Innocent Until Proven Guilty

by Duane Gundrum

A man murdered...a man framed for the murder with only a short time to prove his innocence before the killer strikes again and strikes at him. A murder mystery set at the highest levels of corporate America where lives are played as a game, where the results are success...or death.

221 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 19, 2001

About the author

I have been writing novels pretty much my entire life. Influenced early by authors like Stephen King, Clive Cussler and Daniel Boorstin, I was probably ten years old when I tried to write my first novel. And yes, it was pretty bad. I recently re-read it and laughed out loud for about an hour because I still can't figure out what I was trying to write back then.

I've evolved a lot since that first attempt.

My first published novel was INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, which takes place in the corporate world of Los Angeles, involving a murder, a set-up and lots of action. It was written when I was in the Army, stationed in Germany and struggling to balance my writing life with a military career. As a counterintelligence agent, I then started moving into espionage fiction (DEADLY DECEPTIONS).

My genres cross all sorts of fields these days. I have a series of science fiction/fantasy novels about the world of Reagul (DESTINY) as well as a number of other science fiction novels (LOSER, THOMPSON'S BOUNTY). LOSER is the story of an Exterminator whose job it is to hunt down the failures of the future, called Losers, before he starts to suspect that the Losers may be more than what they appear and that the government may be hiding secrets that may change the course of humanity forever. THOMPSON'S BOUNTY is the story of a Coast Guard lieutenant who chases a ship into the past, finding himself in the world of pirates, privateers and a vindictive English admiral.

I was born in Santa Monica, California, where I grew up before finishing up high school in Moorpark, California. I attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the US Army for a number of years in counterintelligence. After the Army, I became an investigator, a web page designer, and then a low level programmer for a software gaming company. I have designed numerous games over the years, including PRISONER OF Z'ANTH and US AIR FORCE'S STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND. I have completed degrees at San Francisco State University, Western Michigan University and the University of the Pacific. I hold master's degrees in communication and political science. My Phd work was in political science at Western Michigan University.

I currently work in the health care field, creating and maintaining web content for a large hospital system.

My latest completed novel is called THE AMERIAD, a humorous Greek epic about the founding of America by the survivors of Troy. It has not yet been published, as I am still searching for a publisher. It's amazing how hard it is to get humor published these days if you're not a well known stand up comic.

My current project is another Reagul novel (the first in a series) called A SEASON OF KINGS.

Reviews

[Duane Gundrum]

Kind of hard to be judgmental. I wrote it.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Innocenent Until Proven Guilty
By Duane Gundrum

Innocent Until Proven Guilty is a murder mystery saturated with high level corporate leaders and those who will kill anyone who gets in their way. We soon begin to wonder if these may be one in the same as the murder of a corporate president is being investigated. The president's seat is filled with the expected person; however, it is soon evident he will not be there but a few hours. He has an vicious enemy, the man who is directly beneath him in chain of command. This enemy knows no limit in what he will do to purge the company and himself of the president so he points to him as the murderer. Corruption at almost every venue keeps us in suspense. Is anyone above reproach? How many will be killed before this murder is solved.
Gundrum gives us a fast pace suspence thriller. His writing style is sharp and as long as you stay with him you follow. He seems to have a knack for describing suspenseful situations putting reader on edge of their chair wishing it would be over soon,all the while loving it. His character development is decent for a book in this genre. Because we do not know who the murderer is he likely holds back some on that character. Perhaps a peek a his psyche would have been nice. There is very little relational depth written into the story. No build up of a husband/wife relationship and no window to their inner sanctum. What you get in this regard is surface. The writing focus singles out suspense and he does a brilliant work in delivery.
For those who enjoy a mystery without a lot of gore or a deep plot this is an excelllent choice. Get comfortable. Once you start you will not want to stop until the end.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is dark, you are at home alone reading Stephen Kin, you hear something and then…you are dead. This is how the story begins and from there the police show up, the man who would be president and owner of a big corporation’s company is dead and his company is made aware of his death and then one thing after another happens lickety-split with many dying and fringe elements never identified involved in various and sundry nefarious actions. The good guy does win in the end…or does he? This story has an open ended ending that could lead to another book. It also left me a bit with the feeling of the story of the lady and the tiger…what really did and will happen? Left me guessing so that means, for me, it was a GREAT book. Thank you Duane and LibraryThing for making this book come across my Nook :)

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Innocent Until Proven Guilty by Duane Gundrum

One man is accused of murder and he must fight to prove his innocence. It is a race for time because his life is in danger. Who can be trusted? The motive is there but will he be able to prove he is Innocent? Or will he be found guilty?

A fast paced fantastic thrilling suspenseful murder mystery. Duane Gundrum knows how to grab your attention, get you hooked and pull you into his story. I was at the edge of my seat up up late at night until the last page. I highly recommend to those who love Murder/Suspense & Psychological Thrillers. Fantastic!

[Georgiann Hennelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A murder mystery set in Corporate America. Where lives are played like a game at the highest levels, succeed or die trying. A fantastic fast paced suspenseful, thrilling Murder mystery. A man is murdered another innocent man is framed for his murder. He only has a short time to prove his innocence before the killer strikes again. Only next time he will be striking at him. Who can he trust? He had a motive to kill the man but will he be able to prove he didn,t? Will he be found guilty? If you love a fast paced murder mystery i highly recommend you read this book. I look forward to reading more books by Duane Gundrum

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually a 3.5, this novel was an entertaining romp filled with some creative plot twists. The prologue was brief but a bit off-putting; however, once this whodunit was underway it was hard to put down. I've noticed recently that many crime novels are set before a time with a proliferation of cell phones as that might mess up some plot points. The author also took some liberties with how a court system works, especially the time frame of a trial, but it was still a fun page turner that kept me wondering about the outcome until the very end.

A copy of this novel was received in exchange for an honest review.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true "who done it". This murder mystery is fast paced and well written. There are surprises around every cornet and you need a score card to keep up with exactly who the bad guys are. That adds a wonderfully captivating aspect to the story. The author holds the reader in the palm of his hand and the real criminal is not revealed until the very last paragraph. There were a few incidents that I wish the author had revealed the final outcome. But I enjoyed the book and will definitely recommend it to friends.
I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for my honest review.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm rounding my rating up from 1.5 stars only because the beginning of this book showed such promise. There was some snappy dialogue and greed oozed off the pages, but that quickly devolved into one shoot out after another and a book badly in need of editing. Over and over, a word was used twice in one sentence (He wondered if 135 miles per hour would be considered speeding, considering the circumstances) and that distracted me from the story. I had to force myself to finish this book as I received it from the author in exchange for an honest review.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Innocent Until Proven Guilty was gifted to me in exchanged for an honest review. In the beginning I couldn't keep up, the storyline seems to be going nowhere but than the story picked up and with each chapter the storyline started to come together and what happened at the end was not expected, a true shocker.