Monday, May 16, 2022

Exclusive! Jack Ludefance is Back in Latest In Series by Behcet Kaya, Murder in Buckhead - Coming This Summer!

 America Needs A Jack Ludefance!

Played by Mark Harmon!?

Power does not corrupt. Fear corrupts… Perhaps the fear of a loss of power. --John Steinbeck

Just one of the actions being taken against a politician...


His Truth is Marching On...


Most of us are lamenting what has been, and is, going on in America. The country is divided over many issues--violence and prejudice has become a norm for many. And corruption is rampant, oftentimes led by political opinions and incitement of hate. Lies are the norm, while Truth is whatever is claimed... and repeated over and over, even while contradictory, true, evidence is known to be available...

Into this environment, many writers are dealing with reality by creating heroes, for want of a better word... Good men and women who speak the truth, yes, but also do what is necessary to spotlight those who are corrupt and do the work to prove beyond a doubt, whose truth is real...and right... morally needed by citizens in a democracy.

Jack Ludefance, the man in a series created by Behcet (Ben) Kaya is a good man and an excellent Private Investigator. In his latest he tackles one of the worst kind of power-seekers. A politician who believes he is above the law. And if you disagree, you just may be in an accident that prevents reality to be spotlighted.

Beginning with the death of the Senator's son, Jack is contacted by the wife of the Senator to determine whether her son, indeed, had committed suicide, as had been announced as the official cause of death. In the meantime, he was also asked by the wife of that son to provide help--she believed that the Senator was going to take her life! Jack explained that he didn't provide bodyguard services, so he was soon being told about a good friend who had been killed by the Senator and would he take that case, and prove it, so that at least the Senator would be imprisoned... 

And the only way to begin considering the scope of what he was being asked to do was to begin background research... He quickly learned that the Senator was owner of lots of real estate and honed in on a small town, called Anslow, where there were many businesses carrying the Senator's name, Olmsted. Jack was soon heading for Georgia, figuring that in a small town, everybody would know what was going on...and probably willing to talk about it!

Skipping all the early life details, I started focusing on the senator’s purchases of business properties. There were numerous entries for properties, their locations, and the dates purchased. Pulling up a Google map of Georgia, it appeared all were located in South Georgia. I remembered DeShawn stating that nearly every county in the south has at least one of his gas stations, all named OLMSTED. The majority of the properties were purchased from either some form of business entity or from deceased family members. 
However, one listing caught my attention. It was for a property in the town of Anslow, located in Wayne County, and purchased from a buyer by the name of Olivia England. Curiosity led me to pull up a background check on Ms. England, who it appeared was a mere eighteen when she sold the property to the senator. Eighteen? Didn’t she have parents? Was this deal even legal? Comparing the size of the property and purchase amount with other similar purchases, everything appeared legit. Taking a closer look at Ms. England’s background, her timeline listed her parents died in 2014 when she was sixteen, she’d inherited the property from a relative by the name of Tsotne Kippling in 2015, and now at 21, she was currently a student in a dramatic arts school. Completing a Google search for Tsotne Kippling, there was one listing for him; an obituary dated August 17, 2015. Being a PI, I immediately smelled rotten eggs...

And rotten eggs was a great smell to follow... And where else to start but at a local bar, where he might meet someone who'd had enough to drink to be talkative...


