Overture to Disaster Goes Free

By Chester Campbell

I haven't commented on the final book in my Post Cold War Political Thriller Trilogy since a post back in September shortly after it came out in ebook format for the Kindle. I haven't done much in the way of promotion except an occasional tweet, and the results are obvious. It has registered few sales and has received no reviews on Amazon. I suspect one problem is that my loyal readers are all fans of PI whodunit mysteries. The political thrillers are a different breed, the action sweeping across continents, the characters dealing with complex motivations.

My friend Tim Hallinan began his review of the first book (Beware the Jabberwock) with the observation: "This is a change of pace for Chester Campbell, best known (to me, at least) for his Sid Chance PI novels." Happily he added: "Here he's working in the global intelligence thriller territory of Ludlum and Trevanian, but (I'm happy to say) with more character development."

Hallinan (author of the popular Poke Rafferty Bangkok thrillers and the Junior Bender humorous mysteries) concluded his review with: "Short chapters, great pacing, good characters, and high stakes. I really enjoyed this book." As busy as he is I've been reluctant to ask him for a review of the final book in the series.

So I've decided put my money where my mouth is and do a freebie promotion on BookBub for Overture to Disaster. Previous BookBub promos have resulted in lots of new reviews. I have my fingers crossed on this one.

If you'd like a free copy for the Kindle, check here March 10-12 to get yours.

Visit me at Mystery Mania

Epic Tale Needs Reviews

By Chester D. Campbell

The final segment on my post Cold War political thriller trilogy is about ready for the Kindle store. Titled Overture to Disaster, it's an epic tale that follows two widely divergent plot lines until they merge in Mexico. The story opens in 1991 just prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union. One thread begins with a Soviet Army bivouac on a collective farm in the Ukraine where chemical weapons are to be displayed. The other takes place at the same time in Washington, where a secret Special Operations helicopter mission to Iran is ready to launch.

The fallout from the two events begins to surface a few years later for two of the central characters, a chief investigator for the city prosecutor in Minsk, Belarus and the former Air Force colonel who piloted the ill-fated rescue mission to Iran. They meet in Guadalajara as a diabolical plot by dissident Russians and world-order capitalists begins to unfold.

The book will appear first in the electronic version for the Kindle. Since I need some reviews to get it noticed on Amazon, I thought I would try something new. Any readers out there who would like to review Overture to Disaster can contact me by email (chester@ chesterdcampbell.com - after closing the space following @) and I'll send you an ebook copy, PDF or some other format.

The book is of epic proportions, running a little over 160,000 words, but my editor thinks this trilogy is my best work. You can decide for yourself.

Who's Who in The Poksu Conspiracy

There has been an ongoing discussion the past few days on the subject of using a Cast of Characters in mystery novels. Some people think it's a great idea, others couldn't care less. My wife thinks I often have too many characters in my books. That could be true, but each  one has a specific purpose for being there.

I had thought about including a list a few times and finally decided to go through with it while revising my second Post Cold War thriller, The Poksu Conspiracy. My decision was based on the setting for most of the story, South Korea. With lots of strange Korean names, I thought it would help readers keep the characters separate.

When I mentioned the possibility on my Mystery Mania blog a few weeks ago, I received a positive response from quite a few readers. There were suggestions that the list be organized alphabetically as well as by categories. My colleague Jaden Terrell objected that labeling the last "Cast of Characters" would be "a blatant reminder that none of these people are real. It's a bludgeon to my suspension of disbelief." She suggested calling it a Who's Who.

That's what I've done. I decided there was no need to include people who only appear in only one chapter. That left me with 55 characters in my Who's Who. In the story, Burke Hill, the hero of Beware the Jabberwock, has become an official  of Worldwide Communications Consultants, an international public relations firm that is really a CIA spinoff. The Who's Who category breakdown includes:

Worldwide Communications Consultants
American Officials
South Korean Officials
Seoul Metropolitan Police Bureau
World War II Poksu Guerilla Group
North Korean Officials
Other Americans
In Hungary
Other Koreans

Since one of the main characters is a Seoul homicide detective, the book could be called half thriller, half Korean police procedural. It should be out in ebook format within the next couple of months.