When the world’s most famous explorer is murdered at the Smithsonian, it’s up to a cynical Washington detective to solve the case. Bob Fundwell dies in the Smithsonian’s Ocean Hall when the life-size replica of a whale falls from the ceiling and crushes him. A veteran black investigator, Detective Thomas, is assigned the case. He’s witnessed two decades of bloody mayhem on the streets of the nation’s capital. The list of suspects is long, for the victim was arrogant and reviled. Fundwell discovered the Gigantic, a legendary ocean liner that sank in the Atlantic after hitting an iceberg. He became rich and famous by falsely claiming the work of his colleagues. As Thomas investigates the case, he is lied to by people at all levels – from housing projects to the Supreme Court. Deceit is the one constant in a Washington on the eve of the 2008 election. Yet, he presses on, determined to find justice and prove that Washington has changed since its days as the murder capital of the country. Murder in Ocean Hall is inspired by true events, including the real-life controversy over the discovery of the Titanic, as well as the author's two decades in Washington. This novel takes you behind the scenes of our nation's dysfunctional capital, revealing the real city beyond the monuments.
I've lived in Washington, DC for almost twenty years. I know the neighborhoods, the conflicts and the personalities of this unique city - knowledge that was invaluable when it came to writing Murder in Ocean Hall. I've been behind the scenes at the Smithsonian and worked in the field of ocean exploration, where the murder victim in my book comes from.
My credits include articles that have appeared in The Washington Post, The Hill Rag, ePolitics, CultureFlux and elsewhere. I wrote a short story, "Signs," that was published in in the business book, Blog Marketing (McGraw-Hill, 2005). I won the Film DC Screenwriting Competition with my feature-length screenplay, Mount Pleasant, and was the Screenplay Competition Manager for the DC Shorts Film Festival.
