I've had author David Swykert on my blog before and am bringing him back to you. If you are not acquainted with his work, this might help you to get to know it and him:
QueenWriter (QW): Tell us a little about you, David, the person.
David Swykert (DS): I’m a blue collar person from Detroit. I’ve worked as a truck driver, dispatcher, logistics analyst, operations manager, and ten years as a 911 operator, which was the very best job of them all. I have a pretty straight forward style of telling a story. I write a book like you’d watch a movie and put it down on paper.
QW: Now, tell us a little about the latest book.
DS: The underlying theme in my latest book, "The Death of Anyone," poses the
Machiavellian question: Does the end justify the means? I developed this story
around an impulsive homicide detective, Bonnie Benham, who wants to use
Familial DNA, a search technique not in common use in the United States. Only
two states even have a written policy regarding its use, Colorado and
California. Many legal analysts believe it violates Fourth Amendment rights
which guard against unreasonable searches and seizures.
Bonnie is a no-nonsense cop who describes herself as a blond with a badge
and a gun. She has her own answer to the ethical use of Familial DNA, but the
actual legality of its use will be determined in a real life courtroom in the
California trial of a serial killer dubbed by the media: The Grim Sleeper.
Lonnie David Franklin, the Grim Sleeper, was caught because his son’s DNA
was the closest match to DNA collected at the crime scenes in the database.
Investigating Franklin’s son led them to investigate Lonnie Franklin. But there
was no direct DNA evidence that linked Lonnie to the crime scene until they
obtained a sample from him after his arrest. Lonnie Franklin will be the first
person in the U.S. to ever stand trial based on Familial DNA evidence, and its
admissibility issues in court will be thoroughly tested by defense attorneys.
These are the very same issues that face Detroit Homicide Detective Bonnie
Benham and form the plot of my story.
Detroit Detective Bonnie Benham has been transferred from narcotics to
homicide for using more than arresting and is working the case of a killer of
adolescent girls. CSI collects DNA evidence from the scene of the latest
victim, which had not been detected on the other victims. But no suspect turns
up in the FBI database. Due to the notoriety of the crimes, a task force is put
together with Bonnie as the lead detective, and she implores the D.A. to use an
as yet unapproved type of a DNA search in an effort to identify the killer.
Homicide Detective Neil Jensen, with his own history of drug and alcohol
problems understands Bonnie's frailty and the two detectives become inseparable
as they track this killer of children.
QW: Have you done any research for this book?
DS: I first heard about the use of Familial DNA working as a 911 operator in
2006. It came up in a conversation with officers working a case. I thought at
the time it would make an interesting premise for a book. I began writing the
mystery some three years later after leaving the department. I had just
finished editing a first draft of "The Death of Anyone" in the summer 2010 when
news of The Grim Sleeper’s capture in Los Angeles was released. I read with
interest all the information pouring out of L.A. regarding the investigation
and the problems confronting prosecutors. All of which are explored in "The
Death of Anyone."
QW: What else have you done that you can share with your readers and fans?
DS: My work has appeared in The Tampa
Review, Detroit News, Monarch Review, Zodiac Review, Scissors& Spackle,
Spittoon, Barbaric Yawp, and Bull. His books include "Children of the Enemy," a
novel from Cambridge Books; "Alpha Wolves," a novel from Noble Publishing, and "The Death of Anyone" is his third novel, just released by Melange Books.
Thank you, David, for appearing on my blog again. You can find out more about
him and how to buy his books on the blogspot: www.magicmasterminds.com, they
are also available at Melange Books, Amazon, and at select mystery bookstores.
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