The Fires of Rubicon

In the autumn of 1971, Cleveland Police Lieutenant Alex Wesner is given a case that may be no case at all, or it may be several cases tied together. Did a workman perish in a vat of molten steel, or is his disappearance part of an elaborate ruse? To find the answers the lieutenant and his team must navigate the Byzantine procedures and furnaces of the Rubicon Steel Corporation while relying on mostly unhelpful witnesses: an enigmatic young man who might be talking in riddles, or a left-for-dead comatose security guard, knifed like so many other victims. The lieutenant's investigative team is an odd collection themselves: a muscle builder, a newly-minted Sergeant, and a woman detective who may be a Voodoo priestess. To make matters worse, someone may be feeding information to the enemy.

Keep your eyes wide open as you take a frightful ride through the polluted river valley created by Rubicon Steel and other rusting and rotting industries that make up the belly of an old rust-belt city. The corrosive atmosphere spawns many shady, treacherous characters. Learn how Lieutenant Wesner tries to cleanse his own soul and save himself from the fires that threaten to consume those around him.

Native Clevelander Robert Allen Stowe delivers a gritty realistic canvas of the industrial Cleveland Flats of the 1970s, and captures the gut-wrenching fear that pervaded many souls during that era. A former musician, teacher and business executive, Stowe experienced both the bright lights and the dark underbelly of his native city. He served his time working in the steel mills, leading to the accurate portrayal of the ruins they spawned.

Aveteran writer, Robert Stowe paints scenes and characters with a style that allows the reader to join the story throughout the book. The realism is breathtaking, the views outstanding. There is never a question about the authenticity of the words.