Marilyn's Mystery Reads

The saying “bad things come in threes” is coming true for Liam Hirsch.   Just a few months earlier Liam had everything he dreamed of–a loving wife, a successful business, good health.  Then it all fell apart.

First he discovers that his wife Celeste is unfaithful, having an affair with their contractor.  Then TransScend, the artificial intelligence company that he founded, has some strange budgetary problems.  Most frightening of all, he receives a diagnosis of ALS that explains the muscle twitches in his legs, shoulders, and tongue.

Liam is torn between telling his family about his disease or keeping the news to himself until he can decide what to do.  Living in Washington state, he has the option of the Death with Dignity Act, but he’s not quite ready for that.

Liam has found out about his wife’s affair by hiring private investigator Andrea DeWalt after becoming suspicious of Celeste’s behavior.  He loves his wife and recognizes that he probably has been paying more attention to TransScend than to his family, but the betrayal still hurts deeply.  And then there’s the emotional bond he’s experiencing with Andrea, something that’s growing deeper each time they meet.

Making a mockery of the bad things being limited to threes, Rudy Ziegler reenters Liam’s life.  Two brilliant students, Liam and Rudy were in graduate school together, working on joint projects and planning their futures.  Then Rudy accused Liam of stealing his ideas, culminating in multiple lawsuits, all of which Rudy lost.

Now Liam wants to try to reconcile with Rudy, not by admitting he may have used some of the latter’s ideas without giving him credit but by offering him a ten percent interest in TransScend, but Rudy laughs at that.  It’s fifty-one per cent or nothing, he tells Liam.  As Liam stalks out of Rudy’s condo, Rudy calls after him, perhaps noting the way Liam’s body is twitching,”don’t underestimate karma.”

The reader will find it painful following Liam as he navigates the treacherous paths of his failing marriage, the major problems within his company, his ever-weakening body, and his interactions with Rudy.  He is a sympathetic protagonist, overwhelmed by these issues and not knowing where to turn.

The problems he faces are ones we can all recognize.  The characters in The Deepest Fake are beautifully drawn, and their thoughts and feelings make them, in this AI inspired mystery, recognizably human.

Daniel Kalla is an emergency room physician and the author of fifteen books.  With The Deepest Fake, he has written an impressive thriller.  You can read more about him at this website.

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads at her website.  In addition to book review posts, there are sections featuring Golden Oldies, Past Masters and Mistresses, and an About Marilyn column that features her opinions about everything to do with mystery novels.