Winston - Golden Retriever Detective

About the Book

AFTER BEING RESCUED BY TACOMA FIREFIGHTERS DURING A RAGING FOREST FIRE, WINSTON, A YOUNG GOLDEN RETRIEVER, SPENDS 6 MONTHS DRINKING, EATING, AND WORKING WITH HIS SAVIORS FROM TACOMA FIRE STATION # 9. SOON, WINSTON’S CHARMED EXISTENCE IS RUINED BY THE NEW BATALLION CHIEF—MONROE GREENE. HE BANISHES WINSTON TO THREE ISLANDS PRISON, LOCATED IN SEATTLE. AT THE OLD PRISON, INMATES TRAIN DOGS FOR 6 MONTHS AND THEN THESE INCREDIBLY TRAINED ANIMALS ARE GIVEN AWAY TO ASSIST THE BLIND. WINSTON EXCELS IN HIS TRAINING AND HE ESTABLISHES POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH HIS PRIMARY INMATE HANDLER, GREG GARRISON, AND A FEMALE DALMATIAN, APPALACHIA. AFTER THREE MONTHS OF EXCELLENT EVALUATIONS, WINSTON FINISHES THE TRAINING PROGRAM AND HE IS GIVEN TO A BLIND, RETIRED, SEATTLE DETECTIVE—VINCENT GANELLI. TOGETHER, THEY INVESTIGATE A RASH OF SEATTLE BANK ROBBERIES AND SOON THE TWO DETECTIVES BECOME THE TARGETS OF THE ELUSIVE, CRIMINAL MASTERMIND—MR. BLACKFIRE. WITH THE HELP OF WIKKI, AN ASSOCIATE IN MR. BLACKFIRE’S SYNDICATE, AND KALLI, A COLLEGE STUDENT, WHO ASSISTS VINCENT GANELLI IN DECODING MYSTERIOUS SYMBOLS, WINSTON AND HIS OWNER ARE SLOWLY CLOSING IN ON MR. BLACKFIRE’S TRUE IDENTITY. AT THE WAREHOUSE, WINSTON AND VINCENT GANELLI LEARN THE CRIMINAL MASTERMIND’S REAL NAME, BUT WILL THEY LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO PASS THIS INFORMATION ALONG TO THE SEATTLE POLICE DEPARTMENT. WHO KNOWS.

About the Author

John W. Chergi was born on May 18, 1974 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After graduating with honors from South Park High School in 1992, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and worked as a hospital corpsman, serving at Branch Medical Clinic in Parris Island, SC, Portsmouth Naval Hospital, and as a member of Fleet Surgical Team 2 in Little Creek, Virginia. In 1997, John finished his four-year enlistment and he entered a junior college-CCAC South Campus. In 1999, he graduated with high honors, earning an Associate’s Degree in Psychology. From 1999-2004, John entered Point Park University—a four-year university in downtown Pittsburgh. During his five years at this academic institution, he succeeded academically, earning three degrees: a B.A. in Psychology in 2002, a B.S. in Criminal Justice in 2003, and a M.S. in Criminal Justice Administration in 2004. This is Mr. Chergi’s third detective fiction book penned in 2006: The others include Winston—Golden Retriever Detective and The Kincade Street Kidnappings. His fourth book, Psychic Sapphire, will be finished sometime this summer. When he’s not writing, John enjoys drawing cartoon sketches and finishing Sudokus, feeding blue jays and woodpeckers at his outdoor feeder, watching baseball, football, and hockey games, especially the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and watching syndicated episodes of Hawaii Five-O, his favorite all-time crime drama, and Unsolved Mysteries.