K.A. BROWNThriller author

Writing · Experience · Inspiration

Behind the Stories

Explore the experiences, ideas, characters, and real-world questions behind the Derrick Driver thriller series.

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Rome, Lisbon, and the Azores with a writer’s notebook

Behind the Stories · Travel and inspiration

· By K.A. Brown

What Travel Brings to the Page

From Rome, Lisbon, and the Azores to Caribbean settings in The Cost of Killing, discover how travel shapes the atmosphere of a thriller.

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K.A. Brown at his writing desk with Nik, Rich, George Avail, and Derrick Driver gathered around him.

Character and craft

· By K.A. Brown

When Characters Stop Following the Script

Characters take unexpected turns, supporting players become family, and the Derrick Driver thrillers find their own direction.

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Derrick and Elsy working together on a case

Meet Derrick’s Team

· By K.A. Brown

Elsy Davenport

What began with a case became family. Meet Elsy Davenport, the cybercrime detective who earned her place beside Derrick Driver.

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K.A. Brown at Engine 6, the actual Programmed to Win and The Cost of Killing book covers, and Brown today wearing his cowboy hat.

Fire service and fiction

· By K.A. Brown

Why Not Just Burn Stuff?

Why a Firefighter Chose to Write Thrillers. A coworker, a bucket list, and one book for the bookshelf—how K.A. Brown finally finished his first novel.

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Derrick Driver standing before the United States Capitol

Character and craft

· By K.A. Brown

Becoming Derrick Driver

I gave him my attitude. The stories gave him a life of his own. K.A. Brown looks at the losses, loyalties, and difficult choices that shaped his reluctant hero.

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K.A. Brown, retired fire lieutenant and thriller author

Fire service and fiction

· By K.A. Brown

From Fire Lieutenant to Thriller Author

Twenty-six years in the fire service taught K.A. Brown how real people respond when ordinary life becomes a crisis—and why courage rarely means being fearless.

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Reader Recommendations

Looking for your next thriller?

Explore the connections between Derrick Driver, James Reece, and Jack Reacher, with suggested books by Jack Carr and Lee Child.

Thrillers for readers of Jack Carr and Lee Child →