The Counterfeit Detective
When his best informant, John Hwa, is stabbed to death, Manhattan private investigator Theo Jones believes the family ‘curse’ that has claimed generations of men in his family will come true again. First his brother George died in the 9/11 terrorist attack, then his father in a construction accident. Would he be next?
Twenty years ago, the counterfeiters were harmless street peddlers like Hwa selling knockoff Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags. Nowadays, his life is in constant danger. When Jones infiltrates an interstate knockoff ring, his investigation is stymied after his wife, Linda, is terrorized by anonymous telephone death threats. She flees with their son and Jones must decide what is real and what is fake, whether hanging onto his family is more important than a career as a private investigator. To answer that question, he’ll have to survive a death trap set by the counterfeiters, and discover the truth about the family curse.
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Paul R. Paradise has authored numerous books and articles and been interviewed on the radio for his expertise with trademark counterfeiting, called “the business crime of the 21st century,” by the FBI. The Counterfeit Detective is based in part on a book excerpt of real-life investigator David Woods that appeared in PI Magazine and later in his book Trademark Counterfeiting, Product Piracy, and the Billion Dollar Threat to the U.S. Economy, as well as a short story that was awarded Honorable Mention in the 2008 Writers' Digest Fiction Competition. The author began his career as staff writer for T.F.H. Publications and later branched out into law enforcement with articles published in Electronics Now, Police, Law & Order and PI Magazine.