The HBS Author's Spotlight SHOWCASES Claude Bouchard's New Book: Getting Even.
He is a Best-Selling Author who writes Mystery & Thrillers novels in the Vigilante Series.
Getting Even
A Vigilante Series crime thriller
Author: Claude Bouchard
AVAILABLE
Amazon
Born of old money, attractive and well educated, philanthropist, William Enright had been the picture of the perfect socialite until his arrest and conviction as Montreal's 'Homeless Killer'. After spending nine years in British Columbia's maximum security Kent Institution, William succeeds in executing a masterful escape with only one purpose in mind... Finding Captain Dave McCall and the others who sent him to hell and, getting even.
Excerpt
Abbotsford, BC, 6:04 a.m.
When Dr. Oscar Jansen awoke, he immediately knew something was wrong. For one, his clock radio indicated the time was 6:04, yet he was fairly certain he had set the alarm for 5:30 as he always did. Had this been the only issue, he might have determined any number of reasons why the alarm had not woken him for his daily swim; perhaps he had indeed neglected to set it or an electronic glitch had prevented its proper functioning. However, the fact his ankles and wrists were bound clearly indicated something more serious than an uncooperative clock radio.
“What the hell is going on?” he demanded as he rolled uncomfortably from his side onto his arms behind his back.
“Oh, good. You’re awake,” said Allan, appearing at the foot of the bed. “Mind you, I was concerned you would wake up while I was tying you.”
Jansen stared at the convicted killer he had helped set free, his expression a mixture of anger and fear. “H-how did you get in here? W-what’s going on?”
Allan gestured to the windows to one side of the room and said, “How hard do you think it was to get in here when you left those wide open? You really should be more careful, Oscar.”
“Okay, look. What are you doing here?” asked Jansen, struggling to sit on the bed.
“I guess I could say I’m tying up loose ends,” Allan replied then chuckled. “Pardon the pun.”
“Is this about the money?” Jansen asked, “Because, if it is, you can keep it. I’ll even return what was transferred to date if you want.”
“Nonsense. The money has nothing to do with it,” Allan replied. “I had more than enough when I was arrested and it’s not like I’ve been spending any over the last nine years. No, this has to do with making sure nobody knows I’m no longer in prison.”
Jansen attempted a laugh. “You don’t have to convince me to keep quiet, Allan. I orchestrated the whole thing, from coaching you to finding your replacement to making the switch.”
“And I commended you for your fine work,” said Allan. “However, if for some reason any of this came out, you might decide to talk to lessen your hardship.”
“I wouldn’t, Allan,” Jansen insisted, breaking into a sweat. “You should be more concerned about Holt. I told you he was making me nervous. Or Webster and Ryan. They didn’t get paid as much and might try to blackmail you somehow.”
Allan raised his hand to cut the doctor off. “For your information, Webster and Ryan went out for a few drinks last night and unfortunately had an accident on their way back home. As for Holt, he decided to hang himself in his garage just a few hours ago. I do feel bad for his dear wife who’s off visiting her sister. She’ll be devastated when she finds him tomorrow.”
Using his heels, Jansen pushed himself against the headboard as he cried, “What are you going to do to me?”
“I’m going to take you for your morning swim,” Allan replied, stepping to the side of the bed.
“Please don’t do this,” Jansen begged as he tried to move away.
“I’m sorry, but I have no choice,” said Allan.
He reached out and grabbed Jansen by the ankles, yanking him across the bed and twisting him onto his stomach before wrapping him in the bedsheet.
“Please, Allan,” Jansen sobbed as the killer hoisted him onto his shoulder with surprising ease and carried him out of the master bedroom.
An avid swimmer since childhood, Jansen had insisted on an interior swimming pool when he and his ex-wife had their home designed a dozen years earlier. The vast room which housed his pride and joy was unfortunately deemed to be his final destination.
“This is really nice,” said Allan, gazing about before laying Jansen’s sheet-wrapped form at the edge of the fifteen by thirty foot, water-filled rectangle. “How deep is it?”
