SAN RAFAEL, Calif. - s4story -- Expertly combining Ritter's masterful writing skills, garnered through years of editing and reporting at USA TODAY, with a sinister plot, this thrilling journey will have readers flying through each page at a record pace.

"Fatal Conceit" is a gripping tale focused on Beaupre, a San Francisco private investigator, as he tracks down a killer and attempts to redeem himself after getting kicked off the SFPD. As such, this exhilarating piece of fiction will greatly appeal to adult readers who enjoy mysteries, crime fiction, and thrillers in particular. That said, the variety of characters, different locales, brisk pacing, intricate plot, and sharp dialogue contained within this narrative will easily captivate mainstream readers as well.

Ritter not only provides enough twists and turns to keep lovers of suspense interested, the focus on the plight and humor of the main character, keeps the story grounded and compelling. As Ritter explains, "I thought it important that the protagonist be flawed. But flaws don't rule out humor, which I think is as indispensable for readers as it is hard for writers to craft."

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The enthralling tale of "Fatal Conceit," follows Beaupre, a wise-cracking and disgraced ex-cop, as he muddles through his own hubris and missteps, leaving a trail of bodies and recrimination. Booted from the police force—for knocking a skinhead comatose and allegedly battering a girlfriend—he radiates confidence spiked with arrogance, for which innocents pay dearly. Hired to find the killer in a moldy double murder, he sniffs out a drug trail, misreads a string of homicides, and not until he and a computer hacker sidekick track down a fugitive in Asia does the scope of a vast criminal drug and money-laundering conspiracy reveal itself.

About the author
From small-town Midwest roots, John Ritter bounced around America growing up. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Kansas, began a reporting career at upstate New York newspapers, and was hired on as a founding staffer at start-up USA TODAY. He spent twenty-eight years there as an editor and reporter, and twelve as a national correspondent based in the Bay Area. He left journalism in 2009 to write fiction and currently splits time between Northern California and Southeast Asia.

For interview and review requests, contact Chelsea Pieper at media@touchpointpress.com.