Trafford Publishing: Divine Intervention

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Divine Intervention

by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

258 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-1419; ISBN 1-4120-3591-0; US$19.12, C$21.99, EUR14.91, £9.88

CFBI agent Jasmine McLellan is assigned a hot case-one that requires the psychic abilities of the PSI Division, a secret government agency located in the secluded town of Divine, BC.

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About the Book About the Author Author Events Reviews Sample Excerpts Catalogue Info

About the Book

CFBI Agent Jasi McLellan leads a psychically gifted team in the hunt for a serial arsonist- a murderer who has already taken the lives of three innocent people. Unleashing her gift as a Pyro-Psychic, Jasi is compelled toward smoldering ashes and enters the killer's mind. A mind bent on destruction and revenge.
Jasi's team consists of Psychometric Empath and profiler, Ben Roberts, and Victim Empath, Natassia Prushenko, is led down a twisting path of dark, painful secrets. Brandon Walsh, the handsome, smooth-talking Chief of Arson Investigations joins them in a manhunt that takes them across British Columbia- from Vancouver to Kelowna, Penticton and Victoria.
While impatiently sifting through the clues that were left behind, Jasi and her team realize that there is more to the third victim than meets the eye. Perhaps not all of the victims were that innocent. The hunt intensifies when they learn that someone they know is next on the arsonist's list.
The case heats to the boiling point as Jasi steps out of the flames... and into the fire. And in the heat of early summer, Agent Jasi McLellan discovers that a murderer lies in wait...much closer than she imagined.
Step into the fire with Jasi McLellan, in the first of the Divine series- a suspense thriller that will keep you turning the pages. If you enjoy reading Nora Roberts/ J.D. Robb, Patricia Cornwell or Lisa Jackson, you'll Love Cheryl Kaye Tardif!

About the Author

Cheryl Kaye was born in Vancouver, BC on August 12, 1963 to parents, Larry and Mary Kaye. As a teenager, her favorite author was Stephen King, and to this day, she still reads everything he writes. At 14, Cheryl moved to Bermuda with her family. Her writing took off and her English Composition teacher, Mrs. Mary Higginson was especially encouraging. Cheryl entered a variety of writing contests and received recognition for her work. She achieved O'Levels in English Language, Literature and Composition, and she was given a prestigious award in English. As a teenager, Cheryl took over writing a weekly column, Masset Meanderings, in the local newspaper. Years later, she wrote a monthly health & beauty column.
Cheryl Kaye Tardif completed a correspondence course, Journalism and Short Story Writing, and graduated with Highest Honors. She has published numerous works of poetry in Canadian newspapers. One project was a poem/song she wrote for the soldiers at the end of the Gulf War. God Bless the Soldiers was published in a NB newspaper. A few years ago she wrote, directed and starred in Face to Faith, a contemporary musical play performed in Millwood's Presbyterian Church in Edmonton. It was so successful that they had to open for a second evening. Cheryl has also written two unpublished children's books: The Elfling Princess (first in a potential series of Elfling Kingdom books) and My Imaginary Friend. She has participated in numerous readings of both books, in schools, at book fairs, in libraries and in daycares. She is anticipating that her current publisher will publish these within the next 5 years. (She is currently busy with other writing projects).
In early 2003, Cheryl's PSA (public service announcement) script, One Voice-One World placed third in a local contest. Her script was produced and filmed. It has aired on cable channels in Alberta. In September of 2003, Trafford Publishing published her first novel, Whale Song. It is currently available on the Internet, including Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, WalMart.com, and Indigo.ca. Many Edmonton Coles, Smithbooks, Chapters and Indigo stores have Whale Song on their shelves. Greenwoods in Edmonton also carries Cheryl's novel. It has been converted to an E-Book at Powells.com Cheryl Kaye Tardif and Whale Song had been featured in The Edmonton Examiner and on Shaw TV. 96X radio station in Edmonton has also promoted Cheryl's events.
Divine Intervention, Cheryl Kaye Tardif's second novel (a suspense thriller) was written in 4 months. Cheryl is currently working on The River, a techno thriller about a mysterious river in the rainforests of BC- a river of many secrets, terror and death. If she is not locked in her office writing, she is with her husband Marc, her daughter, Jessica, and the current Japanese student living with her. Cheryl is planning on teaching summer writing courses in Edmonton this year!
Cheryl Kaye Tardif's Official Site: www.cherylktardif.com
You can email Ms. Tardif at: cherylktardif@shaw.ca
Author photo by Richard J. Milne www.photorj.com
Please read the review of Divine Intervention in Edmonton's Real Estate Weekly at www.rewedmonton.ca

