Layover
David Bell
Berkley Pub
July 2nd, 2019
Layover by David Bell has an intriguing concept that plays off rescuing the damsel in distress. Readers will see how the main character Joshua Fields fate is sealed with a kiss.
The book begins with a chance meeting during an airport layover, while waiting for the next flight. It is here that Joshua meets Morgan, a beautiful stranger and buys her a drink. After a bit of conversation as she leaves to catch her flight, Morgan passionately kisses him. Seeing on TV that Morgan is considered a missing person he throws caution to the wind and buys a ticket for her flight. This is where the adventure begins as he and Morgan play a cat and mouse game with each other, the police, and someone after some stolen valuables.
Some readers might have a hard time believing the lengths Joshua goes to in helping this stranger he just met. Yet, readers can believe that Joshua’s life is one continuing loop. He feels like a fly caught in a spider’s web where he cannot escape his dull routine. Raised by a single doting dad he is now part of the family business. He keeps going because he doesn’t want to disappoint his father. So when an attractive woman who needs his help shows up Joshua jumps at the opportunity. The problem is the journey is dangerous and he ignores the advice given to him by Laurel Falls Kentucky Detective Kimberly Givens that Morgan could be involved in the murder of her boss.
The story takes the reader on a journey as they try to discover what is true and what is false along with Joshua. There is plenty of lies, deceits, and secrets that fill the pages.
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
David Bell: I was inspired by something I really observed at an airport. I was at a bar waiting for a flight where I observed this couple across from me having an intense conversation. They seemed so familiar and intimate with each other. The woman got up and kissed him passionately as she left. I heard the man say to the bartender ‘that is the strangest thing that ever happened to me in my life. I just met that person. Now she is going off to her flight and I will never see her again.’
EC: It is a story where fate plays a role?
DB: Our lives can turn very quickly based on some event. It can change for the better or worse. We go through our lives thinking things are under control with some order to it. Yet, something unexpected can come up. The main character is in a routine and then this encounter happens that turns it on its head.
EC: How would you describe this story?
DB: Something a person does in the past rears its head in the present. They can never seem to escape from the past. Is the past ever really dead? Are relationships ever dead or does some connection with the past pop up? Are people ever free by an entanglement with another person?
EC: Why do airports play such an important role?
DB: They are strange places. Sometimes they are all you see of a city. But they are artificial. I wonder can anything happen here and can secrets be shared? You can eat, drink, shop, and talk to strangers but it feels strangely disconnected from the rest of your life.
EC: How would you describe Joshua?
DB: He’s considerate, altruistic, clean-cut, attractive, smart, successful, and definitely impulsive. Right now he is in a rut because his job is not fulfilling and he is looking for a change. Along with the main female lead, Morgan, it is a coming of age story for both characters.
EC: How would you describe Detective Kimberly Givens?
DB: Objective and rational. Unlike Joshua and Morgan she is not impulsive nor reckless. She is raising a twelve year old daughter, which makes her also responsible.
EC: It is also a story that shows the love between a parent and a child?
DB: Each of the three main characters are all in a parent/child relationship. Joshua and Morgan are deeply affected by the way they were raised. They want to help and protect their parents because they feel a sense of debt. With Kimberly readers see the relationship from a parent’s point of view.
EC: Can you give a heads up about your next book?
DB: Two guys who were good friends in college meet for coffee after several years apart. One asks the other to help retrieve evidence that is incriminating. After entering the house the evidence is gone, but there is a dead woman. This is where the adventure begins.
THANK YOU!!
