It's the perfect seaside resort. Pristine sand, mansions galore and, oh yes, that pesky guy stuffed into a 55-gallon drum on the beach. No face, no fingerprints - all have been burned away. It's enough to ruin Detective Matt Forge's already miserable day. In a first novel by veteran investigative reporter Paul D'Ambrosio, the New Jersey Shore and the Garden State's reputation for corrupt politics and organized crime set the scene for a bizarre local murder that leads detectives into a world of global financial crime. Cold Rolled Dead is a dark, gritty and wry look at a murder that takes Forge deep into the underbelly of modern-day political corruption - a place where high-stakes power grabs have supplanted cash bribes. Forge soon finds himself in a race against time to unravel an international, billion-dollar land scheme that reaches to the highest levels of government. In a fast paced story, the author, a highly honored editor and reporter, applies his understanding of how political campaign laws are abused and skirted, of the New Jersey criminal underworld, and of how money greases the many wheels of power. The author's tech-savvy grasp of cutting edge computer software, the latest in high-tech crime fighting tools and sophisticated digital security gadgets gives the book an of-the-moment verite. Set on New Jersey's summer Shore, the novel takes in all of the landscape - from the geographical to the political and criminal. The story is a thrilling three-day ride that can only end, fittingly, by a historic lighthouse under summer fireworks.
Paul D'Ambrosio is the Investigations Editor for the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, one of the largest newspapers in Gannett Co. Inc. A highly respected investigative journalist, he is a 2010 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal finalist and one of the most honored newspaper writers in the nation, having won many national journalism writing awards, defeating the best work from The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal.
His work has led to the exposé of corrupt political deals, crooked military contractors, dangerous doctors, faulty hospitals, land scammers and government waste. Several long-time New Jersey politicians have lost re-election because of D'Ambrosio's work, which has been credited with igniting an ethics reform movement in New Jersey -- deemed ''the most corrupt state in the nation'' by the district's U.S. Attorney. His work has directly led to the passage of 23 New Jersey government ethics laws, and the state's open public records law.
During his 25-year career, D'Ambrosio has covered more than 100 homicides and numerous criminal court cases. He is a nationally known expert in a branch of journalism called Computer-Assisted Reporting, which uses sophisticated computer programs to identify government corruption and waste. He has lectured about investigative reporting at national conferences as well as at Harvard, Syracuse University and the University of Southern California.
Among his awards are the prestigious Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting (the richest prize given for investigative reporting), National Press Club Awards, Scripps Howard Public Service Award and the National Headliner Award for Public Service.
He lives in southern New Jersey with his wife and two sons. Cold Rolled Dead is his first book.
