Vincent H. O’Neil

Invited to trace the owners of some dead-end safe-deposit boxes, Frank Cole soon finds himself hunting much bigger game. Preparing for a visit from the bank examiners, manager Ollie Morton is concerned because the leases on some of his safe-deposit boxes are so old that he can't identify the customers anymore. Tracking them down sounds like a perfect job for Frank, who's been lying low as a fact-checker in Exile, Florida, while waiting for the vultures who picked his computer firm clean to let him walk away without paying them anything else. But Frank sniffs bigger trouble when safe-deposit manager Susan Wilmington tells how a strange man identifying himself as Dorothea Freehoffer's husband cleaned out her box. Her fears are justified by the fact that Dorothea has just died in a convenient accident-and that her husband's funeral was two years ago. The search for answers leads Frank to a real-estate scam, a 20-year-old murder, a state attorney who wants Frank to go back to hiding under his rock and, most surprisingly of all, the offer of a real job making real money. As usual, however, O'Neil (Reduced Circumstances, 2007, etc.), keeps the proceedings so low-key that if you blink you'll miss the jaws of justice closing on the one miscreant who doesn't get off scot-free. No sexy dames, death threats, fisticuffs or car chases-just an ordinary guy asking questions till he hits the jackpot."

Kirkus Reviews review of Exile Trust, May 1, 2008

"Frank Cole is a captivating narrator, the kind readers will follow anywhere."

Publishers Weekly review of Reduced Circumstances, May 2007

Vincent H. O’Neil brings a wealth of life experience to his writing. He has served as a US Army officer both stateside and overseas, worked as a private consultant for a software development firm, and managed risk for a major northeastern bank.

A native of Massachusetts, he holds a Bachelor of Science degree from West Point and a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. After writing in his spare time for many years, he won the St. Martin’s Press Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Competition in 2005.

His award-winning book, Murder in Exile, is the first in a series of mystery novels featuring the character Frank Cole. The sequel to Murder in Exile, Reduced Circumstances, was released by St. Martin's Press on July 10, 2007. The third book in the Frank Cole/Exile series, Exile Trust, will be released in July, 2008.