The Saint Luke Mystery by Chester Kisiel
Two grim murders take place in idyllic Cyprus of an insurance company manager and his uncle, and a miraculous holy icon is replaced with an almost perfect fake. Enter Milton Lessing, brilliant young American insurance sleuth, whose company is on the hook for $5m.
Milton’s arrival sets off a chain reaction of violent events among people who have everything to lose. An English aristocrat, a local real estate mogul, his sexy niece and Girl Friday, a nymphomaniac Russian countess and her acerbic financial adviser, a beautiful museum director, and an abbot all have something at stake. And what is the terrible secret behind the theft?
Two more murders occur of a monk and a petty thief. Milton’s situation becomes ever more perilous, when a mysterious character known as the Voice engages thugs to kill him, and the police abandon him. Three mysterious strangers whom he meets – Joe, his daughter Elena, and Sabazjos, archetypes of Zeno, Aphrodite, and Dionysus, assist Milton.
Milton with his razor-sharp mind and Elena, beautiful and with exceptional psychic and physical abilities, become a formidable team. Will Milton win her love?
In pursuit of the forger, the action races from Greek Cyprus to the tip of Karpas peninsula, Turkish occupied Cyprus, where the counterfeiter and his artist have taken refuge.
Description
Find more from this author on:
About the author:
The Saint Luke Mystery, a religious thriller set in idyllic Cyprus, introducing the brilliant American sleuth Milton Lessing on the trail of art forgers and killers, is his first novel.
What inspired you to write your book?
Sitting one day on the patio of our villa in Paphos, Cyprus I looked bored watching the whitecaps (the sin of Sloth). My wife said, Why don’t you write a book? She had just finished reading the Da Vinci Code and said, Read it; it’s full of mistakes and misconceptions. You could do that. I replied, Yes, I could write a lot of mistakes and misconceptions, but I couldn’t think of a story like that. The seed was planted, though, and a couple of years later I had a story idea for The Saint Luke Mystery. Every “”thriller” starts out with What-if, and everything follows from tha’t; it’s a petito principi (circular reasoning). So one day I came up with mny What-if – a very wealthy and powerful man wanted to acquire a miraculous holy icon for its supposed healing powers and engaged an art profesor and his artist to paint a fake to replace the icon. That would trrigger a series of catastrophic events. Enter Milton Lessing, ordinary looking, but brilliant Ivy League educated insurance sleuth, whose company is on the hook for $5m.
Here is a short sample from the book:
Chapter 1
WEDNESDAY. First Day
Two weeks later, at 7 a.m., a blue Volvo station wagon stopped on the outskirts of Ohmodos village, Southern Cyprus, in front of a dilapidated stone house.
A golden, rust-colored hunting dog, friendly Vizsla breed ran up to the stranger, wagging its tail.
“I’ve got a treat for you, Ulysses, a sop for Cerberus.”
From his pocket, he pulled out a lanate-laced souvlaki. The dog devoured the poisoned sausage eagerly. The man lit a cigarette and waited. Then, he watched in satisfaction as the dog’s back legs started trembling and shaking. It looked up at him with distressed eyes, wondering what happened. Soon, it began to vomit, white foam forming in its mouth and nostrils until it collapsed in the slimy pool that had formed beneath it.
The visitor walked up to the house and pounded on the door.
Seventy-five-year old Neophytous Papacharalambous rubbed the sleep from his eyes, tucked his undershirt into his trousers, hitched up his suspenders, and opened the door. He saw before him in the half-light a tall, menacing man in sunglasses, who looked like the Terminator and seemed to fill up the doorway.
“Are you Dimitris’ uncle?” the man asked in Greek.
“Yes, what do you want?”
“Dimitris sent me for the manila envelope.”
“I don’t know anything about any envelope.”
“That’s the wrong answer!”
