Book Launch!

The Origami Deception

Two small-time journalists take on an international cartel who try a hostile takeover of a Canadian mining company.

Lucas, a veteran journalist, sees a big story brewing within a strike at a local mining company when explosions rip through the plant, but he gets bumped by Jamie, a junior reporter. To keep his finger in the pie, he agrees to mentor the new journalist while following a second story about a sex-worker found half beaten to death.

As the attacks escalate, the two must work together to determine if this is a global threat or the first volley in an international trade war. As the clues of both stories add up, they realize that there is a common link, and they race for the full picture before more attacks take place. One thing is for certain, the mining company, the city, and the country are mere pawns, in a game that could kill thousands unless they can expose the truth and avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Background:

In 2020, Vale announced that the Superstack in Sudbury, Ontario was no longer needed and that it would be eventually taken down. The stack was built back in 1970-72, standing at 1250, making it the second highest industrial stack in the world. The news caught most by surprise and there is definitely a difference in opinion within the community about whether Vale should leave it intact as a landmark. The dismantling of the stack would be a very slow and methodical endeavour as it stands close to both the other buildings in site and the community.

As a thriller author, I figured I could come up with a faster and more spectacular manner of industrial renewal, thus the story. I do not want to ruin the story for anyone, but I tried to create a realistic series of events using the political events of the past few years worldwide. But of course, this is all fiction.

To keep it fictional, I created another city situated up highway 144, near Cartier, Ontario. In fact, I placed the city beside Fox Lake. The town is called Fox Lake, and the company has its own company town, similar to Copper Cliff, by the name of South Shore. And keeping to the history of immigrants coming to Canada at the time for mining jobs, there is also a small neighbourhood called Alta Vista, the sister to Little Italy.

Some scenes actually take place within Sudbury, as I felt that being larger, some enmities would still be situated in the larger community that both cities would share, such as the Courts and hospital.

As those who follow my books know, I like to explore social issues. I have in the past explored child abuse, human trafficking and organ harvesting. In this story, I took a close look at prostitution in the north. Much thanks go to Christina Scarpellini, of Angles of Hope, a Sudbury based NGO that offers a full support system for victims of human trafficking. The work that this organization does in helping victims, mostly women and girls, is monumental and has been recognized by the Attorney General of Ontario, among others. I will be donating a portion of my physical book sales to Angels of Hope.