I like reading stories about strong women who fight for justice, whether it is in their own lives or behalf of those around them. In fact, such depictions are so important to me that I created protagonist Emily Stone, a woman who acts as a vigilante crime solver in her efforts to rid communities of the most heinous criminals, to star in a series of my novels.
For this reason, I am captured by the story of Susan Walters, an emergency room nurse who came home from work one day in 2006 to find a man waiting to kill her with a hammer. Despite being struck in the head, Walters fought back, eventually gaining control of the hammer and the upper hand on her assailant. As she had her hands around his neck, she offered him the opportunity to save his life by telling her why he had been sent to kill her. He declined. As she shared in a recent interview, “I didn’t choose my attacker’s death for him. I chose my life.”
As it turns out, she did not need the confession of her attacker, later identified as Edward Haffey. Authorities were able to determine that Walters own husband, Michael Kuhnhausen, had paid Haffey $50,000 to kill his wife. Apparently Kuhnhausen was not pleased with Walters’ decision to seek a divorce after seventeen years of marriage.
Walters agreed to a plea deal that put her estranged husband in jail for ten years, but he now is preparing for release after only eight years due to good behavior. Walters is understandably nervous about Kuhnhausen’s imminent return to society and is speaking out in hopes that authorities will put measures in place to protect her should Kuhnhausen decide to finish the job that he started.
Susan Walters showed great courage and calm resolve, both when fighting for her life and again when facing her ex-husband in court. I hope that she is granted the sense of security that will allow her to live without constant fear.
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Check out the Award-winning EMILY STONE THRILLER SERIES available at Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony, iTunes, Smashwords, and most online and book retailers.
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Recent Reviews of DEAD BURN:
“Fast paced, leave no stone unturned and the story is equivalent to the caliber of Vince Flynn reads. “
“Author Jennifer Chase knocks the ball right out of the park with this story. Reminiscent of Daniel Silva reads the author creates a powerful story that twists and turns – keeping me white knuckled more than once.”
“I really enjoyed this book. It has all the ingredients of a good suspense, mystery story, and it’s well written. “
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Please join me:
Author Jennifer Chase 
The title of this post made it impossible to resist reading. Good story. I hope Ms. Walters is successful in getting the authorities to put measures in place to protect her. If not, I petty her husband if he comes at her with a hammer.
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