Book 20: The Pesticide Plot

May 1931

Arthur Keating is a careful man. He spent fourteen years trying to forget the mistake he made during the war—a misfiled weather report that cost a dozen lives—and he’s sworn he’ll never make another mistake again. Now working as an accountant at Midtown Chemical Research, the numbers don’t add up. Not just the accounts, but the inventory of dangerous chemicals. When Keating receives a threatening note and a black sedan begins following him through the streets, the past he buried comes roaring back.

His wife, Clara, hires Lowan to help, but Keating’s troubles run deeper than either of them realize. What seems like a simple swap spirals into a hunt: Lowan takes Keating’s place and finds himself hounded by relentless pursuers. Keating himself disappears. When Lowan calls Fritz Gallop for help, Gallop is hit by a car. Keating’s best friend is hiding a dangerous scheme, and two men from his past are closing in with revenge on their minds.

Over the course of one long, violent night, guilt, revenge, and desperation collide inside the chemical laboratory. Lowan must outthink a corrupt employee, a pair of criminals bent on vengeance, and corporate secrets that reek of pesticide. Will Lowan save Keating from his past and uncover hidden fraud, or will a buried wartime error finally be paid in blood?

S. E. Grosskopf’s writing is strongly influenced by the old pulp fiction magazines and Golden Age radio dramas of the 1930s-1950s. If you like fast-paced action and mystery with a dash of urban fantasy and quirkiness, then you’ll love these books. This is the twentieth book in the series. The books follow chronologically. Reading them in order is recommended.

Status: Available in May