Former CIA operative Teddy Fay returns for another thrilling Hollywood adventure in this latest installment in the New York Times bestselling series. Teddy Fay whisks away to join Peter and Hattie Barrington in Palm Springs. But his hope for a relaxing vacation vanishes when he attends a prominent actor’s annual birthday party, where he witnesses a heated squabble between two women, only for one of them to turn up dead the next day. Teddy investigates who might be lurking in the shadows and uncovers a web of intrigue involving a sinister plan to take over a cutting-edge energy company. If he doesn’t act fast, valuable secrets risk falling into the wrong hands, but more importantly innocent lives could be in jeopardy. One of Readworthy ’s Best Action of December "Simply packed from cover to cover with action packed cliff-hanger suspense, Stuart Woods' Blown Away is a fun and riveting read for the legions of dedicated mystery/suspense fans. This is the stuff of which block-buster movies are made!" — Midwest Book Review "Teddy is always a joy to read, the character is refreshing and well-written by author Brett Battles. Fans of the series will enjoy this one." — Red Carpet Crash "Battles maintains full control, pulling everything together without skimping on suspense or amusing banter. Devoted series fans will be happy to hear that Battles remains a fantastic steward of Teddy Fay’s adventures." — Publishers Weekly Stuart Woods was the author of more than ninety novels, including the #1 New York Times bestselling Stone Barrington series. A native of Georgia and an avid sailor and pilot, he began his writing career in the advertising industry, Chiefs , his debut in 1981, won the Edgar Award. Woods passed away in 2022. StuartWoods.com Brett Battles is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, including the Jonathan Quinn, Rewinder, Project Eden, and Night Man Chronicles series. He is a three-time Barry Award nominee, winning for Best Thriller in 2009 for his novel The Deceived . Chapter 1 Billy Barnett pulled up to the Centurion Pictures studio entrance in his classic 1958 Porsche D Model Speedster. With him was his personal assistant and producer-in-training, Stacy Lange. Billy himself was a film producer and the studio's unofficial second-in-command behind Ben Bacchetti, Centurion's president. It was a gorgeous spring day, so Billy and Stacy had returned from their lunch at Spago with the vehicle's top down. A guard leaned out of the hut next to the gate. "Welcome back, Mr. Barnett, Ms. Lange." "Afternoon, Gavin," Billy said. "I'm glad to see the studio didn't burn down in our absence." "We try to avoid things like that whenever possible, sir," Gavin said. "We appreciate your dedication." Gavin gave them a jaunty salute and opened the gate. Billy shot Stacy a glance as they drove onto the studio lot. "If you have any questions, now's the time." "Are you saying I can't contact you while you're gone?" "I'm saying I'd love it if you did that as little as possible." "So, only call if the studio really is on fire?" "If that happens, you should call Ben, not me. And probably nine-one-one." Billy's cell rang, Ben's name on its screen. "Speak of the devil," Stacy said. Billy punched accept, and before he could say hello, Ben's voice came through the car's speakers. "Where are you?" "Just about to pull up at my office." "Skip the office and meet me at stage seven." That was the sound stage being used for director and screenwriter Regina Gideon's new film, Everything We Have, on which Billy and Ben were executive producers and Stacy was getting her first coproducer credit. "Problem?" Billy asked. "I'll tell you when you get here." "See you in a minute." Billy hung up. Ben was waiting for them near the stage door when they arrived. Above it was a light that, when activated, flashed red, indicating that filming was underway. At the moment, the light was off. Billy and Stacy hopped out of the Porsche and joined him. "What's up?" Billy asked. "Something with Pike," Ben said. "Don't ask me what. I just heard about it myself." The first thing Billy noticed once they stepped into the building was that the overhead lights were on, and all the lights used for filming were off. The second was that the film's other producer, Terrance Bennett, was trying to calm a clearly angry Regina near the camera. Billy, Ben, and Stacy headed over to them. "I'm not going to coddle him," Regina said. "No one's asking you to do that," Terrance insisted. "That's pretty much what you just said I should do!" "That's not what I-" Regina noticed Billy and the others. "Oh, good. You're here." "What's going on?" Billy asked. Regina waved a hand toward the back of the building. "Pike's locked himself in his trailer." Pike Westin was the film's male lead. He had risen to fame through a series of crowd-pleasing rom-coms. This was his first dramatic role, one that they were all