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Craig Stuart Wilson

Shadow Deliverer: Book Four of the Lucas Rocha Thriller Series

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Lucas Rocha has defied death many times in his brief rise within the Rio’s most powerful gang. Corrupt military police are battling key gang-controlled favelas in preparation for an evaluation visit by the International Olympic Committee. Colombian cartels are moving in on the same turf. No one is safe. DEA agent Daniel Burke’s undercover identity has been compromised by a mole within his own agency. His enemies know his every move, and it’s only a matter of time before time runs out. Lucas and Daniel are speeding out of control on a road to redemption or ruination, and the biggest drug lord in Rio, Dez, could be their only key to survival.

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Journeyman Drug Lord: Book Three of the Lucas Rocha Thriller Series

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Lucas Rocha has become the right-hand to Rio de Janeiro’s most feared drug lord, Dez. But Dez is incarcerated, awaiting trial for multiple crimes. Money is no longer a problem for Lucas; staying alive is. Rival gangs want him dead. The one person who can help him, undercover DEA agent Daniel Burke, has returned to Brazil to rejoin the woman he loves. Daniel owes Lucas his life, but now his cover hangs in the balance. Lucas, meanwhile, is determined to leave the life of a journeyman drug lord behind. But no one ever retires from a gang; death is the only way out. Now Lucas and Daniel must find a way to beat the odds.

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CROSSFIRE FUGITIVE: A Lucas Rocha Thriller

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Lucas Rocha owes Daniel Burke his life – not that it’s worth much. The military police are hunting him. Rio de Janeiro’s most feared drug lord wants him dead. Lucas is caught in the middle while desperately trying to save his younger sisters, one of whom is critically wounded. Daniel, a DEA agent on leave after a Boston drug bust gone bad, is vacationing in Rio to learn about his birth family. But all he’s uncovered are the grim realities of life in the favelas. Now it’s Lucas’s turn to rescue Daniel. But as a fugitive who’s caught in the crossfire, how can he possibly succeed?

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RENEGADE PAWN: A Lucas Rocha Thriller

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Lucas Rocha didn't know he'd be a reluctant hero. Lucas Rocha never meant to become a drug dealer. But when he picks the wallet of vacationing DEA Agent Daniel Burke, Lucas becomes a pawn in the battle between Rio's drug cartel and lawmakers' attempts to bring them to justice. The lives of these two strangers quickly become permanently—and dangerously—intertwined when Lucas is asked to infiltrate the cartel and navigate the deathly politics of its powerful drug lords. Hell-bent on beating the odds and escaping alive, Lucas not only survives but begins to rise in the cartel's ranks. Life on the inside is dangerous, but there's power, protection and money. The temptation is great for one who comes from so little. Nor did he know that this nobody could be a somebody someday... Renegade Pawn is part of the emerging Lucas Rocha Thriller series, which launches September 7th, the anniversary of Rio de Janeiro's Independence Day.

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RIO Street Kid Stargazer

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

This action-packed international crime thriller takes readers into the slums of Rio de Janeiro, where thousands of homeless children face horrific choices every day. It’s no exception when sixteen-year-old Rio street kid Lucas Rocha meets Daniel Burke, a Brazilian-American businessman visiting from Boston. Recently orphaned, the idealistic Lucas struggles to put bread on the table for his younger sisters and keep them safe while he earns a living on Rio’s unforgiving streets. Should he beg, steal or sell drugs to survive? When Lucas snatches Daniel’s wallet in an act of desperation, it sets in motion a series of catastrophic events, and the lives of these two strangers become permanently … and dangerously … entangled. Facing down Rio’s powerful drug lords, both Lucas and Daniel are hell-bent to beat the odds and make things right. But what is right in a world filled with wrong?

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Ever meet a sociopath?

Definition: noun, Psychiatry. "a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience." There is a notable difference between someone with a wild hare, and a lunatic. That difference is measured in terms of guilt. I met a guy once who was not a murderer as yet, but lived on the border of "scary" all the time. More concerning, he was very successful in the business world. When you compare people like a mobster and Bernie Madoff, the major difference is that one commits murder, and the other commits unspeakable crimes.

RIO Street Kid Stargazer

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

This action-packed international crime thriller takes readers into the slums of Rio de Janeiro, where thousands of homeless children face horrific choices every day. It’s no exception when sixteen-year-old Rio street kid Lucas Rocha meets Daniel Burke, a Brazilian-American businessman visiting from Boston. Recently orphaned, the idealistic Lucas struggles to put bread on the table for his younger sisters and keep them safe while he earns a living on Rio’s unforgiving streets. Should he beg, steal or sell drugs to survive? When Lucas snatches Daniel’s wallet in an act of desperation, it sets in motion a series of catastrophic events, and the lives of these two strangers become permanently … and dangerously … entangled. Facing down Rio’s powerful drug lords, both Lucas and Daniel are hell-bent to beat the odds and make things right. But what is right in a world filled with wrong?

