Winner's Curse

by L.A. Starks

From author and global energy expert L.A. Starks, comes Winner's Curse - a pulse-pounding new thriller that will grab and hurl you through the eye-opening and unexpectedly dramatic world of the oil and gas sector. While taking you from the desolate, windswept plains of west Texas to the salons of Hungary, Starks expertly infuses her insider knowledge of this trillion-dollar industry, and her experiences of being female in a male-dominated field into this science adventure. The first-ever woman to lead the drilling division of TriCoast Energy, protagonist Lynn Dayton is determined to prove herself capable but finds herself facing more than just the usual water cooler backstabbing. Undercutting her at every turn is former TriCoast Executive, Henry Vandervoost, who blames her for his humiliating fall from power. Ruthlessly competing with Lynn for control of Bradshaw Energy, his own playboy son's company that has revolutionary energy technology, Vandervoost enlists the help of attractive young chemist Hannah Bosko to assist him in taking over the company. Lynn must battle Vandervoost and international power players who conspire to eliminate her and her colleagues, foil conspiracies to sabotage natural gas plants, and complete a merger that will ensure that the technology remains in the hands of those who will use it to benefit the world. Winner's Curse is an energy technothriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. And, while this is the fourth book in the Lynn Dayton thriller series, each can be read as a stand-alone novel.

308 pages, Paperback

Published August 20, 2024

About the author

Social media hub https://linktr.ee/lastarks

WINNER'S CURSE: A LYNN DAYTON THRILLER
Pub date: August 20, 2024
Publisher's Weekly Review: "Takeaway: Gripping sprint through the make-or-break oil and gas industry."
"Starks’s latest thriller, the fourth in her Lynn Dayton series, after (The Second Law), takes readers on a raucous ride of misadventure with Lynn Dayton. . . . Fast-paced and dramatic, Starks’s novel offers a slew of fascinating characters, including spies, estranged fathers, and both upstanding and morally corrupt politicians, all while establishing Dayton as a strong female lead, succeeding in a male-dominated, treacherous industry. Starks not only showcases the profession’s heavy sexism but also its complex web of power, effectively weaving in her own experience in the global energy sector to build a sharp plot that’s bolstered by obvious insider knowledge . . .Despite the many subplots that eventually unfold, from corporate rivalries to international politics, the novel ultimately comes together well, offering plenty of twists and turns along the way. Dayton’s undertakings are as risky as they are critical, but Starks offsets the danger with hefty character-driven scenes that will resonate with readers."
https://www.amazon.com/Winners-Curse-...

WINNER'S CURSE: A LYNN DAYTON THRILLER is a pulse-pounding new thriller hurling you through the eye-opening, dramatic world of oil and gas. While taking you from the west Texas plains to Hungarian salons, Starks expertly infuses insider knowledge of this trillion-dollar industry into this suspenseful technothriller to keep you on the edge of your seat.

THE SECOND LAW (Lynn Dayton Thriller #3): *winner of first place award from Texas Authors for best international thriller,
*quarter-finalist (one of 62 out of 800+) for the 2019 BookLife Prize with a critic's rating of 9.5/10.0.
*finalist in action/adventure category of the National Indie Excellence Awards 2020.
*quarterfinalist in ScreenCraft Cinematic Book Competition 2023.
https://www.amazon.com/Winners-Curse-...

THE SECOND LAW is about deadly cybersabotage. Protagonist Lynn Dayton must uncover and stop a multi-pronged plot.

"unremitting suspense throughout...Spirited characters, both good and bad, populate this engaging, often surprising thriller."--Kirkus

Readers who enjoy stories of mystery, murder, mayhem and espionage will relish the intricate, complex yet highly accessible series of events The Second Law unfolds."
--D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

STRIKE PRICE, (Lynn Dayton thriller #2), winner of a first place award from Texas Authors for best mystery/thriller, is a story about a business deal turned deadly, concluding with a plot to destroy a hidden-but-crucial energy base and force the US into confrontation with another global power. To stop it, up-by-the-bootstraps Lynn Dayton must trust a Cherokee elder who carries a corrosive secret.
https://www.amazon.com/Strike-Price-L...

“Strike Price takes the reader from Oklahoma Indian reservations to the streets of Florence, in an imaginative and well informed fusion of oil refining economics, Native American politics, and the potential for lethal mayhem in the global energy market.”
Michael Ennis - - - author of New York Times bestseller, The Malice of Fortune

13 DAYS:THE PYTHAGORAS CONSPIRACY (Lynn Dayton thriller #1) is about a plan to sabotage oil refineries and Lynn Dayton, the woman who must discover and stop it.
https://www.amazon.com/13-Days-Pythag...

Rating: Excellent “Author L A. Starks delivers an unstoppable thriller that put this reviewer in mind of bestselling novels of this genre over the last several decades, with the welcome addition of depth . . . This is truly a book which will linger in the reader's mind long after the final ending, as we wond

Reviews

[Jeff Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of L.A. Starks thrillers since I discovered 13 Days: The Pythagoras Conspiracy and soon after, Strike Price. I have often said that a writer should write what they know. Starks does just that. After a career in the global energy marketplace (including oil and natural gas) Starkes is well placed to write conspiracies involving every aspect of the global energy from the mean oil fields in Texas to the boardrooms of the top players. Of course, she introduces some real antagonists to the conspiracy, of course. All of this brings a realism to her books that can’t be matched. What is a ‘star shark?’ How does one drown in a ‘sand avalanche?’ Starks knows. Winner’s Curse is a world class thriller by a true industry insider. One last comment: My favorite book and author of all time is Ayn Rand and Atlas Shrugged. Dabny Taggert has been a literary hero since the day I opened Atlas Shrugged. L.A. Starkes and Lynn Dayton rank right up there near the top of that comparison. So reminiscent. Winner’s Curse by L.A. Starks is a conspiracy crafting winner. Starks writes what she knows to perfection.