“This is a tale of good versus evil,” said Pomerantz and Hruby. “Our main character, Deklan, fought his demons in the combat zones of Iraq and Afghanistan as a Navy SEAL breacher, also known as an explosive expert, on the stadium grass of the Big Ten football fields as a linebacker, and now in Chicago as a special agent for the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children squad.”

The mystery thriller lays the groundwork for what the authors describe as a recurring character who is hard, fast, and mean as a razor wire. Deklan’s life path is one of determination and sacrifice in the face of defeat. That grit will be what he leans on in his new role as a tough FBI agent tasked with unraveling the disappearance of two children from a daycare center owned by his mother in this first installment.

This debut narrative, the first in a planned three-book series, is a fictional account based on Hruby’s real-life story.

Written by Tom Hruby and James Pomerantz