The Suspense Is Killing Me

A journalist searches for the true story of his glamorous sibling's death. When rock star J. C. Tripper died, only his brother Lee was by his side, and in the decades since, Lee has been deviled by questions of what really happened that night in Tangier. He thinks he knows the truth, but his recollection of that final drug-soaked bender is about to be called into question. An old acquaintance mails Lee a Nazi pistol and four Polaroid pictures of a dead body-an invitation to reopen a long-cold murder investigation. Lee then reconnects with Sam Innis, onetime best friend to the brothers Tripper, who urges him to track down J.C.'s former bandmates and music industry contacts. That night, Lee's girlfriend, a bestselling conspiracy theorist, is tortured to death in her tub. As his brother comes back to haunt him, Lee must unravel the mystery of J.C.'s last days, or risk joining him behind the velvet rope at the great after-party in the sky. Review Quote: "Plot surprises galore ... The amusement quotient rises with every page." - Publishers Weekly "Great fun - twisted, complex, hip." - The Miami Herald Biographical note: Thomas Gifford (1937-2000) was a bestselling author of thriller novels. Born in Dubuque, Iowa, he moved to Minnesota after graduating from Harvard. After eight years as a traveling textbook salesman, he wrote Benchwarmer Bob (1974), a biography of Minnesota Vikings defensive end Bob Lurtsema. The Wind Chill Factor (1975), a novel about dark dealings among ex-Nazis, introduced John Cooper, a character Gifford would revisit in The First Sacrifice (1994). The Wind Chill Factor was one of several books Gifford set in and around Minneapolis. Gifford won an Edgar Award nomination for The Cavanaugh Quest (1976). The Glendower Legacy (1978), a story about an academic who discovers that George Washington may have been a British spy, was adapted for the film Dirty Tricks (1981), starring Elliott Gould. In the 1980s Gifford wrote suspense novels under the pen names Thomas Maxwell and Dana Clarins. In 1996 he moved back to Dubuque to renovate his childhood home. He died of cancer in 2000.