Again this month, I will focus on a character from my latest novel, Behind the Lies. A suspense story with plenty of free-ranging betrayal, it showcases the fast-paced life of Will Franklin, who faces unexpected professional and marital challenges while running an international biotechnology firm. 

A quick synopsis to catch you up—Biotech exec Will Franklin’s boss Chet angrily announces that he’s about to fire him for reasons vaguely suggesting impropriety; then, just hours later, Chet succumbs to a critical illness and lands in the hospital on a ventilator, leaving Will few clues with which to untangle the mystery of his possible transgressions. Can Will clear his name before it’s too late?

This month it’s Chet’s turn to be in the limelight.  Actually, it is fitting to use that phrase, as Chet is one of those guys who doesn’t know when it is time to leave the stage….so I’ll give him the spotlight now. For those of you who have read the book, you know Chet is a man of some mystery. You meet him first as he is angrily telling Will he is going to be fired but leaving him dangling as to why.

This represents quite the turn as until recently, Chet had referred to Will as the son he never had, and basked in the succession plan he engineered to hire Will and mentor him until BioteKem was on a steady course without him. What happened to change Chet’s mind, his plans and his support for his successor Will?  Chet’s character is on the page after chapter three only as a morbidly ill patient so the plot unfolds through others in flashbacks or piecemeal tidbits pulled together by a desperate Will and others hoping to discover Chet’s mindset and the cause for his change of heart.

While the frame of the story is only 40 days, factors confound the discovery process while Will worries everyday that Chet has already set in motion his dismissal.  Chet’s wife Andrea leans heavily on Will as Chet is hospitalized and a cyberattack paralyzes the company for a bit, delaying Will’s digging into what turned Chet against him. An estranged daughter of Chet’s coming into the story and Will’s own fling to manage just add more to the melodrama. I’ll avoid any spoilers here, but will unveil more of Chet’s character.

Chet Sutherland was a self-made man and a pioneer in taking a small company into a biotech giant on the world stage. Not a scientist himself, he had a knack for helping brilliant minds with inventive ideas get the financial support they needed by culling their ideas into concepts that would find commercial success. Kendall Square in Boston heralded a welcoming culture for these companies due in no small part to Sutherland’s moxie and business savvy in building it for success.

This focus cost him time away from his first family which caused an estrangement with the adult daughter he damaged along the way, and exposed a singular drive in the man which compromised his integrity—but as he became more successful, he reconciled the contrast by telling himself good works his company secured more than made up for that.  He enjoyed the fruits of his stature and eventually re-married and lived the good life. As the time for his retirement drew near, his mind wandered a bit, temptation entered the picture and…well…things got messy.

The universality of succession—from monarchies to corporate titans is fraught with difficulty.  

Chet is a contemporary figure who grew anxious in what he was about to give up….and found it increasingly distressing to consider leaving the stage to a younger man…a competitor.

Enjoy the read! 

Maren