FInding Char

by T.S. O'Neil

Char Blackfox is a Seminole Indian and former Green Beret maimed by a dead guerilla in Viet Nam, Hell-bent on extracting revenge against the Aussie tycoon that stole his woman. His incongruous cohorts are two small time Irish-American hoodlums and a corrupt cop that never met a suspect he didn’t want to beat with a Blackjack. This unlikely troupe makes a Faustian bargain with an exiled Rhode Island mobster to carry out a daring robbery of a floating casino on the high seas. Unforeseen events foil the gang’s escape and the ill-gotten plunder is salted away by one of the perpetrators moments before he is captured and subsequently sent to prison. In 2004, a combat hardened Force Recon Marine is released from active duty and returns to Florida to find his estranged father, one of the original thieves still on the run from his former partners. The convict eventually joins forces with the father and son to recover the treasure while being pursued by a host of malevolent characters, including a sociopathic former CIA Interrogator, a Mixed Martial Arts Mafia Enforcer and the now geriatric Organized Crime Boss. In pursuit, is an Internal Affairs Detective with an eidetic memory and a scrupulous sense of duty who struggles to prove that a crime was committed because there is seemingly no living witness. Boiled down to its essence, Finding Char is a story about a son’s search for his father and a resultant treasure quest fraught with betrayal, kidnapping and murder. It’s also about reconnecting with old acquaintances and sometimes killing them. Finally, it’s about finding your soul mate during the course of a thirty year old murder investigation.

242 pages, Paperback

First published November 23, 2012

About the author

I'm originally from Newington CT. I went to undergraduate school at Northeastern University in Boston and have an MBA from the University of Phoenix in Technology Management. I spent a good amount of time in the military; first as an enlisted Marine in the Marine Reserve, then about ten years on active duty as an officer in the Military Police Corps of the U.S. Army and I finished out my career in the Army Reserve.

During that time, I travelled a lot of the world, picked up Spanish, as the Army sent me to language school and managed to have a lot of fun and mostly managing to avoid combat. While most sane people look at the being shot at as merely a life threatening situation, those in the military look at it as an opportunity for career advancement.

Well, as a careerist, I was a miserable failure as I was always in the wrong place at the wrong time. Meaning wherever I happened to be, peace was breaking out like mad.
I was supposed to jump into Omar Torrejo Airport with the Rangers during Operation Just Cause, but instead I went on to the MP Officer Advance Course. The invasion took place in December of 89, as I drove home to Connecticut for Christmas break and members of my former unit parachuted into glory. Later, as I sat in Panama enjoying the new era of peace and prosperity, Operation Desert Storm took place. My luck finally caught up with me and I spent part of a tour in Iraq. Other than a couple of nights of rocket fire, the period in Iraq was relatively peaceful.

I got out of the military and eventually gravitated to the IT Field. I am currently an IT Architect for a healthcare company. I live in Seminole Florida with the love of my life, my lovely wife, Suzanne.

Reviews

[Suzanne Steffes O'Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finding Char was a fun book to read. The characters are interesting and there are some you love to hate. The story is full of action and surprises. I did not want it to end.