‘She’s going to die, he thought, an instant before a sudden burst of fire sprayed his windshield’
One of the reasons Pacific Northwest author Brandt Legg has been so successful in his writing and publishing and selling his books is his magisterial management of his website. From his biographical data we learn that he is ‘a former child prodigy who turned a hobby into a multi-million dollar empire. At eight, Brandt's father died suddenly, plunging his family into poverty. Two years later, while suffering from crippling migraines, he started in business. National media dubbed him the Teen Tycoon; but by the time he reached his twenties, the high-flying Legg became ensnarled in the financial whirlwind of the junk bond eighties, lost his entire fortune . . . and ended up serving time in federal prison for financial improprieties.’ Or as Brandt shares, ‘Twenty-five years ago, sitting in a hot, humid federal prison cell in Virginia, I first dreamed of being not just a writer, but a writer who could earn a living, support a family and keep writing. But I had dropped out of high school, having only completed tenth grade English. As I sat on that metal cot, penniless and heavily in debt, with almost a year left on my sentence, it seemed an impossible dream. Still, for more than two decades, while doing everything but writing, I somehow kept the dream alive. Amazon's KDP changed everything.’ One year later he began anew in retail and real estate. In the more than two decades since, his life adventures have led him through magazine publishing, a newspaper column, photography, FM radio, CD production and concert promotion.’ He is also a gifted landscape photographer.
CHASING MIND is another fine episode of the Chase Wen Thrillers, a series of eight books to date that follow Brandt’s chosen genre of Techno thrillers. The potency of his skillful writing is evident from the first page of this fine novel: ‘Nine black-clad operatives moved into position, their leader confident. “The day has finally come,” he said to himself, lining up the sight of his sniper rifle. as a gentle snow fell. “The last day of Chase Malone’s life.” Chase Malone sipped an earthy concoction of tea and coffee, bitter and good, gently waking up his tired brain. His thirty-second birthday not far off, he looked and felt older than that. “It’s been a while since I used these parts of my mind,” he said, smiling at Wen, taking in her beauty framed by a view of jagged peaks and blue skies in this gorgeous slice of Utah…’ For those new to this series, meet Chase! – and Wen!
The author’s synopsis seduces the reader into this episode – ‘Imagine if they knew what you were thinking . . .What wouldn’t you want them to know? They can read you like a book. The thought police are coming! A fugitive billionaire and a former spy must stop an insidious plot to control the population through high tech mind reading. Chase and Wen are trapped in a maze of illusion, reality, and secrets, as they struggle to overcome an enemy so powerful, their very own thoughts are used against them. Once they get inside your mind, there is no way out.’
This is yet another fine thriller novel by Brandt Legg, now acknowledged as one of the most important writers in the thriller genre. Recommended