The Impaler

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my editor, John Scognamiglio at Kensington Publishing Corp., and my agent, William Reiss at John Hawkins & Associates, for their assistance in developing The Impaler. Also, my sincerest thanks to all the great people at Kensington who try their hardest to make me look good (not an easy task), including Arthur Maisel, Lou Mal-cangi, my publicist Frank Anthony Polito, and Meryl Earl and Colleen Martin, both of whom have done a terrific job promoting my books abroad.

For their advice and counsel, I am especially beholden to: Milo Dowling, retired FBI agent; Reid Parker, technical director here at ECU; Chris Christman, hunter extraordinaire; Yesenia Ayala, for her Spanish expertise; and Marylaura Pa-palas, for her lightning-fast French translations.

To the members of my family who slugged through The Impaler in its various drafts, I owe you all much love and gratitude: my wife, Angela; my father, Anthony; my mother, Linda Ise; my brother, Michael; my uncle, Raymond Funaro; and my grandmother, Lois Ise. The same goes for my friends and colleagues: Robert Caprio, Jill Matarelli-Carlson, Jef-fery Phipps, Steven Petrarca, Jessica Purdy, Vance Daniels, and Adam Roth.

And finally, even though he spilled tea all over my original manuscript, a hearty “thank-you” goes out to Michael Combs for never letting me off the hook. I owe you one, my friend.