Christopher Miller is up against a group of domestic terrorists who are copying Al Qaeda's tactics: operating in cells, following a twisted fundamentalist doctrine, targeting "public amusements." A White Supremacist hate group has smuggled in a stinger missile and recruited an army marksman — a nightmare vision of a new and more talented Timothy McVeigh. Their initial plan is to bring down an airliner as it takes off from JFK airport. When Miller warns authorities about this group and its plans, no one listens because the FBI's focus has shifted to foreign terrorists, and his home, Jersey City, has the second largest population of Arabs/Muslims in America. "Saint Chris" comes up against the same sort of bureaucratic resistance encountered by the FBI agents who, pre-9/11, wrote memos about Arab Terrorists Flying Airplanes that no one paid attention to. The White Wolves have chosen Thanksgiving as the day to strike, since they feel the holiday commemorates God giving of this country to his chosen people: the white man. Meanwhile, on the home front, Miller has to cope with his daughter's post traumatic stress as the anniversary of her Christmas nightmare draws near and he will be torn between taking care of her and saving thousands of innocent lives!
Chris Grabenstein did improvisational comedy in New York City with Bruce Willis before James Patterson hired him to write advertising copy.
His first John Ceepak/Jersey Shore mystery TILT A WHIRL won the Anthony Award for Best First Mystery in 2006 and was followed by the critically acclaimed MAD MOUSE, WHACK-A-MOLE, HELL HOLE, MIND SCRAMBLER, ROLLING THUNDER (nominated for The Best Sidekick award) and, coming in 2012, FUN HOUSE. A Ceepak short story RING TOSS appeared in the June 2010 issue of Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine.
Chris has also published two holiday thrillers: SLAY RIDE and HELL FOR THE HOLIDAYS and became a New York Times Best Selling author thanks to his short story "The Demon In The Dunes," which appeared in the anthology DEATH'S EXCELLENT VACATION, edited by Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner (thanks Charlaine and Toni!)
FOR YOUNGER READERS....
His fist book for middle grades readers, THE CROSSROADS, won both the 2008 Agatha and Anthony Awards as Best Children's/YA novel, appeared on several "Best" lists, and has been optioned to become a movie. The second book in the series, THE HANGING HILL, also won the Agatha Award. The third Haunted Mystery, THE SMOKY CORRIDOR, all about a zombie who lives in the basement of a middle school, was published by Random House in August. The fourth book in the series, THE BLACK HEART CRYPT, will be published in 2011.
Chris wrote CURIOSITY CAT, the play within the book from THE HANGING HILL, for friends at the Children's Theater of Knoxville. The script is now available for production everywhere through world renowned play publisher Samuel French.
Chris's new middle grades caper series, RILEY MACK AND THE OTHER KNOWN TROUBLEMAKERS (an Ocean's Eleven starring eleven-year-olds) will be published by HarperCollins in January 2012 with the sequel slated for 2013.
Chris has also written for Jim Henson's Muppets and co-wrote THE CHRISTMAS GIFT, starring John Denver, a made-for-TV movie that first aired on CBS in 1986 and still shows up somewhere on cable very early in the morning every holiday season.
Chris's dog Fred, however, has the best credits in the family: Fred starred on Broadway in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG.
