BLOG No. 36 INSCRUTABLE, Next Novel by Jeremy Logan

BLOG No. 36 INSCRUTABLE, Next Novel by Jeremy Logan

I just finished the first full draft of my third novel, and the second entry of my Disaster Trilogy. The story is set mostly in the state of Michigan, where I spent fifteen years as a child and teenager.

This is a story emerging from a potential disaster in the oil industry. The hydraulic fracture extraction of oil and gas (fracking) is the backdrop, but the storyline is in the human drama of the residents complaining of the alleged side effects, and the criminal activity uncovered as the search for exploration sites runs into the once-hidden illegal methamphetamine labs and human trafficking trade.

The leader of this illegal trade is afraid that the search for gas and the extraction production notoriety is getting too close to what he is trying to keep secret. What steps will he/she take to avoid detection of the secret and who will get caught up in the machinery of his mob-like organization?

The response and investigation consultants from my first two novels return as the unsuspecting advisors and claims negotiators. Their principa, Bay Oil, wants them to prevent a class action suit. Their efforts run smackdab into the henchmen tasked with protecting the illegal activity.

The core team of consultants from Daneli Crisis Management grows from Eli Taylor and Vic Mageski to include chief claims negotiator, Ericka Hunter. Her efforts in investigating the pollution claims from Bay Oil's gas extraction exploration uncovers the secret network of meth labs and human trafficking.

In this story I look deep inside the enigma of what turns a damaged soul into a gifted negotiator with the skills to turn a hopeless investigation into a triumph of the spirit. Ericka was once a secretary struggling to remain employed. She was fighting her undiagnosed clinical depression, a failed marriage and poor work performance when in desperation she clung to the only remaining options she saw to save her from losing her mind, her will and her children.

Through perseverance, she found salvation in an employer with patience and a physician who accurately diagnosed her depression. He prescribed a treatment and rehab plan that allowed her to return to be the person who once had great aspirations and the drive to succeed. Her redemption spells trouble for the evildoers. However, either side escapes unscarred.

Both sides use their guile and treachery to overcome the efforts of the other to derail their projects. But it's not until the final scene when the reader knows who the mastermind is behind the illegal activity and who will prevail, if in fact, a clear win can be claimed.

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