For Mark Whelan, Private Investigator, it all begins in a sombre but entirely unremarkable way: a visit to the morgue to provide moral support to a client as he formally identifies his brother. But Whelan’s interest is piqued by a link between the victim’s death and Whelan’s own youth and by signs that the death is the result of something darker than the “accident” being suggested by the police. The appearance of a mysterious message from the dead man, the discovery that his apartment had been burgled, and an attempt on Whelan’s life prove that something else, something very valuable, is in play. Then the bodies begin to pile up. Balsam Sirens tells the story of a private investigator who takes on a case that appears routine, but who is soon swept to the edge of a psychological abyss by the abduction of his wife. Whelan, a PI colleague, and an unlikely ally – a fearless bush pilot called Kate – drive the action forward to a gun battle and a surprising outcome.

Having successfully retired from a long and fulfilling engineering career, Keith Weaver has made the switch to an enduring passion: writing. The present book, Flight, joins his other five novels, one novella, two books of short stories, and the memoir in tribute to his extraordinary wife, Maggie. There are further books in the pipeline. For an addicted reader and someone who has always had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, writing provides the perfect means to integrate all his interests in science, history, philosophy, languages, and technology, and to pursue fresh knowledge on every front. Things that anchor him to the real world are cooking, cycling in Europe, bread making, wine tasting in vineyards, spending time with many good friends, and enjoying the company of his two cats.

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