High Treason

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My beloved bride Joy continues to be a source of strength, inspiration and sanity, making every day worth waking up to.

Thank you, Chris, for being who you are. I couldn’t be more proud.

David Kirk did a brave thing through his generous donation to the Recycling Research Foundation and therefore earning his fictional namesake, as did Becky Beckeman with her donation to Living Word Lutheran School in Rochester, Michigan. I’m not sure either realizes how rarely stories end up well for characters whose names are so earned, but in this case they lucked out. I assure everyone who reads these words that the David and Becky who appear in this book are truly works of fiction, and bear no similarity to their namesakes.

My Canadian buddy and single malt sensei, Len Shaw, is neither a terrorist nor a former resident of the Soviet Union. Instead, he is a respected colleague whom I am honored to call my friend. He, too, shares no traits with his fictional namesake.

I owe a great thanks to Michelle Gagnon and John Ramsey Miller for reading an early draft of High Treason and giving me some excellent advice. If there are any mistakes in the book, blame them because they should have told me. Thanks also to The Rumpi — Art Taylor, Ellen Crosby, Donna Andrews, and Alan Orloff — for their ongoing advice and enduring friendship.

The team at Kensington Publishing continues to amaze me with their overwhelming support and guidance. Special thanks go to my editor, Michaela Hamilton, production editor Arthur Maisel, and my publisher, Laurie Parkin, and the guy who runs the whole shebang, Steve Zacharius. Adeola Saul is the best publicist in the business, and Alexandra Nicolajsen is my mistress of the Internet. Thanks to all.

But none of it would happen without my good friend and agent, Anne Hawkins.