In a gripping debut novel that combines power, politics, and the press, John Luciew introduces a rogue reporter whose new lease on life may be the end of him....Obituary writer Lenny Holcomb has reached a dead end. Burned-out and uninspired, he knows life in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, has nothing left to offer. Until the secrets of the dead begin to reveal themselves in his work -- sending Lenny back into the streets armed with a shrewd mind and a recharged sense of purpose.Lenny is hot on the trail of a popular governor with presidential ambitions who may have had a role in the death of his beautiful press secretary. Teamed with the sexy investigative journalist Jacquelyn "Jack" Towers, Lenny uncovers widespread political corruption leading all the way to the governor's majordomo -- a ruthless and mysterious behind-the-scenes powerbroker who has been pulling strings for his boss all along. When Lenny puts together the murderous truth, he realizes that he's just made a very powerful and dangerous enemy -- and that the last obituary he pens may be his own.
DON'T MISS JOHN LUCIEW'S ALL-NEW, FULL-LENGTH POLICE PROCEDURAL MYSTERY A brutal crime. A dogged detective. And 34 years of unreasonable doubt.It's 1978 and acclaimed horror director George A. Romero is gearing up to shoot his zombie cult classic "Dawn of the Dead" in the Monroeville Mall, just outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.On Halloween night, a 12-year-old girl dressed as Olivia Newton-John's character from "Grease" is slashed to death in a brutal, bloody crime. Her mutilated, blood-soaked corpse is found on the back patio of her broken, unhappy steelworker's home on the outskirts of the city. But as imperfect as they both are, the girl's estranged, unfit parents seem incapable of this level of violence.The shocking, sensational case ignites a culture war within the Pittsburgh Police Department, pitting old-school, bare-knuckles detective Sal Flores against college-educated upstart Finbarr Mulcahy.Forced to work together, the two warring detectives follow a convoluted trail of evidence to a special-effects guru working on the "Dawn of the Dead" production. Did this make-up man's obsession with death, dismemberment and bloody violence veer from make-believe into murder?A key piece of evidence tied to the celebrated zombie movie set seems to clinch the case.But Mulcahy isn't so sure. And the uncertainly nags at him for the next 34 years. Until the celebrated veteran detective, now in the late stages of colon cancer, decides to revisit the case one last time.The debilitated detective is joined by a young-but-retired prot g in the department who lost a limb while a reservist in the Iraq war. Along with Mulcahy' beautiful, computer-crafty hospice nurse, they pursue the real killer in hopes of unraveling more than three decades of mystery. All before Mulcahy takes the final secrets to his own grave.Told in chapters that alternative between past and present, this engrossing, two-track mystery will leave you guessing until the very last page.It's a heart-stopping battle against the criminal justice bureaucracy, a stone-cold killer's unmerciful evil -- and mortality itself. You won't be able to stop reading until Mulcahy discovers the final shocking twist hidden at the heart of his toughest case.It was his first case. Now, it will be his last. The only question is, can he uncover the truth in time?
Book Two in the Lenny Holcomb Mysteries: In the streets of Harrisburg, a man is killed in what appears to be a straightforward hit-and-run - until the victim turns out to have no identity whatsoever. Obituary writer Lenny Holcomb's ability to glimpse the secrets of his column's subjects leads him to suspect that his old friend, ex-congressman George Packard, may have had a hand in the "accident." But if so, why do all the clues point to Packard's slick political rival? With the help of ambitious reporter Jacqueline Towers, Lenny follows a trail of political spin and corruption to the highest levels of Pennsylvania government - where the right influence can make any problem disappear. Unfortunately, some very powerful people think Lenny Holcomb has just become a problem ...In his sequel to Fatal Dead Lines, John Luciew doubles the action and triples the suspense. And the odds against Lenny Holcomb ever finding the truth couldn't be higher. It's a rip-roaring political yarn with an authentic, torn-from-the-headlines feel. You won't be able to put it down.Now in a newly updated Second Edition
TWO FULL-LENGTH MYSTERIES, ONE BLOCKBUSTER SERIES. When Lenny Holcomb is on the beat, death is only the beginning of the story...Reporter Lenny Holcomb speaks for the dead. He tells their final stories. He writes their obituaries. After decades on the obit desk, Lenny has learned to uncover something else - the dying secrets of the deceased. This sends him back into the streets with a shrewd mind and a recharged sense of purpose - namely, to take down the politically connected power brokers in Pennsylvania's crooked capital city.With the help of ambitious reporter Jacquelyn "Jack" Towers, Lenny follows a trail of political spin and backroom corruption to the highest levels of Pennsylvania government - where the right influence can make any problem disappear. Unfortunately, some very powerful people think Lenny Holcomb has just become a problem. And the odds against Lenny ever finding the truth couldn't be higher.Author John Luciew plumbs the depths of power, politics and the press in this updated and unabridged collection of the Complete Lenny Holcomb Mysteries. The result is a gripping, nail-biting race for the truth.Can Lenny put the politically-charged pieces together in time? Or will the last obituary he pens be his own?It's a rip-roaring political yarn with an authentic, torn-from-the-headlines feel. You won't be able to put it down.