The man stepped forward and broke Neophytous’ neck with an expert karate chop and carefully searched the house. He soon found the manila envelope that he had been sent for under a loose floorboard covered by a scatter rug as well as a videocassette and tape, which he also decided to take. Amateurs, he said to himself. He carefully fitted the loose floorboard back in place and covered it with the scatter rug.
He slung the old man’s frail body over his shoulder like a straw-stuffed scarecrow and propped him up behind the steering wheel of his twenty-year-old brown-white Isuzu pickup. He poured zivania into his mouth and sprinkled the liquor all over him; then, he threw the half-empty bottle on the front seat. He wiped his prints off the bottle, revved up the engine, and sent the pickup careening down the road into a large carob tree. Lastly, he put the body of the poisoned dog into the trunk of his car and drove away for his next appointment.
10 a.m. On the Paphos-Limassol road
In a fine humor, Dimitris Papacharalambous, handsome thirty-year-old manager of the Paphos branch of the Old Reliable Insurance Company was driving to a rendezvous with a blackmail victim at the Pithari Tavern in Aphrodite Hills, in his silver metallic Mercedes Benz200C.
He pushed down slowly on the gas pedal and listened with pleasure as the engine purred to his command. With smug satisfaction, he recalled how everyone in the office had congratulated and envied him when he showed it off. This next payment would be just in time because his stock market investments had turned sour and he had run up some other debts. He could use this payment to invest in the hot stock tip that he got from Mario the car salesman. The profit from that would pay off the loan on his insurance policy and the money he had borrowed from his uncle Neophytous. He thought how cleverly he had put them in a corner. Two other people besides him had the manila envelope. If the blackmail victims dared try anything, someone would expose them. They had too much to lose, so he was safe.
The marksman had taken up his position on a cliff overlooking the road. When the car came into sight, the telescopic sight of his Armalite rifle zeroed in on the front, left-side tire of the Mercedes. The crack of the rifle was followed almost immediately by the blow -out of the tire so that it would have been impossible for anyone listening to distinguish the two separate sounds.
Dimitris struggled desperately to regain control of the car, which went into a spin, but there was nothing he could do to save himself. The car crashed through the railing and plunged down the almost vertical face of rock. It hit the ground 100 meters below, rolled over several times, and then burst into flames opposite Petra Tou Romiou, the spot where legend says Aphrodite was born from the sea. A giant wave crashed over it with a hiss.
Related products
-
Surrender by Tawny Taylor
I was his.
To touch.
Anywhere.
Any time he wanted.
Abby is ready to agree to anything to stop her brother from going to prison, but Kameron Maldondo, the owner of MalTech Corporation, is asking for the unexpected. Enthralled by his commanding brilliance, she agrees to be his assistant, at his beck and call for whatever he needs–whenever and however he wants. What that means is for him to decide and for her to submit to. Frightened yet fascinated by what he promises, Abby becomes a willing captive to his caress, undone by his peerless touch, a quivering submission to an aching need for complete carnal surrender. . .
Cloaked in Fur by TF Walsh
Paranormal suspense with strong romance.
As a moonwulf, Daciana never expected to fall in love with a human. Hell, she never imagined that she’d abandon her pack, endanger everyone around her, and break the worst rule possible. But she did.
A rogue werewolf is killing Daciana’s friends, and she sets on capturing the creature. She’ll do whatever it takes to stop the beast. The police and her boyfriend, Inspector Connell Lonescu, are starting to question her involvement in the murders, which is endangering the pack’s secret existence. But when the pack alpha kidnaps Connell, revealing the awful truth about the creature and its connection to the pack, Daciana must choose between saving the man she loves and saving her pack family from certain death.
Sunspots by Karen S. Bell @KarenSueBell
Sunspots follows the healing journey of a young woman thrown into the horror of losing a spouse. It is a story of loss and redemption and the ghosts that haunt our lives and our houses. A love story, a romance, and a mystery of sorts, Sunspots, is above all an exploration into the psyche and emotional arc of the MC and it follows no formula.
