Michael Balkind - Sudden Death

SUDDEN DEATH

By

Michael Balkind

This book is a work offiction. Names, chara cters, places andincidents are either the product of the authors imagination or areused fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living ordead, or to actual events or locales is entirelycoincidental.

Sudden Death

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Copyright 2007 MichaelBalkind . All rights reserved, including theright to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. Nopart of this text may be reproduced,transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into anyinformation storage and retrieval system, in any form or by anymeans, whether electronic or mechanical without the express writtenpermission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distributionof this book via the Internet or via any other means without thepermission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law.Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do notparticipate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrightedmaterials.

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Cover Design: Brandon M. Bittner Image

Provided By: iStockphoto.com Interior

Design: N. J. McBeth

Trade Paperback Copyright 2007 MichaelBalkind

Visit the authorwebsite: http://www.balkindbooks.com

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ISBN: 978-1-935670-10-0 (eBook)

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Michael Balkind intrigues golf enthusiastsfar & wide with his first suspense novel. Wrought with danger,mystery and a bit of golf, this page-turner will keep you on theedge of your seat

Country Club Quarterly Magazine

Sudden Death spins a tangled web of murderand golf thats as mysterious and fun as the game itself.

Tom Coyne

Author of A Gentlemans Game, PaperTiger: An Obsessed Golfers

Quest to Play with the Pros, A Course CalledIreland

I couldnt put it down. Anyone who lovesgolf will love Sudden Death.

David Yoho

Management Consultant, ProfessionalSpeaker,

CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame

Tee-rrific first outing by a promisingauthor.

Brian Moss

Former Editor, NY Daily NewsExpress

Sudden Death is one of those books you pickup, and dont put down until the last page. Sudden Death is a holein one.

Conrad L. Ricketts

Executive Producer Extreme Makeover: HomeEdition

Sudden Death, gives a whole new insight intothe game of golf. This thriller has hit a hole in one!

Randy Jurgensen

Retired N.Y.P.D. Detective and Author ofCircle of Six

Superb Read! Could not put it down. Golfreferences are spot on. Great story line...Balkind should becongratulated.

Kenneth S. Francella

President, Global Investment Research,Inc.

I dont golf, but I found myself totallyinvolved with the characters. Michaels writing style had me in themiddle of the action and kept me there to the end.

Frank DeAlto

Retired NYPD Sargeant

Michael knows his golf and his murder. Thisis the perfect mix of golf and suspense. The game is a mystery, aswe all know, but Sudden Death makes it a bigger, better mystery. Agreat read!

Dave Berner

Host of Travelgolf.com This Week radioshow

Sudden Death is a direct hit! A Hole in Onewith crisp, tight action boldly mixed with flesh and bloodcharacters that jump out at you from the page. An excellent readfrom the opening shot to the very end!

Kurt Bryan

Author of The Game Breaker &The Double Move

Sudden Death is a gripping story of terroron the tour that keeps the reader engaged throughout. You feel likeyou are walking the fairways while looking over your shoulder likeReid Clark, as you play through chapters 1-36. A great read!

Jeffrey H. Edwards

President, DeForest Enterprises, Inc.

In his first novel, Michael Balkind hascrafted a suspenseful thriller that uses many familiar WestchesterCounty references.

The Met Golfer Magazine

Acknowledgements

There were many people who helped me getthis book from the original draft to what it has become today.

I want to thank Marlene Fisher and familyfor their help with the original editing. Marlene, your kind wordsand editing capability gave me hope in the beginning. Your insighthelped me turn that original pile of dreck into a story withpublishing potential.

I want to thank all those who helped editthis novel: Bill Greenleaf, Nancy Ellis (my Agent), Jennifer, Meganand everyone else at SterlingHouse who helped bring life to thisproject.

To Howard Bruck, my very good friend andgolfing partner. Your critique with the golfing information in thebook was excellent. For a computer guy you sure have an eye for thewritten word. Thank you.

Thank you to all my friends who helped withideas along the way, especially my extended family at Alure HomeImprovements. Sal, Carl, Bob, and Mike without your support Inever would have been able to complete this project.

I want to thank Joan LaMorte, aka my Mom,who seems to believe in me no matter how hair-brained my ideassometimes are. Mom, you watched, listened, and as usual gave youropinion every step of the way with this project. For someone whoalways says I wish I could do more for you, your support andencouragement help keep me writing. You could not do any more thanthat for me.

To Betsy, Hunter and Reid, my beautifulchildren, you each added so many words, sentences and ideas to thisbook that sometimes I think you guys deserve more credit than I doas the author. You are the reasons for everything I do and I'm soproud of each of you.

To my wife Greer, who has supported methrough many questionable endeavors. I could not have written thisbook without your daily help. Reading each chapter as it waswritten. Letting me know when I was on track and otherwise. Thisproject is a celebration of my love for you. Thank you for beingyou.

Dedications

I would like to dedicate this book toHermenia Mann, my mother-in-law. Half way through this project sherevealed to us, her family, that she has cancer. Not just any oldcancer, mind you, this was a very rare, small-cell, aggressivecancer. Watching this woman fight through her ordeal was truly aninspiration to me. First, she survived through a botched surgery.Then she conquered four heavy chemotherapy sessions. Then pulledthrough another surgery where they removed most of her insides. Wewatched her turn from a kitten to a Tigress. Her attitude aloneprobably scared the cancer right out of her. Hermie, its a goodthing they made all that extra room inside you, because itsobvious to all who know and love you that your heart is so big, itneeded the extra space. I dedicate this book to you and your newbeautiful hair. Love ya.

I would also like to dedicate this book toJack Nicklaus, a true Master of the game of golf, who retired as Iwas writing this book. You will be missed by many as we watch ourfavorite game on the weekend.

Finally to two of my cousins whose liveswere taken far too early while I was writing this book:

Jim Runsdorf: Although I didnt know youvery well, the outpouring of love as your friends spoke at theCelebration of your Life made me wish I did. New York missesyou.

And to Benjamin Balkind: Always the polite,dapper, well spoken gentleman at family gatherings. You are lovedand missed.