Author Spotlight: House of Cards

All of my novels are based on real events…some from my own life, some ripped from the headlines. Of my writing in Death by Wall Street, for example, Gary Sorkin of Pacific Book Review said: “[S]imilar to the writing style of Michael Crichton and Tom Clancy, Ted Cohen adheres to short chapters laying out a mental storyboard in the reader’s mind. He possesses a writing style ideal for screenplay adaptation with visuals that can make for a good movie. Why wait for Hollywood – Death by Wall Street: Rampage of the Bulls is currently playing in a theater near you, the theater of your mind.”

My first novel, Full Circle: A Dream Denied, A Vision Fulfilled, is based on my avocation as a violinist. (I play with the Bryn Athyn (PA) Orchestra.) It was published by AuthorHouse in 2009.

I’ve also written three novels that comprise my Antarctic Murders Trilogy: Frozen in Time: Murder at the Bottom of the World (Book I); Unfinished Business: Pursuit of an Antarctic Killer (Book II); and End Game: Irrational Acts, Tragic Consequences (Book III). Books I and II won Reader Views ‘Reviewers Choice Awards Book of the Year Awards,’ 2nd Place, Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Horror, for 2011. Book III won the Reader Views ‘Jack Eadon Award for the Best Book in Contemporary Drama,’ in 2011. The Trilogy, which is based on my experiences in Antarctica some 50 years ago, was also published by AuthorHouse.

As an investor since 1960, I have focused almost entirely on the world of biotechnology. My mystery thriller Death by Wall Street: Rampage of the Bulls–which won a Reader Views ‘Reviewers Choice Awards Book of the Year Award,’ 2nd Place, Mystery/Thriller/Suspense/Horror, for 2011–tells the story of what happens to three people who worked behind the scenes to delay the approval of a new drug for breast cancer. This mystery thriller, which is based on real events, focuses on corruption within the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and on a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that failed to provide oversight of the US stock markets.

My sixth novel, House of Cards: Dead Men Tell No Tales, which was released in the fall, 2011, was ripped from the headlines. It’s the story of how the major banks and hedge funds in this country created, marketed, and sold junk mortgage-backed securities to unsuspecting customers while, at the same time, they offloaded their risks through the purchase of ‘insurance’ from a major Wall Street insurance firm. In this mystery thriller, I take both Wall Street and our federal government to task for the financial meltdown of 2008 that brought about the recession that followed. For ‘flavor,’ I added a dash of Islamic terrorism, and voilà, you have a book you won’t be able to put down. As is the case with Death by Wall Street, House of Cards features the exploits of my characters NYPD Homicide Detective Louis Martelli and NYPD Information Technology Specialist Missy Dugan. The exchanges between this pair will leave you laughing well into the night!

My novel, Lilith…Demon of the Night, is a gripping, modern-day tale of vampirism unlike any you have read. When a man walks into a Catholic church just prior to the start of a funeral service, stuffs garlic into the deceased’s mouth and pumps a bullet into the corpse, NYPD Homicide Detective Louis Martelli is as puzzled as he’s ever been on a case. No stranger to the macabre, Martelli is even more mystified by Deputy Coroner Michael Antonetti’s findings, which confirm that the deceased, far from having died of respiratory failure and a possible heart attack, was murdered by someone who injected him with a lethal dose of Philippine Cobra venom. When other, similar deaths are uncovered in and around New York City, the investigation conducted by Martelli and his partner, Detective Sean O’Keeffe, takes a decidedly morbid turn, leading to the discovery of a modern-day vampire cult, a woman named ‘Lilith,’ and a serial killer with a score to settle. Who is behind the killings, and can Martelli and O’Keeffe stop him before he kills his last victim and makes good his escape? The answers can only be found, of course, by reading my latest mystery thriller.

Finally, my most recent novel, Night Shadows, deals with some of society’s most difficult problems…child abuse, teenage rape, teen suicide, bullying, and revenge porn. It’s yet another ‘ripped-from-the-headlines’ Martelli mystery/thriller, and while all fiction, it has an important message for readers of all ages. I promise you a good ‘read,’ one filled with as many twists and turns as Lilith and an ending that surly will surprise.

For more information, interviews, and videos related to these novels and my other works, please visit my Web site: http://www.theodore-cohen-novels.com
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Theodore J. (Ted) Cohen, PhD, holds three degrees in the physical sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been an engineer and scientist for more than 45 years. He has published more than 350 papers, articles, columns, essays, and interviews in the fields of communications and electronics, and is a co-author of The NEW Shortwave Propagation Handbook from CQ Communications. Ted is a licensed Radio Amateur. His callsign is N4XX. From December 1961 through early March 1962, he participated in the 16th Chilean Expedition to the Antarctic. The US Board of Geographic Names in October, 1964, named the geographical feature Cohen Islands, located at 63° 18′ S. latitude, 57° 53′ W. longitude in the Cape Legoupil area, Antarctica, in his honor. Ted served in the US Army Corps of Engineers from March 1966 through March 1968, leaving the service with the rank of Captain.