The Torch is Passed – A Harding Family Story By Bill Powers

CONTEMPORARY SUSPENSE/THRILLER FRAMED AROUND A FAMILY STORY OF SURVIVING DEATH AND SEEKING REVENGE

            If one commits an act of vengeance, especially as a means to help find answers to why their entire family is murdered, are they ever justified?

In emerging American author Bill Powers’ debut medical thriller, The Pharm House – which was the Finalist in the Medical Thriller category of the 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards – readers were introduced to Nicholas Harding and his daughter, Andrea.

Now comes the second Harding family story, The Torch is Passed. A suspenseful and plot-twisting story, The Torch is Passed finds Andrea’s world turned upside down when her father, Nicholas, and her uncle, Michael, are shot in a shocking and puzzling attack. With only her paternal grandmother left, it falls to Andrea – a recent college graduate – to not only investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the murder of her father and uncle, but also to oversee Harding Industries – and navigate an often dangerous fast-track to adulthood.

            The youngest Harding soon finds herself surrounded by a bevy of intriguing new friends and helpers after she is also violently attacked, forcing her to kill both would-be assassins. Suspicion is cast on a short list of family friends and colleagues, and longstanding relationships are put to the test. Along with her new allies, Andrea urgently seeks answers to why anyone would want to kill her entire family – growing up along the way – and seeking her revenge.

            

Excerpt #1      From Chapter 1 when Andrea first learns that her father and uncle have been shot and are seriously injured.

“Ms. Harding, are you awake?” the unknown, but commanding voice replied.

Andrea was now fully awake and beginning to become alarmed. Calls from strangers at three o’clock in the morning could not be a good thing.

“Yes,” she replied, “but I need to know who is calling.”

“This is Sergeant Thompson, New Jersey State Police, and Officer Harris. We are downstairs at your front door. It is important that we speak to you in person ma’am. Can you please come down? We have our identification to show you.”

Andrea was now awake, confused, and alarmed. Clearly, something very bad had happened. She immediately thought of her father, Nicholas, who lived in Florham Park, New Jersey.

“Why can’t you talk over the phone?” she asked.

“Please, ma’am, it’s very important that we speak in person, and it is urgent.”

Andrea jumped out of bed, pulled on jeans, a baggy sweatshirt, and sneakers. Before she left her second floor bedroom, she opened her nightstand drawer, and pushed aside her Walther PPK 9 mm to retrieve her Taser. Her dad and Uncle Michael had taught her that a young girl living alone could not be too careful and needed to be able to protect herself. She also looked out the front window and in fact saw a state police cruiser with alternating blue and red flashing lights on. That reassured her a tad that these guys were real.

Nicholas had purchased Andrea a three-bedroom condominium her freshman year at Princeton, figuring it would be a good investment for her later. Also being a very independent only child, Andrea was not the dorm or roommate type. Nicholas had asked her if she planned to look for a roommate to share the condo and she had just laughed and said, “Absolutely not!”

Andrea went downstairs to her front door and looked out the peephole. She saw two officers, one a tall male exuding ex-Marine, who she pegged as Sergeant Thompson, and the other a young, very professional looking woman who must have been Officer Harris. Both were immaculate in their New Jersey state trooper uniforms.

“I need to see identification,” she shouted through the door.

Both officers immediately held up their shields and credentials in small black leather folders for her to see through the peephole.

Andrea removed the safety chain, unlatched the deadbolt, opened the door, and stepped back. She had both hands in her back jeans pockets and one on her Taser, just in case.

Sergeant Thompson and Officer Harris removed their big trooper hats and stepped inside sweeping the room with their eyes, then closing the door behind them. “As I said on the phone, ma’am, I’m Sergeant Thompson and this is Officer Harris. We are with the New Jersey State Police.”

Officer Harris then started to speak. “I am afraid that we have some bad news for you, Ms. Harding. Your father, Nicholas Harding, has been hurt very badly. Is there someplace we can sit?”

Harris reached for Andrea’s elbow, but Andrea reflexively took a step back out of her reach. “What do you mean my father has been hurt? What the hell is going on here?”

“Perhaps it would be better if we sat down, Ms. Harding,” Officer Harris said.

“I do not want to sit. I want to know specifically what the hell is going on. Was there a car accident?”

Sergeant Thompson replied, “Ms. Harding, I’m very sorry to have to inform you that late yesterday evening, your father and his brother, Michael, were both shot. They are still alive, but both are in critical condition at Morristown Medical Center.

“The Morris County prosecutor, Kerry Marcus, dispatched us here to personally inform you and bring you to the hospital,” Harris continued.

Synopsis

A suspenseful and plot-twisting story, The Torch is Passed finds Andrea Harding’s world turned upside down when her father, Nicholas, and her uncle, Michael, are shot in a shocking and puzzling attack. With only her paternal grandmother left, it falls to Andrea – a recent college graduate – to not only investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the murder of her father and uncle, but also to oversee Harding Industries – and navigate an often dangerous fast-track to adulthood.

            The youngest Harding soon finds herself surrounded by a bevy of intriguing new friends and helpers after she is also violently attacked, forcing her to kill both would-be assassins. Suspicion is cast on a short list of family friends and colleagues, and longstanding relationships are put to the test. Along with her new allies, Andrea urgently seeks answers to why anyone would want to kill her entire family – growing up along the way – and seeking her revenge. 

Bill Powers worked in pharmaceutical Research & Development (Johnson & Johnson) for 26 years, rising to the position of Vice President of Global Preclinical Development. Bill has a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Cincinnati and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.

Bill’s love of words and books started in childhood, stimulated by parents who were both teachers. A voracious reader, he enjoys both fiction and biographies. Now that he has moved away from his industrial career, he plans to aggressively pursue his passion of being a fictional author. Bill’s first novel, The Pharm House: A Harding Family Story, was named a Finalist in the Medical Thriller category of the 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards. Bill’s second novel, The Torch is Passed: A Harding Family Story, was named Best Book in the Category of Thriller of the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for Winter 2016


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