“Please, Allan,” Jansen pleaded. “I’ll do anything you want.”
“I want you to answer my question,” said Allan.
“Eight feet,” Jansen whimpered. “It’s eight feet deep.”
“That’ll work,” Allan replied.
He reached down and grabbed two solid handfuls of the bedsheet then yanked hard and upward, unfurling it and sending Jansen rolling into the swimming pool with a splash. He examined the edge of the sheet for a moment and was pleased to note it hadn’t gotten wet. Tossing it aside, he knelt by the pool and, grasping the struggling Jansen with a hand on either side of his head, pulled his face out of the water.
“I almost forgot to tell you,” said Allan, gazing into the doctor’s terror-filled eyes. “Thanks for sleeping in the nude. It made my work that much easier.”
He pushed Jansen back down under water before picking up the sheet and heading to the bedroom to return it to where it belonged. He would come back to retrieve the silk ties he had used to bind the doctor in a few minutes when they were no longer required. He was confident they would leave no marks and was pleased no blows had been needed to subdue the man. However strange or questionable it might seem, the cause of death in the end would be accidental drowning.
Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers
Website: Claude Bouchard Books - Crime Thrillers and other Stuff...
Twitter: @ceebee308
E-Mail: claude@claudebouchardbooks.com
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Amazon Author Profile
Author Description: I was born in Montreal, Canada, at a very young age, where I still live with my spouse, Joanne, under the watchful eye of Krystalle and Midnight, two black females of the feline persuasion. In a former life, I completed my studies at McGill University and worked in various management capacities for a handful of firms for countless years.
From there, considering my extensive background in human resources and finance, it was a logical leap in my career path to stay home and write crime thrillers.
My first stab at writing was actually in 1995, the result being my first novel, "Vigilante". Two others of the same series followed by 1997 but all three remained dormant until publication in 2009. Since, besides writing a stand-alone, six other thrillers have joined the VIGILANTE series. I also penned "Something's Cooking", a faux-erotica parody and cookbook under the pseudonyms Réal E. Hotte and Dasha Sugah. I'm currently working on "See You in Saigon", the tenth installment of my series. I have to say, I'm enjoying this writing gig.
Other interests besides writing and subtly persuading people to buy my books include reading, making noise with my six guitars, painting (oil and watercolour), cooking (year round though I love the grill in the summer), traveling and planning to work out soon. I've also been known to sleep on occasion.
Author's Book List
Sins in the Sun
- A Vigilante Series crime thrillerDoesn't everyone fantasize a bit about vigilante justice? Haven't you ever read or heard of some despicable act of violence and secretly wished you could have the opportunity to make the predator pay? Welcome to the VIGILANTE Series, a growing collection of suspense best sellers best described as thrillers and mysteries which will have you cheering for the assassin as justice is delivered in a clandestine fashion... But remember, this is fiction so it's not a crime... Available in kindle and print books…
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Amazon
Amazon UK
See You in Saigon
- A Vigilante Series crime thrillerDoesn't everyone fantasize a bit about vigilante justice? Haven't you ever read or heard of some despicable act of violence and secretly wished you could have the opportunity to make the predator pay? Welcome to the VIGILANTE Series, a growing collection of suspense best sellers best described as thrillers and mysteries which will have you cheering for the assassin as justice is delivered in a clandestine fashion. But remember, this is fiction so it's not a crime. Available in kindle and print books.
Book 10 of the VIGILANTE Series
Seventeen years earlier, Dennis 'Scorpion' Roy of the Devil's Delight was assassinated by the infamous serial killer known as the Vigilante.
Shortly after, the notorious biker gang allegedly went defunct though rumours amongst law enforcement officials suggested the organization continued to operate and thrive in stealth mode.
When the Devil's Delight's sustained existence is confirmed, the Discreet Activities team is shocked to learn the gang's leader is none other than Scorpion, alive and well and currently in Vietnam on 'business'.
