St. John & The Scare Card ON THE WAY
At last! St. John & The Scare Card introduces St. Kraft to the world. It’s an origin story for the Nine phase of St. John’s life.
St. John Kraft figured being "innkeeper" of the world's most exclusive auberge would require the more civilized skills from his old life. But when one of his employees shelters a woman on the run, St. John is dragged into an extortion scheme spreading from the wastelands of rural Nevada to the halls of Congress, with shadow armies on both sides, all gunning for him. Now if he wants to protect everyone and everything he holds dear, he's going to need his deadlier skills.
Fans of Jack Reacher will discover new worlds with St. John Kraft, a man of both skills and means.
Here’s how it all begins:
“IN MY DEFENSE, I was going the speed limit. The speed limit on Nevada state highways was 70. I chose to believe I was past the 45 zone.
I had just taken delivery of a new Grigio Telesto Metallic BMW XM Label in Reno and wanted to extract every ounce of delight from the ride home. The suspension had superb manners through the turns that make NV-431 so much fun, especially the twisty parts by the ski areas. But I’d already gotten my jollies there. It was the crest that did me in.
As the highway tops out, the view opens. Behind you is the arid expanse of the Great Basin and the edge of civilization. Lake Tahoe is still out of view. But you get your first glimpse of the skyline of peaks on the far side. Settlers who took this route would’ve seen the same thing. California, its horizons stacked and layered with promise.
It was a grounding sensation every time. The divide between scarcity and plenty. Between the past and the present. Between diverging visions of the future and the way we get there, reduced to the shorthand of Red and Blue. You can’t say you love your country and live to serve, as I had done, then write off half your countrymen for being either too ruthless or too empathetic. There’s a place and time for nuance just as there’s another for brutal simplicity.
I was inspired, in that moment, to glance up at the rearview mirror though I knew I wouldn’t be able to see vistas behind me. So I’ll admit: My eyes weren’t on the road.
The truck entered from the side. Not from an intersection, but straight off the shoulder. A lumber truck with felled pine trunks stacked half-way to the roof of the cab.
My instincts kicked in. I hit the brakes and swung the wheel to match the direction of the truck. My vehicle smacked the frame of the flatbed, and surged off the road.
The shoulder fell away to a forested slope. Downhill. Years of evasive driver training switched on. I tromped the throttle to regain control. Slalomed the obstacle course of pines and stumps. Hit the brakes, skidding as necessary, ignoring the ugly grating of destruction inflicted on the undercarriage.
I finally scraped to a halt.
So much for that new car smell.”
Pre-order your copy now. And get ready for a ride that goes fast and deep. Available as both a Kindle eBook and, soon, in paperback.