The Authenticator

Ever had a book grab you in the first few paragraphs and never let you go until the end? That's what The Authenticator did for me. I breezed through almost 400 pages in about a day and a half. As a novelist forever on the learning-curve of my craft, I've become so analytical while reading fiction that I rarely have that "pure escape" a good novel can provide, but Mr. Valtos delivered it with this excellent story. Kudos to the author and to Hampton Roads for a first-class tale of suspense!

Theo Nikonos is a private investigator of near-death experiences. For reasons unknown, Laura has had multiple near- death experience and is being kept in a drug-induced stupor and strapped to a table, hidden away. Theo discovers that her unseen captors not only believe her near-death experiences are real, but seek to use them for their own insidious purposes. Theo has to dodge boulders, bullets and other assorted perils as he races to liberate Laura from her unknown captors, realizing that the forbidden knowledge she holds may result in death for them both. Psychic meets psycho in The Authenticator, a fast-paced novel exploring life, death, and the darkness in between. A choicely written, absorbing novel, the kind so easy to pick up and so hard to put down.

Just when you thought it couldn't be done, William M. Valtosintroduces a PI with a real difference. " 'I'd like to ask yousome questions about your death, if you don't mind,' " Theo Nikonos says, setting up his tape recorder by the bed of beautiful Laura Duquesne, drugged and confined in the basement of a private clinic. Laura died in surgery after the fiery car wreck which killed her husband. But 120 minutes later, she woke up in the hospital morgue.Theo, a former insurance investigator, fighting failure in his personal and professional life, investigates near-death experiences. Laura's amazingly detailed story justifies the risks he has taken breaking into the clinic. No one has ever brought back such lucid particulars from the other side. Of course, such textbook confirmation also raises suspicions. And Laura claims her husband is still alive which is simply impossible. One thing is clear. Laura is terrified of something and it's not death.Mild and tentative, Theo's determination is stoked by a savage beating. A tense and macabre rescue of Laura leads to love, mayhem and murder. But action and nail-biting suspense is as nothing compared to a revelation half way through the narrative that will leave the most jaded reader gasping in horror.Theo's earnest narration underscores the eerie feel of this fast-paced and original novel, sure to send new readers on a hunt for his first, "Resurrection," which was made into an HBO movie, "Almost Dead."

I loved this book as much as his first book"Resurection". Having read many other books on "near death experiences", this is one of the best. I went to grade school and high school with the author, and the settings inthe book took me nostalgicaly to our home town. The characters and places made feel that I knew them personally. The last few chapters were gripping,and kept me up far past my bedtime.This is suspenseful and as good as you can get."Keep it going Billy"

Theo Nikonos is a private investigator of near-death experiences. For reasons unknown, Laura has had multiple near- death experience and is being kept in a drug-induced stupor and strapped to a table, hidden away. Theo discovers that her unseen captors not only believe her near-death experiences are real, but seek to use them for their own insidious purposes. Theo has to dodge boulders, bullets and other assorted perils as he races to liberate Laura from her unknown captors, realizing that the forbidden knowledge she holds may result in death for them both. Psychic meets psycho in The Authenticator , a fast-paced novel exploring life, death, and the darkness in between. A choicely written, absorbing novel, the kind so easy to pick up and so hard to put down.