Governor Cochrane holds the power to punish all criminals except his daughter's killer. Then a blackmailer threatens to reveal his ruinous family secret just as a sniper targets innocents in Chicago.
To protect his career and those he governs, he'll have to hunt both enemies.
EVOLVED PUBLISHING PRESENTS the second book in the critically-acclaimed series detailing Duncan Cochrane's rise to prominence and the personal cost of his public ambitions.
"Another fast-paced, can't-put-down book by David Hagerty. Like his first book, he keeps you guessing what will happen and then brings you an unexpected 'I didn't see that coming' ending. This book is another winner!" Terez Lyle
"From the beautifully written opening chapter describing the sniping murder of a young boy in Cabrini Green, to the protagonist's moving into Cabrini Green in order to investigate the sniping (which is based on real events), to the ultimate satisfying, but not entirely happy, resolution, the writing rings of reality and truth. It draws the reader emotionally forward, and also conveys a terrific sense of time and place." Theresa O'Loughlin
Author Biography:
AUTHOR: Stories about crimes have always resonated with me, whether it was "Crime and Punishment" or "The Quiet American." Maybe it's because I started my career as a police reporter, or because I worked for a time as a teacher in the county jail. More than a decade ago, when I decided to finally get serious about writing, I started with short stories based on real misdeeds I'd witnessed. I wrote one about my next door neighbor, who'd been murdered by a friend, another about an ambitious bike racer who decides to take out the competition, and a bunch of others based on characters I met in jail. Over time these got picked up by various magazines online and in print. More than a dozen now exist, with most of the latest in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine and Big Pulp. For my debut novel, "They Tell Me You Are Wicked," I drew inspiration from the most infamous event in the history of my hometown: the real life killing of a political candidate's daughter (though I made up all the details). Now I am at work on a second volume in the series, set two years later, after my hero, Duncan Cochrane, has become governor. He's haunted by the family secret that got him elected, and fighting a sniper who's targeting children in Chicago. EDITOR: We never read enough books in school, so I would remove the dust jacket from my mom's books and steal minutes during class to read. It always felt like I was getting away with something, or discovering a world few of my peers knew existed. I've been writing since middle school, doing it reasonably well for the last decade. While getting my masters in English from Arizona State, I worked at a daily newspaper as columnist and then opinion editor, and also as editor of the Phoenix Air Guard newspaper. Since living in Roanoke, Virginia, I've formed a weekly writers group and become active in the online peer review community. I published a non-fiction book on digital piracy in 2011, and have several short stories in print. I dabble in horror and YA, but feel at home in literary fiction. Some of my favorites include Neil Gaiman, Cormac McCarthy, Kurt Vonnegut, and Stephen King, but I'm not a hard sell: I'll read anything. If I'm not reading, I'm listening. Audiobooks comprise at least half of what I consume, and offer a great excuse to go on long walks. I have narrated four commercially available titles and produced a dozen more. For me, editing is taking something I already love and helping it grow. I appreciate thick skin and an open mind. In writing, often both are necessary for success. After all, writing is rewriting.
