Fiction 2022 / 330 pagesGenre: Thriller & Suspense
Contracts For Sale
Eight Stars
Embrace your enemies. When their bodies are found, you won’t be a suspect..
Always eager when Edward Izzi hands me an ARC of his newest book, I took it upon myself to devour this novel in short order. As usual, Izzi provides the readier with a stellar piece of writing that is full of strong writing, powerful themes, and building on past novels, while remaining a standalone piece for anyone to enjoy. Those who discover the work of Edward Izzi are in for a treat and should not hesitate to find one of his books soon.
After reporter Paul Crawford begins investigating the disappearance of a corporate executive, he’s unsure where it will take him. Working for the Sun-Timesin Chicago, Crawford is used to the unusual and everything has a whiff of mob activity. A little research shows that a number of people are disappearing into thin air with no trace or apparent reason. A lack of any forensics or video surveillance leaves Crawford to wonder if these are well-executed professional hits. Working in tandem with his friend and fellow reporter, Chaz Rizzo, Crawford cannot make any solid headway, save for referring to those who have gone missing as ‘Houdini Victirms’.
Meanwhile, Mark Stetler has been working behind the scenes as CEO of Eradication, Inc. a company that specialises in providing murder for hire. While the fee is high, the result is usually to the client’s desire, as nothing is left to chance. Meeting in secret, the Board of Directors for Eradication, Inc. reviews submissions and delegates the work to their two hired assassins. Members of the group are in it for life, with dire consequences for anyone trying to leave the fold. Stetler is sure that this will continue to become a lucrative business, as long as those who seek their services to not have loose lips.
When Crawford and Rizzo get some intel that points to the possible existence of Eradication, Inc, they begin digging deeper, alerting some within the group that the cover nature may soon be blown. It will take a great deal of effort and determination for Eradication, Inc. not to let everything come crashing down around them, especially with two nosy reporters on the prowl. The grit and determination shown by Crawford and Rizzo is something few in the Chicago reporting world have seen.
Scrambling to put the pieces together and alert the CPD, these two reporters ramp up their competitive side while working to bring down this organisation. It will take everything they have, but someone must act or Eradication, Inc. will continue these brutal murders and turn Chicago into a city with blood flowing down the streets. Another stellar piece by Izzi that only proves even more why I enjoy this author.
While I have been around for each of Edward Izzi’s novels, it took me some time to get used to his style. Izzi writes in a gritty fashion and pulls the reader in from the start. While each novel is a standalone, the setting and characters overlap, such that a reader of all the books will find threads that connect each storyl and add to the enjoyment. Izzi keeps getting better and shows that he is one author worth noting, particularly for the reader who needs something fast paced.
Izzi provides the reader with something intense and yet easy to read, with a strong narrative that keeps the story on track. With short chapters and strong plot development, there is little time for the reader to rest as they make their way through another Chicago-based thriller. As mentioned before, Izzi writes standalones, but some of the charcaters return from book to book, permitting those who have read many of Izzi’s books, as I have, to enjoy some development throughout the overall ‘series’ experience. I cannot say enough about Izzi or his writing and can only hope that there are more to come soon, as I eagerly await his emails with ARCs attached.
SYNOPSIS
“Embrace your enemies. When their bodies are found, you won’t be a suspect.”
How would you like to hire the services of an elite group of professional assassins, who will accept the assignment of deleting your most horrific adversary, performing the perfect murder, without a trace?
Chicago Sun-Times Reporter Paul Crawford is asked to investigate a series of recent murders he eventually calls the ‘Houdini Victims’. He begins with the investigation of a corporate executive who vanishes from a parking garage in the Chicago Loop, without a trace. The most unusual fact about this crime is that there is no body, no DNA evidence, no surveillance cameras, and no fingerprints. It is quite obvious that this murder was done by a professional, and neither Crawford nor his Channel Eight reporter buddy, Chaz Rizzo, can figure out who it is.
Mark Stelter, CEO of Eradication, Inc., has found a niche and a marketable demand for those who wish to eliminate their worst enemies. For the price of $99,900, he has a stable of professional killers who can abduct any victim and make them disappear. With the help of his affiliate company, Eco-Green Environmental Consultants, he has the chemicals, the facilities, and the personnel to make any murder victim vanish without a trace. He conducts his covert corporation like any other corporate entity, with a board of directors meeting each month and dividend declarations to his shareholders.
But when one of the directors attempts to resign, things start to get complicated. Stelter sends his killers to track down and assassinate the former shareholder. They use a unique apparatus called a ‘bolito’, instantaneously killing their victims. With a section in the director’s contracts barring them from resigning and signing their own death warrants, the shareholders of Eradication Inc. are now getting nervous. Although they are making millions, the shareholders now realize that they are putting their lives at risk, and can only escape with their deaths.
As the victims continue to vanish, Paul Crawford continues to investigate the environmental company and how they are connected to the recent Chicago murders. With the shareholders of Eradication Inc. wishing to resign and make a deal with the Chicago P.D., Mark Stelter struggles to keep his Board of Directors unified with an iron fist.
It is now only a question of time, before either the reporters or the shareholders become the next vanishing victims of Eradication, Inc.
“Embrace your enemies. When their bodies are found, you won’t be a suspect.”
How would you like to hire the services of an elite group of professional assassins, who will accept the assignment of deleting your most horrific adversary, performing the perfect murder, without a trace?
Chicago Sun-Times Reporter Paul Crawford is asked to investigate a series of recent murders he eventually calls the ‘Houdini Victims’. He begins with the investigation of a corporate executive who vanishes from a parking garage in the Chicago Loop, without a trace. The most unusual fact about this crime is that there is no body, no DNA evidence, no surveillance cameras, and no fingerprints. It is quite obvious that this murder was done by a professional, and neither Crawford nor his Channel Eight reporter buddy, Chaz Rizzo, can figure out who it is.
Mark Stelter, CEO of Eradication, Inc., has found a niche and a marketable demand for those who wish to eliminate their worst enemies. For the price of $99,900, he has a stable of professional killers who can abduct any victim and make them disappear. With the help of his affiliate company, Eco-Green Environmental Consultants, he has the chemicals, the facilities, and the personnel to make any murder victim vanish without a trace. He conducts his covert corporation like any other corporate entity, with a board of directors meeting each month and dividend declarations to his shareholders.
But when one of the directors attempts to resign, things start to get complicated. Stelter sends his killers to track down and assassinate the former shareholder. They use a unique apparatus called a ‘bolito’, instantaneously killing their victims. With a section in the director’s contracts barring them from resigning and signing their own death warrants, the shareholders of Eradication Inc. are now getting nervous. Although they are making millions, the shareholders now realize that they are putting their lives at risk, and can only escape with their deaths.
As the victims continue to vanish, Paul Crawford continues to investigate the environmental company and how they are connected to the recent Chicago murders. With the shareholders of Eradication Inc. wishing to resign and make a deal with the Chicago P.D., Mark Stelter struggles to keep his Board of Directors unified with an iron fist.
It is now only a question of time, before either the reporters or the shareholders become the next vanishing victims of Eradication, Inc.