Frag Box

Herman Jackson never thought his past would catch up with him, least of all via a murdered Vietnam veteran named Charlie Victor. Jackson used to run a bookie operation in Detroit, but his bail bond business in St. Paul is much safer. And if Charlie Victor wasn't his best client, he was at least a steady one, paying his bonding fee out of a secret stash he called his frag box. Then Charlie is beaten to death on a public street in broad daylight. Strangely, he leaves behind a will naming Jackson as his sole heir. Jackson wants justice for Charlie, who had become something of a friend. But with plenty of money problems of his own, he also wants the box of cash. Unfortunately, Charlie's killers want it, too, and the race is on. Jackson will traverse the dark alleys of St. Paul's Railroad Island, the snowbound Minnesota Iron Range, and finally an abandoned tunnel under St. Paul. But every step reveals another layer of protection and another set of lies Jackson has told, including the ones he told himself.... Richard Thompson is a former civil engineer and construction manager who traded his hard hat for a laptop and now writes full time. His first novel, Fiddle Game, was short-listed for a Debut Dagger award, and Frag Box was a finalist for the 2010 Minnesota Book Award. He is also the author of a standalone historical mystery, Big Wheat. He lives in Minnesota with his wife of 45 years and two neurotic cats. www.ReadRichardAThompson.com