Flawed From Inception by Robert Dunn

About the book

Lust, greed, and murder, erupt in a town where glamorous people refuse to allow financial set-backs to interrupt their lavish lifestyles. The action is revealed to readers through the eyes and experiences of Newport Beach investment advisor, Joe Harper.

The day after an infamous con-man is found murdered, a badly frightened accountant, Walt Miller, shows up at Joe's office. He hands Joe a check for twenty thousand dollars, a key to a safety deposit box, and tells him that he is his only hope to stay alive. He won't say who his bosses are or why they can't touch Joe.

During a mixed-doubles social at the Bay Tennis Club, Joe discovers that he's paired with a lovely trust attorney named Beth Manning. She's had the starring role in several of his recent fantasies. Together they begin a campaign to discover the identity of his adversaries, one of whom turns out to be his ex father-in-law, Herbert Bronski. Joe's ace-in-the-hole is a one-million dollar life insurance policy Bronski's daughter still has on his life. This could bring insurance investigators down on Bronski if Joe was killed.

Other principals in the story include, Joe's protective secretary, Teri, who is looking for a meaningful relationship while the men she meets are on the prowl for considerably less, and Joe's younger neighbor, Nancy who only wants to be his friend. Joe's beautiful but vain ex-wife, Stephi, is worried about both her father and Joe.

When a wealthy couple from the club invite Joe and Beth to take a cruise on their yacht, they are shocked to find Bronski waiting for them in the saloon. Their host reveals that he's Bronski's partner, Neil Wolff. Joe desperately tries to figure out a way to escape until he discovers that his captors have unknowingly hired Walt Miller's private detectives to dump them into the ocean. Joe and Beth's abductors are startled by their sudden change of demeanor as our protagonists bask comfortably on the sun-deck. Their kidnappers don't realize that anything is wrong until they see the flashing lights and hear the screaming sirens of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter as it roars up alongside of the yacht. Miller is standing on the cutter's deck waving to them. Bronski and Wolff are promptly hauled off to jail. It appears that their affluent lifestyle is over, at least for a while.

On the celebration cruise back to Balboa Bay, Miller and his two detectives take advantage of the yacht's well stocked bar and galley. Joe and Beth have a drink and enjoy the sunset from the aft deck. Then the happy couple cap-off the romantic evening in their stateroom resting up from their ordeal.

Other Dunn Works...
A description of: "A Killing In The Market"
A description of: "Vice Squad 1942"