Checking out of the hotel, I walked the short distance to the Greyhound Bus Terminal on Courtland Street, checked in, and received my boarding pass with my seat assignment. Three hours and 47 minutes later, we arrived at the tiny Greyhound stop at the outskirts of Anslow. 
A short walk into town took me to the main street where I easily located the Anslow Inn. Checking in was quick, after which I located my room and unpacked a few items. Returning downstairs, I decided to try my luck with Alec’s Bar and Grill for lunch where I sat down at the bar next to a man who appeared to be a local. He also appeared to have had a few drinks. Several empty glasses sat in front of him and the bartender was bringing him another. 
As he set the glass down, he looked over at me. “What’ll you have?” “Sam Adams?’ “Coming right up.” Looking over at the clearly inebriated man sitting next to me, I introduced myself and began what would become a most interesting conversation. “Jack Ludefance.” 
The man looked my way, “Bubba Sutherland. What kind of a name is Ludefance?” “Cajun. Originally from ‘Lusiana.’” “French?” “I am.” “You don’t speak like a Cajun.” “Lost my accent while I was in the navy.” 
“What brings you to our little town?” “Looking for property. Thinkin’ of settling in this part of the country.” “Yeah, we had a couple from New York move here. Didn’t stay long, though.” “Why’s that?” “Didn’t like it. Too quiet. They moved on closer to Savannah.” 
“Bein’ from the bayous, I’m used to quiet. Kinda nice, really. Seems like a nice quiet place you got here.” “It is.” “Just the one gas station?” “Yup. One gas station. One hotel. One grocery store, one newspaper…” 
“Is it privately owned? The gas station, I mean. The name Olmsted sounds familiar.” “Privately owned by the Senator Olmsted. He pretty much owns most of the town.” 
“The Senator Olmsted? The one who’s head of the Senate Arms Committee?” “That’s him.” “I knew he was famous, but I didn’t know he was wealthy.” 
“Wealthy? More than most people got a right to be. He’s also a crook…they’re all crooks if you ask me.” “Hmm. Live and learn.” “You seen his gas station over there…” “Yes…” “Know how he got that property?’ “No…” “Well, I’ll tell ya,’ Ludefance. He got it from an old man named Tsotne Kippling. Killed the man to get it.” 
“That sounds a little far-fetched.” “Now look. I didn’t mean the senator killed the old man himself, but he makes things happen. The old man wouldn’t sell his property to Senator Olmsted. Two weeks later, the old man’s body was found down by the town creek. According to the autopsy, he died from a Copperhead snake bite.” “But?” “But everyone in town knows the senator’s ‘men’ killed the old man. They just happened to be in town when Kippling died.” 
“Didn’t the local sheriff get involved?” “Huh…our so-called sheriff and Olmsted are tight as weeds.” “Sounds like something out of a fiction novel.” “Ain’t it supposed to be that real life is stranger than fiction?” “Sometimes. Yeah, I guess sometimes it is. 
Who are his ‘men’?” “Just so’s you know, one is called Dirty Bob and the other is Smokey Jim. They belong to a motorcycle gang called the Bandits. Mean as mean can be.” “Wow.” “So, now you know, friend. By the way, I have an appraisal business. I check out houses, land, you name it, when they’re for sale, check the structures, all that sorta thing. Here’s my card. we're quite well-known around this area, just as Sutherland had said. 
I immediately thought about Anna May Foster. Blaire had said she knew who had killed her friend. Was she afraid to give me the names? Next, I checked for the police report, which covered the details of the discovery of the body. Kippling lived alone in a small cabin on his property and was known to be in poor health. A neighbor who had grown concerned about not seeing Kippling around town, went in search and came across his body which had been there for several days. The autopsy reiterated the official cause of death as a Copperhead snake bite. It turned out to be quite a productive afternoon.
~~~

Don't you get tired of learning about politicians who have used the power of their positions to act criminally? It appears it has become even more prevalent during the last five years, even to the extent of the January 6th Insurrection which was the first-ever attempt to stop the, what should be routine, transfer of the position of president of the United States. Even now, The Big Lie continues and is told as "truth" by many republicans.

Why is it that all Americans are routinely arrested for any small or large type of criminal action, yet those who are rich and/or in power positions, often are not prosecuted or can even get away with...murder...

Don't you remember the infamous words of the former president when he claimed "I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn't lose votes. Since then violence, prejudice, and lies have been the forefront of our lives, at least until a new president was elected... And, then... it got worse, didn't it?

