FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: December 4, 2002

Contact: Rodd Whelpley, 206-2263

Springfield is backdrop for new political mystery

SPRINGFIELD – A Springfield police officer follows a complex trail through the dark side of state politics to solve a decades-old crime in Capital Murder, a new novel by Rodd Whelpley.

Whelpley, an editor in the publications arm of the Lincoln Presidential Center at the University of Illinois at Springfield, dedicated the book to the late David Everson, associate chancellor and professor of political studies at UIS, who wrote some half-dozen political murder mysteries before his death in 1999.

“Somebody told me Dr. Everson had a double life as a mystery writer, something he never would have mentioned on his own,” Whelpley explained. “I always planned to read all his books, so that someday I’d have something other than mundane questions about government to talk to him about. But I didn’t get the chance.

“I guess all that was in the back of my mind when I signed up for a ‘writing the novel’ class at UIS in the spring of 2000, and Capital Murder is the book that came out.”

The story follows fictional Springfield police captain Doug Ebersole as he investigates the murder of secretary of state intern Marni Lewis, stepdaughter of former police chief and current state senator Tom Crosley. To solve Marni’s case, however, Ebersole must also delve into 20-year-old mysteries surrounding the death of Crosley’s other daughter, Jessica. The investigation sets Ebersole on a path that leads from the Senate floor to a ramshackle boys club, a convalescent home in Ohio, and an after-hours Goth party at a skateboard center. Along the way, he uncovers a pattern of corruption that reaches to the highest levels of Illinois government.

Released in November 2002 by PublishAmerica, Capital Murder is available directly from the publisher by calling (877) 333-7422 or on the web at www.publishamerica.com.

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