Glitter

A new breed of investment bankers appeared on the Las Vegas scene with plenty of money to risk backing corporations anxious to expand their playgrounds in the city that never sleeps, but no one ever investigated where these renegade banks suddenly got all that money.  Casinos are not the only arena in Nevada where there’s big money to be made. 

Nuclear waste is the ugly byproduct of an ever-increasing appetite for power demanded by the American public.  No state wants a dump site which would be radioactive for a billion years in their backyard.  The barren wastelands of Nevada, populated by coyotes, jackrabbits and snakes seems like the perfect place to create a vault bored deep into the mountains standing guard over uninhabited alkali flats.  The trucking company delivering the volatile nuclear cocktail will make millions hauling the devasting dilemma created by government stupidity and human greed.

About the Novel
When a grisly fire in a suite at Caesar’s Palace claims the life of the most beautiful showgirl in Las Vegas, Detective Danny Armstrong is assigned to the case.  Citizen outrage is at an all-time high because the showgirl was a media darling.  An ambassador for tourism, the showgirl traveled the world with the Las Vegas Visitors and Convention Authority, to promote the glitz capital of the world.

Every clue leads down one blind alley after another.  In desperation, Danny turns to the psychic used by every detective at Metro—his mother, Catherine Armstrong.  The gifted visionary senses one man sits like a spider at the center of a convoluted web of death and destruction.  She warns Danny a plague, like no other in history, is about to be unleashed on Nevada.  The showgirl, Glitter, is murdered because she knows about a nuclear cover-up.

Casino bosses, politicians, and a high-ranking military officer with ties to Area 51 become signposts linking the murdered showgirl to New Jersey mob boss, Jake Russo.  Once the foundation of lies and deceit are exposed, Danny soon discovers the mob never really left Las Vegas.  Like a virus, it mutated and changed form to continue living off its lucrative host.

If you think the mob is out of Vegas, think again.  There is too much money to walk away and let enterprising corporations have it.  The power base just shifted from Kansas City to New Jersey to take the heat off mob bosses in the Midwest.  They are all related – and if everything goes according to plan, the entire State of Nevada will soon be divided up between the families.

Jake Russo

A big time mob boss whose influence covers the entire east coast along with influence in several Las Vegas casinos.

 

 

Judge Carrington LeMoye

A long-time judge with years on the bench, Judge LeMoye has experienced the dark underbelly of the world of gaming and government.  He has no illusions about humans and what they will do to get what they want. 

 

Paiute Indian Chief

Lithium has been discovered on the Paiute Indian Reservation and corportate raiders descended on the tribe like a flock of vultures on a carcass.  The Chief is worried about the effects of a large strip-mining operation on his land, his environment, and the culture of his people.

Darla Corey

Earns a living as a Las Vegas showgirl at one of the major strip hotels.  She develops a love of the Mojave Desert, her adopted home.  Her murder opens a cesspool of corruption which includes the mysteries at Area 51.

 

Catherine Armstrong

A professional psychic with a shop on one of the older streets near downtown Las Vegas.  She is so gifted Metro calls on her to help with cases which seem to defy both logic and the law.

 

Danny Armstrong

A young detective in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is put in charge of investigating a grisly fire at Caesar’s Palace which claims the life of Darla Corey, a popular representative when the Las Vegas Visitor’s and Convention Center executives promote convention business out of town. 

 

Kristin Hastings

Kristin is the CEO of a small casino in Ely, Nevada.  She plans to attract business retreats through her use of high-tech devices and smart marketing, a world class resort, and restaurants featuring famous chefs. 

 

Harold Kennedy

A reporter who was cut loose from a local TV station in an economic downturn.  He is a partner in a small ad agency with an equally small client base.  Depression over circumstances which don’t seem to ever get better, Harold jumps at a chance to handle the advertising for Kristin Hasting’s casino in the northern part of the state.

 

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