Author Events

http://www.cherylktardif.com/book-signings-other-events/

Reviews

Here's an action-packed book for Summer readers. Set in the year 2012, Divine Intervention tells the story of a secret government- funded crime-fighting organization with one notable difference; Along with high tech devices, they solve cases with their inborn telepathic talents.
Guided by a murdered girl in a reoccurring childhood nightmare, agent Jasmine McLellan is assigned the task of hunting down a psychotic arsonist who has already murdered 3 people in the Kelowna area.
McLellan is partnered with an Empath named Natassia Prushenko, and a mind-reading profiler named Benjamin Roberts who also is a marshall arts expert. With her amazing ability to see through the killer's eyes and relive his murders, Jasi, as her friends call her, is able to glean vital clues about the culprit.
The team's task is complicated by the involvement of the Premiere of British Columbia, a hospital administrator, a reporter who knows too much about the case, and a loner pharmacist. All of them seem to be promising suspects. Certain law enforcement personnel didn't make their job easier either.
As with all well-written mysteries, the perpetrator turns out to be the person who the reader least expects. The many entangled relationships between the characters ensure that the story will keep readers turning pages.
Cheryl Kaye Tardif is an Edmontonian, transplanted from Vancouver, who has had a novel called Whale Song published in September, 2003. Her numerous poems have appeared in small Canadian newspapers and she has authored 2 regular columns in B.C. Whale Song is available in Greenwoods and other Edmonton book stores. It can also be ordered at http://www.amazon.ca. A techno-thriller, called The River, is in the works and should be published next year.
More information about this author can be found on her www.cherylktardif.com web site. You can also read about her motivational speaking career. She can be contacted at her cherylktardif@shaw.ca e-mail address.
Bruce Atchison is a freelance writer and electronic music composer living in Radway. He can be reached at his ve6xtc@telusplanet.net e-mail address
Divine Intervention was a hugely pleasant surprise. Cheryl Kaye Tardif has definitely found her genre with this new crime novel set in the not-so-far future. The story is about Agent Jasmine McLellan, who works for a highly special branch of the Canadian Federal Bureau of Investigations. She is a Pyro-Psychic, one who can read crime scenes involving fires, telling what caused them, and sometimes who and why. The reader begins the novel as Jasi is coming off downtime from a huge case, and is abruptly thrown into a new one. Someone in B.C. has already murdered three people by fire, and the case is given to the PSI unit of the CFBI to find the killer. It is now up to Jasi and her colleagues, with the aid of the insufferably attractive Chief of Arson Investigations Brandon Walsh, to track down the murderer-before it’s too late. I found Divine Intervention to be extremely hard to walk away from. I kept wanting to read just one more chapter. With the believable characters, and scorching plot twists, I was truly sorry to see the book end. Anyone who is a fan of J.D. Robb will thoroughly enjoy this one- especially any who have been waiting for an excellent voice to bring alive a genuinely Canadian crime novel. I, for one, am now itching to read more about Jasi and the rest of the PSI team. Divine Intervention will undeniably leave you smoldering-and dying for more.
Kelly Christian, WGA member and DF (Devout Fan)
"WONDERFUL! Riveting, with imagery almost agonizingly clear. Tardif's characters and story have an integrity that makes it nearly impossible to stop reading!"
Kate Leighton, Canadian editor and writer

