 The Carolina Crossfire: Book 2
Publication Date: February 24, 2026
Charleston’s top investigative TV reporter, Sydney Quinn, lives to expose the city’s darkest secrets. So when a former firefighter takes two paramedics hostage, she talks her way inside, offering to gather intel in exchange for a story that could boost her career.
But when Sydney finds the body of her friend, a local insurance executive, at the scene, the scoop of a lifetime turns personal. The hostage-taker swears he’s been framed, pulling Sydney into a web of cybercrime, stolen identities, and corporate corruption that stretches far beyond Charleston’s polished waterfront.
As she chases the truth through encrypted files and backroom deceptions, Sydney uncovers ties to a shadow network of hackers. Busting them should be routine…except she’s unraveling faster than her investigation. Haunted by the ambush she survived while embedded with the Marines in Iraq, she’s been outrunning her ghosts with fast cars and faster pitches at the batting cage. But when the cybercriminals turn their sights on her, Sydney must face her worst memories-and choose who to trust-before her name ends up on the next body tag.
Television reporter Sydney Quinn unearths another action-packed investigative story full of danger.
Side Hustle serves as the second installment of the Carolina Crossfire Mystery series by Wendy Gee. It can be enjoyed as a standalone, as it features Sydney’s latest adventure.
As a character, Sydney is known for taking risks to land a story. That holds true as she makes a deal with a hostage-taker. What unfolds is a dark secret connected to cybercrime.
To add more depth, the author weaves trauma from the past into the current storyline. Before the cameras roll, Sydney must resolve a personal threat.
Side Hustle adds another investigative assignment for a gutsy Charleston television reporter.
After a successful career in the U.S. Navy, Wendy Gee now channels her boundless energy into community volunteering, leaving no stone unturned—or unpainted—at the Charleston Fire Department, Friends of the Lewes Public Library Board of Directors, and Sussex County Habitat for Humanity. A proud graduate of the University of Michigan, University of Arizona, Naval War College, and Old Dominion University, Wendy combines her academic prowess and life experiences into her writing.
Residing in Lewes, DE, she is an avid golfer, a diehard Detroit Tigers and Lions fan (even when they’re not winning, but so excited when they are), and a pickleball enthusiast who’s always ready to serve up some fun. Her work has been shortlisted with Killer Nashville and the Writer’s League of Texas. And as a lifetime member of Sisters in Crime, Wendy’s passion for the mystery genre is no secret—though she might leave a few clues lying around just for fun.
