The Girl With 39 Graves

Rose Buckles, murdered near the Wyoming-Utah line in 1939, isn't quite buried. Decades later, men from an FDR CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) camp cling to strands of hair. Legends surrounding Rose's death surface in, of all places, Ukraine during the Chernobyl disaster's 25th anniversary. Deaths of old men and relatives researching what happened in 1939 have bizarre connections: Murder-suicides in retirement communities, so-called single vehicle accidents, a Chernobyl serial killer, a safe deposit box in one of the Twin Towers in 2001, heroin as a cough remedy, competition between crime families, and even agents working for Putin. The Six-degrees-of-separation theory from Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy's 1929 short story "Chain-Links" comes to life, connecting past and present. In 1939, young men at an isolated Utah CCC camp include an immigrant returning to his birth country via the Fourteenth Amendment and an organized crime young man being groomed for mob power. Across the state line in Wyoming, Rose Buckles' dismembered body is discovered along the riverbank. Are the CCC men involved? Lazlo Horvath from Chicago and Niki Gianakos from Detroit, with feelings of déjà vu, become targets of a contract killer when they try to solve the 1939 puzzle. CCC men blasting roads left clues leading Lazlo and Niki, federal and international agencies, and organized crime figures back to the Flaming Gorge, named, not for Rose's hair color, as elderly locals insist, but because 1869 explorer John Wesley Powell christened it Flaming Gorge Canyon. Before being dammed, Green River flowed fast like blood in a high desert wild horse. Afterwards the river submerged evidence, but Rose's legend lived on. Exactly what happened in 1939? Follow the deadly history of a decades-long vendetta as it returns home. With bows to Jeffery Deaver, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stieg Larsson, Michael Beres reintroduces his Lazlo Horvath historical suspense thriller series.

Rose Buckles, murdered near the Wyoming-Utah line in 1939, isn't quite buried. Decades later, men from an FDR CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) camp cling to strands of hair. Legends surrounding Rose's death surface in, of all places, Ukraine during the Chernobyl disaster's 25th anniversary. Deaths of old men and relatives researching what happened in 1939 have bizarre connections: Murder-suicides in retirement communities, so-called single vehicle accidents, a Chernobyl serial killer, a safe deposit box in one of the Twin Towers in 2001, heroin as a cough remedy, competition between crime families, and even agents working for Putin. The Six-degrees-of-separation theory from Hungarian writer Frigyes Karinthy's 1929 short story "Chain-Links" comes to life, connecting past and present. In 1939, young men at an isolated Utah CCC camp include an immigrant returning to his birth country via the Fourteenth Amendment and an organized crime young man being groomed for mob power. Across the state line in Wyoming, Rose Buckles' dismembered body is discovered along the riverbank. Are the CCC men involved? Lazlo Horvath from Chicago and Niki Gianakos from Detroit, with feelings of déjà vu, become targets of a contract killer when they try to solve the 1939 puzzle. CCC men blasting roads left clues leading Lazlo and Niki, federal and international agencies, and organized crime figures back to the Flaming Gorge, named, not for Rose's hair color, as elderly locals insist, but because 1869 explorer John Wesley Powell christened it Flaming Gorge Canyon. Before being dammed, Green River flowed fast like blood in a high desert wild horse. Afterwards the river submerged evidence, but Rose's legend lived on. Exactly what happened in 1939? Follow the deadly history of a decades-long vendetta as it returns home. With bows to Jeffery Deaver, Alfred Hitchcock, and Stieg Larsson, Michael Beres reintroduces his Lazlo Horvath historical suspense thriller series.

Michael Beres has published short fiction in literary and commercial publications, including Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Amazing Stories, Cosmopolitan, New York Stories, Playboy, Twilight Zone, and many others. The Sierra Club honored his environmental writing and his suspense has been compared to The Manchurian Candidate. The Cold War, Eastern European roots, fairness to all living creatures, and environmental concerns shape his novels. His background includes a top-secret security position for a US government agency and management and editorial experience in the computer software industry. He uses details from family history, graduate school projects, extensive research, and his security and scientific background in his writing. Michael holds degrees in mathematics, literature, and engineering. He is a member of, and has been on panels at MWA, ITW, and Bouchercon, and has judged for the Thriller Awards. Michael's writing has received praise from writers including Jeffery Deaver, Gayle Lynds, Harry Hunsicker, John Lutz, and others.