Snapshot:
“One can never be, and should never be, smug about life,” says Aurora Goldberg. An aspiring New York actress who has never realized her dreams, Aurora keeps herself afloat by doing odd temp jobs where her rich fantasy life helps her get through the day. Aurora sees the world through the lens of characters in literature and film and these fictionalizations are woven into her interpretation of reality. On one of her temp assignments she meets Jake Stein, a man who could “charm the skin off a snake” and she decides to follow her destiny as his wife in Austin, Texas. But Jake’s sudden death after two short years disintegrates her world and Aurora must reevaluate her life and let go of a love that has become an obsession.
Sunspots takes the reader on a journey of high emotion as Aurora uncovers Jake’s secret life and her own internal conflicts as she matures to self-awareness. Narrated by Aurora, the novel’s tone vacillates from irreverent humor to solemnity as she relates her previous life with Jake and her present challenges. The title refers to the solar maximum which became the backdrop for Aurora’s conception when her hippy parents went to Canada to observe the Aurora Borealis. In name and in spirit, Aurora is connected to the observable and unobservable energy around us.
With the help of friends, family, and the ghost of Viola Parker (her home’s original owner), Aurora accepts her fate and the secrets revealed about Jake’s true character. She realizes that in this life she will finally break the cycle of pain caused by her love for this man, Jake Stein, through the centuries.
Embedded in the novel is the question of the afterlife and paranormal events abound. The incidents are left vague enough so the reader is not certain if they are external events witnessed by Aurora or exist only in her own mind. My approach to the extraordinary has always been with keen interest and skepticism. Just as we cannot see unaided that at the quantum level solid objects consist of vast spaces and swirling particles, so too, we define our human existence with only our limited five senses, three dimensional orientation, and our perceived space/time continuum. So then, what can one say with any certainty is reality?
Crucifix Jigsaw Trilogy – Book One by D.N. Leo
Despite her dark past, Madeline finally had her life under control. She was a successful New York journalist. That was until her best friend was kidnapped for ransom.
She thought she could outmaneuver the kidnapper. After all, she was an investigative journalist, top of her field. She could find out almost any information that she wanted. Madeline considered searching for the true identity of a kidnapping computer avatar a task she was more than capable of. She thought she could set her friend free.
That was until she discovered that she was dealing with one of the most mysterious and powerful families on Earth.Ciaran LeBlanc was considered a revolutionary in the pharmaceuticals field. He was powerful, viciously ambitious, and he trusted no one. Unfortunately, for Madeline, Ciaran held the key to information she so desperately needed.Earning Ciaran’s trust was one challenge but the greater challenge lay ahead.It was not a computer avatar she that she had to contend with. It was a hologame war. It was not a identity she had to expose, it was a five-century-old-secret. A secret that was the key to the past, and the future of humankind.
Within the secrets, greed, and hatred, Madeline also discovered love; that she was capable of loving. But this came at a cost – one Madeline never had imagined.
No Gentleman Is He by Lynette Willows
Young, adventurous and widowed in a new land, Cassandra Courtney Brooks found her dream of raising a superior breed of saddle horse slipping away with the death of her husband. Left with four horses, living in a tavern attic and her scant savings depleted, she resolved to see her vision to fruition by accepting the scandalous position of steward at Varina Farms. Cassandra is soon forced to question the wisdom of her decision when she finds herself enamored with the lusty and dangerous owner.
Born in the image of his dark-skinned ancestor, Pocahontas, it was rumored Colton Rolfe carried the savagery of his Indian heritage. Scorned by his father, Colt grew into a man of ill temperament who’s only true love was the wild equine beasts on his Virginian tobacco plantation. His desire to breed his horses with the superior Saddlebreds of the newly widowed Cassandra Brooks led him to abandon societal rules.
Their story unfolds with Colt’s growing resentment toward the crown and his assistance to Sons of Liberty missions, complicated by the discovery that Cassandra’s father is a titled Englishman. Does he dare trust her?
