The Crude Killer: A Spike Eastman Novel (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781636613932)

The Crude Killer: A Spike Eastman Novel

By: Mick Burkard

Spike Eastman is former Air Force finance and intelligence officer and CIA operative for the early years of the war on terror in Afghanistan. Spike now has a comfortable life with his wife Shauntel, a successful entrepreneur in her own right, as an executive at an international construction materials company. Their idyllic life of ten years is about to be tossed into the fray as a new and deadly virus emerges shortly after the defeat of COVID-19, the Mega-Acute Respiratory Virus, or MARV, which claims the life of his mother.

The sudden onset of MARV and loss of his mother drives Spike to investigate the origin of the virus. Through the assistance of an old classmate who works with the CDC, Spike learns of some unsettling anomalies, leading him to call in the aid of Shauntel and Jimmy Celestini, a successful hacker. They discover a Russian oil oligarch, Boris Fedderov, is responsible for MARV's creation and spread.

Tim Blust, Spike's former recruiter from the CIA, attempts to recruit Spike for a special mission to track down Fedderov. However, Spike decides this is a mission he needs to complete on his own and sets off for Russia to find Fedderov and bring him to justice.

About the Author

Mick Burkard and his wife Sandy live in Minnesota. They enjoy traveling, visiting their grown children in San Diego, and walking their Golden Retriever. Burkard serves on the boards of the local youth football association and NaVOBA, a national veteran's entrepreneur non-profit.