"Cheryl Kaye Tardif Writes Scorchingly Good Fiction!"
Divine Intervention by Cheryl Kaye Tardif was recently reviewed by Jimmy Fox, author of the award-winning Nick Herald Genealogical Mysteries.
"Cheryl Kaye Tardif writes scorchingly good fiction!" writes author Jimmy Fox. The Louisiana author of Jackpot Blood gave Tardif's new psi-fi suspense thriller 5 stars on Amazon.com and had this to say:
"Cheryl Kaye Tardif's hot futuristic thriller, Divine Intervention, radiates suspense and mystery. Divine Intervention transports the reader to a tomorrow with comforting echoes of today, but also with strange possibilities that challenge expectations.
Tardif's passionate crime solvers are anything but ordinary, in any time: three high-strung special investigators endowed with psychic powers, which enable them to pierce the veil separating the physical world from a fleeting dimension of shadowy thoughts and events. Their extrasensory vision isn't perfect, though, and Jasi, Natassia, and Ben must always supplement their gifts with old-fashioned detective work and strategic, if sometimes unpleasant, alliances to make up the balance. Paradoxically, their unusual abilities can render them dangerously vulnerable, transforming the hunters into the prey, the magicians of emotion into nearly helpless pawns.
The author skillfully ties and unties knots in a plot line stretching back decades to a source of evil now unleashing fiery destruction and horrible death amid the scenic wonders of British Columbia, Canada. Tardif fuels her story with relentless pacing, marvelously cryptic clues, frequent surprises, and convincing details of criminal investigation and firefighting. The narrative temperature reaches feverish intensity when multiple conflicts threaten to ignite and obsessive attractions cloud rationality with sensual steam.
As a mystery author and lover of a well-told tale, I found much to admire and enjoy in Divine Intervention by Cheryl Kaye Tardif."
Check out Jimmy Fox, author of Deadly Pedigree, Lineages and Lies, and Jackpot Blood, at his website.
You can also visit Canadian author Cheryl Kaye Tardif at her website listed below.
Links related to this article:
www.jimmyfox.com - Jimmy Fox, author of Jackpot Blood.
www.cherylktardif.com - Cheryl Kaye Tardif, author of Divine Intervention.
www.authorsden.com/cheryltardif - Cheryl Kaye Tardif on AuthorsDen
Divine Intervention is a divine treasure!
Finally, a Canadian novel by a Canadian author that captures Canadiana in its finest. Cheryl Kaye Tardif's most recent novel is comparative to Nora Roberts' "In Death" series that is penned under the pseudonym of 'J.D. Robb'.
In the first of Tardif's Divine series, Divine Intervention introduces the reader to an elite group of psychic government agents. The chemistry between Jasmine McLellan, the pyro-psychic who enters a serial killer's mind, and Brandon Walsh, the Chief of Arson Investigations, is hotter than a Florida heat wave.
Cheryl Kaye Tardif successfully manipulates the characters, their emotions and actions, and takes you to a startling climax that will leave you suspended. The shocking twist at Divine Intervention's conclusion will rip your emotions bare as you enter the world of a serial arsonist bent on revenge.
I enjoyed this novel immensely and will be awaiting Tardif's next book with hot, sweaty palms. Cheryl Kaye Tardif is destined to be a great Canadian author-and is the new 'Canadian J.D. Robb'.

