Works by John Russo

THE BENNIE ARNOLDO FILE

Alyson Grant, computer specialist for the Justice Department, discovers a portion of the WITSEC program she is converting has been deleted. Upon reporting it to her superiors, she inadvertently sets in motion events that lead to dangerous complications. It never occurs to her that retrieving the information could put her life and the lives of others in jeopardy. Tenacious and determined to unravel the missing Bennie Arnoldo files, Alyson seeks the assistance of Mark Ferris, a treasury department specialist. Their covert involvement leads directly to the Attorney General's department. Alyson and Mark learn that seeking the truth in Washington is frustrating, but their close liaison results in a romantic conclusion.

THE VANDENBERG DIAMONDS

During World War II, uncut diamonds were buried on a pig farm is Sicily. After the war ended, only one person, Carlo Marchi, was left alive who knew where they had been hidden. Vandenberg Mining's head of security, Sean Corklin, is dispatched to find the lost gems. Meanwhile, Carlo and his cousin, Tony, have other plans for the diamonds, plans that involve an import cannery in New York City.

An exciting suspense story that transports you from England to Egypt, Sicily, and New York.

INDIAN GIVERS

Carl Bartelli, co-owner of Barham Armored Car Service located in Providence, initiated his scheme for a high return loan to finance Rhode Island's Upawa Indians' desire to build a full scale casino. In order to achieve his dream of becoming a millionaire before the age of fifty, he was willing to bend or break the law by borrowing millions of dollars from his clients' vaults, and eliminating any impediments standing in his way, as well as skimming millions more from the casino's operation. Carl never expected a Federal Reserve audit, nor did he anticipate problems with his wife and partners. It never occurred to him that his scheming would set in motion events that would eventually lead to betrayal, murder and revenge.

MURDER ON THE CORAL QUEEN

When executives of Silvers Cosmetics and their spouses board the small cruise ship Coral Queen for a sales meeting, they have no illusions that the cruise is purely for pleasure. The company’s Senior VP, Herb Marshall, has just been fired and they expect the tyrannical owner and chairwoman, Yvonne Silvers, to announce which of them she has chosen to replace him. However, on the first night out, she dashed any hope they may have had when she announced that she planned to offer the job to her nephew, Stuart Rosen. When Yvonne is found murdered, each becomes a suspect as the extent to which all of them detest her is revealed. Capt. Markem is anxious to have the crime solved before returning to the ship’s home port in Florida to avoid inconveniencing the other passengers by a lengthy investigation. He calls on the ship’s doctor, Dr. Gwen Gordon, a former New Jersey forensics investigator, to find the murderer. With the assistance of the only witness to the crime, the ship’s mascot, Taco, a talkative yellow-headed Amazon parrot, she uncovers the facts. But how will Dr. Gordon prove whodunit?

DRISCOLL'S EYE

One life-altering moment occurred when Marty Driscoll, Yale's star quarterback was severely beaten by a smalltime hood. As a result, Marty was blinded in his right eye. His footloose roommate Todd Hamilton swiped an Egyptian seer's orb from his Archaeology class and convinced Marty to have it implanted instead of a glass prosthesis. No longer able to play ball, Marty decided he must do something more meaningful with his life. He transferred to Harvard law secretly vowing to seek justice for what had been done to him. While working summers in security in his father's mall he started to experience weird sensations in his implanted eye. It was there he also met Sara Jenkins and they fell in love. When he passed the bar Marty was assigned to the New Haven States Attorney's office. Meanwhile the strange sensations in his eye continue to occur. It was after Sara was killed by a stray bullet that he became more determined to see that those who mindlessly harm others were punished. He finally discovered that the strange orb in his eye would guide him in that endeavor.

THE LEGACY

Alonso Santina leads a comfortable life in the suburbs of New Jersey with a budding construction business, a new house, and a wife with a baby on the way. When he receives a letter from an attorney in Spain informing him of the death of a long-lost relative, little does he know that what begins as a simple trip to Cádiz with his cousin Sal to claim his inheritance will turn into an adventure spanning two continents, pursued by lawyers and thieves, all spurred on by the discovery of a five-hundred-year-old journal.

GROUNDS FOR MURDER

Coming soon as an e-book.

IF THE SHOES FIT

I thought it would be a fun read if I created a situation in which a Hollywood wife, an avid collector of movie memorabilia, buys an old locked truck at a movie studio auction only to have one of the surprise contents transform her husband into something, at their son's wedding, that neither of them had ever expected.

THE CHILI CON

I have always been amused and entertained by con games and those who play them depicted in books and movies and, being a lover of a good bowl of chili and a fast thoroughbred, I concocted this fun tale with those characters and elements in mind.