Stalemate

STALEMATE is an epic tale of international crime, mystery, and suspense at the dawn of the 20th century, a time when ordinary people were confronted for the first time in history with electricity, telephones, telegrams, radios, automobiles, airplanes, and revolutionary advances in science and medicine. The story chronicles the deadly ambitions and lusts of Emile Gerrault, a wealthy French businessman who amasses a fortune in pursuit of power during the Industrial Revolution, and Jean Lavasseur, a police detective determined to stop him. An ongoing chess game is a metaphor of the spiraling tension between them as the stakes continue to rise. cover art by Richard H. Ryan