- Melissa Teeq, USA

Excerpt

Jasi fumed indignantly while she waited for Natassia.
"I've uploaded all pertinent info from Walsh's laptop," her partner grinned. "And a few extra files to boot."
"I don't want to hear it, Agent Prushenko," Jasi scolded, covering her ears with both hands. "You know better than to illegally hack into another investigator's computer." Even if he is an ass!
"Hacking?" Natassia said with a grin. "Hey! Chief Walsh gave me permission to upload. Not my fault if some extra files found their way onto my data-com. It's not as if he'll know."
Jasi sighed. One day, her friend was going to hack into the wrong person's files. And then there'd be hell to pay. A dark green van rolled up alongside them. Ben sat in the driver's seat.
"The ME's already taken the remains to the coroner's office," he said as they climbed inside. "Natassia will have to get her reading later."
Jasi sat in front and cautiously peeked out the window toward the tent.
Brandon Walsh was insolently leaning against a wooden support post, his legs crossed at the ankles. His candid gaze caught her off guard.
If I'm lucky, the posts will come crashing down and knock him unconscious.
As they neared the crime scene, Jasi readied herself.
The unpaved road was a mess of mud and water. The van lurched forward into potholes, stopping suddenly every once in awhile to navigate carefully over the boggy ground. It ventured down a narrow lane and into the thick brush. Spruce and cedar trees surrounded the vehicle, long branches scraping restlessly against metal.
Ben drove cautiously down the road, cursing loudly when the tires spun rebelliously.
"This is the worst part of it. There's grass up ahead."
Sure enough, the marshy ground opened to a grassy field. The ground hardened and they parked a few yards from what was once a rustic summer cabin.
Stepping out of the van, Jasi surveyed the scene.
The emptiness hit her, assaulting her senses. The area was devoid of life, except for her PSI team.
Off to one side, charred wood and clumps of black mud covered a cement pad. Washburn's cabin. Perimeter beacons were spaced every twenty feet. The beacons emitted a six-foot-high screen of orange light that quarantined the area. Anyone stepping through the beam would automatically trigger an alarm that would then activate a GPS, pinpointing the intruder's location and identity.
Jasi stepped closer to the scene and surveyed the damage.
"Okay, shake 'n bake time."
This was her ritual something she said before entering every crime scene.
"Natassia, you're on data. Remember, don't tell me anything that you've gotten from the X-Disc. The less I know the better."
Jasi turned to Ben. "While we're inside you can send in the X-Disc Pro, maybe we will get lucky, fingerprints, trace fibers. Hell, anything would be good right about now. We need a break, something."
Natassia brought out her data-com and programmed it for automatic voice recording. With a simple voice command, the data-com would pick up every word.
Jasi opened her backpack and pulled out the OxyBlast.
"Give me a sec."
She peeled back her mask and took a few quick puffs of oxygen. Then she grabbed the nosepiece from her pocket and slipped it over her nose. Once the mask was attached to a cord on the side of her jacket, she pocketed the OxyBlast.
Ben tugged on Natassia's arm. "She can't use a mask when she's reading so-
"I know," Natassia said, cutting him off. "Keep an eye on her."
"Stop talking like I'm not here," Jasi groaned. "I'm not deaf, you know. And I don't need babysitters. Come on, Natassia."
When they reached the edge of the crime scene, Jasi entered the code on the main beacon to deactivate the perimeter alarm. The blackened ruin of the cabin beckoned her closer. Ashes fluttered in the breeze and she walked slowly, so as not to disturb them. Smoke from the extinguished fire teased a trail toward her. She could taste its acrid bitterness.
A man died here, she thought. Burned beyond recognition.
"Voice record on!" Natassia ordered.
Jasi closed her eyes, anxious to clear her thoughts. She stood at the edge of the crime scene, her hands stretched above her. Trying to relax, she brought her arms slowly to her sides.
Focus. Deep breaths*in, out.
The wind began to stir. She could hear birds in the distance. Breathe. The smoke clung to her skin and swirled around her body. It entered her mouth, assaulting her senses.
In her mind, she saw Washburn's cabin. She could visualize it as it once was. Smoke rising from a chimney, the curtains ruffling in the breeze.
A body strapped into a recliner, unmoving.
Jasi took a step forward, one step closer.
The darkness sucked her in, deeper*
The man muttered a curse. His fishing rod had disappeared again. Maybe he was just getting too old.
Maybe 'old timer's' had kicked in.
"Son-of-a-bitch! Where did I put it?"
I observed him from the bushes, and laughed scornfully at the old doctor's complete lack of attention. He was easy prey. I wrapped the IV tubing around my hands, testing its strength. I saw the moment the old man noticed the fishing pole I had leaned up against the railing. I crept forward and slipped behind a large screen that separated part of the deck.
Then I held my breath.
Dr. Washburn, with his snow-white hair and paunch belly, teetered through the doorway onto the deck.
