The Burden of Secrecy

The Burden of Secrecy is a contemporary character-driven mystery that takes place in New York City, Tel Aviv, and Kaifeng, China. NYPD detectives, Olivia Pappas and Sean Murphy are assigned to lead the investigation of the abduction of Jin Ming Myers and her husband, Louis Myers. Their abduction takes place in broad daylight and in separate locations right off the streets of Manhattan. Jin Ming Myers works for a highly respected global think tank that researches the intersection of economic, social, and political forces that influence U.S. public policy. She was born and raised in Kaifeng, China, later schooled in Europe and the U.S., and is fluent in Mandarin, English, and German. Louis Myers works as an accountant in a small boutique firm and appears to be collateral damage. The person responsible for the abduction was Aviv Shi, a money launderer for several Israeli and Russian drug dealers. Aviv was Jin’s birth mother who gave Jin up at age five to a wealthy husband and wife in the same Chinese community. Aviv, who was functioning under the threat of assassination, orchestrated the abduction to force her estranged daughter Jin to supply information needed by the drug dealers. In the backdrop of the complex and high stakes atmosphere of Manhattan, Washington DC, and Israel, the investigators, with the assistance of the FBI are led through a web of political intrigue, murder, and secrets of the past.