The fate of the post-apocalyptic Liberty Island Republic rests in the hands of a beautiful, semi-retired mercenary, Katerina Santiago, in vesper strand’s new otherworldly page-turner, “Lady Killer: The Near Assassination of Lee Kitchimoto” (published by AuthorHouse - http://www.authorhouse.com).

“Lady Killer” features a new kind of heroine in a new complex society, populated by a mysterious multicultural cast of characters who struggle to stake claims for themselves while working together for survival. At the outset, Liberty Island Republic is warring with a neighboring country, but has been enjoying 18 months of peace while a key governmental liaison, Lee Kitchimoto, is offshore negotiating a peace treaty. The island’s best-kept bargaining chip involves the sale of a revolutionary energy resource technology, known to the islanders as “The Wheel.”

In the island’s early days, a young and vicious Katerina Santiago worked as a mercenary hired by the government during the island’s difficult reconstruction. Now, 11 years later, she owns a massive complex, which serves as a social and political hub for the island. She employs modern-day geisha, who are the mistresses of wealthy men, and are entrusted with critical political information as they typically attend sensitive conferences with their “benefactors.” These women’s lifestyles are often complicated balancing acts of power and attainment, which drives some of them to desperate measures while competing with one another for higher status.

Santiago is plagued by the warning from one of the governmental psychic entities, of an assassination plot to kill the liaison. This gun-for-hire posing as a foreign businessman has a complex nature which is both refined and dangerous, a combination Santiago has difficulty resisting. One of the young, ambitious junior geisha cannot resist the potential for using him to help rise to an elite status. Upon becoming her benefactor, the foreign businessman and the geisha are accepted into Liberty Island’s inner political circle.

“Lady Killer” unfolds at a momentous political conference attended by the island’s wealthiest and most powerfully influential people, whereby the plans for The Wheel are revealed and the gun-for-hire makes his move … and so does Santiago. Will she be able to save the liaison and the economic fate of Liberty Island? Follow this first in a planned series of heart-pounding, enthralling thrillers rife with gruesome battles and seductive affairs.

An artist and screen printer living in New England, vesper strand is also working on a graphic novel version of “Lady Killer” as well as the sequel to the first installment.

For more information, please visit: http://www.vesperstrand.com