Pale in Death

Reporter Mark Freer learns that the body of an old girlfriend has been found, beaten to death, in the county where he now lives and works south of Atlanta. He left the girl, Amelia, years before due to her drug addiction but feels guilty because he played a part in beginning that addiction. Driven by that guilt, he begins to investigate Amelia's death. <br><br>He learns from an old junkie associate who also recently showed up in town that Amelia's son, Kyle, is living with her parents and younger sister Dani in Atlanta's north suburbs. He also learns that Amelia was last seen with an unknown three men. Freer contacts Dani and after she learns about Amelia's death they both begin investigating. They track the three mystery men in a pimped up Cadillac through Atlanta's seedier side, strip clubs and dog fighting, until they discover that one of the men is Jeremy Pivot, Amelia's ex-boyfriend and father of Kyle. <br><br>All this occurs at a time when Freer's life is crumbling. His wife has left him, taking their young daughter with her back to her hometown, El Paso, Texas. He is bitterly disappointed with his career and the evil he reports on a daily basis weighs on his soul. Not to mention the fact that he's been experiencing a massive toothache recently! All these factors push him to a point of desperate urgency to solve the mystery of Amelia's death. <br><br>Drawn partially from the real life experiences of author Ed Brock, a former police reporter, <i>Pale in Death</i> is a tour of Atlanta's seedy side with characters that live and breathe. <br><br>Acclaim for <i>Pale in Death</i>: <br><br>"Publishing his first novel, crime reporter Brock offers us a tale featuring none other than an Atlanta crime reporter. Talk about writing what you know. But it's not just a crime novel, it's a dark noir tale of decay and despair." -Dave Wilde, Amazon reviewer <br><br>"Ed Brock's <i>Pale in Death</i> is a solid debut crime novel." -Mej, Amazon reviewer <br><br>"Brock delivers a nicely paced thriller that has an interesting cast of characters and is well plotted." -Dman4227, Amazon reviewer <br><br>"A roller coaster ride down a path of drug destruction and death, the result of which has a profound effect on a remorseful reporter who finds his past mistakes rushing forward to present him with a real and present danger. I enjoyed every minute of this read." -Amazon reviewer <br><br>"Fast paced and tightly plotted debut. It's short, which is good. The characters are well done." -Kathleen G., Amazon reviewer