Thea Kozak first appeared in Chosen for Death and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Thea.

What is your name?
Thea Kozak.

How old are you?
I’m thirty-four, although sometimes I feel like a hundred.

What is your profession?
I’m a partner in EDGE Consulting, and work as a trouble-shooter for independent schools, helping them with PR and brand protection when there are campus crises.

Do you have a significant other?
Oh, yes. A lovely one.

What is his name and profession?
Detective Andre Lemieux, Maine State Police.

Any children?
Any day now we expect MOC (Mason, Oliver or Claudine) to make an appearance.

Do you have any sibling(s)?
I have a pain in the ass, narcissistic brother named Michael. My sister Carrie was a murder victim.

Does your parents live near you?
No. Which is probably a good thing as my mother and I have a rather fraught relationship.

Who is your best friend?
Andre. Although my partner, Suzanne, and I are very close. Until she got too busy, she used to buy my clothes so I didn’t look like a hobo. My role model is Jonetta Williamson, who runs a school for African-American girls in New York City.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
Not yet, but if Andre has his way, once we move into our new house, we’ll have a chocolate lab. And maybe some chickens.

What town do you live in?
Right now, we’re living in an apartment north of Portland, Maine, but we’re buying a house in a town my author calls Addison, but that name may change.

House or building complex? Own or Rent?
We’re renovating an old farmhouse. Probably foolish, since we’re both too busy, but it does have a lovely kitchen.

What is your favorite spot in your house?
It’s a tossup—the master bedroom is big and bright, but the kitchen is almost perfect, too. (It’s the rest of the house that’s still a mess. I’m hoping the baby’s room is done before the baby is.)

Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
Nothing fancy. Even though we know it’s bad for the environment, Andre and I both love a good steak, and we’re kind of addicted to chocolate cake.

Favorite hobby?
Who has time for a hobby?

Favorite vacation spot?
Who has time for a vacation? Although I’ll admit we did sneak off on a beach vacation recently. Andre in a red Speedo is pure eye candy.

Favorite sports team?
The Red Sox. It’s almost a requirement if you live in New England.

Movies or Broadway?
Movies. At home in the big bed. No horror, though. Our lives have enough of that in the real world.

Are you a morning or a night person?
I’m a work until the problem is solved person, whatever schedule that entails.

Amateur sleuth or professional?
Amateur.

Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
My clients at the schools or my staff at EDGE.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
A typical day, if there is such a thing in my life, begins with a shower and coffee and a short drive to the office, where there will be a stack of phone messages or emails to deal with, and a few clients who believe their issues are always an emergency. Like anyone who runs a business, I have to allocate staff, put out fires, and still produce coherent reports for the clients. The normal day doesn’t involved a campus murder, or a student in trouble, or drugs on campus, but crises come along pretty often, because I’m Jane Wayne, the girl in the white hat, who has to ride in and sort out campus problems. I’m too busy to cook or eat well, but now that I’m pregnant, I’m trying to take good care of this child-to-be.

You can read about Thea in Schooled In Death, the ninth book in the “Thea Kozak” mystery series.

When a Mysterious Birth and Murder Occur at a Posh New England Prep School, Thea Kozak Finds Answers in School In Death by Kate Flora

–Massachusetts, North of Boston, Present Day–

For school campus crisis counselor, Thea Kozak, Mondays are the worst day of the week. So when the phone rings early in the morning, she expects bad news. What she doesn’t expect is the pain laden voice of the headmaster of the highly-respected Simmons School pouring forth his dire situation.

A sophomore student had given birth to a pre-mature infant, then abandoned the child claiming it was not hers because she’d never had sex. With the baby in NICU, the teenaged mother facing criminal charges and parents demanding answers, it’s Thea’s job to restore calm and order while gathering the facts of what actually happened.

Then Heidi, the alleged mother, disappears and the body of a stranger is discovered in the campus woods, murdered.

Pregnant herself, Thea now races the clock fearing the young girl will be the next victim while every discovered clue points to an impossible fact: Heidi’s assertion may actually be true.

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About the author
Kate Flora’s fascination with people’s criminal tendencies began in the Maine attorney general’s office. Deadbeat dads, people who hurt their kids, and employers’ discrimination aroused her curiosity about human behavior. The author of nineteen books and more than twenty short stories, Flora’s been a finalist for the Edgar, Agatha, Anthony, and Derringer awards. She won the Public Safety Writers Association award for nonfiction and twice won the Maine Literary Award for crime fiction. Her latest fiction is Schooled in Death, her 9th Thea Kozak mystery. Her latest nonfiction is Shots Fired: The misconceptions, misunderstandings, and myths about police shootings with retired Portland Assistant Chief Joseph K. Loughlin. Flora divides her time between Massachusetts and Maine, and between cooking and gardening and obsessive writing.

All comments are welcomed.