Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Ripped Genes (Tri-Star Investigations) by Lawrence E Rothstein. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Ripped Genes (Tri-Star Investigations) by Lawrence E Rothstein
Ripped Genes (Tri-Star Investigations)
Cozy-ish Mystery/Police Procedural
2nd in Series
Setting – Greater Chicago area; Algoma, WI; Webster Groves, MO
Publisher : Wild Rose Press (January 13, 2025)
Paperback : 288 pages
Marko Korb is a fat, egotistical, and brilliant detective, Bosnian Jew, and a veteran of the war with Serbia. His associate, Kelan Su, is a Chinese-American woman who does most of the investigative legwork. She is a former Chicago police officer, licensed attorney, and martial arts expert. Desmond St. Clair, chef, tech expert, and former British SAS commando, joins the duo.
Alan Scanlon, a medical scientist, head of the Shabel Institute, fraudulently patented and restricted the research on the gene for the rare genetic disease, feraxia. Golda Merino, the mother of a child with feraxia and head of a group that supported Scanlon’s research, is charged with Scanlon’s murder.
The Tri-Star Investigations trio work with Attorney Cheryl Dain defending Golda. The detectives must discover the killer while negotiating Chicago’s underworld and politics.
Author Guest Post
Since I have been writing the Tri-Star Investigations mysteries, I have thought about how two of the major characters, Marko Korb and Kelan Su first got together. Here is Kelan Su’s account of it.
Sitting in the first floor waiting room at Weiss Memorial Hospital while my mother was undergoing an MRI, I went over my career regrets. Thinking of my parents always led me to this as I knew that they were disappointed in the choice I had made to be a Chicago cop after elite college and law school degrees and plum job offers. Maybe I should have listened to them. My job had not been what I hoped. Too many ethical compromises, no respect from the perps or my “comrades in arms,” no opportunity to make a meaningful difference, the senseless death of my one real friend on the force.
As I sat immersed in these melancholy thoughts, a tall, blond, wire-rim bespectacled doc dressed in green scrubs approached the nurses’ station. When he asked for the room number of Marko Korb, it broke through my mental fog. I knew of Korb, the corpulent mastermind investigator. His exploits were the fodder of awe and fury among Chicago cops. He had scooped the police and the FBI in many cases including the exposure of the Russian mob’s stealing of opiates from pharmaceutical companies. Two other things piqued my curiosity about the inquisitive doctor: his slight Russian accent and a strange bulge in the back of his scrubs.
When he left, I asked the duty nurse who that doctor was and whether she knew him. She said his name was Carrothers. Not exactly Eastern European. She also said she had never seen him before although she did know a different Dr. Carrothers.
Now I was intrigued. “What room is Mr. Korb in?” I asked.
“Are you a relative?”
“No.” I pulled out a leather credential case and flashed my badge.
The nurse frowned and recoiled slightly. “Oh. He’s in 304. Is there a problem?”
“I hope not,” I said and headed down the hall to the elevator.
When I got to room 304, there was a bored-looking, drowsy, uniformed security guard sitting outside. “Did a tall doc in green scrubs come by here?” I asked slightly breathless from hustling down the hall.
The guard exhaled exasperated that his peaceful somnolence had been disturbed. “Yeah, he’s inside. Said he was going to check on the patient.”
“OK. If I’m not out in one minute, call Lieutenant Skowron at the Town Hall district and tell him to send back-up.”
The security guard grimaced but at least he was awake and listening. “Sshould I come in with you?” he stammered clearly hoping the answer was “no.”
I shook my head and pushed open the door. The huge, blanketed mound that was Korb seemed to be asleep. The bogus doctor was about to inject something into the patient’s drip bag with a hypodermic syringe. I let the door close loudly behind me and said, “Dr. Carrothers, what do you think you’re doing?”
He turned quickly dropping the syringe and reaching behind him for whatever was making the bulge in his scrub top. I didn’t have my service weapon or my tactical baton so I lunged forward and delivered a Qui Gong front kick directly into his gut. He doubled over both arms moving to protect his belly. I moved in with a two-handed chop to the back of his neck and he fell face down to the floor. I quickly pulled out the pistol that he had in his waistband. I didn’t have my cuffs so I grabbed some surgical tape that was on a counter in the room. The man was starting to groan and struggle to rise. I pulled his hands behind his back pushing his head back down to the floor and wrapped his wrists together with several layers of tape. I did the same with his ankles.
