Corporatocracy Rules: A Diana Hunter Thriller [Paperback]

Joan Francis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2010

When PI Diana Hunter accepts a case from corporate titan, Maude McCollvoy, she goes undercover as a homeless woman to check up on Maude's crusading son, Robby McCollvoy. The case leads Diana from the dark streets of Los Angeles to the corporate towers of the super rich where she discovers an international financial conspiracy involving hidden money, hidden profits, mortgage fraud and tax fraud. She is confronted by a cabal of such power that the perptrators are immune to civil and criminal justice. In their rarefied world things are done, not by law, but by Corporatocracy Rules. With both justice and her life on the line, Diana abandons legal procedures and resort to desperate measures for extracting justice in and extraordinary fashion.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This story twists and turns, and kept me turning the pages all night. This is a delightful read, filled with compelling characters, adventure, mystery, romance. The suspense is sustained admirably. --Sam White, Editor, Hilltop Publishing

From the Author

During the 1980s I worked with a team that traveled the county providing security to FSLIC, (Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation) as they shut down failed Savings and Loans on Friday afternoons and opened them up again under new owners on Monday mornings. I found the need for security ironic because the S&Ls had already been robbed, often by their owners. The abuse, incompetence and fraud created by the deregulation of the S&Ls led to losses of over 600 billion dollars, much of that paid for by American tax payers. When I saw the whole thing happening all over again with even greater financial devastation in unregulated bundled mortgage securities, I felt angry but helpless. So, I put my fictional character Private Investigator, Diana Hunter on the case to see what she could do about it. The resulting case file is Corporatocracy Rules.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Lobathian Publishers (May 11, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0982137028
• ISBN-13: 978-0982137024
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,982,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joan Francis is a licensed private investigator and has also worked as a librarian and a newspaper reporter. She spent her childhood in small mining towns and camps in the western United States and in South America with her two sisters, mother, and mining engineer father. Moving from place to place as her father opened up new mine sites, she attended fifteen schools before graduating with a B.A. in history from the University of Washington. Married with three grown children, she and her husband now live in a secluded mountain valley in California.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Page-Turning Thriller!, August 4, 2011

By 

bwbatlarge - See all my reviews

This review is from: Corporatocracy Rules: A Diana Hunter Thriller (Paperback)

Corporatocracy Rules: A Diana Hunter Thriller by Joan Francis is page-turning political thriller, chronicling the investigation of mortgage fraud by everyone's favorite female, PI, Diana Hunter, who uses daring, boldness, and uncanny resourcefulness to devise solutions to crimes and conspiracies. When Hunter accepts a case from Maude McCollovoy, the richest woman in America, she must go undercover as a homeless woman, reprising her role as "Bag Lady Betty" in order to spy on Maude's son, Robby.

Her curiosity is naturally piqued by an assignment from the "Black Widow Heiress," a woman with whom she has nothing in common and is puzzled as to why she was selected for the assignment; "...Maude was a member in good standing of that shadow-power behind the curtain; those I had come to call our ruling Corporatacracy," which has led to legendary debates between the two at their hairdresser's. Despite their history, Maude needs "a woman on the inside" to find out what Robby is involved in and she maintains that Hunter's "methods of operation are appropriate to my needs."

Maude has sought someone outside of her usual security staff for this job, insisting that Hunter not share her involvement with anyone in her household or anyone else, when she presents her with the task of investigating Robby's involvement with LA LA Land, which advertises foreclosure properties "for next to nothing." Robby has been investigating LA LA Land's dealings, breaking his silence with his mother to seek the help of her legal counsel In finding out what it would take to get the District Attorney to file against someone for real estate fraud.

When Hunter is informed that she will receive a retainer of $20,000, rather than be overjoyed, alarm bells ring in her head, giving her the unsettling feeling that there is much more to the case than Maude is letting her in on.

Francis uses her past experience as a PI to add layers of realism and a particular authenticity to the story, bringing vivid detail to the imaginations of its readers. As Francis' spellbinding story unfolds, readers will be left at the edges of their seats, riveted by her gift for suspense and mystery.

5.0 out of 5 stars Another page turner., September 17, 2010

By 

R. Ridgway "Author Reggie Ridgway" (bakersfield, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Corporatocracy Rules: A Diana Hunter Thriller (Paperback)

Another page turner by Joan Francis. I really was hooked from the beginning when our hero Diana Hunter is hired to keep an eye on a wealthy woman's son. She has to go undercover and mingle with the homeless in a shelter. Later there is a romantic twist for the reader as we find Diana again being pursued by a ruthless gang of thugs. I liked the way she has to think on her feet and figure things out like a Sherlock Holmes wannabe. There is enough violence and intrigue to please everyone and I hope you will enjoy this latest thriller as much as I did.
Reggie Ridgway(Author of soon to be released "In the Midnight Hour")
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