by Rick Acker
Norwegian names: Non-Scandinavians sometimes wonder why Norwegians seem to randomly decorate letters. For instance, “a” sometimes gets a little halo and is written “å” or “o” turns into “ø.” The reason is that these are actually different letters: the Norwegian alphabet has 29 letters rather than the 26 we’re used to in English. As a result, Norwegians sometimes need to change their names slightly when they move to English-speaking countries. For example, Karl and Gunnar’s last name would have been Bjørnsen in Norway, but they changed it to Bjornsen when they came to America because the letter ø doesn’t exist in English.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I owe a deep debt to many people for their help with this book. First and foremost, I owe my beloved wife, Anette. For untold hundreds of hours spent encouraging, brainstorming, plotting, editing, reediting, and editing again, thank you. Without you, this book would not have been possible.
I am also deeply grateful to the busy professionals who generously contributed their expertise to ensure the accuracy of this book. Gene Barnett, PhD, took time away from his job as vice president of regulatory/clinical affairs at Nascent Pharmaceuticals to provide invaluable advice on FDA procedures and drug trials. I also greatly appreciate the input I received from Professor Mari Golub, PhD, of the University of California, regarding neurotoxicology and primate drug testing. Laurelea Williams and Arnold Schuler, crack auditors in the California Department of Justice, brought years of forensic-accounting experience to the passages dealing with financial fraud. Og til familien Kjeldaas: mange tusen takk for deres hjelp med de norsk delene of boken.
If the devil is in the details, then editors and test readers are every author’s exorcists. Thank you to all the people who helped me spot typos, mistakes, and plot holes. Janyre Tromp and Dave Lindstedt provided dozens of suggestions and corrections that substantially improved this book. Michael and Gail Pyle and fellow DAG Karen Bovarnick also provided detailed and thoughtful feedback.
Last, but certainly not least, thank you to superagent Sue Brower and associate publisher Amy Hosford for giving this book new life.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bestselling author Rick Acker is supervising deputy attorney general in the California Department of Justice. Most recently, he and his team won a string of unprecedented recoveries against the Wall Street players who triggered the Great Recession. Acker has authored several legal thrillers, including When the Devil Whistles, which award-winning author Colleen Coble described as “a legal thriller you won’t want to miss.” He spends most of his free time with his wife and children. You can learn more about Acker and his books at www.rickacker.com.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
CONTENTS
START READING
CHAPTER ONE A GIFT FROM THE PAST
CHAPTER TWO THE FIRST HARD BLOW
CHAPTER THREE SERGEI SPASSKY
CHAPTER FOUR SPLIT THE BABY
CHAPTER FIVE A PROBLEM WITH THE CONTROL GROUP
CHAPTER SIX HUMAN TRIALS
CHAPTER SEVEN SANDBAGS
CHAPTER EIGHT SMALL VICTORIES
CHAPTER NINE DISCOVERY
CHAPTER TEN HENRIK HAUGELAND
CHAPTER ELEVEN HISTORY LESSONS
CHAPTER TWELVE PROBLEM SOLVING
CHAPTER THIRTEEN THE AFTERMATH
CHAPTER FOURTEEN WITNESSES
CHAPTER FIFTEEN OPENINGS
CHAPTER SIXTEEN DAMAGE
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN CLOSINGS
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN BERSERKERGANG
CHAPTER NINETEEN AFTER THE WORLD’S RUIN
EPILOGUE
AFTERWORD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