When I looked up, Korb was smiling and holding a small automatic in his hand. “I guess you didn’t need my help,” he said. He had already pulled out the drip bag needle. “You don’t think I would let anyone kill me that easily do you, Ms., Ms.?”
“Su,” I said, shaking my head. “It seems your reputation is well-deserved.”
“Reputations are ephemeral. They must always be backed up by results. And à propos of that, I liked your results. Were you sent here to protect me?”
“No. I’m here with my mother who is getting an MRI. I heard that fake doc inquire about you at the nurses’ station. Something about him wasn’t right and I noticed the bulge under his scrubs. I’m a Chicago police detective.”
Korb’s eyes opened wide, surprised at being impressed by a Chicago police officer. Just then the door burst open and Lieutenant Skowron and two uniformed officers along with the security guard entered. The guard must not have waited a minute to call for back-up and Skowron must have been close by.
I indicated that they should take the would-be assassin in custody and read him his rights. With my phone, I snapped a picture of the syringe on the floor next to the IV drip stand. Collecting the drug paraphernalia would have to await the crime scene techs.
Korb beamed at Skowron and said, “Why Lieutenant, it is so nice to see you. It’s been some time. I hope you are well.”
Skowron scowled and grunted. “Korb, you don’t know how much I hoped I might be too late.”
“Now Lieutenant, don’t be that way. You should be proud of your colleague, Detective Su. She handled that thug efficiently and effectively. I hope you can find out who sent him although I have my suspicions.”
“Which you won’t tell us, of course,” huffed Skowron. The frustrated police detective turned to me. “Su, take Korb’s and any other witnesses’ statements concerning this incident and include yours.”
Korb interrupted. “Uh, Lieutenant, I think you had better check on the real Dr. Carrothers. Let’s hope you’ll find a rifled locker missing the badge and scrubs. But if not, there’s liable to be an injured or dead physician somewhere – most likely in a previously empty hospital bed.”
“Korb, don’t tell me how to do my job. I don’t need your advice.” Skowron turned on his heel and stomped out followed by the security man and the two uniformed officers holding a now cuffed but not hobbled hitman.
Korb chuckled. “Your Lieutenant and I have had many confrontations over the years. Very few to his liking.”
I nodded. “I can’t say he’s the easiest boss to get along with. But he’s honest and goes by the book. I guess that’s the best I could ask for.”
Korb looked concerned. “You don’t seem enamored with your position at the CPD?”
“I was just thinking about that while I was waiting for my mom.”
The massive detective nodded. “By the way, how much are you paid if I may be so bold as to ask?”
I shrugged. Didn’t see why I shouldn’t tell him. “$75,000 plus pretty good benefits – medical, pension, insurance and the like.”
Korb compressed his lips and cocked his head to the left. “Well, the intrepid Detective Su, I have a proposition for you. I like the way you handle yourself. Come work for me. I’ll raise your salary by a third, match your benefits plus you will get room and board in my Gold Coast town house/office. We are well equipped with the latest technology, state of the art gym (of course you won’t see me there), and the best chef in Chicago who is also our security expert. You’ll have interesting cases. Think about it. But first, go to your mother. She must be worried since you weren’t in the waiting room. Then come back to me for my witness statement.”
I would surely think hard about it.
About Lawrence E Rothstein
I am a retired lawyer and university professor who has published in constitutional law, privacy law, political theory and labor law. Born and raised in Chicago, I am now residing with my wife and family in beautiful southern Rhode Island. I have lived and traveled widely in Europe. As an avid reader of crime fiction, I have always wanted to write detective novels. I consider this my third career. Venetian Bind published in May 2024 was my first Tri-Star Investigations novel. Ripped Genes is my second and I am well into my third, The Tell-Tale Art. As a lover of food and cooking, I include many scrumptious meals and some recipes in my novels and on my website.
Webpage: www.Rothsteinsmysteries.com;
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Rothsteinsmysteries;
GoodReads:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/209521954-venetian-bind
Instagram BlueSky
Purchase links: Amazon Kindle – Amazon Paperback Barnes & Noble – Author Website
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Ripped Genes TOUR PARTICIPANTS
February 27 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
February 27 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
February 28 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
March 1 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
March 2 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
March 3 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
March 4 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 5 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 5 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 6 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
March 7 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
March 8 – CelticLady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 9 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 10 – Wine Cellar Library – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 11 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 12 – Frugal Freelancer – CHARACTER GUEST POST
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