Brief

In 2004 Cleveland, a man allegedly kills a woman before taking his own life, but first he sends a cryptic message to his old psychologist. Spurred by his belief that his former client was murdered, the psychologist is soon drawn into a world of conspiracy at his own backdoor. Trying to uncover the secrets of the old money elite soon puts a target on his and loved ones’ backs, and they have to get to the bottom of why the man was killed before they’re the next ones in the ground.

What We Liked

Josh constantly fights to do the right thing, as do his friends. He’s a strong protagonist who values his morals and beliefs above all else. He doesn’t only get caught up in the mystery surrounding his client’s death out of curiosity; he’s driven to learn the truth because he trusts his own judgements of human nature. He puts his clients first and is invested in their journeys to getting better, to living better lives. He’s surrounded himself with a support group of caring and constant friends, and it shows in the way that they don’t abandon one another at the sign of trouble. Josh is brave, but he’s never ruthless, and he’s not afraid to admit his faults or fear. This makes him such an empathetic character for audiences to connect with.

Film: This book has all the great landmarks of a conspiracy thriller just waiting to be adapted for the screen. There are always interested parties willing to develop thrillers, just as there are always audiences excited to see them at the box office. The suspense throughout the story will translate well to a feature, and the action is never-ending excitement from bombs to fires to Josh’s house and roommates being harassed. It would be incredibly cinematic, and the historic Cleveland that comes across so well in the novel would make for a perfect backdrop.

TV: It’s so easy to see these characters inhabiting a television series. There are several characters who already have their own interesting subplots and lives outside of the central narrative, and all of that could be fleshed out even more over the course of a show. It could work both as a limited series focused on this specific conspiracy, or it could easily be spread out over several seasons. The elite power players that Josh gets wrapped up with can’t be the only ones in town, and even so they’re bound to have other coverups that can be investigated so as to bring their evil deeds to light. All of the political connections just make this more clear, and diving further into those offers a new world of possible plots.

Key points:
1. Empathetic protagonist
2. Diverse supporting cast
3. Intriguing mystery
4. Widespread conspiracy
5. Complex and dynamic narrative

Synopsis

Psychologist JOSH MILLER learns that an old client of his, STANLEY BRANDON, has apparently killed himself after murdering a woman, OLIVIA TORRES (in this country on her sister ANGELA’S passport). Stanley and his sister SANDY were sexually and physically abused as children by his prominent GREAT UNCLE, GRANDMOTHER, and FATHER. He once recalled to Josh that his uncle murdered a YOUNG BOY, burying him on the Brandon property. Josh receives a package with a note, a phone, and a key from the late Stanley. The note includes a quote from HENRY FRANCIS, a social justice philosopher, and Josh turns it all over to SHAUNA, a detective. Both Jack and their other roommate MOLLY are as interested in this strange case as Josh is, as is Jack’s partner ROBERT, who uses his own connections to find information.

The FBI are interested in Olivia’s death, and Shauna works alongside a task force to try to figure out what’s being covered up. Stanley’s MOTHER is convinced that her ex-husband STEVE BRANDON killed her son. JOHN HOWARD comes to Josh as a client. He has a terrible relationship with his father, ALEXANDER HOWARD, a business magnate. DONALD FRAZIER owns Cobra Security, which Brandon runs. John also knows Angela Torres. Stanley had been good friends with Henry Francis, who coincidentally had projects funded by the Howards’ family foundation. Josh is being followed by silver Lexus cars, which are used by Cobra, and he’s being harassed by police for not leaving the Stanley murder alone.

Jack and Robert are in a car crash that lands Robert in a coma the same day he learns something explosive about the case. It’s not an accident. Josh goes to Robert’s office to find his computer, but he’s interrupted by THREE POLICE who set the building on fire. Josh barely makes it out. REBECCA FRAZIER, Donald’s wife, keeps turning up everywhere and Josh sees her car outside Robert’s building. He receives Stanley’s computer disks which seem to implicate Henry Francis in an attempted coup in Equatorial Guinea that Cobra carried out. Francis appears to have gotten involved in order to get an environmental project off the ground. Neither Francis nor Angela know why Stanley and Olivia were killed, and both are carted away by Homeland Security. ACLU lawyer and Josh’s girlfriend PEG thinks the State Department knows something.

Children’s remains are found when a new development breaks ground on Brandon land, and Josh thinks it must be the boy Stanley’s uncle buried. Josh meets with Brandon, who surprisingly wants his help with discovering who murdered Stanley. Josh accuses Brandon of following him with Cobra cars, but Brandon knows nothing. John reveals that he’s close with Rebecca, who in turn knows Francis. Alexander Howard was actually behind the coup in order to pin it on Francis. Frazier meets with Josh, as he wants Stanley’s disks. Robert wakes from his coma and tells them that Cobra Security as well as Frazier and Howard are all being investigated by the UN for human rights abuses, and Angela Torres is on the UN legal team.

Josh accuses Rebecca of following him around. Though she can’t tell him why and begs him not to tell Frazier, she’s on his side. Howard is behind everything, and Frazier and Brandon just work for him. The police uncover more children’s remains. Shauna and the task force get material from Stanley’s disks which implicates Cobra in all their dirty dealings as private security in Iraq. Howard offers Josh an amazing opportunity to help the mentally ill in exchange for his client records and silence regarding everything he’s learned so far. Josh refuses.

Frazier is arrested, but Howard isn’t even though he’s on the board. Brandon would be, if anyone could find him. John is showing signs of being homicidal toward Howard, and Josh is required to let the police and Howard know. John winds up dead on his father’s property, and the official story is that he killed himself. Rebecca reveals she’s Sandy, Stanley’s sister. She wanted revenge on her father for the abuse, and the way she got it was helping the US District Attorney to build a case against him, her husband, and Howard. She doesn’t think Frazier killed Stanley or Olivia, though. She has another disk of Stanley’s, one that implicates his great uncle as well as Howard in the children’s murders.

About The Author

A widely published poet and author, River Smith is a community-based psychologist who has written many books, including A Conspiracy to Love and The Power Handbook. A feminist-systems therapist, his clinical work has focused on post-traumatic stress, gender roles, LGBTQ issues, and relationship healing. As a lifelong resident of The North Coast, he is a former commentator for WCPN-FM (NPR), a guest columnist for The Plain Dealer, and a featured writer for The City News. He now writes for Liberation Brew TV and troublemakingpunk.org. This is River's first mystery novel, and the first in a series of books that will feature Cleveland.