BE
CAREFUL, DR. RENNER
Dr.
Clyde Renner is dead, apparently of a heart attack. Leonard Branch, campus cop
at Renner’s small liberal arts college, is convinced there’s more to Renner’s
demise and Gideon Marshall, paleontologist, plays host to a parade of
characters with a stake in the autopsy. In the end, Marshall discovers not only
the perfect murder, but also ideal weapons of mass destruction.
Dr.
Clyde Renner, professor of geology, chair of the department, world renowned
expert on volcanoes and earthquakes, and intellectual giant, is dead,
apparently of a heart attack, alone in his insect-infested house. Leonard
Branch, campus cop at Renner’s small liberal arts college in Iowa, is convinced
there’s more to Renner’s demise than appears on the death certificate. Gideon
Marshall, paleontologist, now acting chair, plays host to a parade of
characters, including Renner’s bullied secretary and accountant, a belligerent
female prof, an untenured young scientist and his hot-headed coed paramour, her
wealthy helicopter parent, Renner’s estranged gay son and his computer geek
husband, and the college president; all are involved in various ways with Clyde
Renner’s distinguished career and all have a stake in the autopsy results. In
the end, Marshall accepts the fact that he’s probably discovered not only the
perfect murder, but also ideal weapons of mass destruction.
THE
STITCHER FILE
After
the brutal execution-style shooting of a geology prof, paleontologist Gideon
Marshall gets dumped into an even more complex mess than the one a year earlier
in this sequel to BE CAREFUL, Dr. RENNER. Marshall is put under house arrest
because of a note found in the deceased’s hands. RENNER, it turns out, was a
victim of a perfect murder scheme. STITCHER is a different matter.
With
another death at his small, Forbes-listed, liberal arts college in Iowa, Gideon
Marshall, unwilling and temporary chair of the Geology Department, gets dumped
into even a bigger and more complex mess than he experienced as a result of the
first one a year earlier. Instead of the simple heart attack and stroke that
felled his predecessor, which was the perfect murder of a despised faculty bully,
Marshall now deals with the brutal execution-style shooting of a geology prof,
this one a female whose personality has earned her the nickname “Becky
Bitcher.” THE STITCHER FILE is a sequel to BE CAREFUL, Dr. RENNER. In THE
STITCHER FILE Marshall is put under house arrest because of a note found in the
deceased’s hands. The victim is found on an ice-covered railroad crossing by
the Geology Department accountant. Law enforcement descends on the site, and
Marshall ends up with an ankle monitor. Many of the same players that plagued
Gideon Marshall in BE CAREFUL, DR. RENNER re-appear in new roles, along with
new characters from various law enforcement agencies. RENNER, it turns out, was
a victim of a perfect murder scheme. STITCHER is a different matter.
THE
EARTHQUAKE LADY
The
brutal murder of a scientist at geologist Gideon Marshall’s upscale liberal
arts college in Iowa remains unsolved. A request from the Department of
Criminal Investigation, to determine the origin of dirt in ten plastic bags,
sends Marshall on a trek through Oklahoma oil fields and turns him into a
crucial prosecution witness whose testimony will have global implications.
A
brutal murder at Gideon Marshall’s upscale liberal arts college in Iowa remains
unsolved. A Department of Criminal Investigation detective and the Polk County
medical examiner show up in Marshall’s office on a bleak Friday afternoon with
the victim’s autopsy report, a box of plastic bags, and a request to determine
the origin of dirt samples. Paleontologist Marshall is about to become a
crucial prosecution witness because of his ability to identify materials in
those bags. The DCI request sends Marshall and his wife Mykala on an adventure
that begins with concealed carry training and weapons purchase, continues on a
trek through Oklahoma oil fields posing as inspectors, and ends with an arrest
that is certain to bring Marshall into direct confrontation with Big Oil, Big
Money, and the Department of Defense.