A fiery passion grows between them through gunfire, treachery, and danger, culminating in a kidnapping. Cassandra realizes her own spirit of independence, love of the land, and the savage man who is so much a part of it. Will he ever trust her enough to love her as she longed to be loved?
Exposed: The Education of Sarah Brown by Michele E. Gwynn
“HOT! Keeps you on your curled toes!” ~ DayReader Reviews
“I have never hated a villain so much!” ~ Vickie Raynor
Dangerous Desires
Sarah Brown sets out on a journey to sexual self-discovery and falls face first into danger. In Barcelona, Anthony de Luca, an author and photographer unleashes the full force of his charm that threatens to steal her heart, a prize he openly admits he doesn’t want. Still, she can’t resist him, and finds herself experiencing the heights of ecstasy and the lows of heartbreak as her lover leaves without a word. In Berlin, Paul Christiansen, a handsome Dutch Lothario with a sordid past works his wiles to seduce her body; while in the shadows, a predator stalks a young boy close to Sarah determined to get what he wants or kill anyone who gets in his way. One of her two lovers has led a dangerous criminal straight to her door, but which one? And who can she trust? Will Sarah survive or will she lose both her heart and her life to dangerous desires?
Heat Level: High
Jack Canon’s American Destiny by Greg Sandora
It’s the steamy summer of 2016 in Washington, D.C. just days before the Democratic National Convention. A long and painful recession has left ordinary Americans suffering, spawning the hottest Presidential Contest in history. Jack Canon, a man born into privilege, a witness to great social injustice is going to be President of the United States–no matter what! Desperate and corrupt, the leader of the free world orders a hit to slow him down. The plan backfires–the wrong people are dead–a manhunt points to the unthinkable–The President of the United States.
Rewind one year, Jack’s focus on redistribution of wealth and energy has made him powerful enemies. Once his friends, Rogue Billionaires, Oil Sheiks, the Mob, all want him gone. The current President wants him alive–thinking he can win against an unabridged liberal. A Universal Raw Nerve of wealth vs. poverty is exposed becoming a thrill ride as deep machinations of espionage, geo-politics and deception, even murder play out. Kind and charismatic, Jack’s just naughty enough to have you falling for him like one of his loving circle of loyal friends. Of course he’s flawed, a dedicated family man, faithful to one woman, but in love with two. Is it his fault his best friend is impossibly jaw dropping beautiful? Think the crime and passion of the Godfather meets the romance and innocence of Camelot. A story that could spark a movement, a book that can seed a revolution. A heart thumping climax so shocking you’ll pull the covers and draw the shades! One things for sure, through all the drama and suspense, you’ll be pulling for Jack!
The Mistress (An Adult Mystery Erotica) by J.E. & M. Keep
“I know I shouldn’t be so curious about you, but you make it so tantalizing to know more.”
SEDUCTION
Eva Perkins is a beautiful and educated student of Freud. She’s lusted after by her professors, and has no qualms about seducing them. Especially if it helps her future career.
When her favourite lover, Dr. Gregory Sinclair, invites her to his wife’s lavish soiree, she’s only too excited to run off with him after the meal for some adult fun.
MURDER
She can still taste her lover’s mouth on her when she finds his wife’s body lying in the snow. Dr. Sinclair would never let her stumble across something so horrific if he were the culprit, but with a house bustling with people, who can she trust? As Dr. Sinclair is led away in handcuffs, Eva is the only one that can prove his innocence. However, it will involve revealing their affair, and give Dr. Sinclair a potential motive.
MYSTERY
Each passing second gives the murderer more time to cover their tracks, and to keep her silent. Darkness lurks in the hearts of her colleagues and professors, and the more she learns, the more urgent her search for the killer becomes. Her life depends on it.
Eva Perkins is a smart female protagonist who will stop at nothing to clear her lover’s name. This sexy thriller will keep you gripping your seat and clenching your thighs with its heart-pounding suspense and breath quickening sex.
An action-packed and very racy mystery novel set in the flapper era. For lovers of romantic suspense.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.