The Suspect

Acknowledgments

Writing and publishing a book is not so solitary an endeavor. It takes a whole lot of friends, advisors, helpers, editorial and marketing folks. I'm very fortunate that the whole gang working and interacting in various ways on my books takes such a proprietary and committed role in the finished product.

This time out, I had some early, critical story help I'd like to specially acknowledge from Bob Zaro, who gave me the initial idea that hit the starter button. Also, right at the beginning, Michael W. Chapman, MD, gave me some great medical insights as well as an insider's perspective on some of California's alpine lakes. For other medical and business issues that turn up in the book, I'd like to thank John Chuck, Oliver Stanton and his partner Peter Kolbeck; Mark Detzer, PhD (and his bride, Kathryn Lescroart Detzer) and of course my continuing guru for medical overview and martini mixing, Peter S. Dietrich, MD, MPH. Even with all this help, errors sometimes have their way of creeping into the text, and if they do, they are all entirely the fault and responsibility of the author.

Closer to home, my children, Justine and Jack, continue to inform every part of my creative process. Anita Boone, assistant extraordinaire, does everything and more, perfectly every time. Rick Montgomery helps keep the passion going for writing, music, food and most of the other good things in life. Frank and Gina Seidl keep the party going. Don Matheson, perennial best man, livens up many and many a day. My great friend the brilliant writer Max Byrd is a constant source of inspiration, wisdom and advice. Karen Hlavacek once again did her proofreading magic with the galleys. Tom Hedtke and Vicki Lorini make sure I don't forget that it's okay, even good, to be a working writer in a competitive world.

Tom Steinstra, fishing buddy, television star and, not so incidentally, outdoor author and writer for the San Francisco Chronicle ("Men love him, fish fear him") was a huge inspiration for this particular book. Obviously, Stuart Gorman and Tom are nowhere near the same person, but I can honestly say that if I didn't know Tom, there would have been no Stuart. So thanks, Tom-your very existence helped me get it all off the ground.

As always, Al Giannini is my main collaborator. I'm not a lawyer, and these books wouldn't be technically accurate if it weren't for Al's devotion, insight, brains and just plain hard work. Additionally, he's there for those pesky everyday questions without which the book simply couldn't progress. My books wouldn't be the same without Al's input, and I remain intensely grateful for his involvement in them and in my life.

At Dutton, my deepest thanks go to Mitch Hoffman-a superb editor and great guy. It's a tricky business working with someone whose job is to make you better, and Mitch pulls it off with a cheerful elan and intelligence that is a joy to work with. The rest of the Dutton/Signet team is also a pretty spectacular group of people- Brian Tart, Lisa Johnson, Kara Welsh, Rick Pascocello, Susan Schwartz, Erika Kahn, Robert Kempe, and Rich Hasselberger.

As has been my habit for the last few books, I've named some characters in this one to support the generous contributions of individuals to various charities. In this regard, thanks to Kelley Gray Rusnak (Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA); to Trish Schooley, for the character Trevor Stratton (California State University at Fullerton); and to Peggy Furth (Imagine 2006 Charity Wine Auction) for the character Frederick Furth.

Finally, my agent and friend, Barney Karpfinger, is just the best in every way. I wouldn't have a career, or half as much fun, without him.