Thursday Thirteen – Thirteen Things About RIVERWALKER

RIVERWALKER Book Tour

RIVERWALKER features the character debut of San Antonio PD veteran detective Gifford Holloway, a former Special Agent with Army Intelligence.  Holloway is in pursuit of the most despicable of criminals, a savage murderer who victimizes children and dumps their remains in the water and along the banks of San Antonio’s beautiful and world-renowned Riverwalk attraction.

Frustrated at the lack of progress on the case and spurred on by an encounter with the mysterious Madame Candelaria, a local psychic, Holloway contemplates calling upon his special gift of “seeing”, though officially off-limits within the SAPD, to help solve the case and end the terror.  Along the way, Holloway finds an ally in the capable and sensuous newspaper reporter, Salma Veramendi, who carries her own history of abuse

 On the bend of the river looms Adler’s Antiques, a historical landmark owned and operated by Wolff Adler, a drug-pumping psychopath descended from a familial line of predators dating back to post-World War I Germany.   Himself a victim of horrendous child abuse, Adler is the offspring of a Nazi father and a Mexican bruja, a witch who practiced the “old” religion.  Operating from deep within his secret lair beneath the Alamo, San Antonio’s most recognizable and sacred shrine, Adler assumes the guise of Tlaloc, Aztec god of storm, thunder, and … child sacrifice.  Adler’s demonic reign of terror, acting upon a distorted internal belief system - a synthesis of Norse mythology and ancient Aztec practices – has a stranglehold on the residents of San Antonio.   Wolff Adler has become the RiverWalker.

When his own daughter is suddenly abducted, Holloway pulls out all the stops and, with Salma by his side, closes in on the killer in a gripping climax. 

Thursday Thirteen – Thirteen Things about RIVERWALKER

·         Remote viewing, as utilized by the character Gifford Holloway, was at one time employed by the U.S. Government during the cold war years.  After some years the practice was discontinued, not because it wasn't productive, but because the government was of the opinion that advancing technology produced more reliable information.

·         Salma Veramendi and la Mujer Grande have a unique communicative relationship.

·         Although he never explains it, it will become clear to the reader that Brother Bob has changed his surname, and why he changed it. 

·         Brother Bob has a unique relationship with certain garden creatures.  A specific kinship exists.

·         Brother Bob carries the burden of being horrifically abused as a child.

·         One of the visitors to Adler's Antiques is named Pappenheimer, the same surname as a family

·         prosecuted for witchcraft hundreds of years before. The Pappenheimers cleaned privvies for a living.  Adler takes delight as he rubs it in (pardon the expression). 

·         Adler attended medical school, pumps drugs, and has performed some interesting surgery on himself.   

·         Adler suffers from bizarre ideation; considers himself an Aztec god.

·         Madam Candelaria possesses a unique item she refers to as a "Tablet", something more powerful than a Ouija board.  Tablets such as this are factual objects.  The do exist.

·         The "Dickinson Diary" suggests that there are alternative reasons for defending San Antonio's Alamo in 1836, and that those reasons may not be received with enthusiasm should they be revealed.

·         The Bowie Knife owned by Brother Bob is, in fact, a real object with a tantalizingly colorful history.  It is from the private collection of Joseph Musso.  I have held it, examined it, photographed it, and marvelled at its story. Where is it now? Maybe...just maybe...that's a mystery.

·         The references to the POW camps housing Nazis here in America reflect a true piece of our nation's history. See the "Sources" section at book's end. 

·         Have you reviewed the Aztec calendar lately?  The Pagan calendar?  "RIVERWALKER" may reveal more about these calendars than you ever knew.  Or ever wanted to know.

Author Bud Bradshaw

About Bud Bradshaw

     Bud Bradshaw’s fictional work, “RIVERWALKER,” is his second work, the first being “BRANDISHING,” the true-crime story of the California Highway Patrol’s worst tragedy.  His previous formal writing experience consisted of med-legal report writing - chiefly as a Qualified Medical Evaluator and Disability Evaluator – and Intelligence report writing while he served as a Special Agent with the Army’s 109^th MI Group from 1969-71.

     As an artist, Bradshaw’s work focuses on military history and the American West.  Many of his paintings, prints, and Giclees appear in private collections and museums in the U.S., Canada, England, Europe, Hong Kong, and Australia. He is a member of the Western Artists of America. 

     Along the way, Bradshaw worked as a professional musician while earning his B.S. and D.C. degrees.  You may view his web site and blog at budbradshaw.com/blog

Purchase the e-book at Amazon