Greg Messel

Shadows in the Fog Greg Messel

The story begins on a stormy morning in February of 1959. The front page of the morning paper is dominated by news of the plane crash which killed rock 'n roll stars Buddy Holly, the Big Bopper and Richie Valens. Private Eye Sam Slater is hired to perform what he thinks is a routine two-day job as a favor for a friend. However, it all goes terribly wrong when a young San Francisco policeman is gunned down while sitting in a parked car with Sam. The murder sets off a chain of events which will pull Sam and his wife and partner, Amelia, into a dangerous web of intrigue in the dark, shadowy alleys and back rooms of San Francisco's Chinatown. In the winter of 1959, Amelia resigns as a TWA stewardess and is now Sam's full time partner in the private eye business. Sam and Amelia inadvertently come in conflict with the San Francisco mob boss after helping a crusading newspaper reporter who is working to expose corruption in Chinatown. Now a mysterious dark car follows the Slaters every where they go. Sam and Amelia discover a hidden world of corrupt cops, gambling parlors, brothels and human trafficking exists right under their noses. At the same time, a rising California politician hires Sam and Amelia to find his daughter who disappeared without a trace three years earlier. The search is prompted by the sudden appearance of a letter from the woman, who was presumed dead. As Sam and Amelia pursue these cases, they discover that all the clues lead them back to Chinatown. The Slater's want to avoid taking on the San Francisco crime lords head-on. However, when Amelia is kidnapped in an alley during the Chinese New Year's celebration, Sam plunges himself into danger desperately searching Chinatown to find her before it's too late. The reader will be drawn into fast moving events which culminate in a harrowing conclusion as Sam Slater races against the clock on a foggy night in Chinatown. "Shadows In The Fog" is the fifth book in the the award winning Sam Slater Mysteries Series but is a stand-alone thriller in the tradition of great whodunits. Greg Messel grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and now lives in South Jordan, Utah with his wife, Carol. "Shadows In The Fog" is his eighth novel and is the fifth in a new series of Sam Slater mystery novels. Greg has always loved writing, including stints as a reporter, columnist and news editor for a daily newspaper. Greg currently lives in South Jordan, Utah with his wife Carol. Follow news about Messel's writings and books at www.gregmessel.com.