I have always loved Miami - even those dark times in the '80s. To be fair, I was born in Miami (in Jackson Memorial hospital) and lived there
27 years. After leaving, I often came back, and I continue to visit to this day. Old Florida is gone, for sure; but new Miami is not a bad place
by any means. The traffic's bad, I-95 is a nightmare, South Beach is faux, and the Grove is too hip for itself; but the place is international,
now. It has a distinct personality, something it had lacked for decades.

I wanted to capture that kinetic energy and multi-national flavor, while still making it seem like home to the characters in my story. In a lot of
South Florida novels, the main characters hate Miami; they hate the people and the place. I love Miami - the people and the places; the
smells and the sights; the light and the sky. "Versions of the Truth" has (as one reader said) a very strong sense of place, and of Miami in
particular. She asked me how I was able to capture, so accurately and colorfully, the locations in the book. Simple: I've been to every one
of them and found them all to be special in their own way.

Miami is also a city of intrigue. It has a history - not always pretty, but often exciting...and dark. I wanted to explore that dark intensity with
characters who knew and loved all that Miami was and is. They may be caught up in some awful aspects of city life, there; but they accept
South Florida for all that it is - or at least do their best to cope with it. So my story unfolded as one of mysteries left alone for too long,
sadness that festers, longing for old times; and what would two brothers do to solve a family mystery if they didn't see, had never seen, and
apparently could never see, eye to eye about their own history (or anything else for that matter). One a rich playboy, the other a salaried
cop; both the sons of one of South Florida's most notorious drug importers.

Add to that an international conspiracy with (factually accurate) covert operations based real agencies and events, today - and I had my
story. Lots of research, an extra trip (or three) to Miami to cruise my locations and soak up the feel of those places and the people in them,
and "Versions of the Truth" became as real for me as Miami, which is more of a character itself in the story than a setting. I hope, as
always, that you will enjoy this story of searching for one's dark roots in the darkest city of light: Miami - with its own "Versions of the Truth."
From the Author


Versions of the Truth is a taut, psychological thriller set in the dark world of South Florida's drugs, death and money merchants.
Christian Malle is 29. His drug-dealing father disappeared 15 years ago and left him a fortune; his loving mother died of cancer
ten years ago and left him an empty heart; his girlfriend dumped him for his own brother - and was murdered in broad daylight
on South Beach one year ago today. She left him nothing but questions. Why was Christian's cop brother dating her just before
she died? Who were the two high-priced assassins in the car with her and why did Casto and Chavez let them come to the U.S.?
Who killed them all and why? Mainly: what really happened with his father back then, and what did his brother have to do with it?
Will Christian's new girlfriend offer any hope, or just cloud the salt water of his soul? Set against the real backdrop of Miami's
"Cuba problem," Versions of the Truth seeks to find the truth behind South Florida's troubled history, and the pain in one man's
life. The answers are all disturbing. The sex is as hot as the tropics, the body count as high as the temperature, and the intrigue
as thick as a red tide. No one is safe - especially from themselves.
The Story


"Interesting read. Held my attention."
"The ending is brilliant!"
"Captures all the South Florida locations perfectly!"
"Impossible to predict what's coming next!"
"I recognized all the places...and the Miami characters!"
"Dark, brooding characters hell-bent on self-destruction. I loved it!"
"Like people I know...caught up in a scary situation I can't imagine."
Quick reviews

WOW! Can we have a few more stars?
5 out of 5 stars - certified Amazon buyer

As an avid reader who loves the whole thriller genre, I can say with no hesitation whatsoever - be CERTAIN not to miss this one. I can't remember when I last enjoyed reading a book as much
as I did this one.

The characters are all drawn to perfection and the author's knowledge of his locale was perfect. Having grown up in Miami, I can tell you that he knows the city as well as anyone who's ever
been there. As an example, when he referred to Freedom Tower in downtown Miami, he mentioned that it was once the Miami News building. It became Freedom Tower in the early 1960s
when the Miami News moved to a new building on NW 7th Street. So the Miami News hasn't been there for more than 50 years and in fact went out of business on the last day of 1988 - 25
years ago. It was nice to see it even slightly remembered.

While countless books have been written about the cocaine cowboys of the 1980s and 1990s when South Beach became renovated, I can't remember a more enjoyable story than this one.
The TV series Miami Vice, which ran for five years in the late 1980s was also famous for the drug war stories in Miami. You might think that, with all the history of those drug years, nothing
new could be written. Well, this book makes it all like something entirely new.

It was interesting to me that at the end, the author has Christian Malle, the main character, write a movie about the story in the book. All I can say to that is that I can't wait to see THAT film.
Malle's character, and those of his surrounding players are all extremely well developed and the reader has a chance to get very close to them.

All in all, a really GREAT read and one of those books about which you say, "I'm sorry I finished it. Another couple of hundred pages would have been excellent."

Two words - GET IT!!
Reader Review
"Miami-Dade has  never felt so real, vibrant or dangerous!"