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Dead Secrets
---The best way to keep a secret is to make it a dead secret.
Jack Mango thought life couldn’t get much better as a respected detective in the enigmatic laboratory town of Los Alamos, New Mexico. His life changes drastically when shot while protecting the governor from an assassin’s bullet. He recovers, only to have his wife die of cancer soon after.
Unable to cope, he moves his family to the central Pacific coast of California, an area of fond memories from his Army days, hoping to start anew. And, harboring a secret desire to reconnect with an old flame he rejected, bound by duty and honor to return home to his fiancé.
Mango’s first case three days into his new job as Police Chief, in the idyllic seaside town of Serrano, sets the tone. Psychiatrist Billy Morton is accused and convicted of violating his adopted daughter, Clare. Four years later, Billy is found dead on the beach shortly after being paroled from prison. Later that morning, his wife’s lover, Harry Henderson, is found dead near a beached panga; the boat believed to have been transporting four thousand pounds of marijuana, off-loaded during the night.
Chief Jack Mango and his small, eclectic team of officers are thrust into a frustrating and frantic pursuit to find the suspects before they kill again. It doesn’t help that his love life is a shambles, what with juggling a high profile career, a murder investigation, and haunting demons of love, death, and redemption.
Jack Mango thought life couldn’t get much better as a respected detective in the enigmatic laboratory town of Los Alamos, New Mexico. His life changes drastically when shot while protecting the governor from an assassin’s bullet. He recovers, only to have his wife die of cancer soon after.
Unable to cope, he moves his family to the central Pacific coast of California, an area of fond memories from his Army days, hoping to start anew. And, harboring a secret desire to reconnect with an old flame he rejected, bound by duty and honor to return home to his fiancé.
Mango’s first case three days into his new job as Police Chief, in the idyllic seaside town of Serrano, sets the tone. Psychiatrist Billy Morton is accused and convicted of violating his adopted daughter, Clare. Four years later, Billy is found dead on the beach shortly after being paroled from prison. Later that morning, his wife’s lover, Harry Henderson, is found dead near a beached panga; the boat believed to have been transporting four thousand pounds of marijuana, off-loaded during the night.
Chief Jack Mango and his small, eclectic team of officers are thrust into a frustrating and frantic pursuit to find the suspects before they kill again. It doesn’t help that his love life is a shambles, what with juggling a high profile career, a murder investigation, and haunting demons of love, death, and redemption.
257 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 4, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 25, 2017
My opinion may be biased as a respected and highly regarded co-worker and his wife wrote this book. Authentic research from year's of Al's experience as a detective is refreshing.
November 26, 2016
An excellent crime novel - one that focuses on characters and relationships over the mystery of "whodunnit." This one keeps you guessing all the way until the big revelation, and gives you a great cast of real and relatable characters to relate to while doing it. An excellent debut novel, hopefully followed up with a few more. Jack Mango deserves to be a household name.
September 26, 2016
Luckily this book does not stick to the iconic statement from Joe Friday's Dragnet character, "Just the facts, m'am." Instead, this mystery novel is rich with humorous observations, interesting informational tidbits, clever & witty chapter titles, well developed characters who seem to leap off of the page at times, real dialogue, and a plot that truly delivers intrigue with a surprising twist at the end that you never see coming. It is a well written, highly enjoyable read & I have to say that I feel it is up there with some of the best authors of mystery: One of my faves, Dashiell Hammett comes to mind. And, in my opinion, when you finish a story and the next day you are still thinking of the characters and wondering about their fictional world, well, that is a good book! (This debut offering from the Toth writing team has me looking forward to more!)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews