An old Army buddy warns Frank Martinelli that someone wants him dead, When Frank starts asking why, the search for answers leads him back to a secret that someone apparently wants buried with Frank. In his quest to uncover the truth Frank finds a reason to start living again. The problem is, if Frank can't get to the bottom of things soon, he may not have much time left to live.
They say it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. You think so? Ask Frank Martinelli, and he might tell you different. It all began with the disappearance of his daughter Jennifer 20 years ago. She was on her way back to college and never made it. A year later a young girl named Rachel left Frank with an awful secret right before she died. The losses kept piling up. Soon his marriage was added to the toll.
After that he just quit trying to make sense of things. He put in his time and retired, a hollowed out man living a half-empty glass of a life, a story with an ending he didn't care about one way or another . . . Or so he thought until what started out as just another day in the life became a matter of life and death. His.
When an old Army buddy suddenly resurfaces to warn Frank that someone wants him dead, Frank starts asking why. The search for answers leads him back to Rachel's secret, a secret that someone apparently wants buried with Frank. In his quest to uncover the truth Frank finds a reason to start living again. The problem is, if Frank can't get to the bottom of things soon, he may not have much time left to live.
Excerpt
They say it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. You think so? How about I tell you what I’ve loved and what I’ve lost, and then you can tell me if it was worth it or not: a daughter, a marriage, a life. So, what do you think? Was it better to have loved and lost? I’ve spent the last couple of decades trying to figure it out. So far all I have for my trouble is too many memories of what might have been.
My life ends and begins with the disappearance of my daughter Jennifer. She was on her way back to college and never made it. Her car was found abandoned on I-81 near Hometown, Pennsylvania. Up until then my story had followed a normal track, or what passes for normal if you came of age in the sixties: the American dream gunned down by assassins’ bullets, followed by a long national nightmare of a war that no one understood, least of all me . . . a war that carved deep gouges on my soul. Somehow I made it home in one piece. I got a job, got married, and went back to working for Uncle Sam, this time as a civilian. Things were looking good. Then the roof caved in. Jen’s disappearance marked the beginning of a black hole that consumed everything I had left of myself, including my marriage.
After that I just quit trying to make sense of things. I returned to a way of thinking I left behind in Vietnam, marking off the days of my life on my short-timer’s calendar, content to just keep putting one foot in front of the other on my lost patrol to nowhere in particular. I put in my thirty years and retired on a decent enough pension, a hollowed out man living a half-empty glass of a life, a story with an ending I didn’t care about one way or another . . . Or so I thought until what started out as just another day in the life became a matter of life and death. Mine.
Professional Reviews
Interesting read. Not a thriller, nor a mystery. Believable characters.
Hard to categorize, but a good read. The story of deceased Rachael and Jennifer weaves in and out of all the characters lives.
The Star Seekers is a humorous, fast-paced adventure and a heartwarming story for anyone who has ever looked at the stars and wanted to venture out there.
