MISSING VALUES by Michael Grigsby – Crime Thriller, Amateur Sleuth, Mystery

Missing Values by Michael Grigsby is a story about corruption that allows evil to flourish, set against the spreadsheets and data that give one man with little power but an extreme drive a chance to check that evil.

At least for long enough to save his son. And himself.

Mark Twain famously proclaimed that “There are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics.” Centuries earlier, Sir Francis Bacon said that “knowledge itself is power”. Ace statistical analyst Patrick Gray works at the intersection of those two famous quotes, using his ability to tease knowledge – or at least actionable information – out of myriad statistical data gathered on every human on the planet – or at least every human who has ever bought anything.

When a bloody massacre is discovered at the job site where his teenage son, PJ, was working, with two eviscerated corpses left in pieces on the floor, the police assume that PJ was a third victim. There’s so much in the way of blood, body parts, and other forensic evidence that no one is 100% sure of anything. Because PJ and the two confirmed victims were young black men, and those two victims were involved in gangs, the police rely on assumptions without caring to truly investigate anything at all.

Patrick knows his son wouldn’t get caught up in gangs or drugs. Most of the police dismiss this as parental wishful thinking, except for one local cop and one FBI agent who have both seen this pattern before – and are certain it leads to a criminal enterprise that no one wants to touch.

Especially when that enterprise, a national cartel known as the Red Rings, has so many cops and agents under its thumb or eating at its bountiful table.

Patrick Grey and FBI Agent LaWanda Thompson look into the abyss of the Red Rings – and the abyss looks back to grab them both. They end up right where they need to be to expose the evil that destroyed LaWanda’s family and plans to destroy Patrick’s as well unless they bring it down – or become part of it.

Missing Values is a suspenseful thrill ride of a story told from two wildly divergent perspectives that meet in an explosive ending.

Patrick Grey and LaWanda Thompson are the heroes, whose involvement seems righteous – even as they swerve and stumble along their broken path.

Their investigation is a combination of the traditional police procedural with a riveting ‘lone wolf’ hunt for justice and a surprisingly fascinating peek into the world of math and statistical analysis. Patrick uses his expertise in a way that allows the reader to comprehend it, keeping them focused on a subject that takes on the uncharacteristic excitement of a thriller.

In opposition to Patrick and LaWanda, the reader dives into the dirt, mire, and pure evil of the Red Rings through the perspective of their chief agent, kidnapper, and ‘recruiter’ for special orders. It’s a journey through dangerous and depraved places, populated with even more depraved people, and is not for either the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.

In the end, Missing Values is a story of good versus evil, one where good has to get down in the muck to save as many as possible from an evil that almost drags them too deep to escape.

Readers who enjoy bloody suspense and mysteries that make one question all the characters and their motivations will be riveted by every twist and turn in this pulse-pounding thriller.