Passport to Spy: A Kat Lawson Mystery by Nancy Cole Silverman
About Passport to Spy
After losing her job as an investigative reporter for The Phoenix Gazette, Kat Lawson has a new gig. The FBI has asked her to work undercover as a reporter for Travel International to cover Munich, Germany’s festive holiday scene — an excuse to get close to Hans von Hausmann, a very charismatic and popular museum curator suspected of hiding a cache of stolen masterpieces believed to be part of the World’s Largest Art Heist. The job comes with lots of perks: airfare, travel expenses, the opportunity to see the world... and for a seasoned reporter like Kat, nothing she can’t handle. But, when a trusted source is found dead, Kat realizes the tables have been turned. Armed with evidence that will expose a cache of artwork stolen from museums and the homes of wealthy Jews during the 2nd World War, Kat must find a way to avoid being caught by the German Polizie, who have enough evidence to charge her with murder, and those who want her dead to keep their hidden treasures forever secret. The hunter has become the hunted; now, Kat has a target on her back.
About the Character Guest Post
Meet Kat Lawson
There is no accounting for why one ends up in a specific job. Career paths can be unpredictable. Some people end up in positions they may be qualified for — others, not so much. At least, that's my experience. Allow me to explain. My name is Kat Lawson, and I studied to become a journalist. Growing up, I was a good student, loved to read and write, got good grades, and when I went to college, I graduated top of my class and got a decent job at The Phoenix Gazette. Being a hometown girl, it was all I ever wanted. And at the time, I thought I was set for a bright future. That was until I made the fatal mistake of getting involved with my boss and — to make a long story short — lost my job. Him they kept. Me, they fired. And, with a soiled reputation, there wasn't another paper in the state willing to hire me.
It was my father who convinced me to take some time off. Dad had recently received a letter from a young man in Hungary informing him he had found my father's downed B-24, a plane he had bailed out of toward the end of 2nd World War and wanted to correspond. Dad wanted me to go to Hungary, take pictures of his plane, and flush out those who had rescued him. Unemployed and recently separated from my then-husband, I took my dad up on his offer, and when I returned, the FBI was at my door.
I won't get into my father's story. If you like, you can read THE NAVIGATOR'S DAUGHTER, it's not necessary to understand my current situation, but it might help you know what it was about me that the FBI found so interesting and why they offered me a position with a travel publication. They've given me a PASSPORT TO SPY, a legitimate means to travel through Europe as a travel correspondent. Their instructions were simple. Go. Write. Meet. Meet and observe those we assign you to watch, and report back to us what you see and hear. In short, go undercover and write a travel feature the magazine can use while helping my handlers learn what they couldn't get on their own.
My first assignment sounded pretty easy. I was to go to Germany, cover the Christmas markets and holiday festivities, and make contact with a handsome young museum curator. It all sounded pretty easy, despite the fact I didn't speak the language or know anyone. My handlers assured me everyone I'd make contact with spoke English, and at no point did I get the idea I might be in danger. Or that the hunter might become the hunted. But now that it has, I've had to develop new skills. Things I never thought I might need to do have become a matter of survival. And the thrill I used to experience as a journalist uncovering the truth has become as addictive as the chase itself.
About Nancy Cole Silverman
Nancy Cole Silverman spent nearly twenty-five years in news and talk radio, beginning her career in college on the talent side as one of the first female voices on the air. Later on the business side in Los Angeles, she retired as one of two female general managers in the nation’s second-largest radio market. After a successful career in the radio industry, Silverman retired to write fiction. Her short stories and crime-focused novels — the Carol Childs and Misty Dawn Mysteries, (Henry Press) are both Los Angeles-based. Her newest series THE NAVIGATOR’S DAUGHTER, (Level Best Books) takes a more international approach. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a thoroughly pampered standard poodle.
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