Thriller author John Lansing is back with his latest installment of the acclaimed “Jack Bertolino” series.
Now available for pre-order, “Mia” expands on the story of the woman who helped start the series, exploring the titular character’s past and her time as an informant alongside heroine Lieutenant Jack Bertolino.
The prequel also builds on the electrifying chemistry between the two, which readers first glimpse in the series’ first installment, “The Devil’s Necktie.”
“Mia is the reason I decided to write the prequel,” said author John Lansing in conversation with The Hub News. “I wanted to explore her character, her background and her reasons for gambling her life in such a dangerous game.”
The latest novel is the sixth in the “Jack Bertolino” series and the seventh of Lansing’s career.
Initially an actor on Broadway and in Hollywood, writing developed as a “natural progression” for Lansing who, after a long career in front of the camera, decided to move behind the scenes writing as a screenwriter. According to the author, however, his first foray into writing for entertainment was a “fluke.” The then-director of a short film was forced to write the script after an illness caused the original screenwriter to drop out of the project altogether.
It was then that Lansing realized he had a talent for it, expanding his role from actor and director to screenwriter as well.
After five years working as a producer and writer on the hit show “Walker Texas Ranger,” he found himself moving into the literary world when he was asked to help write a memoir by a retired NYPD inspector.
Titled “Good Cop, Bad Cop,” the work marked the first collaboration between him and writer, host and publisher Karen Hunter; once Hunter received a deal alongside Simon & Schuster, she approached him and asked if he could come along to join the team as an author.
“Jack Bertolino was born and ‘The Devil’s Necktie’ was my first novel written under her banner,” said John Lansing. “Her unwavering support changed the trajectory of my career.”
Now, with “Mia,” the pair is on their way to releasing their fifth collaboration. Officially available on June 4, the latest novel is bound to bring readers closer to the character who first made her appearance in the novel that began it all. By exploring her work with the DEA and the NYPD, the book intricately focuses on the personal pain Mia has felt, stemming from her past to her current line of work.
“Mia is a complex character with a harsh backstory who rises to the deadly occasion,” said Lansing. “Jack [Bertolino] is the only character who sees through her facade. He becomes a true believer.”
