The Colossus
Published · Astor & Blue, 2015
After a short period of mourning my first novel's rejection, I started my next: The Colossus is a historical/present-day mystery peppered with humor and romance. Growing up I'd come to learn about the sordid past of Bayer AG where my dad had worked for much of his career. Their connections to the Nazi party and Zyklon B, as well as the fascinating history of how they created Aspirin, inspired this novel.
Synopsis
On a pharmaceutical research mission in 1935, Dr. Samuel Rosen uncovers a pill from the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. The pills are a source of intrigue for the Nazis, who believe they may hold the key to immortality. When they test the pills on the Jewish prisoners of Krippenwald labor camp, a highly contagious retrovirus begins to spread.
Over the next several decades, the virus reaches pandemic proportions, but due to its stealthy nature, nobody knows it's happening. Nobody, except Berliner Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Rosen's ex-employer.
Fast forward to the year 2000 in Chicago. Dr. Rosen's granddaughter, Max, is living a quiet life until an old friend of her grandfather's knocks on her door. Berliner Pharmaceuticals is after the research on the pill, and they may be responsible for Max's father's puzzling death. Desperate for answers, Max travels across the continents to unlock her grandfather's secrets. She soon learns two things: there is a reason these pills were kept secret for thousands of years, and Berliner will stop at nothing to keep the research under wraps.