THE EARTHQUAKE LADY is the third Gideon Marshall Mystery. The stories center around the potential danger of scientific discoveries and the sometimes eccentric lives of people who make them. Marshall is dragged into efforts by various people to control the discoveries of a genius-level scientist, a former faculty member in his department, this unhappy woman—Rebecca Stitcher—who was the murder victim. Stitcher’s theoretical research in geology could empower a nation to produce ideal weapons of mass destruction, namely large volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis occurring at times and places chosen on purpose. Needless to say, there many people interested in this possibility, and all of them eventually descend on Gideon Marshall’s small liberal arts college in Iowa. As Marshall’s perceptive wife Mykala says to him: “Gideon, it’s just beginning.”
THE EARTHQUAKE LADY is the third Gideon Marshall Mystery. The stories center around the potential danger of scientific discoveries and the sometimes eccentric lives of people who make them. Marshall is dragged into efforts by various people to control the discoveries of a genius-level scientist, a former faculty member in his department, this unhappy woman—Rebecca Stitcher—who was the murder victim. Stitcher’s theoretical research in geology could empower a nation to produce ideal weapons of mass destruction, namely large volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis occurring at times and places chosen on purpose. Needless to say, there many people interested in this possibility, and all of them eventually descend on Gideon Marshall’s small liberal arts college in Iowa. As Marshall’s perceptive wife Mykala says to him: “Gideon, it’s just beginning.”
THE
WEATHERFORD TRIAL
Geology
prof Charlie Weatherford is arrested for murder of a colleague who’s maybe
solved the problem of making big earthquakes occur on purpose with fracking
techniques. Connie Bergen, attorney for the company supporting Weatherford for
proprietary access to research, is sent to defend him. The trial brings out the
deadly potential of scientifically illiterate men in high places.
An
execution-style murder, a dashing young prof, competing expert witnesses, and a
Big Oil civil lawyer dragged into his first criminal case combine to uncover
the power of belief regardless of truth.
Dr. Charlie Weatherford, dashing young geology prof at Cavanaugh College in Iowa, is arrested for the murder of a colleague, Rebecca Stitcher, reputed to have solved the problem of making major earthquakes occur on purpose, using hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) techniques developed by the petroleum industry. Connecticut “Connie” Bergen, a civil attorney for Stevens Oil, Inc., the company supporting Weatherford for proprietary access to research results, gets on a company jet bound for Des Moines, sent by owner Delmar Stevens himself to defend Weatherford. This is Bergen’s first assignment in a criminal case, and he’s met at the airport by Amber Buchanan, a mysterious woman with various roles in Stevens Oil, Inc., whose job evidently is to guide him through the legal labyrinth surrounding this murder. It’s not obvious that anyone, even Weatherford, cares whether he’s convicted or acquitted.
The Weatherford Trial leads us through the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation witness protection efforts, Bergen’s handling of forensic geology, competing expert witnesses, and Bergen’s education at the hands of Amber, until the jury adjourns to arrive at a verdict. The Weatherford Trial is the fourth Gideon Marshall Mystery. As with the first three books, this one brings out the deadly potential of seemingly arcane ideas, the phenomenon of scientific illiteracy in high places, and the power of belief regardless of truth.
Dr. Charlie Weatherford, dashing young geology prof at Cavanaugh College in Iowa, is arrested for the murder of a colleague, Rebecca Stitcher, reputed to have solved the problem of making major earthquakes occur on purpose, using hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) techniques developed by the petroleum industry. Connecticut “Connie” Bergen, a civil attorney for Stevens Oil, Inc., the company supporting Weatherford for proprietary access to research results, gets on a company jet bound for Des Moines, sent by owner Delmar Stevens himself to defend Weatherford. This is Bergen’s first assignment in a criminal case, and he’s met at the airport by Amber Buchanan, a mysterious woman with various roles in Stevens Oil, Inc., whose job evidently is to guide him through the legal labyrinth surrounding this murder. It’s not obvious that anyone, even Weatherford, cares whether he’s convicted or acquitted.
The Weatherford Trial leads us through the Iowa Department of Criminal Investigation witness protection efforts, Bergen’s handling of forensic geology, competing expert witnesses, and Bergen’s education at the hands of Amber, until the jury adjourns to arrive at a verdict. The Weatherford Trial is the fourth Gideon Marshall Mystery. As with the first three books, this one brings out the deadly potential of seemingly arcane ideas, the phenomenon of scientific illiteracy in high places, and the power of belief regardless of truth.
