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About InterNACHI's attorney Mark Cohen
Mark Cohen grew up in Denver. He earned his BA in economics at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington in 1980 and received his law degree from the University of Colorado School of Law in Boulder in 1983. From 1983 to 1987 he served as a Judge Advocate (JAG) in the U.S. Air Force. In 1986, he won the American Bar Association's Outstanding Young Military Service Lawyer award. From 1987 to 1995, he practiced law in Omaha. He has authored six articles published in the American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts series. His non-legal articles have appeared in magazines that include Inside Kung Fu and Camping & RV. He served eighteen months as Interim Municipal Judge for the City of Boulder and also served on the Executive Board of the Colorado Municipal League. Mark has experience in drafting and reviewing all types of contracts, including home inspection contracts. An experienced litigator and trial attorney, he has represented home owners, inspectors, and contractors. His experience has convinced him that a solid contract is the best protection a home inspector can have against frivolous claims and lawsuits. Mark is an attorney for both the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors and the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. He lives with his wife, two daughters, and three dogs in Nederland, Colorado, seventeen miles west of and 3,000 feet above Boulder. His interests include weightlifting, karate and philosophy. The Fractal Murders is his first novel. His second Pepper Keane mystery, Bluetick Revenge, was released in July 2005.
THE FRACTAL MURDERS by Mark Cohen
A brutal rape and murder. A robbery and bullet to the head. An apparent suicide. Three victims, three different states, and three apparently unrelated cases. But when Boulder math professor Jayne Smyers discovers each victim had been researching the geometric shapes know as fractals, she knows it was not coincidence.
A brutal rape and murder. A robbery and bullet to the head. An apparent suicide. Three victims, three different states, and three apparently unrelated cases. But when Boulder math professor Jayne Smyers discovers each victim had been researching the geometric shapes know as fractals, she knows it was not coincidence.
After federal agents fail to link the deaths, Jayne hires Nederland private eye Pepper Keane - a former JAG with a Diet CokeŽ addiction, an encyclopedic knowledge of rock'n roll, and a trace of existential angst. As Pepper tenaciously follows leads, the suspects multiply.
Follow Pepper Keane in a fast-paced adventure that traverses mathematics, economics, and philosophy. Sometimes violent, sometimes hilarious, The Fractal Murders is an original mystery with an ending that sneaks up from behind and grabs you by the throat.
"A surprising premise and an extaordinary theme equal an accomplished debut....Cohen's writing style is direct and amazingly lucid, even when handling the concepts and applications of fractal geometry or outlining the tenets of Martin Heidegger. Readers looking for something refreshingly different should be well satisfied."
-Publishers Weekly
"This clever mystery pits a private eye against a murderer who is systematically slaying top American mathematicians....Pepper Keane, a Colorado private eye...has a past that fleshes out his motivation, a wry wit, and an enemy who does everything to keep him permanently clueless. A consistently absorbing first novel."
-Booklist"Cohen has a gift for making fractals...not only accessible but exciting. And his hunt for the killer...crackles with mounting tension."
-Kirkus"A lively, fast paced, and surprising story woven around my trading time theorem. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to have fun with this."
-Benoit B. Mandelbrot, Sterling Professor of Mathematical Sciences, Yale University, and founder of fractal geometry"This one definitely adds up. THE FRACTAL MURDERS is witty, smart, and inventive, and Mark Cohen is a terrific new voice on the mystery scene."
-Stephen White, author of The Best Revenge"I don't know when I've enjoyed a mystery as much as I enjoyed The Fractal Murders. It manages to be both savvy and funny, all the while racing toward a bang-up conclusion. A thumbs-up to Mark Cohen for an outstanding debut into the mystery world."
-New York Times bestselling author Margaret Coel"An intensely entertaining book that is simply delicious to read."
-Midwest Book Review"Pepper Keane is one heck of a dogged investigator."
-The Rocky Mountain News"Pepper's sleuthing is inspirational and amusing."
-Bookloons
When Mark Cohen self-published THE FRACTAL MURDERS in 2002, it was a Book Sense 76 Top 10 Mystery Pick and a finalist for The Colorado Book Awards. The Rocky Mountain News called former Marine JAG and private eye Pepper Keane "one heck of a dogged investigator" and Midwest Book Review said the book is "intensely entertaining." In 2004 Mysterious Press (a division of Time/Warner) published a new edition. Hailed by bestselling author Stephen White as "witty, smart and inventive," THE FRACTAL MURDERS marks the debut of a terrific new writer and introduces an appealing sleuth to the mystery scene.
When the novel opens Pepper Keane is on his way to the office of Jane Smyers, a math professor specializing in fractal geometry at the University of Colorado in Boulder. She had sent an article she planned to publish to five experts in the field and was shocked to learn that two had been murdered and one had committed suicide. Each of them had taught or attended Harvard, each was an expert in fractal geometry, and Smyers is convinced the deaths are connected. An ex-Marine with a diet coke addiction and an encyclopedic knowledge of rock 'n roll, Keane finds himself attracted to the professor and is determined to find out what he can. At first Keane can't find any evidence that the three dead mathematicians even knew one another. But with the help of his computer hacker best friend and exercise guru brother, Keane continues to dig. Suspects begin to appear and then multiply as they race through the rocky terrain of Colorado to New Mexico, Boston, and Nebraska-the main one being an FBI agent who is also Keane's worst enemy.
Mark can be reached at:
Mark S. Cohen
Attorney at Law
A Professional Corporation
P.O. Box 617
110 Snyder Street, Ste. 210
Nederland, CO 80466
Phone / Fax (303) 258-0561
www.cohenslaw.com
Boulder Office:
4450 Arapahoe Avenue, Ste. 100
P.O. Box 1801
Boulder, CO 80306
(303) 546-7937
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