Cordell Logan Mystery

Flat Spin is the first installment in David Freed's acclaimed series featuring Cordell Logan, a sardonic pilot with dwindling savings and a shadowy past. Flying out of California's sunny Rancho Bonita, Cordell Logan is a flight instructor and aspiring Buddhist whose attempt at a quiet(er) life is shattered when his ex-wife Savannah arrives on his doorstep. Her new husband and Logan's former comrade-in-arms, Arlo Echevarria, has been murdered and she needs his help. Logan and Echevarria used to be members of a top-secret military assassination team known as Alpha. Savannah begs him to tell the police what he knows in order to help them solve the murder, but sharing that sort of information raises both ethical and practical concerns. After an attempt on Logan's own life, it becomes clear that this goes deeper than he thought, and that solving the murder himself may be the only way to ensure his, and Savannah's, safety. Award- winning reporter David Freed brings his own experience to bear in this brilliant page turning mystery perfect for fans of Robert B. Parker and Robert Rotstein.

Based in sunny Rancho Bonita - "California's Monaco" as the city's moneyed minions like to call it - Cordell Logan is a literate, sardonic flight instructor and aspiring Buddhist with dwindling savings and a shadowy past. When his beautiful ex-wife, Savannah, shows up out of the blue to tell him that her husband has been murdered in Los Angeles, Logan is quietly pleased. Savannah's late husband, after all, is Arlo Echevarria, the man she left Logan for. Logan and Echevarria were once comrades-in-arms assigned to a top-secret military assassination team known as "Alpha. " The only problem is, the LAPD can find no record of Echevarrias ever having toiled for Uncle Sam. Savannah wants Logan to tell the police what he knows. At first he refuses, but then, relying on his small, aging airplane, the "Ruptured Duck," and the skills he honed working for Alpha, Logan doggedly hunts Echevarria's killer. His trail takes him from the glitzy Las Vegas Strip to the most dangerous ghettos of inner-city Oakland, from darkened, Russian Mafia haunts in West Los Angeles to the deserts of Arizona. But that's the least of his problems. It is his love-hate relationship with Savannah, a woman Logan continues to pine for in spite of himself, that threatens to consume him.

Moments before he is executed, the killer of famed Vietnam War hero-pilot Hub Walker's daughter makes a startling allegation: the real murderer is Walker's close friend, a prominent U. S. defense contractor. Walker wants to hire somebody willing to spend a few days hunting up information that will refute the convicted killer's groundless but widely reported claims, and help restore his friend's good name. That somebody, as fate would have it, is sardonic civilian flight instructor, would-be Buddhist and retired military assassin Cordell Logan. Thus begins one of the year's most suspenseful mystery-thrillers. A Medal of Honor recipient married to a former Playmate of the Year, Walker resides in the swanky San Diego enclave of La Jolla, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Logan is convinced that working for Walker will be little more than a paid vacation - a chance to rub shoulders with a living legend while rekindling Logan's relationship with his own enticing ex-wife, Savannah. But after flying to San Diego in his beloved aging Cessna, the Ruptured Duck, Logan is quickly drawn into a vexing and deadly jigsaw puzzle. The deeper he digs, the murkier the truth appears, and the more in danger he finds himself. Who really killed the war hero's daughter, and why? Somebody in "America's Finest City," wants to stop Logan from asking questions, and will stop at nothing to silence him.

From award-winning author David Freed, “Fangs Out” is the second installment in the pulse-pounding Cordell Logan series. Moments before he is executed, the man who killed Hub Walker's daughter makes a troubling allegation: that the real murderer was Walker's close friend, an important US defense contractor. Walker-famed Vietnam War veteran and hero-pilot-is looking to hire someone willing to hunt down information that will refute the claim and help restore his friend's good name. Enter Cordell Logan: civilian flight instructor, would-be Buddhist, and retired military assassin. Logan takes the job, thinking it will be a bit of a breeze, and an opportunity to rub shoulders with a living legend. But after flying to San Diego in his beloved Cessna, the Ruptured Duck, he is swiftly pulled into a perplexing and dangerous puzzle. The deeper he digs, the murkier the waters become, and the more dangerous it gets. Who really killed Walker's daughter, and why? Somebody doesn't want Logan asking questions, and will stop at nothing to silence him.

