Racing Rhymes and Other Verses (1901)

The financial crash of 2008 has left many in its wake. When investors accustomed to lavish lifestyles and champagne dreams learn that their beloved ICON Funds have collapsed and are empty shells in what has turned out to be nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme, everyone is angry-but someone is goaded to act.

After ICON CEO Jake Barlton is killed in a massive explosion aboard his mega yacht in Palm Beach, Max Kelly’s ex-girlfriend is arrested for the murder. The police have all the evidence they need to put Carrie Strudel away for the rest of her life-unless consultant Lawton Close can poke a hole in their case. Yet just as he becomes completely immersed in the complicated investigation, others begin dying and the unthinkable is revealed as the new reality. This time, it is personal for Max.

Lawton is facing a difficult undertaking; nothing is as it seems in an empire of lies created by the master conman. But just as he thinks he has heard it all, Lawton learns there is a secret stash of gold and now must determine whether Jake Barlton died at the hands of a killer driven by greed-or revenge.