High Stakes. Huge Money. No Prisoners.A start-up technology company is headed for a gigantic payday in the form of a white-hot initial public offering. The firm's super-charged stock is being fueled by a break-through project developed by fast-rising executive Amanda Creed and her dedicated team. But to cross the finish line, the divorced mother of two has been forced to sacrifice her family -- and her social life.By the time her project hits the big time, Amanda is ready to celebrate with abandon. But her wild, one-night tryst turns to corporate treason, as a spy uses her indiscretion against her. Tables turn, and Amanda finds herself shut out of her own project and shunned at her company.That's nothing compared to the life-and-death stakes in the balance when Amanda's daughter is kidnapped. The girl's only hope is a principled, unassuming ex-Navy SEAL who has been looking out for Amanda and her kids every step of the way. It's a non-stop, pulse-pounding race for love, money -- and life itself.Because in business, competition's a killer.
IS AMANDA CREED'S CORPORATE EMPIRE UNRAVELING?It has been a cut-throat climb for Amanda Creed. And corporate success has come at a very personal cost. Yet now she sits at the pinnacle as a successful CEO of a vast, global corporate empire.But for how long? Power comes in many forms. Wealth is just one of them.This time, Amanda will face the even dirtier - and far deadlier -worlds of politics, the mafia and a corrupt justice system as she tries to launch her latest money-minting business.The balance sheet goes far beyond dollars and cents. The costs of doing business in these worlds might just prove too much to bear.A loved one goes on trial for his life. Meanwhile, a trusted confidant could be playing both ends against the middle, with an eye on unseating Amanda from her corporate throne.Still, the biggest hit is the one no one sees coming.The ending of this book won't just change Amanda's life. It could end it altogether. Or worse, it could claim the life of someone she holds most dear.After all, this is Corporate America. Just three rules apply: High Stakes. Huge Money. No Prisoners.Because the competition's a killer
WOUNDED HEART is being hailed and the next THE FAULT IN OUR STARS Only, the fault in these two young lovers' stars is a suffering soldier's PTSD...Jake Tyler is a wounded warrior with a terrible secret. He has returned home to Pennsylvania, looking to pick up the pieces of his shattered life. Tessa Knight, a sheltered college freshman from Pittsburgh, is aching to begin hers.They meet-cute amid the idyllic grandeur of central Pennsylvania's Old State University. And from the very beginning, one seems to heal the other's broken places. But it's a cruel, dangerous world and theirs is fragile fortress, so hard to protect.To remain together, they'll have to survive the unexpected fall-out from their colliding worlds, which weren't meant to be shared.Is love enough? Can a warrior injured so grievously in war ever learn to feel again?Or are some wounds just too deep? READ JOHN LUCIEW'S STUNNING NEW NOVEL OF HOPE, HONOR, LOVE AND LOSS.
AMANDA CREED RETURNS FOR A FINAL, ALL-OUT SPRINT TO THE FINISH. THIS TIME, EVERYTHING IS ON THE LINE... Amanda has successfully protected her vast corporate empire against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Yet in all her corporate cunning to safeguard the billion-dollar bottom line, Amanda might have squandered something far more valuable -- the life of someone she loves. The Final Chapter. When everything else is stripped away, time stands as our most precious possession. No amount of money can buy back lost moments with our loved ones. And all the riches in the world can't be traded to ease one's regret when another is gone.These cold calculations have come home to roost, as Amanda Creed has successfully protected her vast corporate empire against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Yet in all her corporate cunning to safeguard the billion-dollar bottom line, Amanda might have squandered something far more valuable.The life of someone she loves could prove to be the unimaginable price of her stunning success.It's the one deal Amanda never would have made. Yet the merciless negotiators of fate might not give her any choice in the matter.This pulse-pounding final chapter to the Amanda Creed corporate thrillers reveals all: No secrets remain hidden. No character is out of harm's way. And no price for wanting to have it all is too high.Or is it?How much is a life worth, anyway?
As a series of real-life college fraternity scandals rocks the nation, journalist John Luciew returns with a ripped-from-the-headlines thriller so current you won't be able to put it down until the last twist is revealed. An out-of-control fraternity. A horribly twisted crime. An innocent victim. And a most unusual plan for revenge... This is FRAT HOUSE HELL, and you have been warned: PARTY AT YOUR OWN RISK
