The Private Investigator - Paperback

by Van Tellfaster (Author)

The Private Investigator is a story about courage, persistence, and international intrigue; it's a thriller that opens in the nation's capital after the firm, Hutchison and Satterfield International Investigations (HSII) relocates to D.C. from Philadelphia. The main character, Allan J. Williams, who prefers to be called A.J., is smart, industrious, and passionate about his work. A.J. not only has to deal with his boss's quirky personality, but also has to interact with the likes of Phil Jacoby, a talented federal government contractor, who is arrogant and rash.

Raymond Lee, a wily North Korean operative who portrays himself to Jacoby as a South Korean businessman, successfully recruits Jacoby and gets the government contractor to commit espionage against America. When Jacoby realizes he is headed for trouble for passing highly sensitive government information to Lee, Jacoby attempts to cover his tracks. Jacoby seeks out and hires his former high school classmate, Jerry Satterfield, to investigate the contrived story, and to reclaim the allegedly stolen government information.

Satterfield assigns A.J. to investigate Jacoby's complaint, but A.J.'s success in sorting out the complicated case depends a great deal on his willingness to work harmoniously with Satterfield. In order to unravel the Jacoby case, A.J. travels to HSII's Hong Kong office where he first learns from a colleague that they both could be in some danger.

After he obtains leads in China's autonomous territory, A.J. jets off to Seoul, South Korea, to track down Lee and attempt to solve the case. A.J. runs afoul of the Korean authorities when he and a fellow PI from HSII's office in Seoul disobey the KNP, and surreptitiously enter Lee's office to pursue more leads. Tensions heighten when the KNP catch A.J. and his colleague illegally searching Lee's office. Complications arise after the KNP arrest Lee and Lee escapes from a KNP secret interrogation facility. A.J. and his colleague redeem themselves by orchestrating a plan to join United States Army resources with a special South Korean spy-catching unit to recapture Lee.

"Thank you for the honor of reading your book. I found both the characters, especially A.J., interesting, and I loved the setting in Korea, a part of the world that many Americans know very little about."

- Andrea Cumbo-Floyd

"... I think I know Satterfield better than any of the other characters. He's abrupt, rude, unskilled in social interactions and he's afraid that his lack of couth will hurt the firm now that Hutchison is dead. We see him being rude and unfeeling, which is how we know him ..."

- Steven Bauer

The Private Investigator was a very good read! A very well written book that kept the story constantly in motion, with enlightening additional information and descriptions and history. Prost!!!!

- Carolyn W.

This is my brother's first novel. It is an amazing page turner, full of high energy suspense. Treat yourself to an enjoyable read. Caution: you may lose some sleep as I did. It was difficult to put it down.

- Matt H.

Private Investigator contains all the elements of a good spy thriller. I look forward to reading more from this author.

- Anna C.

I was drawn in by the intrigue and the vivid descriptions of the many locations in which the story takes place. Moreover, it was an adventure in learning about cultures and espionage. The story provides an interesting glimpse into the world of intelligence operations.

- R. Robinson