Operation Masquerade: A Rent Beacham Mystery
ByPublisher Description
Construction workers in the San Juan Islands of Washington State discover the body of a man who had disappeared three decades earlier. Threats again haunt investigative journalist Rent Beacham as he turns to the San Diego Herald newspaper archives to dig into the man's disappearance following a toxic-waste scandal in the wake of the America's Cup sailing regatta in San Diego, California.
Rent confronts prominent property developer James Michael "Mike" Johnson, the former owner of the San Diego boatyard and whose son-in-law has thrown his hat in the ring to become the next congressman to represent California's 25th Congressional District, which encompasses California's Imperial Valley.
Rent exposes the Johnson family's web of financial ties to ADU construction, hazardous waste disposal, lithium mining, and entities redeveloping a geothermal plant and solar arrays to power an artificial intelligence data center in what the local boosters have dubbed as "Lithium Valley."
The threats escalate to include the lives of Rent's loved ones as he connects the dots between the cold case, mysterious hazmat disposal activity, a clownish Congressional campaign, and the murky depths of AI avatars and deepfakes as election day looms.
Further threats and abductions portend a dramatic showdown with ruthless rogues cloaked in a veil of propriety as he closes in on those behind the three-decades-old murder.
Although this is a work of fiction, its inspiration emerged from current events, including the indisputable pitfalls posed by artificial intelligence.
Booklife Review:
Meticulous portrayal of investigative journalism's dogged pursuit of truth.
Rent's unwavering determination to expose greed and corruption before it's too late draws readers in—and leaves them primed for the next installment.
Rent's girlfriend, PI Alicia Velasquez, adds a sharp, unfaltering perspective, as she helps nail down evidence and pull off risky stakeouts at the Mexican border.
Comparable Title: Michael Connelly's The Proving Ground.
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About Larry Edwards
Larry M. Edwards is an award-winning investigative journalist and author. His most recent book is "What the Private Saw: The Civil War Letters and Diaries of Oney Foster Sweet," the previously unpublished correspondence and writings of a Civil War veteran who fought in all but one of the major battles in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania -- and lived to tell about it.
His previous book, "Dare I Call It Murder? — A Memoir of Violent Loss," won first place in the 2014 San Diego Book Awards, Best Published Memoir. As a journalist, he has won four Best of Show awards from the San Diego Press Club in addition to many other awards during his 25 years in journalism.
His others books include: "Official Netscape Internet Business Starter Kit: The Eight Essential Steps for Launching Your Business on the Net" and "Food & Provisions of the Mountain Man: the diet of 19th century fur trappers, journal excerpts and recipes for fry bread, pemmican, sausage and other tasty treats."
As a journalist, he has won four Best of Show awards from the San Diego Press Club in addition to many other awards during his 25 years in journalism.
He has served as business editor at San Diego Magazine as well as editor of The Log Newspapers, Maritime Quarterly and The T Sector. He contributed regularly to Sailing World and Grand Prix Sailor, and worked as a stringer for the Associated Press while covering the America's Cup and other sailing competitions. Edwards currently works as a freelance writer, book editor, and publishing consultant in San Diego, Calif., where he lives with his birding-enthusiast wife, Janis Cadwallader.
Born in Seattle, he grew up in Kirkland, graduating from Lake Washington High School and the University of Washington. After graduation, he taught school in Tacoma, Wash.
www.larryedwards.com
www.whattheprivatesaw.com
www.dareicallitmurder.com
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