A Foolproof Plan

by D.D. Cross

211 pages, Paperback

Published January 29, 2026

About the author

D.D. Cross is the author of several novels and screenplays. Prior to a career in the entertainment industry, Cross attended graduate and medical school, earned two doctorates, trained in surgery, and made contributions to the scientific community.

The Eustice Seeney books are loosely based on factual events the author tended to whilst a fourth year medical student.

The novels: Fat Teeth, Depths of Deception, Zombie Corns in Clown Shoes, and a sequel to the Flesh Mechanics coming soon.

THE FLESH MECHANICS is a hardboiled mystery laced with romance and adventure.

Reviews

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Next level imagination. The characters seem as if you met them in a dream as they search for the contents of a ghost ship's contents and missing woman. From the shady side of paradise to big cities the mercenary surgeon and his crew of misfits weave through a unique maze of twists and turns each with their own reasons that D.D. Cross hints through a noir poetic path. Cross writes the way someone who has been there and done that with a flare for humor and sensitivity, precisions and detail. A natural storyteller!

[Matt Griffen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional! A voice that doesn't resemble any with a wild plot that's filled with twists and turns and characters who seem like people I know. Thomas Kurfew is back in a sequel to The Flesh Mechanics
This time he's teamed up with with a crew to find a woman gone missing and a ghost ship with a stash I couldn't guess and kept the pages pump away. There's a crime syndicate closing in and a mysterious woman who joins Kurfew and crew connected to Interpol and has an agenda like everyone else. It's gritty, authentic and a notch above anything I read or movie I've seen. Why isn't this guy more we known?

[Eddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific follow up to the Flesch Mechanics with many of the characters reprising their roles in a faster paced, deeper, and more intense shadowy world of new depths of dirty business, mercenaries, billionair hotshots fine art and a mysterious treasure everyone wants a piece of. Protagonist, Thomas is drawn again into his past as a combat surgeon by a fixer, and maybe some other force to find a missing woman and recover the contents of a missing "Marie Celesete"-a ghost ship.
His former lover, Catherine's gone missing, but so has something a few others want and the new characters have their own agendas. It's a fast paced symphony I savored every page. The characters jump off the page! There is soul-searching, moral issues, and romance like in the Flesh Mechanics, but in A Foolproof Plan Cross takes it up a few notches. His comic relief is terrific and the, action are a great ride, this story's got grit that's rare in books and movies I'm glad to have found this author. I hadn't read anything as fresh raw and original in years. This went beyond, and the pipeline into the character's inner thoughts was a treat. Each scene and rapid fire dialogue was a song of words that stays and you hum along with. This would make for a movie the surprise twists took me to an ending that was anything I could have guessed. Great read. Highly recommend.

[Mathew Griffen · Rating 5 out of 5]

High crime, and the ultimate heist. A vivid portrayal of dirty dealings on Grand Cayman and beyond in this noir action packed, realistic slant on the shadoy world of white collar crime and international intrigue. The cast of charachters, from the protagonist Thomas Kurfew, forner combat surgeon with a shady past as a mercenary, his team of misfits, a fresh from prison plastic surgeon, a wise former lieutenant/pilot, a woman who might be with Interpol, a disbarred lawyer with connections and contacts with mobsters and government thee letter agencies, a streetwise grfter out of Palm Beach join together to track down the contents of a strangely rigged submarine. D.D. Cross leaves breadcrumb hints along the way and makes each page savory. Each twist and turn is designed to lead you to a stunning ending. Filled with military precision and surgical skill, gallows humor, romance, and suspense
A true original with experience D. D. Cross whips anything out There.
I have been a fan of this author for years and A Foolproof Plan, a sequel to The Flesh Mechanics was great. Looking forward to the next installment.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mischievous exhilarating read. The protagonist plays dumb at the onset and as the story proceeds we discover he's not what he appears to be. The cast of characters, especially the woman are intriguing. The crew is a band of misfits an ex-con plastic surgeon, a tough seasoned soldier and a semi street con artist and a few others sound as if you met them in a weird dream as they figure out who is messing with who on their quest for a ghost ship. It read fast cutting from scene to scene with a cowboy criminal billionaire on their tail setting traps and tricks raising the stakes has everyone chasing what's on a sunken uboat with contents of historical importance for each of the crew going after it. This was sharp fast and packed with witty dialogue and vivid scenery only someone who has been to and lived. Either Cross is a maniac or creative polymath, or the good doctor digs into a stash of imagination medicine he's top notch. I read the paperback and couldn't put it down.

[Reader Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Something for everyone in this sequel to The Flesh Mechanics. A delight to read.

[Kara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! What an imagination. Raw, gritty, real and refreshing. A lyrical thriller laced with a pulse racing plot a fresh, authentic read with characters so real they seem like real people some to move away from others you love. The tropical noir atmosphere, captured like a dream sequence that takes you on a journey with a group of peeps each with their own Foolproof Plans to reach the contents of a WWII submarine containing relics stolen during the Nazi occupation of China, and much more. The team is a makeshift crew of characters with different motives lead by Thomas Kurfew, surgeon/former mercenary and a mysterious woman who might be with the billionaire cowboy on the same quest. Thete's E, a fresh from prison plastic surgeon, Chalk, a wise pilot and voice of reason, Harold Spooky Pollack, a street smart gambler, Larry, a disbarred lawyer/fixer, and cameos from Cross's other books. Each seemingly with their own agendas and nobody trusts anyone on this labyrinth of adventure, crime, espionage, hijinks. Humor and romance.

An Elmore Leonardish meets Michael Crichton with Hunter Thompson. The femme fatale striking, the protagonist, a doctor who can heal and hurt. The author's background makes this a been there done that frighteningly realistic. Thank you for sharing this (gift from a friend) book. I agree this author's a real find!

[Nicholas Sparrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific fresh voice in a tale of a team stuck together to find the whereabouts of a wreck for different reasons. Each character comes alive and the author allows direct access to their thoughts. Some not so nice. Others lol funny. The bad guy billionaire is on their tail, and has enormous resources. The crooked disbarred lawyer, th sexy lady who might be Interpol, the cool heir to a Palm Beach mansion he can't afford, the ex-con plastic surgeon, and the stand up voice of reason pilot and soldier join Thomas Kurfew forner mercenary/surgeon and a band of nobody trusts anyone across the nasty side of the Caribbean through Florida and big cities to get to the secrets of the sunken sub. There are geopolitical nuances about the Nazi occupation of China, the Triads, and an altogether riot of a read.