Availability of Books

All three books are available at Amazon.com. or Llumina.com. Key words search words are:

Tom Steele Perish, Murder in Wicker Park
Tom Steele Muddy Water, Murder in Henry County
Tom Steele The Pied Piper of Sweden

BOOKS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AT - Guzzardo's in Geneseo, Carousel Corner in Kewanee, Borders in Davenport, The Village Smithy in Bishop Hill, Cambridge Jack and Jill

Perish, Murder in Wicker Park

At forty-one years of age, University of Chicago Associate Professor Robert Bradford finds himself trapped in a world not of his own making. Manipulated into pursuing an academic career by a domineering mother, emasculated by the financial success of his wife, and pressured by the university to publish, his discontent grows. Seeking answers for the perplexities in his life, Bradford re-examines his existence and engages in an extramarital affair, pushing himself further and further away from his UC colleagues and his Wicker Park family.

Unable to connect with his creative core and believing he is powerless to break away from his past, Professor Bradford compromises his principles in order to fulfill the demands of publish or perish. In the end, the reckless compromise costs him his life, and sends his wife and his student lover on a common mission to uncover the mystery of who killed Professor Robert Bradford.

Muddy Water, Romance and Murder in Henry County

What lies below the waters of the abandoned Hennepin Canal?

The canal has been turned into a bike trail, stretching thirty-two miles through the center of rural Henry County. Traffic on the trail is at its heaviest in the fall when bikers from all over Illinois travel the pathway to enjoy the beautiful countryside. But county residents ride the trail with apprehension for they believe the scattered remains of Katie Karver lie hidden somewhere beneath the canal’s murky waters.

Amid the splendor of autumn colors and the apprehensions of the citizenry, freshman Sheriff Mike Armstrong plans his political campaign and aspires to become Henry County’s longest serving law officer. But with startling abruptness, unresolved questions concerning Katie’s murder rise to torment the sheriff and her ghost becomes a major obstacle to the sheriff’s re-election dream

The Pied Piper of Sweden, Murder at Bishop Hill

In 1846, Erik Jansson founded a religious colony in western Illinois. Utilizing the collective resources of fellow Swedish immigrants, Jansson established a settlement called Bishop Hill. Under Jansson’s leadership, Swedish pioneers witnessed individual hardships, communal prosperity, pestilence, and disillusionment, while Jansson recklessly promoted the belief that he was the Second Coming of Christ.

At Bishop Hill, a personal struggle raged between Erik Jansson and John Root, a handsome adventurer, over which man would secure the allegiance of a young woman named Charlotta Jansdotter. The competition for Charlotta’s loyalty forced her to choose between spiritual commitment and physical desire, and determined the future fate of the Bishop Hill Colony. Years of suppressed romantic cravings drew Charlotta to John Root. But, Charlotta’s dilemma of choice was complicated by a fear instilled in every Swedish colonist: The cost of departure from the colony and rejection of Erik Jansson would be eternal damnation.