From his Corpus Christi roots to a career inside the Department of Justice and Homeland Security, Texas author Chad Boudreaux draws on a life of high-stakes experiences to fuel “Mob Justice” and his page-turning Scavenger Hunt Thriller series.

With the release of his most recent installment in the Scavenger Hunt Thriller series “Mob Justice,” Chad Boudreaux sheds some light on his own history and its influences in his writing career.

Starting a career in the Department of Justice immediately following the 9/11 attacks, working at the Department of Homeland Security, and now being the Chief Legal Officer for a Fortune 500 company, Boudreaux’s life is full of interesting stories. His experiences provide a lot of material for what he puts on the page–-he now has three published works, with a fourth one on the way.

You’ve had a long career in multiple federal agencies and as a chief legal officer. What prompted you to start writing?

Working for the U.S. Department of Justice prompted me to start writing. I noticed a hidden eighth floor of the Main Justice Building in Washington, D.C. The elevators at Main Justice, however, only reach the seventh floor. 

That seemed strange to me when I started working there, so I conducted research on the building and unearthed no clues. Coming up short, I sought out a man who’d worked at Main Justice for several decades and he told me that, before they built the FBI building, the eighth floor had served as the old FBI ballistics lab. He said there was a secret staircase that led to the eighth floor, which was now more of a utility floor. 

Mesmerized by this news, I grabbed a custodian with access to the staircase, a flashlight, and a notepad and ventured to the hidden floor. Many of the notes I doodled on that notepad are now in Chapter Two of “Scavenger Hunt”.

How has your upbringing in Corpus Christi, Texas, influenced your work?

My second novel, “Homecoming Queen”, is a love song to my hometown. I had much fun writing that book, and I hope I brought out many of the special characteristics of South Texas.

More generally, growing up in Corpus Christi in the seventies and eighties gave me an edge. I was raised by a single, working mom who had me when she was nineteen. She raised me to never, never, never give up. That influence trained me to work hard, never complain, win everything, and never make excuses. My mom spent many years fighting to pay rent and put food on the table. Watching how hard she worked gave me an extra gear. That was the major influence. Writing is hard work, and most people give up. 

Your debut book “Scavenger Hunt” and your most recent release “Mob Justice” are primarily crime thrillers. What made you decide to write “Homecoming Queen”, which seems like a departure from your other works?

I was driving in a rental car from Houston to Corpus Christi to visit my grandmother. She was the only family member I had remaining in Corpus. I remember looking around and seeing all the familiar sites, shadows from my youth. And then I realized that, once my grandmother died, I may never take that trip again.

It haunted me for two hours, and the story of Anika Raven and her sister Samantha (the protagonists of the book) came to mind. I never could get that “Homecoming Queen” story out of my mind, so I outlined it immediately and went to work. 

It likely will be my only off-brand thriller—the rest should be in the “Scavenger Hunt Thriller” series—but it will remain my favorite book. Even better, I had one of my best friends growing up—now an actress in Los Angeles—narrate the audiobook.

Your stories often blend real life events and places with fictional ones. How have you learned to balance these elements?

Most of my historical events and places are real. I take license to depart sparingly because I want my fiction to have realistic undercurrents. I usually spend a lot of time on the ground in different cities or towns that make it into my books.

Miranda, Texas, in “Homecoming Queen” is an exception. Miranda is a fictional town in South Texas that symbolizes an area near Corpus Christi. I wanted to use a fictional place in that book to capture the mystique and intrigue of multiple South Texas towns in one.

How do you go about crafting a good political/criminal mystery?

My goal is to entertain the reader—period. To do that, my plot needs to be interesting, my characters need to be well-developed, the writing needs to be good, and the pages need to turn fast.

My legal and government background allows me to take readers behind the scenes. I try to craft an amazing story with realistic facets. I put my protagonists in harrowing situations and hope the reader will root for them to prevail.

Are there any real life inspirations for certain characters or any elements of yourself you put into your protagonists?

All my protagonists are an amalgamation of several people I’ve come across. Blake Hudson (“Scavenger Hunt”/”Mob Justice”) has a similar background as me, but he’s smarter and braver and more handsome. Anika Raven (“Homecoming Queen”) is my favorite character. She maintains all the qualities of the strong, beautiful women in my life and all my worst qualities. She’s a hot mess but so much fun.

Former FBI Director Chris Wray is quoted on the book cover of “Mob Justice” saying, “A riveting tale of organized crime, MOB JUSTICE ranks with the best of the genre.”  What are some lessons from your career that you translate into your stories?

I have several different categories of consumers of my novels. The most important to me are my colleagues in the law enforcement, intelligence, and legal communities. I knew from the start that if I didn’t get their buy-in, I was toast. That meant my books needed to be accurate. One mistake on the law enforcement process, for instance, and I’d have lost credibility. 

What’s more, I realized that their worlds are largely not reflected accurately on news networks. Things aren’t so black and white. I learned that I needed to stay away from political leaning and just tell the story right down the middle. The readers should learn something cool by reading my books, but my goal is not to teach or preach. 

What is your advice for anyone who wants to write their own book?

Do it. It’s worth it. It may be the hardest thing you ever do, but it’s worth it. Take advice from my mom, channeling Winston Churchill: Never, never, never give up. We all will do it differently, and there are great books on writing, so I will keep it simple: Once you start, see it through.

Have you started working on a new book?

Yes, stay tuned. My fourth book (third in the “Scavenger Hunt Thriller” series) is tentatively called “Borderfall”. It will follow a character in “Scavenger Hunt” named Jake Reid, former CIA Ground Branch. He will be on special assignment in Nogales, Arizona, right on the U.S./Mexican border. 

I spent much time there twenty years ago while I was Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and I have a border tour scheduled in a few weeks to revisit my old stomping grounds. Can’t wait.

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Cover Photo Courtesy PR By the Book

Julia Helsel is an editorial intern for Texas Lifestyle Magazine, a recent graduate of Texas A&M University and a lifelong resident of the Lone Star State. When she’s not traveling, she can be found reading, writing, or playing guitar.