Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado are the authors of the new novel The Grave Artist, a followup to their book Fatal Intrusion. Deaver, a former journalist and attorney, is the author of 50 novels. Maldonado, a former police officer, also has written many novels.
Q: This is your second Sanchez & Heron novel—do you think your characters have changed at all since the start of book one?
JD and IM: We are always thinking of ways to please our readers (that’s number one!), and part of that is to—in addition to giving the books roller-coaster plots—create characters that are real and multidimensional.
We both developed an interest in reading when we were quite young and one of the things that attracted us to reading (and later writing) was characters. So we have paid a lot of attention to both maintaining the talents and appealing aspects of Carmen Sanchez and Jake Heron, while having them evolve in ways we think readers will like.
For instance, the relationship between them…Ah, well, better not say too much yet!
Q: What inspired the plot of The Grave Artist?
JD and IM: We’re always looking for stories that fit our template—a fast pace, serial bad guys/gals, and scenarios that hit close to home, to keep readers on the edge of their seats. We thought that someone who targets people on the verge of beginning a life together was particularly troubling—and therefore compelling.
A more direct answer to your question, we suppose, is that our minds work in rather devious ways and are forever pumping out crime plots that we examine and tuck away for potential future projects.
Q: How do your backgrounds in law, journalism, and law enforcement affect the writing of your novels?
JD: Law helped me understand the court system and gave me excellent research skills. We plan the books out ahead of time, just like lawyers do before a trial, or when putting together a business deal. Journalism was vital in that it taught me succinct, no-frills writing, whose goal was clear communication of the ideas we come up with for a book.
IM: Wearing a gun and badge for more than two decades—and working in a variety of positions on a large department—taught me how police go about catching criminals. And how some crimes go unsolved. There are different challenges when investigating a major headline-grabbing case or one where the trail has grown cold over many years.
In all instances, detectives and agents must put themselves in the place of the victim as well as the perpetrator, which exacts a heavy psychological toll. I always try to honor my colleagues by showing that side of the job. It’s part of what makes characters like Agent Sanchez so compelling.
Q: Did your collaborative writing process evolve at all with this second novel?
JD and IM: Not much. We are both long-time professional writers and so we came up with a systematized approach to writing together: We begin by brainstorming over the phone, then use OneDrive to create an outline on a shared Word doc.
When that’s done, we open a new shared document to write the chapters in manuscript form. Jeff wrote more of the Heron chapters, Isabella more of the Sanchez, but that was not a hard and fast rule.
Then, when the book was “completed” we both ruthlessly edited our own and each other’s words. It’s a no-ego zone. Creating the best book for the readers is our sole goal. We still do much the same.
Q: What are you working on now?
JD and IM: We’re working on our third book featuring Sanchez and Heron, for 2026 publication. Since we’re suspense writers, we have to leave you in suspense about what happens, but we can say that there are some terrifying real-life technologies we explore, and some palm-sweating subplots about family relationships.
Q: Anything else we should know?
JD and IM: The first book in our series, Fatal Intrusion, has been optioned by a major studio (we can’t say more yet) and we’re very excited.
In addition to the Thomas & Mercer series featuring Sanchez and Heron, we both have other projects too. Jeff is working on his new Lincoln Rhyme novel and one featuring Colter Shaw (the character in the hit CBS TV show Tracker), and Isabella just signed a multiple-book deal and is hard at work on a new novel for publication next year.
--Interview with Deborah Kalb. Here's a previous Q&A with Jeffery Deaver and Isabella Maldonado.
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