Research Report – June 2023

Setting is a primary character in Cartel Hunter. The immense forest, destructive monsoon storms, and rugged terrain played vital roles in the story. The same holds true for Book 2 in the Jason Mulder Thriller Series. I’m visiting locations around Arizona to get a feel for how they look, sound, and smell so I can bring you closer to these areas in my books.

If you’ve never been to Arizona, you might think it’s only desert, cactus, and rattlesnakes. Many are surprised to learn that Arizona has the world’s largest contiguous Ponderosa pine forest. The two images below provide a small glimpse into the size and remoteness of the woods in Northern Arizona.

Can you see how a small cartel could avoid capture by hiding in the enormous forest? For more scale, the image below illustrates that the three national forests and Fort Apache Reservation could cover a portion of New England if transported 2,000 miles to the northeast.

This excerpt is from Cartel Hunter:
The sheer enormity of the forest was daunting. The combined Sitegraves National Forest and Apache National Forest covered 5.5 million acres or 8,500 square miles. It ran roughly one-hundred and fifty miles from the northwest corner near the Blue Ridge Reservoir east to the corner of the national forest at the New Mexico border. It was fifty miles from the northern to southern border, creating a national forest nearly large enough to cover the entire state of New Jersey. That didn’t count the adjacent national forests to the west and south. Coconino National Forest on the western border added another 2,800 square miles, Tonto National Forest on the southwestern border 4,500, and the Fort Apache Reservation on the southeastern border added more than 2,600 square miles. Combined, the area of contiguous pine forest in Northern Arizona could cover the entire states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island if it was picked up and moved two-thousand miles northeast. The prime hunting and fishing paradise for anglers and hunters was a nightmare for a search party. Finding anyone, even a large group of men, in such an enormous area would take equal parts skill and luck.

Arizona’s rugged wilderness and national forests will play a big part in book 2 as Jason Mulder fights for his freedom and justice. Stay tuned for more people and places in the Research Report.

Thriller Bestsellers List

Part of my research is to understand what other authors are publishing and what readers are reading, so I track the New York Times bestseller list. Last month, these thriller novels spent at least one week on the New York Times Bestsellers List (Combined Print & E-Book Fiction). Click on the book cover to order or learn more.

The 9 Most Highly Anticipated Thriller New Releases

In addition to bestsellers, I track highly anticipated new thriller releases each month. The title below had fans waiting to jump into the first chapter and start reading as soon as they were available. All are safe best for consideration for your next thriller novel, and some of them have already landed on bestseller lists. Buy now for your beach, pool, forest, mountain retreat, quiet reading nook, or wherever you enjoy your summer reads. The Kindle and physical books (hardcover and/or paperback) are now available. Click on the book cover to order or learn more.

Note: All books covered are M.A.C.E² Thrillers which include Mystery, Military, Action, Assassin, Crime, Conspiracy, Ecoterrorism & Espionage thrillers. I don’t read all of these books in advance, although I wish I had time to read them all in one month, so I choose tiles in the following Kindle subgenres: Assassination Thrillers, Conspiracy Thrillers, Crime Thrillers, Espionage Thrillers, Military Thrillers, and/or Terrorism Thrillers.

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