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WORK TITLE: The Secret That Killed You
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WEBSITE: https://stevehadden.com/
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COUNTRY: United States
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LAST VOLUME:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Married; wife’s name C.J.
EDUCATION:Penn State, B.S. (chemical engineering).
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer, worked in the oil and gas business.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
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Steve Hadden writes thrillers based on his experience in the oil and gas business, such as the 2012 The Sunset Conspiracy, about an oil representative teaming up with an environmentalist to investigate the murder of a top oil executive. Hadden, a pre-med student turned chemical engineer, graduated from Penn State. He incorporated his interest in biology and science, and love of Michael Crichton novels, into his thriller Genetic Imperfections, about a mourning father who bankrolls the first genetic cure for leukemia, but a fatal flaw in the treatment leads to a cover up.
Hadden’s “The Swimming Monkeys Trilogy” blends real science and fiction to investigate a nature park kept secret since the 1926 Scopes Monkey Trial that houses a species of moneys, who, if word of their existence got out, would rock the religious and scientific community. The standalone novel, The Dark Side of Angels, features a molecular biologist who unlocks the genetic code for immortality evading the masked assassins who want her formula.
The stories in Hadden’s “Ike Rossi” series are inspired by real cases. The series begins with The Victim of the System, which follows the case of a ten-year-old genius put on trial for murder and the former sports hero turned private investigator, Ike Rossi, who discovers evidence that could save him. In the second book, The Secret That Killed You, Rossi has a reputation for solving impossible cases. He takes the case of Amelia Grace, a retired Air Force drone pilot who now runs an underwater vehicle for the powerful Falzone Energy company. After she recovers a strongbox emblazoned with a Nazi eagle from the sea floor two hundred miles off the Virginia coast, Amelia’s aunt and uncle are found dead. With Amelia, Rossi enlists the help of a World War II codebreaker to research the case, that also involves the FBI. But Amelia’s devastating family secrets may hinder the investigation.
In The Secret That Killed You, the banter between Amelia and Rossi, and the chase scenes make for “an effectively suspenseful narrative that proceeds at a brisk pace. A conflicted investigator successfully follows his conscience in this well-constructed mystery,” declared a writer in Kirkus Reviews. “Hadden writes with noir flair” and “deftly probes the limits of patriotism, leaving readers teetering on a knife edge of right vs. wrong,” according to a Publishers Weekly reviewer.
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, July 1, 2024, review of The Secret That Killed You: An Ike Rossi Thriller.
Publishers Weekly, June 3, 2024, review of The Secret That Killed You, p. 112.
ONLINE
Steve Hadden, https://stevehadden.com/ (November 1, 2024), author website.
Steve Hadden is the author of the highly rated thrillers, The Sunset Conspiracy, Genetic Imperfections, The Swimming Monkeys Trilogy, The Victim of the System, The Dark Side of Angels, and The Secret That Killed You. A pre-med student turned chemical engineer who’s worked at the top of some of the largest companies in the world, Steve believes powerful thrillers lie at the intersection of intriguing stories and intelligent characters in search of dramatic revelations with global human impact.
He attended Penn State, where he studied pre-med and graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. He began a career in the oil and gas business and traveled to intriguing places around the world and met some fascinating characters. An early fan of authors like Michael Crichton and Clive Cussler, he pursued his dream of becoming a thriller author.
His experience in the oil and gas business ultimately led to the idea for his first thriller, The Sunset Conspiracy. His interest in biology and science formed the foundation for his next four thrillers in the tradition of Michael Crichton, Genetic Imperfections and The Swimming Monkeys Trilogy. He returned to his hometown of Pittsburgh with his thriller, The Victim of the System, inspired by the true story of a ten-year-old on trial for murder. The Dark Side of Angels is based on one of the most remarkable discoveries in the history of medicine. His latest thriller, The Secret That Killed You, was sparked by his interest in the emotional challenges faced by RPA (Drone) pilots and children of alcoholics, along with one of the most heinous crimes of the twentieth century.
Steve and his wife, CJ, live in South Carolina.
Hadden, Steve THE SECRET THAT KILLED YOU Mahogany Row Press (Fiction Fiction) $4.99 4, 30
In Hadden's second series thriller, a private investigator risks his new family to help a desperate woman find answers.
P.I. Ike Rossi's new client is Amelia Garcia, a retired U.S. Air Force drone pilot who now runs a remotely operated deep-water vehicle for Falzone Energy, owned by Ike's friend Shannon Falzone. Amelia's hobby is collecting artifacts from the ocean floor, but her latest find, a strongbox emblazoned with a Nazi eagle, quickly puts her in danger. She mentioned it to her Uncle Billy, and soon afterward, he and his wife, Bessie, were found dead. Billy's contact at the U.S. Department of Justice was killed in a car wreck around the same time. The deaths get the FBI interested in the case, and Ike gets involved as well after a panicked Shannon asks for his help. As it turns out, one of the FBI agents is Mia Russo--Ike's old flame, whom he considers to be the one who got away. Shannon convinces Ike to fly with her to Kiawah Island, South Carolina, to meet with Amelia. Ike is still seeking answers to his own parents' murders 23 years ago, but he agrees to help. It soon becomes clear that someone powerful is after whatever's in the strongbox. With the help of retiree Frank McNally, an ex-World War II codebreaker with his own secrets, Ike and Amelia must solve the mystery before it's too late. Hadden begins with a novel concept: a dogged and skilled detective who's unable to solve the biggest mystery of his life. Although Ike makes significant headway on that front this time out, he still ends up with more questions than answers. Most of the colorful characters from Hadden's first series installment, The Victim of the System(2018), return, but he also develops engaging new characters, including Amelia and tech whiz Dominic Massaro. Ike and Amelia often clash over the direction of their investigation, wasting precious time; their delays also allow those chasing them to close in, making for an effectively suspenseful narrative that proceeds at a brisk pace.
