Review: Loads of humor and one hell of a murder mystery
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 1, 2013
This one starts with a murder. Well four murders to be exact.The murders are blamed on a husband and Father who's an Iraq war vet.The man, Mathew Campbell, his wife and daughter and Bryan Vallance are the victims.Mathew Campbell and Bryan Vallance were skydiving, in tandem. Campbell never pulled the cord to the  shute. They fell to their deaths.Campbells wife and ten year old daughter were killed so they couldn't identify the men who forced Campbell to kill Vallance. They told Campbell if he didn't kill Vallance they would kill his wife and daughter. If he did kill him his wife and daughter would be spared. They lied.A baby at the scene was spared. Seems one of the men had twin babies of his own. What a guy. A stone cold killer.The police go to Campbells residence to notify his wife of his death and find two more bodies. They immediately think Campbell killed his family and then himself along with Vallance. A nice bow on a closed case and no one wants to see anything differently. Until Jake gets there that is.Vallance was the CEO and founder of BVM.  BVM is a 90 Billion dollar corporation. They produce one third of all the margerine sold in the world. Its a huge technology company as well with offices all over the world. Not bad for a margerine producer.Vallances wife, Katherine, wants to hire Jake to investigate because she knows her husbands death was murder.She sends her attorney, Winston Todd, to meet Donald Tierney, Jakes attorney and friend. She wants Jake to investigate. She asked for him by name. Jake meets with both attorneys.Jake thinks the woman is nuts. It looks like a straighforward murder suicide by Campbell to him.Todd then tells him Katherine Ellenson Vallance's full name.Jake is flabbergasted. Katherine Ellenson is a woman he had proposed to. He almost married her.  She took off after saying yes. He hasn't seen her since.So begins one great story. This one is full of humor, one crazy German who has no problem killing, a Russian who gets in over his head, an undercover Govt official. deaths all over the world  and Jake trying to figure it all out.Just a great read. De Maria and Jake Scarne still rock. Five Stars.