Black Karma — William G. Davis

Someone is killing famous people -- a world famous model, a Wall Street bigwig, a heavy metal rock star. All have been beheaded, a mysterious word carved into their torsos. An assassin is on the loose, wreaking vengeance on those who have abandoned an evil cabal. Unbeknownst to Mike Gage, the ex-homicide detective holds the key to these celebrity murders. Summoned home to his father's deathbed, Mike encounters his high school sweetheart, a nurse at his father's hospice. As they rekindle their long dormant romance, Mike is savagely taken down by the FBI. He's a suspect in an unsolved massacre in Tennessee they tell him. His prints were discovered at the crime scene on a discarded weapon. Explaining his presence at the incident -- the rescue of a kidnapped client -- Gage mentions a name and an image he confronted there, a horror that has haunted him since. What Gage doesn't know is that it's the same name that has been carved into the celebrity murder victims. With this revelation the feds' change their attitude. They'll throw out the impending homicide charges threatening Mike if he'll assist a special bureau unit in its investigation. Pursuing the case from New York City to Kentucky to Detroit to Chicago to Washington. D.C, and finally back to Chicago, Gage and the unit uncover a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government and society. Tracking down the killer with the FBI, Gage must also deal with a long-lost love, strained family relationships, explosive racial tensions and domestic terrorism. But the killer has one more target, one who knows what hides behind the cabal's dark agenda. That's Mike himself … and he'll destroy Mike through those Mike loves. Black Karma is the sequel the 5-Star rated Pagan Moon, the first Mike Gage Thriller.