"Well, Agent Monroe, when you hatch a company on the Vancouver Stock Exchange, you're apt to end up with some rather colorful shareholders."
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Deadly Lode by Randall Reneau CreateSpace
book review by Michael Radon
Shifting weather reveals an abandoned gold and copper mine in the Northwest United States and geologist Trace Brandon is keen to see if there is anything left worth extracting. He quickly discovers that what was once useless and abundant when the mine was originally being operated is now a potentially valuable and rare commodity: uranium. Going into business with his friends to get the mine going, they have no choice but to trade the company publicly in order to fund their operations, but the applications of their resources and the potential profitability of their venture attracts unsavory characters from all walks of life. Soon stock market cheats, mobsters, and industrialist Chinese are keen to take over Trace's company and use it to satisfy their own ends, leaving Trace with few options to run his company the way he feels it ought to be run.
Combining earth science with suspense, this story of the unpredictability of business manages at times to be a thrilling suspense novel. As many of the shareholders try to make a power play to acquire enough for a controlling interest, sneaky backroom deals are made that wind up endangering the lives of several. Assassins and hitmen are contracted, attempts to manipulate the market or the current shareholders are proposed, and Brandon and his associates are forced to stay on the high road or risk their stock prices taking a hit due to bad press. What at first seems like a routine story about running a company quickly turns into a parable about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer that wraps up tidily in a satisfying, action-packed conclusion.