Part of Series
A high-caliber police procedural mystery from the acclaimed author Warren Adler, well-known for the iconic novel turned international box-office hit "The War of the Roses" Detective Fiona Fitzgerald’s privileged upbringing in the nation’s capital and her intimate knowledge of its inner workings come in handy when Fran Miller, a top lobbyist and legal expert, turns up dead on Independence Day. It looks like suicide, but when the clues lead back to Mark Chancellor, the husband of Fiona’s best friend, things gets complicated. Chancellor runs a complex, global conglomerate, and along with his Russian partner, is involved in the pharmaceutical and defense industries. Chancellor is at the top of his game, well-connected in Washington and known to believe that money is the planet’s most powerful weapon. But uncovered secrets reveal that terrorist affiliates may have something more powerful: biological weapons. While the high-stakes players behind the scenes are trying to avoid a potential worldwide catastrophe, the race to find an antidote is complicated by deception and corruption, and now maybe by death. Rumors swirl about the dead lobbyist: a mysterious lover, millions of dollars hidden in small-town Virginia, and what looks like a recent vaccination on her upper right arm. But did someone target Fran? After all, she knew more about biological and chemical weapons than almost anyone. Was she caught up in the convoluted web of international biological warfare? Coincidence, luck, and a little passion give Fiona a labyrinth of leads to follow. But sometimes the simple truth is harder to see
Author
Acclaimed author, playwright, poet, and essayist Warren Adler is best known for The War of the Roses, his masterpiece fictionalization of a macabre divorce that was adapted into the iconic dark comedy that starred Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito. Following the success of his The War of the Roses, Adler went on to option and sell film rights to more than a dozen of his novels and short stories to Hollywood and major television networks. Random Hearts, The Sunset Gang, Private Lies, Funny Boys, Madeline’s Miracles, Trans-Siberian Express and his Fiona Fitzgerald mystery series are only a few titles that have forever left Adler’s mark on contemporary American authorship from page to stage to screen. Adler illuminates the intricacies of the modern American family through wit and realism, a trademark that has earned him the moniker ‘master of dysfunction’. On the other hand, he navigates the turbulent waters of the American political and social scene with unsurpassed authenticity; his political thrillers such as The Henderson Equation, The Casanova Embrace, and American Quartet - a ‘New York Times notable crime book’ are born from his experiences as a former White House correspondent, and co-owner of Washington Dossier Magazine, chronicling the social history of the nation’s capital from 1975-1991. He was also a businessman and once campaign strategist to President Richard Nixon. With over 40 years of an insider’s view of the exclusive domain of the nation’s political elite, Adler writes with a unique insight and command rendering him an invaluable voice in the evolving American experience, and a trademark in American literature.
