Monday, February 8, 2016

"Graveyard"

New York Times bestselling author William C. Dietz has published more than fifty novels some of which have been translated into German, French, Russian, Korean and Japanese. Dietz also wrote the script for the Legion of the Damned game (i-Phone, i-Touch, & i-Pad) based on his book of the same name--and co-wrote SONY's Resistance: Burning Skies game for the PS Vita.

He grew up in the Seattle area, spent time with the Navy and Marine Corps as a medic, graduated from the University of Washington, lived in Africa for half a year, and has traveled to six continents. He has been employed as a surgical technician, college instructor, news writer, television producer and Director of Public Relations and Marketing for an international telephone company.

Dietz is a member of the Writer’s Guild and the International Association of Media Tie-In Writers. He and his wife live near Gig Harbor in Washington State where they enjoy traveling, kayaking, and reading books.

Dietz applied the Page 69 Test to Graveyard, and reported the following:
From page 69:
There were lots of messages and Lee skipped through them until she found the one from Kane. His voice was strange, as if he was trying to sound casual, but under considerable pressure. "Hi, hon... It's me. Sorry to bother you, but I'm in jail. No, this isn't a joke. I was arrested for murder about an hour after you left for work. They're holding me at the MDC and I need some help. Okay, I guess that's all. Love you." And that was followed by a click.

Lee could hardly believe her ears and listened to the message again before calling the MDC. She knew at least a dozen people there--and it didn't take long to hook up with a clerk who could confirm that yes, they did have a prisoner named Lawrence Kane, and yes, he was being held on a murder charge.

Lee's hand shook as she dialed Marvin Codicil's number. Codicil was her attorney and had been able to resolve a number of legal problems in the past. And, since he knew Kane, Codicil seemed like the right person to turn to. He answered on the second ring. "Hello, Cassandra... I wondered when you’d call."

"I was working," Lee replied. "It sounds like you already know about Lawrence."

"Yes," Codicil said. "He called me as soon as he could."

"So what the hell is going on?"

"I'm due in court five minutes from now," Codicil said, "so I can't go into a lot of detail. Suffice it to say that Lawrence had left his condo, and was on his way to St. John's, when he saw two men accost a young woman on the street. He stopped, got out of his car, and ordered them to stop. They turned and one of the men fired a shot at Lawrence. He returned fire using the .45 that you gave him. The man with the gun fell dead.

"And even though cops were almost impossible to find in all of the chaos a patrol car happened along seconds later. The surviving suspect took the dead man's pistol and ran. The police officers ordered Lawrence to surrender his weapon and he did so. Then, when they asked him to explain the shooting, he realized that the young woman had disappeared. And when Lawrence asked the police if they'd seen her they said ‘no.’ End of story."
In this case the Page 69 Test works fairly well, although it shines a light on only one part of Cassandra Lee’s life. Because while Lee’s boyfriend is in jail, she’s also working to uncover corruption in the Mayor’s office, tracking the serial killer responsible for killing a number of cops including her father, and working a case that involves illegal face transplants. And that’s what makes the novel exciting… There’s a lot going on all at once.
Visit William C. Dietz's website, Facebook page, and Twitter perch.

The Page 69 Test: Andromeda's Fall.

My Book, The Movie: Andromeda's Fall.

The Page 69 Test: Andromeda's Choice.

The Page 69 Test: Deadeye.

My Book, The Movie: Deadeye.

--Marshal Zeringue