Murder on Air Force One

Synopsis for Murder on Air Force One by John L. Flynn, Ph.D. Murder on Air Force One is based on the third book in my series of suspense thrillers featuring Inspector Kate Dawson, a good but tormented homicide detective who walks on the dark side and knows its shadows all too well. Kate Dawson’s intimate weekend with her commuter boyfriend John Prescott, an agent with the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., is cut short when she receives a call requesting she investigate a murder on board an airplane which just touched down at San Francisco International Airport. The plane is Air Force One, and Meghan Kendrick, a stunningly-beautiful reporter for the Fox News Channel traveling with the Presidential Press Corps, has been found dead, strangled in the rear restroom of the aircraft. The suspects include the newly-elected female President of the United States, her adulterous husband, a rock star, a colonel who may be the oldest living man still serving in the U.S. Military, a governor from Nevada, several congressmen, the Secret Service and its chief, members of the Press Corps, or twenty-five others who were traveling aboard the flight from Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The only clue Dawson can find is Meghan’s lipstick container, which unbeknownst to all contains microfilm from the Cold War. Complicating matters are incidents happening on the world stage, including undeniable proof that Iran not only has nuclear weapons but also the plans to launch a preemptive strike against its enemies in Israel and the United States. Kate Dawson’s investigation into Meghan’s murder takes a number of twists and turns of its own, including being saddled with a new partner (Matt Balardi) who would rather kill her than work with her; a prime witness (Carlos Ortega) who may have seen the whole thing but is nonetheless murdered in his cell at police headquarters; an assistant medical examiner (Rosa Romano) who comes out to Kate about her sexuality and what she knows about the case, and a Secret Service chief named Harlan Reinhardt who may or may not be colluding with an ex-KGB operative hired by Putin. After Dawson’s apartment is burglarized by the Secret Service looking for the microfilm and she is shot at and left for dead, Kate turns the tables on her would-be assassins, and … Suspense, intrigue, action and adventure, the screenplay for the third book in the Kate Dawson series has it all.