Former Riverhead Resident To Introduce Sixth Novel At Borders In Stony Brook

Aficionados of suspense and political intrigue are in for a treat when former Riverhead resident Jeb Ladouceur introduces his new novel, “The Oba Project,” at the Borders opposite Smithhaven Mall this Sunday.

It’s the sixth novel for Ladouceur, a 1951 Riverhead High School graduate who spent more than 25 years at the helm of The Fire News, a publication for volunteer firefighters, before launching a career in fiction.

Ladouceur met his wife, Elizabeth, when her family summered in Riverhead. Although the couple has lived in Smithtown for 50 years, Ladouceur keeps his Riverhead ties going by attending his class reunion in Aquebogue each year.

Adorning the cover of “The Oba Project” is an image of the international biohazard symbol. It’s an ominous foreshadowing of the chilling theme whose far-reaching and deadly ramifications are explored in what many are calling Ladouceur’s finest work to date – the use of germ warfare as a deterrent to terrorism.

As the book begins,United Nations members have agreed to put an end to biological warfare, but the American government has manipulated Canada into allowing a virtually undetectable underground facility to be constructed in the remote town of Oba. Stored in this secret facility, precariously close to the Great Lakes, will be an enormous cache of one of the deadliest and fastest-acting biological killers known to man: the Ebola virus.

The momentum builds as the destinies of the characters whom Ladouceur animates with such brilliance collide. Sent to Oba by octogenarian friend Saul Richman, young reporter Abbie Hodge is trying to uncover what happened to Kid Granite, Richman’s colorful, larger-than-life former boxing partner.  While Hodge will discover love when he least expects it, he’ll also stumble on something sinister.

Ladouceur is known for deftly interweaving fact with fiction, and this book is no exception.

The character of Saul Richman is based on Saul Richmond, a friend of Ladouceur’s who died more than a decade ago. Richmond fought Kid Granite in the USA and Canada in the glory days of the 1930s.

Ladouceur said he struck literary gold when Richmond shared Kid Granite’s “mesmerizing letters” with him,

“I found proof positive that my friend’s accounts of what I had assumed were wildly exaggerated exploits had all been quite faithful descriptions,” Ladouceur said, adding that he couldn't resist taking Richmond up on the suggestion that he write a book about Kid Granite, and put Richmond and his wife in there, too.

Ladouceur will be speaking and signing copies of “The Oba Project” on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Borders, 2130 Nesconset Highway, Stony Brook.

Attendees can join Ladouceur’s Thriller Fan Club, led by Linda Deya, a Smithtown post office employee, whom Ladouceur met when he mailed a manuscript to his literary agent.

“Since that fateful day I have eagerly looked forward to the release of every new book that 'Long Island's Master of Suspense' has written,” Deya said.

To learn about the club, send your name and email address to Deya at LJD349@aol.com.