Award-winning author David Freed brings readers another fast-paced, adrenaline-fueled mystery. In 1956, a twin-engine airplane bearing mysterious cargo takes off from a small airport outside Los Angeles and flies straight into a raging storm, never to be seen again. Sixty-some years later, retired military assassin and would-be Buddhist Cordell Logan spots wreckage as he and his ex-wife, Savannah, are flying over California's Sierra Nevada Mountains. The long-missing plane has finally been found. The couple's trip to Lake Tahoe where they hope to reconcile their marriage is thrown off when Logan is asked to guide a search and rescue team to the remote crash site. He agrees, but what they discover there is not what they expected. Alongside the crashed plane and its mummified pilot is a fresh corpse: the body of a young man shot mere hours earlier. Someone has beaten them to the downed airplane, and its cargo, and will stop at nothing to profit from what they found, including kidnapping Savannah to ensure Logan's cooperation. Filled with unexpected twists, full-throttle action, and wry humor, “Voodoo Ridge” is a thrilling mystery that sees Cordell Logan drawn into the most perplexing and deadly situation he's ever faced.

The next installment in the critically acclaimed “Cordell Logan” series, “The Three-Nine Line” brings the sardonic pilot all the way to Vietnam. It's been over forty years since they were released from the "Hanoi Hilton", a prisoner of war camp in Vietnam, and three American soldiers and ex-prisoners finally return to Vietnam. As part of an effort by the US government to settle a major trade agreement, these three men have agreed to make peace with one of their most brutal former captors-a guard they dubbed "Mr. Wonderful." But when Mr. Wonderful is murdered, the three former POWs are the primary suspects and the multibillion-dollar deal threatens to unravel. Enter Cordell Logan: pilot, still-aspiring Buddhist, and former military assassin. Working with a newly formed covert intelligence unit, Logan arrives in Hanoi to identify the real killer before the trade agreement implodes. But he soon discovers a vexing and increasingly dangerous mystery that will take every ounce of ingenuity and resolve to unlock. Risking his life like never before, Logan must discover who killed the guard and why, and fast. “The Three-Nine Line” is a classic, pulse-pounding page-turner and an excellent addition to a thrilling series from award-winning author David Freed.

The next fast-paced installment in the “Cordell Logan” series, Hot Start is an adrenaline-fueled, action-packed thrill ride. One sweltering summer night, a notorious, international big-game hunter and his beautiful wife are shot dead, at long range, while swimming naked at their seaside estate in Rancho Bonita, California. The police are convinced the perpetrator is an outspoken animal-rights activist, who happens to have both military experience and a criminal record. The evidence seems overwhelming, but soon rumors start to surface that indicate there may be more than one person with the means and motive for murder. The last thing Cordell Logan wants is to get involved in another police investigation. But he and the suspect have mutual friends, and Logan may be the only one able to discover what really happened. At first reluctant, he soon finds himself neck deep in a confounding conspiracy that orbits a congressman with close ties to the White House and a ruthless Czech crime boss who will stop at nothing to protect his operation. Finding the truth will take Logan to places he never expected to see, and expose him to dangers he may not survive.

Overflowing with action and humor, “The Kill Circle” is the next must-read page turning thriller in the critically acclaimed “Cordell Logan” mystery series. When one retired CIA analyst plunges off a cliff in his vintage Porsche, it's an unfortunate accident. When a second and then a third turn up dead under unusual circumstances, the CIA's suspicions are confirmed: these men were murdered. All three analysts were once assigned to the same top-secret project: an internal review of the CIA's own involvement in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. With a Congressional mandate set to go into effect that will require the CIA to release long-secret files, it seems someone will stop at nothing to prevent the public from discovering what really happened that tragic day in Dallas, 1963. Cordell Logan-veteran pilot, aspiring Buddhist, and former government assassin-has no interest in getting involved in what is swiftly becoming a disturbing conspiracy, even to help out a former colleague. That is, until he meets Layne Sterling, the brilliant CIA agent assigned to the case. Logan and Layne are instantly drawn to one another, but manage to put the case first as they find themselves caught up in a high stakes, high altitude game of cat-and-mouse-one that could destroy them both.

A high-flying, high-octane thrill ride from author David Freed. A naked man drops from the night sky and crashes through the roof of a mobile home, nearly killing the elderly couple inside. The victim is soon identified as Pete Hostetler, a well-respected executive at a California-based toy manufacturing company. But detectives are baffled, and there are no leads. Did he accidentally fall out of an airplane or was he pushed? For Cordell Logan-a sardonic, financially struggling flight instructor and former government assassin-Hostetler's death is personal. The two men were classmates at the US Air Force Academy and later served together as fighter pilots during Operation Desert Storm, where Hostetler saved Logan's life during one particularly perilous combat mission in Iraq. Logan is convinced Pete was murdered. But who would've killed someone in such bizarre fashion, and why? Determined to avenge his battle buddy's death, Logan starts digging and discovers nothing is as it seems, and that he may not have known Hostetler as well as he thought. Soon a vexing trail of clues lead him and his aging Cessna, the Ruptured Duck, across California, deep into Mexico, and relentlessly into harm's way.