Asked to assist in the dismantling of the Devil's Delight, the D.A. team heads to Vietnam to hunt down Scorpion, the only criminal who managed to survive the Vigilante…
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Amazon
Print Version
The First Sixteen
- A Vigilante Series crime thriller novella - The PrequelDoesn't everyone fantasize a bit about vigilante justice? Haven't you ever read or heard of some despicable act of violence and secretly wished you could have the opportunity to make the predator pay? Welcome to the VIGILANTE Series, a growing collection of suspense best sellers best described as thrillers and mysteries which will have you cheering for the assassin as justice is delivered in a clandestine fashion... But remember, this is fiction so it's not a crime... Available in kindle and print books...
Book 9 of the VIGILANTE Series
#1 KINDLE BEST SELLER in VIGILANTE JUSTICE!
Once upon a time, there was "Vigilante", the first volume of the Vigilante series...
but from its beginning, it was said that sixteen victims had already fallen prey to this self-appointed judge, jury and executioner...
Who were these wrong-doers?
What crimes had they committed to deserve to be chosen?
What led this killer to deliver his own form of justice upon them to begin with?
Join the Vigilante himself in this prequel novella as he tells you firsthand about...
The First Sixteen.
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Amazon
Thirteen to None
- VIGILANTE SeriesBorn of a violent, criminal father, an alcoholic, promiscuous mother and left to fend for himself at an early age, Butch Kincaid was destined for a life on the darker side where he would live and lead by his own rules.
Savvy, charismatic and narcissistic, Kincaid headed a handful of deviants involved in theft and drug distribution in small-town Ontario by his mid-teens and was running a prosperous organized crime crew of twelve in Toronto before the age of twenty.
An iron-fist ruler, Kincaid demanded an intense, high-risk pace from his men throughout most of the year but rewarded them with a month or more of down time each summer during which the crew would go on a nomadic road trip geared toward relaxation, amusement and lessened criminal activity... Until the summer of 2012...
With a penchant for violence and a desire for increased domination, Kincaid introduced a new activity at the end of that summer's vacation... A home invasion, the purpose being death and destruction for pleasure, at his command....
Pleased with the enthusiastic participation of his crew, Butch promised them the following summer would be the vacation of a lifetime... Multiple invasions, an orgy of terror, rape and murder.
Their first stop, the home of a retired couple in Brighton, Ontario, was a resounding success, as per their standards... Their next stop, several hundred miles away in Knowlton, Quebec, promised to be even more exciting... The home of an attractive and obviously affluent couple... The home of Sandy and Chris Barry…
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Amazon
Femme Fatale
- VIGILANTE SeriesLess than two years earlier, Leslie Robb, an accountant in her late twenties working for the Imperial National Bank, had seen her life-partner and co-worker, Gina, shot to death during a bank heist subsequently foiled in part by Chris Barry, millionaire and clandestine operative of the government's 'Discreet Activities'.
Taken as a hostage along with Chris by the remaining robbers onto a helicopter secretly piloted by two 'DA' operatives, including 'DA' head, Jonathan Addley, Leslie had played an integral role in helping bring the offenders down. As a result, thanks to her sang froid, sense of moral justice and martial arts affinities, Leslie left the world of finance to fight crime as a member of the 'DA' team.
Now, Leslie has a new partner in life, Dominique Petit, a Canadian/French dual citizen who suggests Leslie visit Paris with her while she is in the City of Lights on business. Less than twenty-four hours after Leslie arrives, Dominique and her sister, Corinne, disappear, turning Leslie's vacation into her own business trip of justice and revenge…
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Amazon
Discreet Activities
- VIGILANTE SeriesAs a result of information gathered via electronic surveillance by intelligence agencies in the U.S. and Canada, a budding terrorist organization, the Army for Islam or AFI, is suspected of planning an attack, its target possibly NYC, Burlington, Vermont or even Canada's famed Montreal.
When four foreign students from Pakistan with known ties to the AFI's Montreal cell arrive in the area on New Year's Eve, Discreet Activities' head, Jonathan Addley, along with Chris Barry and other DA consultants are more than willing to take on the additional workload.
