Ophidian

Ophidian
335 Pages
ISBN 978-1-7322763-2-1

Willow and Birch are at again. With the deranged serial killer case now solved and behind them, they learn of another murder. This time a kind and well-liked shop owner has been shot in the back and robbed.

Travis Birch begins his usual hard-nosed tactics to try to find the killer, but as time passes, something begins to eat at him about the case. Something eerily familiar.

His partner, Willow Sturgeon, continues to work on Travis about his mannerisms, but also has her own head in the game. Was it one of the victim's employees? A vendor? Or maybe they need to cast an even wider net.

Together, Willow and Birch begin digging into the evidence and interviewing persons of interest, as they one-by-one eliminate the possibilities to get to the killer.

Jon Latham

About Jon Latham (Fresno, California Author)

Jon Latham

Born in Ventura County, California, Jon traveled just about everywhere while his family was in search of employment, giving him a broad, worldly view. Part of Jon’s childhood was spent on his parent’s farm outside of Sanger, California. There he spent a good deal of his time not already taken up with homework and chores, with the assorted animals of the ranch. This is where Jon gained respect for and care for animals.

Income and employment became a challenge for his parents and a move was made to Las Vegas, Nevada, where his parents had been offered employment. Upon graduation, Jon joined the army and became a medic. His tour found him stationed at Fort Ord, California, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, and eventually to 97th general hospital, in Frankfurt, Germany.

That is where Jon met a nurse from Minnesota that he felt would be his future wife. However, each attempt to obtain a date was met with “Get lost!”, “Take a hike”, or “Beat it!”. Jon was persistent, however, and the nurse finally relented, allowing Jon to walk her home one day.

A levy came down for Viet Nam and Jon’s name was on it. Jon was assigned to an armored unit and his favorite saying from his tour was, “Everyone else got to ride inside the tank, but I had to ride outside with a big medical target on my helmet”. Halfway through his tour, Jon became eligible for R&R (Rest and recuperation). He was flown to Honolulu, Hawaii. That nurse met him there and they were married. A union that lasted 42 years, until her death from an illness she had carried for thirty-five of those years.

Heartbroken, Jon took to the computer and began to write a short story about a another world. One without so much disease and illness. That short story became a novel. Then that novel became seven. The Lands of Mother novels. It took Jon six years to complete, but it was good therapy.

Jon’s working career consisted of being a salesman, a police officer, marketing and retail management, and now, Author.

Today, Jon lives in California’s central valley and continues to write. He is also an avid reader and writes a review on every book he reads. He posts those reviews on his website and the “Lands of Mother” facebook page.