Fate had delivered him to me.
I pulled a black ski mask over my face. Then I crept up behind him, reaching above his bent head and brought the tubing around his neck. I could feel him buckling and straining beneath my hands.
"Don't fight it, Doctor," I whispered in the man's ear.
His body slumped forward and I dragged him inside the cabin. Hoisting the unconscious man into an old leather recliner,
I tugged his inert body until his head rested at the top. Leaning over, I gripped the lever and reclined the chair. I quickly wrapped the rope around his body, looping it around his neck.
And then I sat on the threadbare sofa.
And waited.
I heard the doctor groan a few minutes later. I laughed when he cried out in terror at finding himself tightly tied to the chair.
A rope of tubing bound his legs, waist, shoulders and neck.
"I wouldn't try to move your legs too much. The more you move, the tighter the tubing will get around your neck. It's a neat trick I learned."
I reached for the gas can at my feet. The diesel was Super Clean. Only the best for the best. I poured it around the chair, savoring the horrified expression in the doctor's face. The fumes were strong and my eyes teared slightly.
"Why me?" he cried.
I stared at him for a moment, daring him to remember me.
"Because you burned me once."
I reached into the pocket of my jeans, pulled out a Gemini lighter. The gas can leaked diesel behind me as I carried it toward the door.
I peered deeply into the old man's eyes. He sobbed like a child and I watched a tear roll down his wrinkled cheek.
"Who are you?" he croaked, his eyes bulging with terror.
Without answering, I flicked the lighter in my hand. I lit a piece of newspaper, then heard the old doctor scream as I tossed it toward him.
"I don't know who you are!" the old man shrieked. "I don't know you!"
The fire licked the floorboards, searing the old cedar planks. It crawled voraciously up the chair, over his writhing body, and a low keening moan was the last sound Dr. Norman Washburn made.
Satisfied, I glared at the man engulfed in flames.
Strolling outside, I stood a safe distance away. I smiled when the cabin went up in a blazing inferno and a small explosion ripped through the wall. Tossing the lighter on the ground, I glanced back at the wreckage. Thick black puffs of smoke billowed from the roof.
I rolled up the ski mask so I could breathe.
Reaching into my pocket, I brought out my list and meticulously crossed off Dr. Washburn's name.
"You might not remember me, but I sure as hell remember you."
Then I began the long hike past the moonlit beach, listening to the wind and the occasional crackle of fire behind me.
A hollow darkness surrounded Jasi, blinding her.
"Ben! She's barely conscious," a woman's voice said apprehensively.
I sure as hell remember you!
Jasi fought to open her eyes.
"She's coming around," she heard Ben say. "She'll be okay."
"Here. Let me have a look at her." The voice was deep and arrogant.
Jasi opened her eyes slightly, squinting at the sudden sharp pain in her head. She hazily examined her surroundings. She was safe, inside the van.
Then Brandon Walsh leaned over her.
He grinned when he caught her gaze. Turning her head gently, he examined a small scrape on her forehead.
"You fainted," he said scornfully. "And landed on your head."
She knocked his hand away, ticked off by the man's attitude. "It's just a bump."
"Well, Agent McLellan, I guess it didn't knock any manners into you."
Walsh leaned forward, then dabbed the cut with peroxide.
"Ouch! Damn it, Walsh!" she hissed.
His expression was smug, insolent. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to warn you. This might sting a bit."
"Walsh," Ben growled softly. He leaned down and settled the oxy-mask over her face.
When Jasi noticed his bare hands, she said, "Shouldn't you be wearing your gloves?"
Ben threw her a warning look. "I'll put them on when I get out of the van."
Walsh glanced at them- puzzled, suspicious. Then he opened a bandage wrapper and gently covered the wound on her forehead.
Jasi endured Walsh's touch, mostly because of the raging headache that threatened to rip her eyeballs from their sockets. Her head felt like someone was shooting a nail gun into her skull.
She cautiously eased herself into a sitting position, watching the man suspiciously. "What are you doing here?
Thought we left you back at the tent."
"Gee, thanks for the warm welcome," Walsh remarked sarcastically.
"Who said you're welcome?" she snapped.
Natassia grinned widely, her head bouncing back and forth as if watching a tennis match. By the expression on her face, it was a thoroughly enjoyable game.
"Agent Prushenko, haven't you got work to do?" Jasi growled. To Ben she said, "I'll be fine. Just give me a few minutes to recuperate."
Then she glared at Walsh.
"Alone!"

Click here to view another book written by Cheryl Kaye Tardif:

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Upcoming New Release by Cheryl Kaye Tardif: Watch for Whale Song in 2007! A special edition with a stunning cover designed by an award-winning graphic artist from Kunati Inc. Book Publishers under their UNA imprint. ISBN: 978-1-897339-02-2 Price: $14.95 US www.kunati.com/catalog_whale_song.html A screenplay has also been completed and is on its way to a leading producer!

Catalogue Information