Katrina Chopin woke up one Saturday morning and decided to do something she’d never done before: she would visit a psychic she’d come across in Chula Vista and ask what her future held. Ten years ahead seemed like a good measuring stick. With her parents being murdered and her brother dying in a suicide that she suspected was a murder, she wanted to know if she should still pursue such a high-profile journalism job, where her name was frequently on the front page, or whether writing books might be better. Safer.

When Katrina told the psychic, Madam Bouffant, the answers she was looking for, Madam said she used tea leaves to do her readings. After boiling up a cup of hot water and pouring it over a short pile of black leaves, Madam poured off the water, stirred the leaves around with a chopstick, then stared into the cup.

“In ten years, most of the newspapers that exist today will be merged or shut down, and the survivors will have far fewer readers,” Madam said.

“Oh,” Katrina said, disconcerted. “What about the rest of the news business?”

“TV doesn’t look much better. The reins at CBS News will be turned over to a woman who fires all the management staff at ’60 Minutes,’ then fires longtime correspondent Scott Pelley as well,” Madam said.

“That’s impossible,” Katrina said. “’60 Minutes’ is a sacred cow, the best and most respected news show on TV. Are you sure?”

“Look, it says so right here,” Madam said, showing Katrina the leaves in the bottom of the cup.

“I don’t see anything except a bunch of wet leaves,” Katrina said. “Okay, then, what if I write books instead?”

“You can write books, but they better be good, or they will get lost in a sea of 4 million self-published books. It looks like the Wild West to me, sweetheart, but there you have it.”

Katrina didn’t really know what to say. “So what should I do?”

“If I were you, I’d become a chef or a therapist. People will always need to eat, and things look like they’ll be so messed up that everyone will be in therapy,” Madam said.

STAGED
Series: A Katrina & Goode Thriller, Book 2
Genre: Police Procedural
Release: June 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org

In this thrilling sequel to Hooked, the secret leaders of a deadly cabal prove to be a veritable match for the determined reporter and the insightful surfing detective who double down to expose them.

Investigative reporter Katrina Chopin is back home in San Diego on a mission (or two). The first is personal: reheating the cold case of her parents’ murder and investigating her brother’s reported suicide. The second involves a new spate of deaths with alleged causes that just don’t smell right. She and Detective Ken Goode need each other’s help for both. But she has to keep the sexy surfer at arm’s length, because dating him is off limits. For now.

Teaming up, they make coordinated progress down each path. Digging deeper into La Jolla’s corrupt network of elites, they uncover a pattern of lies, depravity, and greed. And with every new discovery, Katrina is pulled closer to danger…and to Goode.

Sharing sexy phone calls and sunset drinks isn’t exactly following the rules, but fully crossing that line could jeopardize the case. As they start to connect the dots, they realize they must risk everything to bring down the shadowy cabal that kills to keep its secrets.

About the author
New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother has written or co-authored 17 books, the latest of which are STAGED and HOOKED from Rother’s new “Katrina & Goode” thriller series. Her other recent titles are DOWN TO THE BONE, about the McStay family murders, BODY PARTS, about serial killer Wayne Adam Ford, and DEATH ON OCEAN BOULEVARD, about the mysterious death of Rebecca Zahau. Rother, who worked as an investigative newspaper reporter for 19 years before becoming a full-time author, has appeared more than 250 times on TV/radio shows and podcasts. She also works as a book coach, enjoys ocean swimming, and plays keyboards and sings in a jazzy bluesy trio.