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Power and Government Corruption
The Valhalla Project centers around a private investigator and attorney who become entangled in a case involving a teenager with autism who becomes an easy target in a murder investigation. Where did the idea behind this novel come from?
Regarding David, the 19 year old autistic man, it was really an exercise for me to delve into someone with a different personality, and express his emotions and fears. His character was born out of my attempt to create a character that would have an exceptionally deep relationship with a smart dog.
What drew you to write a mystery that expands from a local tragedy into a much broader examination of power and influence?
The broader examination of power and government corruption is often the basis of my novels.
One of the novel’s most unsettling moments is watching David become vulnerable during police questioning. What did you hope readers would take away from those scenes?
The takeaway is that our government and law enforcement is unfair to many members of our society, especially those with disabilities.
If readers remember one thing after finishing The Valhalla Project, what do you hope it is?
To not trust our government and elected officials at face value.
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Nineteen-year-old David Jacobs discovers the body of a murdered woman while walking his dog through Pelham Bay Park. He does exactly what any innocent person would do—he calls the police.
Within days, he’s arrested.
Autistic, trusting, and unequipped to navigate a relentless interrogation, David accepts a plea deal for a murder he didn’t commit. His future disappears behind prison walls while the real killer walks free.
Former NYPD detective-turned-private investigator Dan Burnett knows the case doesn’t add up. His investigation leads to a controversial data center project, where corporate greed, political corruption, and billions of dollars collide. Someone has already killed to protect it—and they’ll kill again to keep the truth buried.
Witnesses stop talking. Evidence disappears. Every lead brings Dan closer to the truth—and closer to the people determined to silence him. Every day David spends behind bars is another day stolen from his life. To save him, Dan must expose the truth before the conspiracy claims another victim.
A gripping crime thriller packed with relentless suspense, plot twists, and unforgettable characters.
The Valhalla Project
The Valhalla Project is a fast-moving mystery thriller that begins when nineteen-year-old David Jacobs and his dog, Scout, discover a woman’s body in Pelham Bay Park. David is autistic, deeply attached to routine, and poorly equipped to handle aggressive questioning, which makes him an easy target for investigators eager to close the case. After he’s rushed into a manslaughter plea, private investigator Dan Burnett and attorney Seth Bodner begin looking into the evidence. Their work leads from a suspicious murder investigation to a proposed data center in Valhalla, New York, where corporate ambition, environmental concerns, bribery, and political pressure are tightly connected.
David gives the opening chapters their emotional weight. His precise way of noticing the world is established before the mystery takes over, and his relationship with Scout feels warm and specific. When he finds the victim, the narration captures his shock in a simple line: “The word dead would not settle into place.” That sentence says a lot about how David processes something too frightening and unfamiliar to understand immediately. His experience in jail is especially unsettling because the book has already shown how much he depends on familiar places, predictable patterns, and the comfort Scout provides.
Once Dan joins the story, the novel becomes a detailed investigative procedural. He follows surveillance footage, compares forensic reports, speaks with police contacts, and gradually uncovers the path that connects the victim to the Valhalla data center. The investigation develops through practical steps, so each discovery feels earned. The book also explains legal, environmental, and technical issues in accessible language. At times, those explanations slow the momentum, but they also give the corruption plot a believable structure and help the reader understand why the project matters to so many people.
The large cast allows the story to explore the case from several angles. Corporate executive Richard Halverson brings calculated arrogance to the business side of the plot, while environmental attorney Laura McKenna gives the conflict a personal cost. Dan’s relationship with Mia adds a calmer domestic thread involving food, sailing, travel, and family illness. Those scenes make Dan feel like a person with a full life outside the investigation, though some of the romantic and culinary detail goes on longer than the central mystery needs. The dialogue is generally clear and lively, even when certain villains reveal their motives more openly than real people might.
The Valhalla Project is an engaging procedural about how an innocent person can become trapped when institutions value speed, influence, and appearances more than careful judgment. Its strongest qualities are David’s sympathetic characterization, the steady accumulation of evidence, and the way a local murder expands into a broader story of corporate and political corruption. The conclusion provides satisfying accountability while still acknowledging the damage David has suffered. It’s the kind of mystery that keeps moving because every answer uncovers a larger problem, and its concern for fairness gives the investigation more meaning than solving the crime alone.
Pages: 241 | ASIN : B0H95FF5Y1