But not in Murder in Buckhead! Kaya has taken one of the most troubling time periods in our lives and allowed Jack Ludefance to get involved! I was loving all of the books in this series, but when I read the book which will be coming out soon, I fell in love and Ludefance, rose to the top of my favorite all-time Private Investigator. Robert B. Parker's Spencer and Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer, had been holding strong as my top two. But then I saw, that the author had his own vision of Ludefance... None other than Jethro Gibbs! And, indeed, I was hooked and automatically seeing how Gibbs would handle a new character part! Sigh... now wouldn't it be fun to see Gibbs take on a scarred-face, alligator fighting, PI character who wants to make sure that good, honest people are always treated well, and have somebody who will do all he can to make sure that the power of the rich does not interfere!?! 

Not everybody can write in the first person and maintain a level of connection with the reader that was, for me, first achieved by Robert B. Parker... I would study his writing, seeing how he could connect the character with the reader through his use of dialogue and narrative... Spillane used a similar style... But it was not until this particular book that I quickly picked up on what was so fascinating to me about Kaya's Ludefance... It was exactly what we had seen so many years on NCIS! Ludefance cares, he's tenacious, he's not afraid of power and actually thrives on making sure the criminal is penalized AND the victim feels a great sense of justice has been provided... 

At least in the "best of Kaya's best"--so far! Murder in Buckhead, Coming This Summer! I loved just how "easily" it seemed to track down and document exactly what Senator Omsted had done and was doing...routinely... (Don't you wish we could see  faster action on the January 6th Insurrection criminals?! And that all those accused of such actions were not able to hide behind the power of money, position or political party?) 

But, other characters in this murder mystery also threw me into a quandry... You know, the ones you love to hate for such deception? Well, Kaya gives us that, too... Even if Jack's heart was once again deceived and left in pain... You know, I'm not sure that Jack should ever find another woman to stay in his life...At least not until he's too old to stand up for all that is right! And, even then, I can see Jack trying to solve just one more mystery... before...he can rest...and retire... All's well with the world...???

What more can an avid reader like me--and you, too(?)--want?!!!


Ok, Ok, I know, I've escaped into a fictional world for the last few days while reading Ben Kaya's books... But, then, we really can't see an end in our present reality, can we? We thought it would be taken care of through the change of our nation's leader... but The Big Lie just was followed by more and more lies, in all part of our lives!

Thanks to all writers like Ben Kaya, who are striving to present reality within a fictional world... perhaps hoping, like millions of readers like myself, that what is being said about morality, equal rights for all, and allowing each of us, as God Provided, Free Will...to Make Our Own Choices! Even with a little help by people like Jack Ludefance! And all Those Men and Women Who Speak out in support of TRUTH!




Tomorrow I'll be driven to the local voting site to cast my vote. I'm making a point in going the day before my surgery - to protest against all the garbage thrown out by republicans about voting issues, rights, and other disinformation spewed by such people as Taylor Carlson on Fox! Are you aware that a number of those who were participants in the January 6th Insurrection are running for office?! One QAnon member already has won in primary for Ohio... Others in Pennsylvania, where I vote, are acting as part of the latest Lie, Replacement Theory of Whites...Get Real!

Please recognize this as disinformation from republican radicals who are doing everything possible to incite hate for anybody who does not agree with their opinions! This has got to Stop, if We Want to Continue as a Democracy...

Ukrainians know the value of living in a Democracy. Vote for those who speak truth... and if you are not sure, check out multiple news distributors and listen to the reality--the Truth. Not doing so, well, you've seen how Putin has lied about everything for years, and especially about his invasion, and his terrible war crimes against, especially, women, children and the elderly... He kills indiscriminately. This is NOT fiction. Learn the truth...and, in Pennsylvania, tomorrow...

THIS WEEK, VIOLENCE ACROSS AMERICA HAS RESULTED IN MULTIPLE DEATHS! TELL ME WHY REPUBLICANS REFUSE TO CONSIDER CONGRESSTIONAL ACTION ON GUN CONTROL! THINK CAREFULLY, YOUR GROCERY STORE, YOUR CHURCH, YOUR SCHOOLS, YOUR CONCERT, YOUR RESTAURANT MIGHT BE THE NEXT PLACE THAT GUNS THAT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL ARE CARRIED ACROSS STATE LINES FOR ONE PURPOSE--MURDER!

Vote!
NOTE: I WAS AN INDEPENDENT UNTIL I SAW WHAT WAS HAPPENING BY REPUBLICANS AFTER TRUMP LOST AND REFUSED TO ACCEPT TRUTH...I SWITCHED AND AM VOTING DEMOCRAT. THERE IS NO WAY I TRUST REPUBLICANS!
Except Liz Cheney and others who Speak and Act in Truthful Actions

Think Jack Ludefance
Think Truth and Justice

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