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The Torch is Passed – A Harding Family Story

By Bill Powers

CONTEMPORARY SUSPENSE/THRILLER FRAMED AROUND A FAMILY STORY OF SURVIVING DEATH AND SEEKING REVENGE

If one commits an act of vengeance, especially as a means to help find answers to why their entire family is murdered, are they ever justified?

In emerging American author Bill Powers’ debut medical thriller, The Pharm House – which was the Finalist in the Medical Thriller category of the 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards – readers were introduced to Nicholas Harding and his daughter, Andrea.

Now comes the second Harding family story, The Torch is Passed. A suspenseful and plot-twisting story, The Torch is Passed finds Andrea’s world turned upside down when her father, Nicholas, and her uncle, Michael, are shot in a shocking and puzzling attack. With only her paternal grandmother left, it falls to Andrea – a recent college graduate – to not only investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the murder of her father and uncle, but also to oversee Harding Industries – and navigate an often dangerous fast-track to adulthood.

The youngest Harding soon finds herself surrounded by a bevy of intriguing new friends and helpers after she is also violently attacked, forcing her to kill both would-be assassins. Suspicion is cast on a short list of family friends and colleagues, and longstanding relationships are put to the test. Along with her new allies, Andrea urgently seeks answers to why anyone would want to kill her entire family – growing up along the way – and seeking her revenge.

Brimming with plot twists, unexpected decisions, and recurring threats to relationships, The Torch is Passed is a tantalizing read with historical references including a subplot involving an old land deal setup by John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company over one hundred years ago that involves the Harding family. “The Torch is Passed and other books in The Harding Family carry the basic theme of “family” and what people may be driven to do to protect their family,” says Powers. “I’m a lifelong lover of stories, especially suspense/thrillers. I got hooked on the genre with Robert Ludlum when I was in graduate school. After a while I decided to try writing one (while still working as a pharmaceutical industry executive) and am compelled to make this my second career.”

Bill Powers worked in pharmaceutical Research & Development (Johnson & Johnson) for 26 years, rising to the position of Vice President of Global Preclinical Development. Bill has a Ph.D. in Toxicology from the University of Cincinnati and is a Diplomate of the American Board of Toxicology.

Bill’s love of words and books started in childhood, stimulated by parents who were both teachers. A voracious reader, he enjoys both fiction and biographies. Now that he has moved away from his industrial career, he plans to aggressively pursue his passion of being a fictional author. Bill’s first novel, The Pharm House: A Harding Family Story, was named a Finalist in the Medical Thriller category of the 2014 National Indie Excellence Awards. Bill’s second novel, The Torch is Passed: A Harding Family Story, was named Best Book in the Category of Thriller of the Pinnacle Book Achievement Award for Winter 2016

Connect with Bill Powers on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Goodreads and atwww.authorbillpowers.com

The Torch is Passed is available in both paperback and e-book formats viaAmazon and Barnes and Noble