Jack Chandler - British Fast-Paced Action Thriller

Jack Chandler is a British author, puzzle enthusiast, and strategic board game fan who shares her home—and an unbalanced peace treaty—with a cat. A self-proclaimed sleep-deprived parent and spouse, Jack is driven by a simple philosophy: make things better. That mindset is woven into the heart of her fast-paced, action-packed thriller series starring Fin, a private investigator who believes in seeing the good in people—even while navigating a brutal world that often challenges that view. Jack’s writing is known for its gripping suspense, sharp character development, and emotional depth.Please give us a short introduction to what Ripped Into is about.Fin is hired to find a missing girl, Sarah, but she isn’t the average runaway. She’s gone to extraordinary lengths to disappear, and Fin isn’t the only one hunting her down. A brutal enforcer, Brice, wants Sarah. Fin doesn’t know why. In order to help, Fin needs information, but Sarah has trust issues, the sort that come from an abusive background – the sort Fin understands only too well. Together, they build a tentative and unique bond as Sarah admits the truth, and Fin learns just how much trouble they’re in.The plot quickly turns dark with themes of violence and sexual obsession. How did you balance intensity with readability, and were there any scenes you found particularly hard to write?Although the book is quite gritty, it isn’t gratuitous. The violence and sexual obsession is largely off-page - implied but not seen. It’s much more about the relationship between this mis-matched pair, with Fin wanting to believe in and see the good in the world, Sarah knowing it doesn’t exist (in her opinion), and Fin finding himself in a position where he has to convince her she’s wrong. If he fails, he’ll lose everything. The intensity comes from that dynamic, not from violence.Stuart Finlay is an unusual lead: tough but also motivated by a desire to "make things better." How did you develop his character, and why give him this specific worldview?As a hormone-riddled teen, I wanted to understand the meaning of life. It seemed important. It took me a few years to realise there isn't one. This opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. I could make my life be whatever I wanted it to be!I decided I wanted it to be better. Just that. Better. So for everyone who touches or enters my little corner of the world, I make it better. A smile. A helping hand. A genuine compliment. Whatever. I gave my lead character, Fin, the same philosophy because it’s a message I want to spread. One person’s effect on the world can be limited, but that doesn’t negate it. In Fin’s case, he had a difficult childhood, but he was surrounded by good people. They made his life a little better. He’s paying it forward.The short chapters and fast tempo are addictive—readers describe it as “one-sitting” material. Was that pacing a deliberate structural decision from the start?I find that a wonderful complment, but I couldn’t say it was planned. The chapters vary in length. Once I decided to self-publish, I realised I could have full control over this baby. I needed a professional editor and cover designer, but I would have ultimate say. Having said that, I found the story took over! The scenes and character interplay determined the story, what the characters would do, how they would interact, and what would happen, and that determined the length of the chapters.You’ve been compared to Harlan Coben, Lee Child, and Baldacci—yet you clearly have your own voice. How do you describe your style, and what sets your work apart?I never used to like reading. For an author, that’s a terrible thing to admit – something that should only be said in hushed tones! I found the prose to be like work. Too much description and pages where nothing would happen. These were well-regarded authors, but I just couldn’t get on with them. I remember in school we were given a list of acceptable titles for our essays. This is terrible to admit, but I went to the library, found them all, and chose the ones with the thinnest spines! That’s how I chose the reading program for my GCSE! Having said that, some of those books are the ones that have always stayed with me. I’ve often wished I still had that list… Anyway, I digress. Determined to persevere with this ‘reading’ thing everyone put on their CV as a hobby they enjoyed, I kept going. Then, one day, I picked up a Harlan Coben. It was remarkable. The words just flew off the page. There were no endless pages of blocks of text, no ornate descriptions of the garden path the character was on. And yet I knew where I was. I could see the scene, and I was invested at the same time. His writing was pure genius. I have now read everything of his, several of them more than once. I then found Robert Crais and discovered there was more than one author who did this. If they could do this, maybe I could too. Maybe, just maybe, reading could actually be fun after all! Now, I just write what I want to read.There's a thread of moral ambiguity running through the story—no one is what they seem, and truth is slippery. What do you want readers to take away from that?When I had my first child, I felt like there was no time for anything. I love being a mum. For the first time in my life, I felt complete, when I hadn’t realised I wasn’t whole before. But jeez! It’s hard to get anything done with a little one! Everything takes longer than you think it will and I didn’t really know what I was doing. I went to baby groups, which were really mummy groups. The babies lay on their backs and gurgled while we sat around and chatted and tried to stay sane. I was convinced everyone in the group knew what they were doing. They seemed so organised and happy and together. Then, one day, we really talked. Not chatted. Talked. One of them was thinking about separating from her husband. Another had gone through two rounds of IVF before finally being able to conceive. Another had breast cancer before she got pregnant and had stopped seeing her doctor when she became pregnant. Everyone has something. No one is what they seem. Don’t imagine they’ve got it easier than you. Everyone has their problems. Everyone has to deal with them one way or another.There's a psychological complexity to your characters that elevates this beyond a typical action thriller. Do you draw from real-life experiences, psychology research, or pure imagination?All three!You’ve had an overwhelming number of 5-star reviews, with readers praising the emotional depth, vivid settings, and suspense. What feedback has surprised or moved you most?Like you say, some people have compared me to Harlan Coben – if I knew who they were, they’d be my new best friends!Seriously though, you get doubts. Writing is hard. You’re kind of in a vacuum. You have no idea if anyone will like your characters like you do, or if they’ll get them, or if they’ll just think you’ve wasted the last several years of your life putting all this together. You get a LOT of doubts. Then you refresh the page, or get a comment through your website, and you read something wonderful and unexpected and telling you exactly what you need to keep going. That’s the feedback that moved me the most. Basically, every single comment I’ve received!Ripped Into is just the beginning. What can readers expect in 13 Chances, and how does it build on what you’ve started?Ripped Into ends with a loose thread. 13 Chances resolves that loose thread, but leaves something else slightly open. Each book is designed to resolve satisfactorily but leaves the reader aware the characters’ lives are ongoing. The first drafts for books 3, 4, and 5 have all been written. Each book builds on the characters and story from before, including the novella which is available for free from my website and works as a prequel (Fin aged 13).But also, having written them all in advance, I was able to go back and plant little seeds in the first books. Each book introduces a new character, slowly building Fin’s world, but old characters are also still around.I don’t believe in being plot or character motivated as an author, you need both. But my characters are what makes the story interesting, and their pasts are just screaming to be explored, sometimes painfully, but then resolved.And no, at this time, I have no idea what book 6 will be about.You describe yourself as a “sleep-deprived parent” in a “cohabitation contract with a cat.” How do you juggle writing with family life—and does the chaos fuel the creativity?Nope. Not one iota! In fact, I couldn’t write for years when my kids were little. I couldn’t be in that happy little bubble with them and then explore Fin’s childhood when my kids were asleep. I’m not good enough at compartmentalising to do that! And years later, when my kids are now fully grown, I still don’t have the balance right. I’m not sure I ever will. We imagine there will come this mythical time when we retire, or when the kids move out, or when things miraculously change and we suddenly get an infinite amount of time to finally sort those things out we’ve been meaning to do. It ain’t gonna happen! Somteimes I want to write, and I can be totally absorbed in it. Other times, I’m busy with the house, or the garden, or the kids, or the cat. Occasionally, my husband even gets some time too! There is no balance, but oh, how I wish there was!