Dead Man of the Year A Whodunit Author:Stephen Martin The protagonist, 32 year old Brian Durston, has left a bright future at a big Madison Avenue agency to join his uncle's medium-sized ad firm. He did so with the understanding his uncle would give him a stake in the business. The future looks bright for Brian until he discovers his uncle Rod dead, slumped over his desk, a bullet through his brain... more ». The police think suicide is the cause, which means the uncle's life insurance won't pay, and Brian will not inherit the money to buy his share of the business. This raises a big question in Brian s mind. Who benefits? The answer seems obvious: The surviving partners, of course. So Brian decides some investigating is in order. Meanwhile, the agency's largest account goes into review, and Brian must pull out the stops to save it, or there won t be much agency left. In steps the beautiful and enigmatic copywriter, Nickie D'Agostino. She says she wants to help Brian save the account and find the killer. But after a while, Brian begins to wonder. Could she be the one who did it? A romance tortured by suspicion follows, and a frantic, white-knuckle race to find the murderer before Brian s share of the business reverts to the surviving partners, or worse his snooping prompts the killer to strike again, sending Brian to join his uncle in the afterlife.« less