Shattered Peace

Walking his dog at dawn on a cool October morning, Russell Island resident Jeremiah Parks discovers a body lying on the bloodied sand of the tiny Chesapeake Bay island's beach. Summoned to the scene, Police Chief Starrett Knight, the tranquil hamlet's one-man force, soon learns that the dead stranger was Kiril Varga, Deputy Prime Minister of Balkania. Ongoing peace talks in nearby Oxford, Maryland, seek an end to that pivotal nation's civil conflict before its internal turmoil reignites dormant ancient enmities, plunging the entire Balkan Peninsula back into war. Murder victim Varga was Balkania's chief negotiator at that peace conference. He was also the ex-lover of Ellen Mannery, artist, Russell Island resident, and Knight's close friend. Despite evidence linking Ellen and her husband to the monstrous crime, Knight is certain of their innocence. He sets out to prove it by finding the real killer and that of a seemingly unrelated homicide victim found shot to death in a Manhattan alley, while himself becoming involved in a torrid affair with the beautiful television newswoman covering the investigation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joseph Keough was born in Philadelphia and has lived most of his life at the southern New Jersey seashore. A magna cum laude graduate of LaSalle University and former member of Mensa, he is currently retired from a first career in corporate human resources and a second as Police Records Clerk in Margate, NJ, his former hometown. Including Shattered Peace he has authored five novels. His short stories and articles have appeared in Men’s Digest, Best for Men, Rascal and South Jersey Living. He also writes music and poetry, having penned the national prize-winning poem Crocus. He and his wife Margaret (artist and cover creator) currently reside in Ventnor, NJ. Their six children and eight grandchildren live nearby.