Book Title: BLACKOUT – A JAKE BENDEL THRILLER
Character Name: Kristi Konnors
How would you describe your family or your childhood?
Overall, pretty good, two loving parents, no siblings to get in my way. Often called a Tom-boy. Enjoyed riding BMX bikes with my fellow seventh and eighth graders back in the early 2000s.
What was your greatest talent?
Figuring out solutions to problems nobody else could. Like using a mini-EMP to save a woman’s life by . . . wait, hold on, I’m not supposed to share those details yet . . .
Significant other?
Not right now. No way my heart could handle another failure.
Biggest challenge in relationships?
During mandatory therapy two years ago after I shot a drug dealer—he didn’t die, but he’s paralyzed from the waist down—I apparently have abandonment issues. So, there’s that.
Where do you live?
Grew up in Nebraska, but moved to New York to get my dual major criminal justice and electrical engineering bachelor’s degrees at NYU. Currently living in a dumpy apartment in Washington D.C.
Do you have any enemies?
Anyone who does not comply with the law.
How do you feel about the place where you are now? Is there something you are particularly attached to, or particularly repelled by, in this place?
I’m enjoying working closely with FBI Director Cavanaugh on special projects. Can’t say much more than that, though, top secret.
Do you have children, pets, both, or neither?
Had a son, but he, well, he’s no longer with us and I’m still dealing with the processing of all that—again, according to the therapist.
What do you do for a living?
FBI Field Agent, D.C. office.
Greatest disappointment?
Losing my baby boy in that accident.
Greatest source of joy?
Holding my new son in my arms the day he was born. Now, though, a cold beer after a solid day’s work at the Bureau.
What do you do to entertain yourself or have fun?
I enjoy sneaking out to the movies every now and then, engrossing myself in a good crime-thriller. I’m also a veracious reader. Can’t get enough Baldacci.
What is your greatest personal failing, in your view?
Can’t talk about it, sorry.
What keeps you awake at night?
Some of the crazy stuff we went through with Dr. Jake Bendel, the whole attack on the power grid, what the press termed the national “BLACKOUT” after the president was assassinated, all of it. I can still smell that woman’s nauseating gardenia-scented perfume.
What is the most pressing problem you have at the moment?
Testifying at the congressional hearings about all the stuff that happened during BLACKOUT.
Is there something that you need or want that you don’t have? For yourself or for someone important to you?
A boyfriend who understands me and is willing to accept me for who I am. Even with all the emotional baggage.
Why don’t you have it? What is in the way?
Not a priority right now. Plus, I work insane hours.
Jake Bendel #3
When the President of the United States is assassinated in a coordinated drone strike, the country plunges into chaos. But the attack isn't terrorism.
It's strategy.
Behind the assassination stands Tracy Ciacchella, a brilliant and ruthless leader of a shadowy global cabal known only as New3‑a powerful alliance determined to accelerate the collapse of American dominance. Their plan is chilling in its simplicity: eliminate the president, cripple the nation's power grid, and plunge the United States into darkness long enough for rival superpowers to seize the advantage.
Civil engineer Jake Bendel never expected to find himself on the front lines of that war. As one of the architects of America's revolutionary AI‑driven energy grid, he helped design the very system now being weaponized against his country.
When cascading blackouts sweep across the nation and martial law looms, Jake teams up with FBI agent Kristi Konnors to track the network orchestrating the attacks. What they uncover is far more dangerous than a cyberattack‑an international conspiracy positioned to hand America's collapse to China and Russia.
Then the conspiracy becomes personal.
Evidence begins to surface that Jake's wife Cynthia‑presumed dead for years‑may still be alive, trapped inside the organization behind the plot.
Now Jake must stop a war before it begins.
Because if the lights go out across America, the invasion won't be far behind.
And the people who built the system may be the only ones who can stop it.
Perfect for fans of David Baldacci and Tom Clancy, BLACKOUT is a high‑stakes techno‑thriller packed with cutting‑edge technology, geopolitical intrigue, and relentless suspense.
Thriller Political [ Independent, On Sale: October 6, 2026, Hardcover / e-Book, ISBN: 9798990527379 / eISBN: 9798990527386 ]
J. Luke Bennecke is a veteran civil engineer with a well-spent career helping people by improving Southern California roadways. He is the author of three bestselling, award-winning thrillers: Civil Terror: Gridlock, Waterborne, and his 2023 release Echo from a Bayou
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