Minnesota Lake

On a hot June weekend in 1931, five people met coincidentally at a lake town in Minnesota. Two were law school buddies out for a weekend of golf and fun, two were a local farmer and his son, and the fifth was an inexperienced investigator assigned to explore a rumor about an alleged gambling operation at a lake resort near the beautiful Lake Minnewaska. Each of the individuals would come to realize the rumor was true...a mob run gaming business was very much active. As further happenstances brought them together, they saw a way of clandestinely bringing down the operation without being suspected...if they acted fast. Normally, taking on the mob would never be wise, but this opportunity was unique to raid the resort causing an impressive number of arrests of some top underworld figures. The challenge for them that weekend was to carry out their plan in secret and if successful to always maintain the confidentiality of their actions.

In 1931, five individuals met by chance at a Lake Minnewaska community called Glenwood in Minnesota. They collaborated secretly to bring down a well-known mobster at a secluded resort near the town. Their efforts were kept secret to protect them from mob retribution. In this second novel of the Minnesota Lake Series, it is uncovered that a sixth person living in the town had stealthily contributed to their success. Henry Hanson, a key community leader was forced to flee to safeguard his own life. He assumed a new identity and chose Charleston, South Carolina as the place he desired to live. Over time 'Henry Granville' would build a huge hotel business. Years later and nearing retirement, he becomes concerned his shadowy past could be discovered and bring disrepute to his enterprise. Secondly, he must choose his successor who would protect his reputation and thereby, the image of his corporation. To thwart any misguided rumors or untruths, he brings in someone he trusts...a young, inexperienced journalist... to confidentially tell his story. That young man happens to be the son of James and Lindy Lawton. The twenty-six-year-old uninspired journalist in Minneapolis had no idea why he was chosen to take on an assignment in Charleston, South Carolina.

In 1931, five individuals who met by chance in Glenwood, Minnesota, brought down a well-known mobster running a host of illegal businesses at a nearby secluded lake resort. Their efforts were kept secret to protect them from mob retribution. Unknown at the time was that a sixth person was affected by the aftermath of the police raid. Henry Hanson, a local town leader, had fled to Charleston, South Carolina and assumed a new identity to keep himself safe. Over the years, while dodging discovery by the mob, Hanson builds a hotel empire under the alias, Henry Granville. As retirement nears in 1960, however, he has two concerns. In case his shadowy past is ever revealed, he wants a written account of his life to defend himself and the reputation of his enterprise. Secondly, he must choose his successor, someone who would protect the image of the corporation. For the scribe he selects a young Minnesota journalist, Matt Lawton, just four years out of college and the son of two of the original five from that weekend back in 1931. Together, Lawton and Granville craft the older mans life story. In this second book of the Minnesota Lake series, Granville relates his early years as a leader of a lakeside community while being the de facto middleman dealing with a gangster-dominated lake resort. In doing so, he must avert his past life from causing the ruin of his current one.

In 1931, five people met by happenstance one weekend at Lake Minnewaska in Minnesota and collaborated on secretly bringing down a clandestine mob enterprise at a nearby remote lake resort. While they wisely stayed quiet about their success, in the months and years that followed they were often called upon to save each other from rumors and inquiries about their possible involvement. One of them, Adam Bailey, about to enter college at the time of the mob bust, had faced little anxiety or threats until after graduation when his good fortune sours. He crosses paths with one of the gangsters from that resort raid. That encounter leads Bailey to take a job requiring international travel in Europe. Through 1937 he a build a profitable clientele base and is contacted by the U.S. Defense Department to help them out as well....as a spy. His two jobs meld effectively until he is framed and finds himself in an Italian jail in 1940. In a hopeless situation he escapes. Life and death choices are nonstop as he seeks his freedom. In this third addition of the Minnesota lake Series, the original story is once again enlarged showing how Bailey and his other four collaborators are still impacted by their action against the mob back in 1931...and once again the support and loyalty to each other is seriously tested.