Aristocrasea: Third book in the Jack and Lee McDonald series

Aristocrasea is the third book in the Jack and Lee McDonald series started with ReWire and continued in ReKill.  I told a ‘friend’ of mine, and I use the term ‘friend’ loosely, that I couldn’t think of anything that started with Re as an accurate title.  He asked, “What about ReTard?”  You see what I mean about using the term ‘friend’ loosely.

Aristocrasea is the name of an imaginary ship.  There are other ships like Aristocrasea in the world.  This ship is a condominium ocean liner.  People  own the cabins on a ship such as this.  As you can imagine, these people are quite well off.  The homeowner’s dues on other ships like this run upwards of $80,000 a year and the cabins cost anywhere from $1 million on up to $20 million.

Those of you who have read ReWire and ReKill  know that all of my books have a theme.  I try to write a good yarn filled with interesting people doing things most of us don’t have a chance to do. I like to shine a light on a moral dilemma or a problem.  In ReWire it was  crony socialism and influence pedaling, with the horrors of a cult church benefiting from friends in power in government to carry out a great evil in the name of good.

In ReKill it was the horrors of a prison system that houses more young men than any country other than China and perversion of the Endangered Species Act for personal gain. I try not to preach, but all writers like to teach and hopefully I’ve done that while still telling a good yarn.

So what is the underlying theme of Aristocrasea?  Dear revered readers, you will have to decide.  Aristocrasea is much more of an ensemble piece than my other works in this series because of the global scope.  Much of the action takes place in the Philippines far removed from Aristocrasea as she leaves San Francisco with Jack and Lee McDonald aboard for an overdue honeymoon.

The trip is mostly pleasure, but the McDonalds have a mission.  Their friends Bob and Alice Stewart own the cabin on board Aristocrasea and the gift of the use of the cabin on the floating palace  comes with a small price tag.  There have been rumors on the wind, intercepted radio messages six months before and then nothing.  Rumors in the netherworld of spies say disparate groups of bad people are coming together to plan something big and bad.  The only name briefly mentioned was Aristocrasea,  mentioned and then the whispers gone.

So the McDonalds, in between eating fantastic food and socializing with wealthy, brilliant people, sight seeing, and snorkeling, will keep their eyes and ears open.  They are to listen and look and, if they see something, they are to rat out and get out.  But those of you who know the McDonalds know they seem to find trouble, unless trouble finds them.  Bad things happen, but the bad guys didn’t count on Jack and Lee, their talented connected friends and one very determined newly one-armed girl in the Philippines.