Acappella Blue by Raymond Michaels

About the book

This suspense novel is a story of greed and power -- not political power, but power over other people.

When Ali bin Salam is suspected of bombing two U.S. embassies in Africa, President Jessup secretly gives Dutch Dantley the go-ahead for Acapella Blue, a theory that people's behavior can be manipulated without using drugs.

Dutch meets Trisha Gregano, a beautiful and ambitious reporter who reminds him of his late wife. He becomes as obsessed with her as with his experiment. She agrees to help, but finds herself attracted to Harris Churchill, the subject of the experiment, and is seduced by him.

Disillusioned, disoriented, and scared for his life, Harris Churchill disappears just as Dutch is about to conclude his test. Complicating matters, Trisha is found dead -- raped and full of drugs. Harris becomes a prime suspect.

In the psychiatric ward of a Chicago hospital, Grace Wheatley begins to unravel Harris's story. He sees his situation as bad luck and coincidence, but Dr. Wheatley senses a possible setup. She calls Harris's arresting officer and learns of the murder.

When Dutch discovers Harris's whereabouts, he sets in motion a complex series of events to capture and kill him. After killing some of Ali bin Salam's henchmen, Dutch forces Harris's old boss, Neal Skinner to get involved. When another CIA agent taps Dr. Wheatley's phone, he learns that Dutch killed Trisha and he coyly devises a trap to snare him.

About the author

Raymond Michaels began writing several years ago as a form of therapy to work through several traumatic events in this life. Some of the events during that period in his life formed the basis for Acappella Blue. After an article he wrote was published in a professional journal, he pursued writing more seriously, combining his writing life with a career in architecture. He lives and works in Virginia where he has his own architectural practice.

Acappella Blue is his first novel.