Stephen Johnson

Excerpt from the book jacket

Seth Anderson, a University of Wisconsin graduate student, has just uncovered several secret encrypted messages on the Internet that may implicate his new girlfriend in a series of seemingly unconnected murders throughout the Midwest. Unfortunately, for him, that's the good news. The bad news is he's just become the scapegoat in the Assassins Game. And while the body count rises around him, he'll need to figure out the true motive for the killings and who's behind them before the game ends, because unbeknownst to the players, the losers don't get to play again...ever.

I'm thrilled that you've chosen to learn more about Assassins Game, a novel of mystery and suspense, which is now available. And although, I'll try to interest you in reading it, I promise not to give too much of the plot away.

The story centers on Seth Anderson, a twenty-five year old University of Wisconsin graduate student, and a series of murders taking place in the Midwest. It is a story that begins with a bang, literally. First, a man receives a package containing $100,000 from a little boy, then minutes later he's executed, a single shot to his head. Days later, an up-and-coming young lawyer is murdered late one night, just blocks from his downtown Chicago law firm.

The police quickly dismiss the latter tragedy as a random burglary gone horribly amiss. However, we soon find out there was nothing random about it, nor did anything go wrong. In fact, everything is going according to plan, and although we are privy to this information, the far reaching ramifications of these murders can't possibly be understood at this time.

As the story continues to unfold, we are introduced to Seth, who is hard at work on his doctoral research project involving cryptography and the Internet. Unfortunately, his research has placed him directly in harm's way, as the mastermind behind the murders fears Seth may uncover his secret communiqués with his co-conspirators.

As they try to determine the risk Seth poses them, his apartment is burglarized, and he's attacked. Once again, the police quickly dismiss it as a random event, but Seth isn't so sure. However, he quickly forgets about the incident when a beautiful young woman unexpectedly enters his life.

This new relationship is just what Seth has been looking for, and what starts off with such promise, slowly begins to degrade into mistrust, as her unusual interest in his work begins to set off alarm bells. Add in a couple of murders that take place during two of their weekend getaways and he begins to wonder if the woman he is in love with might be a killer.

Excerpts from Chapter 5

Seth Anderson exited the computer science building located on the sprawling University of Wisconsin campus. He started up Charter Street, then turned east onto University Avenue. The campus, situated in the heart of Madison and bordered on one side by Lake Mendota, intermingled itself amongst other business and residential buildings, blurring the boundary between city and campus.

...

Although it was after one in the morning, State Street was bustling with college students. State Street, more pedestrian mall than street, was the center of activity for students, not to mention the city as well. The street, capped at one end by the State Capitol and the Memorial Library at the other, consisted mostly of bars, coffeehouses, restaurants, retail shops, and apartments.

Can you believe that most of that happens in the first third of the book? That's right. Well, I should stop there and not reveal too much more. However, I will tell you a little more about the novel.

I've always enjoyed books that start fast and end faster, and that's what I hope I've done with Assassins Game. It follows in the tradition of many authors these days, such as James Patterson, with short, fast chapters. There are a total of sixty-four to be exact.

Most of the novel takes place in Madison, Wisconsin, a beautiful city stretched across the isthmus between lakes Mendota and Monona. And, besides being the home of the University of Wisconsin, it is also the state's capitol city. These two entities share a symbiotic relationship giving the city it's heart, and together they pump their lifeblood throughout the community.

Geographically, they are situated just blocks apart, connected most significantly by State Street, a pedestrian thoroughfare, capped by one of the university's libraries at one end and the state capitol at the other. It is a short street dominated by small, local retail shops, coffeehouses, bars, restaurants, and second-story apartments. It is in one of these second-story apartments where Seth resides.

Excerpt from Chapter 46

They reached the capitol building at quarter past nine and entered through the South entrance. The white Bethel Vermont granite building consisted of four large wings extending from a central dome. Entrances were positioned at the end of each wing, with long, dimly lit, wood-paneled hallways leading to a bright, ornate rotunda area situated in the dome's center.

The rotunda consisted of two floors, with the second floor forming a circular balcony in the middle, allowing viewers on the main floor to marvel at the dome's exquisitely painted ceiling, which reached upward one hundred and fifty feet. The masterpiece adorning the ceiling displayed a female figure draped in the American flag atop a bed of clouds, giving the area a cathedral feeling, as if the employees within were doing work of a higher order.

Both floors consisted of gray, white, and brown marble and finely polished wood. The first-floor marble flooring consisted of large rectangles within a grid pattern, and a multitude of dark-gray marble pillars, capped by gold Corinthian capitals, extended from the main floor to a golden cornice at the base of the dome.

At the edge of the rotunda area, four grand staircases, each extending through an archway and overlooked by a glass-paneled ceiling, led from the first to the second floor, which housed the Senate Chamber in the South Wing, the Assembly Chamber in the West Wing, the Supreme Court in the East Wing, and the Hearing Room in the North Wing.

Even though I now live in Scottsdale, Arizona, I grew up in Wisconsin and lived in Madison for two years. While living in Madison, I spent a good deal of my free time on State Street, going to the restaurants, coffee shops, and bars. I thought it, combined with the university and capitol, would make an ideal setting for a novel. So, that is why I chose it for Assassins Game.

And now, last, but not least, a little about the lead character, Seth. They say that you should write about what you know, and since I have my Masters in Computer Science, I decided to incorporate some computer related technology into the plot. I didn't want to overdo it and make the book difficult to understand. I just wanted enough to introduce the reader to some of the possibilities that exist with technologies such as cryptography, wireless networking, and the Internet, and how criminals or terrorists could use that technology to communicate with each other.

So, this is why Seth is a computer science graduate student working on his Phd. I feel that there are just too many cop, detective, defense laywer, psychology, and district attorney characters floating around out there in mystery and suspense novels, and I wanted a different type of protagonist for my story.

Well, now you know why the lead character is a computer science graduate student, why the story takes place in Madison, Wisconsin, and a little bit about the plot. I hope that I have peaked your interest in reading Assassins Game and that you thoroughly enjoy it. If after reading the novel, you have any questions for me, please feel free to email me at stephen@stephen-johnson.com. For information on purchasing the novel, please go to my Purchase Book page.

Have a wonderful day, and thanks in advance for reading Assassins Game.
Sincerely,
Stephen Johnson