Overview

E STORY OF STRIKER VALANCE Jaime Valance is a Striker -the prosecutors at DOJ known as the Cowboys of the Justice Department. Those mostly young men and women crippled the traditional Mafia in the 1970s-1990s utilizing undercover operations and RICO prosecutions. Valance works out of Strike Force 18, based in Washington D.C. He travels widely throughout the nation, with investigations and trials in various locales. Valance pursues and convicts labor racketeers in New Orleans, Mobile, Gulfport, Brooklyn, Las Vegas, Washington D.C. - even the Allegheny Mountains in Eastern Kentucky. After attending an FBI conference in Florida in January 1986, Valance returns only to watch the Space Shuttle Challenger break up and plunge into the Atlantic, killing the entire crew-including the first teacher in space, Christa McAuliffe. This shocks him to the core, and he leaves the Air & Space Museum vowing to do something about it, declaring- Hold On! I'm Coming! He volunteers and is appointed Staff Counsel for the Presidential Commission on the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident (a.k.a. The Rogers Commission). The manuscript's Prologue describes Valance's reaction to that accident. Don't be disappointed when the early chapters don't bleed Challenger. The protagonist has to become Striker Valance first. Valance takes this Challenger plunge compelled by his philosophy and directive in life- Chaos*Fate*Life*Courage*Spirit. The novel takes the reader through Valance's acquisition of this credo and his psychological, moral, and spiritual development as a youth, college student and lawyer. The various choices the Cosmos presents to Valance cause him to arrive at the point in space-time where he ends up as one of the key players in the Challenger mystery. This includes a strong plot line involving Sabra Shannon, the love of Jaime's life. An intense romance which, unbeknownst to Valance, the mob is desperately trying to sabotage-for nefarious reasons. How they manage to accomplish that is a curious mystery that remains unsolved until it is too late to mend Jaime's and Sabra's broken hearts. The Challenger investigation is dealt with primarily via narrative non-fiction. The characters are the actual well known players in that drama: Former Attorney General and Secretary of State William Rogers, First Man Neil Armstrong, First Woman Sally Ride, Astronauts Brewster Shaw and John Fabian, physicist Richard Feynman, and other charismatic and unique individuals. The book details the political pressure and intrigue that occurs, the surprising negligence of NASA, and the personal sacrifices and grief of the families of the Challenger 7. Plus it delves deeply into the working relationships and friendships formed by Valance and the Commissioners and staff investigators. The respect and talent shared by Valance and his compatriots re-enforces his strong belief in his philosophy. The novel reveals the real personas, strengths and weaknesses behind the public images of those famous characters. It illustrates the tenacity of Life, Courage and Loyalty in the face of problems produced by Chaos and Fate. It also demonstrates that those difficulties aren't necessarily evil or immoral, and they can be successfully overcome, although sometimes at great personal sacrifice. Jaime's difficult path is inspiring. For more information see strikervalance.com.

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Reviews

Randy Kehrli's two novels evocatively create and follow the extraordinary fact-based adventures, challenges, intrigues, and relationships of their very real protagonist Jaime Striker Valance-all of which were an integral part of a life dedicated to the U.S. Department of Justice Organized Crime Strike Forces. I was mesmerized by the colorful, multi-dimensional and accurate portrayals of a special team of unique individuals with their even more extraordinary missions...which lures the reader into a world of a breed of federal prosecutors and agents now a part of our American lore and history. It brings not only their esprit de corps to life, but also tells the riveting and essential story of American law enforcement history gone by. -Jim Letten, CDR, USNR ((Ret), Former United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana (Ret) In his first novel, Kehrli reaches back into his past and pulls out a big, funny, heartfelt saga of growing up in the Midwest, traveling east to work as a federal prosecutor, and investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster, with appearances from a colorful cast of characters along the way, including Sally Ride, Neil Armstrong and Richard Feynman. As for me, I can't wait for the sequel. -Dan Pope, Author of Housebreaking

Author Information

Randy Kehrli is a retired Federal Prosecutor, a member of Strike Force 18 of the U.S. Justice Department's Organized Crime And Racketeering Section of the Criminal Division in Washington, D.C. For over ten years, he investigated and prosecuted labor and management racketeers for RICO, extortion, embezzlement and other mob related crimes. With the assistance of federal agents from the FBI, the DOL, the ATF, the DEA, and local law enforcement agencies, he successfully convicted defendants in cases throughout the country, including locales such as Brooklyn, Washington D.C., New Orleans, the Gulf Coast, Las Vegas, Eastern Kentucky, and Western Louisiana. Kehrli also was involved in the investigation of the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident in 1986, having been detailed from DOJ for 9 months to the Presidential Commission for the Space Shuttle Challenger Accident as a staff investigator and counsel.

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