When I first conceived the idea for The Lazarus Conspiracies, I wrote it as a film script under the title “The Lazarus Project.” The script tells the story of a maverick Chicago cop who is so obsessed with seeing justice done that he repeatedly breaks the rules of police conduct in order to catch the bad guys. The script was a top ten finalist in the Illinois/Chicago Screenwriting 2000 Competition.

A few years later I decided to expand the script into a novel. In the process, the characters became more fully developed, more alive. In fact, the characters are now as compelling as the plot, which is driven by the characters’ obsessions, assumptions, decisions and actions.

Since I cannot reveal too much here about the plot without spoiling your enjoyment of the book, I will at least introduce you to some of the main characters whose actions propel the story:

Mack “Mad Dog” McPherson, a 21-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, who knows that the justice system doesn’t always work the way it should, that people with money and power often escape punishment for their crimes. A bitter personal experience of such injustice when he was a young man leads him to make a promise to himself—that  he will never allow people with money or power to escape justice.

Otis Winstrom, Mack’s reluctant partner, who wants nothing more than to lead a normal life with a beautiful wife and a satisfying career, and who is afraid that Mack’s penchant for taking the law into his own hands will blow up and ruin his plans for the future.

Megan Herbst, whose belief in her father’s promise to quit drinking leads to Mack’s unauthorized investigation into the circumstances of his death, which reveals a conspiracy implicating people of great wealth and power in a secret project that could change the course of world history.

Ortiz, a ruthless Venezuelan drug pirate who is obsessed with achieving something he calls “el momento supremo,” the supreme moment, a moment of such complete satisfaction that one could die happy after having achieved it. Although he has overcome many difficult challenges in his life, he still does not know what it will take to feel such total satisfaction…until he decides that killing Mack will be his momento supremo.

Angel Chavez, an assassin who kills by cutting his victims’ throats with a razor, a career that began when he was a choirboy and slit the throat of a priest who had abused him. For Angel, each successive killing is but a step toward redemption and seeking the forgiveness of Christ.

The Woman, a mysterious figure who set the Lazarus Project in motion and maintains the utmost secrecy to protect it.

There are of course many other characters who play important roles in The Lazarus Conspiracies, and I invite you to read the book so you can get to know all of them.

Sincerely,
Richard Rose
Author of THE LAZARUS CONSPIRACIES (Savant 2013)