Crying Call officially comes out tomorrow! February 3rd, 2026. Last chance to pre-order the book … after today, you’re just regular ordering it. Why on a Tuesday? There’s no rule about releasing new books or albums or other art on Tuesdays — that just seems to be how it’s done. I have no reason to deviate.
I first began outlining and then writing the first draft over three years ago. My Dad, before he passed away in June 2023, got to read the first two-thirds of it, and of course I told him how it would end. I just didn’t write fast enough for him to experience it himself. I can tell you he loved the ending, though he never did read it firsthand.
I sculpted the plot with trepidation, to tell the truth. What I’m about to say isn’t really a spoiler, because you can read the book blurb on Amazon, or Barnes & Noble, or my own website of course, but — the bad guys are a cabal of white supremacist cops. They are led by a mysterious figure whose existence can’t even be verified. Figuring out who he really is and the nature of his ultimate plan is the mystery driving the fast-paced plot.
I was worried that this premise might bother people. After all, I’ve known a lot of cops in my life. Half of my childhood coaches and sports officials. Members of my family. Friends of the family. A couple of guys I went to high school with. And all of them, without exception, are terrific men. Of course, we all know there are plenty of bad cops out there too, and the bigger the city, the more likely it seems you’ll find them. But I still worry that some people will interpret my book as me having a low opinion of police. For the record: that is definitely not the case.
I’ve been watching the news lately, and like most rational people, I despise the extremes to which ICE and its “recent deputies” are acting. I especially don’t like the way they are permitted to conduct their raids while wearing masks, and not identifying themselves. Quite a few “patriotic citizens” have volunteered to join up with these raiding parties, and I think the masks are the main reason for it.
The fact that they can’t be held personally accountable for what they do enables them to take vile actions they would be afraid to do otherwise. This amounts to tacit approval of the underlying racism and xenophobia that has driven many of them to leap at the chance to hurt the kinds of people they never liked, but could never get away with attacking before.
So let’s just be clear. I have a high opinion of the police, FBI, and fully trained immigration and border patrol officers. The people I have a low opinion of are the cowards who’ve been joining ICE recently, who meet very low requirements, and who go through very little training, to earn the privilege of bullying all the people on whom they blame their sad life’s failures.
They remind me of the villains in Crying Call.
I used to be worried the premise of my book would bother people. But now when I watch the news, I feel differently. Now, I wish I’d been wrong. Crying Call feels almost prophetic. In addition to their bigoted mindset, the villains use certain techniques and technologies that … well, I don’t want to give too much away. Let’s just say some of the things they’re planning, and the tech they’re using, might have seemed far-fetched ten years ago. But in 2026, it’s all completely realistic.
The events of my book are fiction — and I sincerely hope they continue to be fiction.
Thomas Vale returns as the hero of the piece, now more confident and established within Homeland Security than he was in Blood Game. His partner is the unforgettable “Dell” Nguyen, an agent on loan from the NSA. Dell might be the world’s greatest hacker, but he’d rather be drumming in a New Orleans second line. He gives the story heart and humor, and I promise you’ll be rooting for him the way you rooted for Sondra in Blood Game.
I do a few daring literary things in this book as well. In a few places, I change the voice of the narrative to a younger tone in scenes where the first-person narrator is a boy. There’s also a short chapter near the end with Haudenosaunee spiritual significance, somewhere between prose and poetry, that my children (Mike, Katie, and Matt) helped me write. I thank them for their help in the Acknowledgements near the end of the book.
This is the best work I’ve ever written. Expect realistic science, good detective work, Native American culture and lore, a dash of romance, and veritable gut-punches of heartbreak, pain, struggle, inspiration, and revelation. And most importantly … Action, Action, Action!
I hope you enjoy it.
–Jeffe
