The Fund

by Wes Demott

When an aerospace engineer working for a Washington defense contractor uncovers dark secrets and criminal corruption, even the FBI and the White House want him silenced.

372 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

I was 19 when I first escaped over an international border. Mexican Federales stormed into a bloody brawl at a crappy bar deep inside Juarez, and I stopped fighting to bolt down the stairs. A fast moving parade of uniforms chased this gringo through crowded streets as they blasted their whistles in warning of a bullet in the back.

I absolutely loved that feeling and have been jumping borders ever since, usually with a legal visa, sometimes with a black market one, and occasionally with no cover-of-authority at all (I'm not good with rules). I've jumped for governments and security clients, but mostly out of my own lust for adventure, and I've always done it alone. That is until my beautiful, brainy, Belgian wife – a war-zone veteran who's fluent in several languages and can drive just about anything with wheels – teamed up with me.

I'm Wes DeMott and I'm an adventurer. I can't help myself. My dad laid out the pattern and my mom sewed the seams. I've broken dozens of bones and required hundreds of stitches to close wounds, but I still live for the metal taste that only comes when excitement barely outpaces genuine fear. Add an ocean to that exotic flavor and I'm happier than a kid with an ant farm.

I'm also an award-winning, international bestselling novelist. I don't write stories about outer space or werewolves because I don't know squat about either one, but like Hemingway and London before me, you can bet your last canteen of water that I'm pretty damn familiar with everything you'll read in my books. To adventure, my friend…Wes
enough to try. Tortuga Gold reflects a fun new chapter in Wes’s own life as he’s joined in his adventures by his beautiful Belgian wife.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Fund" was recommended to me by a friend. If I had seen it in the book store, I would have passed it by as "not my thing" -- but I'm glad I took my friend's suggestion.

Peter Jamison, the protagonist, is a high-ranking employee with a defense contractor. His project is scrapped and his entire team about to be laid off as a result. When he decides to go to bat for their jobs, he discovers a shadow organization funded by cost overruns from canceled projects -- and operating at the highest levels of government. Soon, his life is in danger as he delves further into the matter.

Author Wes Demott (a former FBI agent) has put more twists and turns into the plot than you'd find in the Chartres labyrinth. It holds your attention from the first page, and the ending is completely unexpected. Recommended for fans of espionage novels.

[Larissa F · Rating 4 out of 5]

This books was well thought out-much better than a typical thriller. Totally did not see the ending coming.

[Eric_W · Rating 1 out of 5]

There were numerous occasions when I groaned, "good grief," during the course of listening to this story. The plot's not bad, intricate, conspiratorial, and intriguing. Then the hero, Peter Jamison, goes into "crazy man" overdrive, a holdover from his insane madness charging up against overwhelming odds in Vietnam, during which he can overcome big bad guys and bullets, etc., etc. I sigh and another, "oh, good, grief," -- of course, I'm thinking to myself, "this guy is a fucking idiot," [that's to keep Ceridwen happy, of course, I would never really say that:]-- escapes my innards.

The author really needs to get a grip and decide whether he is writing an action comic without graphics or a well-plotted thriller. I don't drink, but for this one, I found myself craving a couple of beers, anything to deaden the pain a little.