into trouble, again --- in order to keep things lively with his end of the story --- and that might be kind of hokey. So a FINAL BREATH sequel isn’t very likely. Besides, I like the way that book wrapped up --- with just a trace of ambivalence and a lot of hope. Thanks for your question, Tia.

Bob from Attleboro, MA: When is your next book coming out?

Kevin O’Brien: My next thriller, tentatively titled VICIOUS, is about a serial killer known as Mama’s Boy. For two years, he held the Seattle area in the grip of fear. But then the murders suddenly stopped in 2005. However, similar, isolated cases were reported after that --- in Portland, Oakland, and Washington, DC’s Beltway area. Cut to four years later, and a young widow and her toddler son are visiting a rustic resort in the San Juan Islands. They’re staying in an isolated lake house with her fiancé, who suddenly vanishes. Three college students in a cabin a mile down the road may be responsible for his disappearance. Or maybe Mama’s Boy is back in the Pacific Northwest, and he has something to do with this mystery. I’m not saying any more, but I’m very excited about this story. It should be hitting bookstores in mid-December. Also in December, they’re re-releasing my 2002 thriller, MAKE THEM CRY, and slashing the price. Thanks, Bob, for allowing me to plug my next two book releases!

Mo from Charlotte, NC: I was interested in the happenings in the house with the ghosts that communicated with Sydney and Eli. Have you had experiences with ghosts?

Also, do you consider Aidan a serial killer? Would he have stopped killing when he killed all of Sydney’s “heroes,” or would he continue to kill for the pleasure he received from killing?

Kevin O’Brien: I haven’t had any experiences with ghosts --- yet. But when I was writing FINAL BREATH, I started asking friends about their own otherworldly encounters. Whew, you wouldn’t believe some of the stories! This friend of mine, Zack Ross, a very cool guy, spent a few years growing up in a house that was haunted. In FINAL BREATH, when Eli feels someone sit on the edge of his bed while he is trying to fall asleep, that’s exactly what happened to Zack growing up in this house. They had a “friendly ghost.” The mysterious “kiss goodnight” that Sydney experiences happened to my brother-in-law, Tom O’Brien, during a group overnight at a buddy’s house. Again, this is another case of a “friendly ghost,” and the people who lived in the house were used to it. But Tom wasn’t. Everyone turned in for the night, and Tom got the sofa in the basement recreation room. He was alone, lying there when he felt something brush against his cheek and ear. He claims it was a kiss --- and he distinctly felt someone breathe in his ear. He said it was like someone was tucking him in. When I hear subtle, creepy stories like that, it makes the hair stand up on the back of my head. That’s just the kind of sensation I want my reader to experience when they read my thrillers.

As for the second part of your question, Mo, I think Aidan was a true serial killer, and would have continued to kill if he hadn’t been stopped. The first murders in FINAL BREATH (the two teenagers whose throats were slashed) prove that he had a deadly rage within him. You might have noticed that he didn’t make a game of killing them --- as he later did with the subjects of Sydney’s "Movers & Shakers" stories. With Sydney, he found a target for his rage, someone he could torture and tantalize with every kill. If he had murdered Sydney, he might have been satiated for a while, but I think he would have gone on killing. He had so much anger and sadness and frustration in him. He’s definitely one of my most tragic, complex villains. That was a great question, Mo!

Janet from Buffalo, NY: Why did you decide to kill Joe at the end of the book?

Kevin O’Brien: I was in my old hometown near Chicago last week, signing books at The Book Stall in Winnetka. My sister, Mary Lou, was reading FINAL BREATH while I stayed at her and my brother-in-law’s house in Glenview. She was on the last chapter when she dropped me off at the airport. When I got back to Seattle that afternoon, there was a message from her on my answering machine: “You had to go and kill Joe, didn’t you?” It reminds me of Kathy Bates getting so furious at James Caan for killing off Misery in Misery. One of the great things about writing --- and reading --- a stand-alone thriller is that you never know for sure who will survive. I’d decided early on that Joe would have to die, because of his involvement with those crooked cops. If Joe had lived, I don’t think his or Sydney’s careers would have survived the scandal. Moreover, if he’d lived, the book would have had to drag on for another chapter or two in order to tie up the loose ends of that drug bust story. That’s one practical reason for killing off Joe. But ultimately, I thought his death brought a bittersweet poignancy to the ending. Thanks, Janet, for that thoughtful question.

I really appreciate all the reader feedback about FINAL BREATH. Many thanks!