A conflicted investigator successfully follows his conscience in this well-constructed mystery.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Hadden, Steve: THE SECRET THAT KILLED YOU." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A799332796/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=42a58e84. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
The Secret That Killed You, Mahogany Row Press, Steve Hadden, 4.99 (330p), B0CW1F7RH5
Genre: Fiction/Mystery/Thriller
Retired Air Force veteran Amelia Garcia works for her uncle, piloting remotely operated vehicles off the U.S. coast, and pacifies her guilt, left over from previous AF Reaper drone missions, with the refrain that "she had killed for her country to protect those who couldn't protect themselves." The job leaves space for small pleasures, like collecting fascinating objects from the ocean floor, but when Amelia retrieves a strongbox emblazoned with a Nazi symbol, she can't shake the feeling that something's off. That sense escalates when, after sharing the find with her uncle, he winds up dead the next day, along with his wife and an influential justice department friend.
Hadden's second Ike Rossi novel (after The Victim of the System) dives headfirst into forgotten history from the Second World War, thoughtfully investigating the price of truth and meditating on what it means to be a contemporary American patriot. Despite her training, Amelia knows this mission is over her head; she seeks out the help of Ike Rossi, a long-ago football star now turned private investigator, to sleuth her artifact's importance--and uncover who's willing to kill to get it. Thus ensues a brutal game of keep away, with Amelia and Ike pitted against dark forces that will stop at nothing to keep the enigmatic box's contents hidden.
Hadden writes with noir flair, though Ike's compassion, no matter the personal cost, forms him into a much different hero than those pulpy PIs of the past. Amelia holds her own--a fierce warrior sworn to protect her country from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. That resolve is tested at every turn, as Amelia and Ike quickly discover a conspiracy being nurtured by the upper echelons of American politics. Hadden deftly probes the limits of patriotism, leaving readers teetering on a knife edge of right vs. wrong--and eager for more Ike Rossi adventures.
Takeaway: Air Force vet and PI race to solve a dangerous conspiracy.
Comparable Titles: Robin James's Burden of Proof, Iain King's Secrets of the Last Nazi.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"The Secret That Killed You." BookLife Reviews, vol. 8, no. 22, 3 June 2024, p. NA. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A795802480/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=fd4f5de1. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.
[??]EDITOR'S PICK
The Secret That Killed You: An Ike Rossi Thriller
Steve Hadden | Mahogany Row Press 330p, e-book, $4.99, ASIN B0CW1F7RH5
Retired Air Force veteran Amelia Garcia works for her uncle, piloting remotely operated vehicles off the U.S. coast, and pacifies her guilt, left over from previous AF Reaper drone missions, with the refrain that "she had killed for her country to protect those who couldn't protect themselves." The job leaves space for small pleasures, like collecting fascinating objects from the ocean floor, but when Amelia retrieves a strongbox emblazoned with a Nazi symbol, she can't shake the feeling that something's off. That sense escalates when, after sharing the find with her uncle, he winds up dead the next day, along with his wife and an influential justice department friend.
Hadden's second Ike Rossi novel (after The Victim of the System) dives headfirst into forgotten history from the Second World War, thoughtfully investigating the price of truth and meditating on what it means to be a contemporary American patriot. Despite her training, Amelia knows this mission is over her head; she seeks out the help of Ike Rossi, a long-ago football star now turned private investigator, to sleuth her artifact's importance--and uncover who's willing to kill to get it. Thus ensues a brutal game of keep away, with Amelia and Ike pitted against dark forces that will stop at nothing to keep the enigmatic box's contents hidden.
Hadden writes with noir flair, though Ike's compassion, no matter the personal cost, forms him into a much different hero than those pulpy PIs of the past. Amelia holds her own--a fierce warrior sworn to protect her country from all enemies, both foreign and domestic. That resolve is tested at every turn, as Amelia and Ike quickly discover a conspiracy being nurtured by the upper echelons of American politics. Hadden deftly probes the limits of patriotism, leaving readers teetering on a knife edge of right vs. wrong--and eager for more Ike Rossi adventures.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"The Secret That Killed You: An Ike Rossi Thriller." Publishers Weekly, vol. 271, no. 22, 3 June 2024, p. 112. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A800536327/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=3b75bf72. Accessed 25 Sept. 2024.