Readers’ Favorite Award
“Superb work of fiction.”
Top-Ten Selection in the 2022 International Clive Cussler Adventure Writers Competition
The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited
Expected Release Date: 2023
A CIA combat pilot-turned-lawyer.
A secret society taking over American courts.
Can one man and a few friends prevent justice from disappearing in America?
A gripping crime thriller, The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited is timely yet timeless, blending action and adventure with our real world like no novel before it. Based in part on true events from combat, CIA experiences and the high-stakes world of litigation, this story is about the battle between good and evil and what happens when it all gets personal.
At the outset, Eric Ridge, combat veteran and California litigator with post-traumatic stress disorder, is struggling to escape a mysterious attacker who demanded he “drop the case.” That case ends up being either the wrongful death of a female judge, or a claim against the insurance industry that could cost them hundreds-of-millions of dollars or more.
Refusing to abandon his clients, Ridge calls upon his small, diverse legal team including his investigator best-friend, and computer-whiz wife. Their investigation drops them into the sinister world of a secret organization, the Raven Society—a cabal that controls court decisions for highest bidders, including insurance companies, by coercing or killing jurists and operating far below police and FBI radar.
Unknown to Ridge, his attacker was Calvin Hess, a former assassin for hate-crime groups and now enforcer for the Raven Society. Hess specializes in no-trace murder, masked as accident or suicide. Ridge, dealing with the demons of PTSD and pulsating flashbacks to wartime experiences, suffers through the burning of a boat, a car chase, multiple home attacks, gun battles, a plane crash and more. Desperate, Ridge turns to ex-CIA colleagues for help and, by unofficially using CIA assets, begins to unravel the Raven Society conspiracy, only to suddenly lose CIA support and be left alone.
Refusing to quit the battle for justice, Ridge confronts the Raven Society in a race against the clock that spirals into a struggle for survival. Can Ridge and his small team survive to use the evidence they’ve developed? Or will they suffer the same fate as others who have dared to confront the Raven Society?
A relentless thriller, The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited takes Ridge, his team, and the reader right to the edge and busts through to a cinematic climax and unforgettable conclusion.
The beautiful bronze of the raven used on the book cover is called The Jokester. It is used with permission of renowned sculpture artist Star Liana York. To see her other marvelous works, please visit www.staryorksculpture.com.
First Pages
THE RAVEN SOCIETY: CONSPIRACY IGNITED
Chapter 1
Gasping air, Eric’s face slapped the dark, cold water in the marina. Chest and legs next. Saltwater exploded as the whacking sound turned muffled, then quiet, like a closing coffin. Underwater, he had to pull himself together, move his arms, go deeper—to escape the maniac. The huge sonofabitch in a black wetsuit had tossed his 210 pounds, like dead fish, from the boat into the sea. As Lieutenant Eric Ridge, he’d taken plenty of water survival courses training as a combat pilot in Southeast Asia. But none of them, nada, mentioned submerging at night with your head split open and no time to suck in air. In the pitch-black water, his eyes darted back and forth. His heart beat fast. It pulsated. What about the new stent? Left anterior descending artery. The widow maker. No time. Had to push past it. He had one chance. He flipped around, swam deeper and headed back—toward the maniac.
Ridge’s arms stretched out and pulled water, like oars. His mind swirled. Decades, in courtrooms. Fighting for justice. Against powerful—for those less so. Sometimes thankless, soul-crushing, even dangerous. But this—way beyond that. Why? Payback? Intimidation? Madman on the loose?
Gallery of Images
These images relate to The Raven Society: Conspiracy Ignited and/or this website. I don’t know about 1000, but each picture is worth 100 words, at least.
