Book excerpt: Laced with intrigue and surprise, this Swifty adventure takes the hero into the depths of Somali Pirate country, back to Vegas, and into the inner workings of an exotic criminal organization. Blackmail, betrayal, mystery, and secrecy abound in this tale of friendships gone awry and family members shunned and exploited for pay. Swifty spent two years in federal lock up and was forced to change his name. Unable to find a regular job, Swifty put his jail house education to work. His profession takes him to strange places, but it is right back home when he tries to help his old friend, Count Montecello the Magician, that he finds himself immersed in a caldron of corruption he may never escape. Swifty is aided by the usual cast of characters who enrich this tale of deceit, murder, blackmail . . . and strange friendships.