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CHILDFINDERS
“Melissa, Melissa, silly little goat, Melissa sta—”
Charles Flanders Cunningham III — a name that will rank with Hannibal Lecter as the ultimate evil genius. Charles Flanders Cunningham III — the wealthiest, most influential lawyer in the United States, perhaps the world, trusted counselor to presidents, prime ministers, and world leaders. But Cunningham has a dark side, a very dark side known only to himself and his five accomplices.
Cunningham arranges to kidnap children from all over the world, none more than six years old, for a period of two weeks, after which they are returned by a wonderful, charitable organization, ChildFinders, to their despairing parents, safe, secure, and outwardly none the worse for wear … but changed. Changed by chemicals, computer implants, and mind alteration. And they do not know it — until they hear one of a thousand catchphrases. Then they turn into programmed automatons, who will do whatever the next command tells them to do. Afterward, the chip erases all memory of what they have done. By means of this undetectable “army,” Cunningham aims to control the world. Can a team led by Israeli counterterrorist Ezra Caen (Assassin, The Wrecking Crew) stop him before it is too late?
In the tradition of The Manchurian Candidate and Telefon, you’d best hold on to your nerves and plan on staying up very, very late to finish this riveting thriller. And be frightened. Be very, very frightened. You never can tell if you will be the next victim … or the next killer.
CHILDFINDERS – HOW THIS BOOK CAME TO BE
Prior to writing ChildFinders, my work output had been limited to historical fiction. My writers’ group members suggested that I write a thriller for a change. “Anyone can write a thriller,” I scoffed. In my youthful hubris – stupidity, actually – I somehow believed that those who concentrated on thrillers were the “general practitioners” of the trade; while historical fiction writers were a more elevated breed. “Oh, really?” two of our group, who’d written successful science fiction and horror novels replied. “Then go ahead, big shot, write a thriller.” The wager was set, and since none of us was wealthy the “stakes” were one dollar. The result was ChildFinders, and I was surprised that literary agents were eager to sign it up. Unwilling to give up my historical fiction writer “status,” I put the book on the back burner for several years until the technology had made it “stale bread.” When I returned to ChildFinders, I had to recast most of the book, and with “maturity” came the realization that any genre is a good and valid as any other genre, so long as we write the best that is within us at any given moment. Enjoy!
You never can tell if you will be
the next victim – or the next killer.