This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
Ron McManus’s debut work, Libido’s Twist, won a Writer’s Digest award in genre fiction and his follow-up work, The Drone Enigma, received critical acclaim. A former naval officer, he was global vice president of R&D quality and regulatory compliance for GlaxoSmithKline and lived and worked in London for several years. Prior to entering the pharmaceutical industry, he was director of Program Integrity at the North Carolina Medical Peer Review Foundation, where he established the state’s first Medicaid fraud investigation unit. Ron and his wife Mildred live in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on the shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
Reviewed by Deborah Lloyd for Readers' Favorite
Breathtaking suspense and international intrigue describe the Ron McManus fictional work, The Envelope: A Jake Palmer Novel. Jake Palmer, who had been a Navy SEAL, now works as an investigative consultant for Pennsylvania’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit. Jake heads to New York City to attend the wedding of his father and much younger famous model. Accompanying Jake to the wedding is his girlfriend from London, Fiona Collins. Allowing her quiet time to get settled into their room, Jake heads to the hotel bar for a quick drink. Dennis Goodman, a Special Agent from Homeland Security Investigations, shows up, trying to recruit Jake to join him on a case. The action begins immediately. Soon, Jake and Fiona are entangled in a complicated scheme of counterfeit medicine and money laundering. The quest to find the perpetrators of this illegal and complicated organization leads to many terrifying situations across two continents.
While author Ron McManus involves many agencies, corporations and characters in The Envelope, it is easy to follow this complex plot. Mr. McManus demonstrates a working knowledge of these agencies. Likewise, he competently develops realistic characters, and the dialogue is crisp and believable. He writes in a clear, straightforward manner, moving quickly from one situation to another. Added to this adventurous mix is Jake’s romantic relationship with Fiona and the tenuous relationship with his father. The book is a true page-turner, as the reader cannot wait to see how Jake extricates himself from impossible, against-all-odds circumstances. What a great adventure!