After two of the DA team members die violently in an AFI related suicide-bombing, the job becomes getting revenge on those responsible for this Holy War…
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Amazon
ASYLUM
Managing Director of the Montreal Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Doctor Matthew Russell, has always put his professional responsibilities ahead of all else...
...That is, until he one day realizes he is losing his wife, Cassidy, and his two children, Stuart and Jennifer...
With only his family in mind, Russell takes an adventure-filled, impromptu vacation of indefinite duration, leaving all else behind and stopping at nothing to show how much he cares for his loved ones in an effort to win them back...
...But, will he succeed, or…
Book Trailer: ASYLUM
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Barnes and Noble
6 Hours 42 Minutes
- VIGILANTE SeriesThough most of them dabbled in a variety of criminal activities, they weren't experienced in this particular field and had never been involved in a job like this before...
However, with proper planning, careful organization and the inside information available to them, they were certain that this bank heist would be a piece of cake...
...Ten minutes, in and out, was all it would take and they'd be sharing 2.5 million dollars...
Nothing could go wrong as they had thought of everything...
How could they possibly know that a new member of the board was visiting the bank that morning?
...How could they know that the new board member was Chris Barry?
Book Trailer: 6 Hours 42 Minutes
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Amazon
Mind Games
- VIGILANTE SeriesMontreal is plagued by a string of vicious sex slayings...
Captain Dave McCall and his Special Homicide Task Force are in a frustrated frenzy as they try to bring an end to the savage butchery...
Assisting officially is noted psychiatrist, Doctor Samuel Bowman and unofficially, computer genius and multi-millionaire, Chris Barry...
With each passing day, McCall works his way closer to the truth...
Unaware that they are heading deep into the deadly core of...
Mind Games…
Book Trailer: Mind Games
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Amazon
The Consultant
- VIGILANTE SeriesThe friendly takeover of CSS Inc. leaves computer executive Chris Barry unemployed, very wealthy and pleased with the situation.
But the hiatus is short-lived...
As a result of his involvement in the recent Vigilante investigation, Barry is approached by Jonathan Addley and invited to join Discreet Activities, a government agency of the clandestine variety,
Accepting, he promptly takes on his first assignment under the guise of an IT consultant, to investigate possible links between a local import business and the murder of its MIS director.
As he discovers the firm is being used to import narcotics, his cover is blown and things get personal, spurring him to show that murderers, drug lords, biker gangs and kidnappers are no match for...
...The Consultant
Book Trailer: The Consultant
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Amazon
Vigilante
- VIGILANTE SeriesMontreal . . . the long, hot summer of 1996. . .
. . . and in the dark of night, moving like a shadowy wraith, a vigilante prowls the city's streets.
The targets of his bloody rampage: the worst of the worst.
Murderers. Gangbangers. Rapists.
Six months. Sixteen murders. The harried police are still without a clue . . .
. . . until the day they receive an email from the assassin himself.
Lieutenant Dave McCall, head of Montreal's Special Homicide Task Force, needs help to crack the secrets of the killer's taunting message. He calls on an expert--Chris Barry, who runs a security firm specializing in computer communications.
Together, McCall and Barry launch a grim quest to track down a man who preys on predators--an urgent quest to bring this remorseless killer to justice.
But whose justice will prevail: theirs--or the vigilante's?
Book Trailer: Vigilante
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Amazon
The Homeless Killer
The homeless of Montreal are dying at the hand of 'Allan', a serial killer set on ridding the city of street people...
... As the killer taunts the police about the increasing body count, Captain Dave McCall calls on the services Jonathan Addley and Chris Barry, both operatives with the government's clandestine 'Discreet Activities' team...
All while fighting the city's proposed by-law banning the homeless from downtown parks, philanthropist and activist, William Enright, joins the law-enforcement crusade to capture the assassin...
... But will the combined efforts of the law and old money be sufficient to stop the Homeless Killer?
Book Trailer: The Homeless Killer
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Amazon
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