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Off-the-beaten-path tourism

When a street kid stole my money, I chased him for over a mile up into the favelas. When he threw the money up into the air and I picked it up, what I saw around me was nothing you would ever witness near rows of tourist hotels. This was the real RIO and I never forgot it.

Work is work...

Drug gangs are a tough business. No matter where they are formed in the world, there are rules to follow like in any corporation. You rise up within the organization by succeeding. However, the penalty for failure in a gang is much greater than in any other job imaginable. The average life span of a drug runner is measured in months. Lucas Rocha was desperate to choose this route.

Ever meet someone with emphysema?

Matheus and Isabella are senior residents of the favela, and act as the voices of reason to young Lucas Rocha. Matheus grapples with an advanced case of emphysema. When I was in my twenties, I met a man who reminded me of him. He spoke passionately about life until he would run out of air and have to regroup. As I wrote for the character, Matheus, I can still picture the old man I once knew in this scene. His advice were words of wisdom.

Graveyard tours

Like Huckleberry Finn, Lucas Rocha had a "right-of-passage" to gain the trust of the gang. He was ordered to rendezvous at a very musty cemetery at Midnight. This is a scary-enough thing for any teenager to do, but what followed was certainly infinitely more harrowing.

Not Just in RIO

There's a massive dislocation of people going on in Rio. Imagine if one day you were told that your entire neighborhood was to be cleared out to make room for a parking lot and you had two weeks to move. Call it "squatter's rights" because the land isn't owned by the settlers of the sixties. Nonetheless, think of the impact on your family when it finds itself living in the streets. Thus was the initial struggle for Lucas Rocha and his family.

Parental Insights

Marina Serrano is the mother of Gabriela. She has raised her daughter to honor God, although she hides a secret that could alter their relationship forever. Gabriela is nearing a degree in social work, but is smitten with an American who is visiting Rio to learn about his heritage as well as enjoy the Carnival. As they walk to church, Mama reminds her daughter of what's important in life. Wherever you are in the world, almost always, a good parent will always be watching out for you.

No-Win Situation

Imagine finding yourself confronted with a ruthless gang leader who wants something from you that will clearly jeopardize your friend. What would you do in this no-win situation?

Climbing a tree can be dangerous.

When you were a kid, did you ever climb a tree? Imagine rescuing your little sister from high atop a tree, only witness the brittle branch underneath her snap sending her careening down. You catch her by the ankle? Could you hang on?

The IRONY of RIO

Cristo Redentor is an Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, standing 98 feet tall, with forgiving arms stretched out 92 feet wide. Christ the Redeemer is the iconic symbol of RIO, peering out over all the splendor and squalor from the peak of Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park. It is one of the New Seven Wonders of the World and a global symbol of Christianity. But to those living in the tepid favelas below, like Lucas Rocha, it is a reminder that sometimes good people must do bad things for a greater good, if they are to survive.

Art imitates Real

Rio de Janeiro is a real city and Amigos dos Amigos is a real drug gang. It turns out that there was a real drug lord over Rocinha by the name of Antônio Francisco Bonfim Lopes, known to all as "Nem." I didn't discover this fact until I was well into writing my book. Turns out there is a book just released on the man: Nemesis: One Man and the Battle for Rio, by Misha Glenny. For fifty years, Rio government paid no attention to it's slums until the advent of the World Cup and Olympics forced change. As Nem’s story shows, charm and horror coexist, as drug lords were cast as judge and jury over their favelas, and often became celebrities in the process.

A Chance Encounter

This passage was inspired by a true story. I was sent on a business trip to Latin America. I don’t speak Spanish or Portuguese, so my export agent was to meet me on my first stop, Rio de Janeiro. He never showed up because his visa had expired. I was on my own. The first person I ran into was a scraggly street kid, who tossed dust on my shoes, then asked me in pigeon English if I wanted my shoes shined. I humored him. When he was done, he asked for a tip that was 20 times the going rate. We haggled until I agreed to give him $5. As soon as I pulled out my money clip, he snatched it, and ran like the wind. Luckily, I was a runner too, and I chased him into the favelas until he threw the money clip into the air and pushed over an elderly woman to block me. I helped the woman up, and was surprised when she scolded me. “Never give money to these street rats. You make the problem worse.” I never forgot that moment. It inspired me to write about the 10,000 kids trying to survive on the streets of Rio.

The Lucas Rocha Thriller Series

Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Lucas Rocha didn’t know he’d be a reluctant hero. He owed Daniel Burke his life, not that it was worth much at one point. No one ever retires from a gang. Death is the only way out. Over their turbulent intertwining, Lucas and Daniel find themselves speeding out of control on a road to redemption or ruination, and the biggest drug lord in Rio, Dez, could be their only key to survival.

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