December 15, 2025
Operation Masquerade
A Rent Beacham Mystery
Release
December 15, 2025: Operation Masquerade, the second in the Rent Beacham Mystery series from award-winning author and Pulitzer Prize nominee Larry M. Edwards.
Read the news release: Award-winning San Diego Author to Release Debut Novel
About the Book
Construction workers in the San Juan Islands of Washington State discover the body of a man who had disappeared three decades earlier. Threats again haunt investigative journalist Rent Beacham as he turns to the San Diego Herald newspaper archives to dig into the man’s disappearance following a toxic-waste scandal in the wake of the America’s Cup sailing regatta in San Diego, California.
Rent confronts prominent property developer James Michael “Mike” Johnson, the former owner of the San Diego boatyard and whose son-in-law has thrown his hat in the ring to become the next congressman to represent California’s 25th Congressional District, which encompasses California’s Imperial Valley.
Rent exposes the Johnson family’s web of financial ties to ADU construction, hazardous waste disposal, lithium mining, and entities redeveloping a geothermal plant and solar arrays to power an artificial intelligence data center in what the local boosters have dubbed as “Lithium Valley.”
The threats escalate to include the lives of Rent’s loved ones as he connects the dots between the cold case, mysterious hazmat disposal activity, a clownish congressional campaign, and the murky depths of AI avatars and deepfakes as election day looms.
Further threats and abductions portend a dramatic showdown with ruthless rogues cloaked in a veil of propriety as he closes in on those behind the three-decades-old murder.
Operation Masquerade is a gripping investigative thriller where a thirty-year-old corpse uncovered in Washington State triggers a dangerous hunt for truth stretching from the San Juan Islands to the deserts of California’s emerging Lithium Valley. Journalist Rent Beacham exposes a powerful family’s web of environmental crimes, political ambition, and AI deception—while trying to survive the fallout.
Although this is a work of fiction, its inspiration emerged from current events, including the indisputable pitfalls posed by artificial intelligence.
Watch the Trailer
A body emerges after 30 years . . .
and a journalist knows why.
Read the first chapter: “What’s this?” Rent Beacham muttered, puzzlement creasing his brow as he stared at a letter-size envelope, his address handwritten on the front. Has somebody died?
Rachel’s Halloween Trivia Quiz: How much do you really know about Halloween and its origins and how it came to be celebrated in North America?
Operation Masquerade Details
- Release Date: December 15, 2025
- Publisher: Wigeon Publishing
- Trade paperback ISBN: 979-8-9913694-1-1
- Kindle ebook ISBN: 979-8-9913694-2-8
- Epub ebook ISBN: 979-8-9913694-3-5
- LCCN: 2025923003
- BISAC Category: FIC022090: Mystery & Detective/Private Investigators
- Pages: 350
- Price:
Paperback: $19.95
Kindle: $6.99
ePub: $6.99
Buy the Book
About the Author
Larry M. Edwards is an award-winning investigative journalist and editor, and the author of six books, including the Pulitzer Prize nominated Dare I Call It Murder?—A Memoir of Violent Loss (memoir, true crime).
His work combines investigative rigor with storytelling. He is known for bringing realism and nuance to his thrillers, exploring the intersection of power, corruption, and technology.
CONTACT
LarryEdwards.com
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