Ring of Deceit

Frank Hughes is crazy with grief over the death of his AIDS-stricken lover. When he is found dead in the grass at the base of his apartment building, his best friend, Cece Gardner, can't believe that he has committed suicide. As she crosses the police barrier to enter Frank's apartment, she finds a puzzling telephone message from the Drug Enforcement Agency that leads her to the eventual realization that Frank has been murdered.

Headstrong and reckless, Cece is determined to find the killers. Meanwhile, a lethal and virtually undetectable cache of bogus medicines intended for shipment to the United States has just been found by authorities in Dubai. After Cece learns the truth about Frank's death, she unintentionally becomes a target of the vicious ring of smugglers and purveyors of the contaminated meds. Aided by Johnny Gault, a former DEA agent, she continues her quest to find Frank's killers-some of whom are masquerading as doctors at local AIDS clinics.

From Nigeria to New Jersey, the ring of counterfeit drug smugglers are intent on wreaking havoc on innocent patients and Cece is willing to risk everything to uncover the truth.

Carole W. Holden holds a doctorate in Political Science from Rutgers University and is a former professor at New Jersey City University where she was also chair of the Department of Political Science. The author of three other novels, she and her husband live in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey.