Grand Designs Published on Amazon

Charles dela Mothe, wealthy beyond imagining, owner of Univers Industries, the major auto manufacturer in Paris, Michigan, believes he is above the law.

He feeds his diabetic wife two pounds of chocolates and leaves her to die in a diabetic coma in a disused part of his vast chateau. He systematically rapes the women at Univers Styling Center, where is VP, lord and master.

When one of his victims commits suicide and Frank Healy catches him raping another woman, he is finally charged with his crimes. But in Paris, he really is above the law.

Denied recourse to the courts, everyone from Frank’s girlfriend Lucy Firenze to the CEO, Charles brother Antoine, wants the maniac gone, but despite Frank’s vengeful sense of justice, he remains unmoved by their demands.

At home, Frank has his own problems. After divorcing his adulterous wife, he needs an annulment or Lucy won’t marry him. Archbishop Clement Cleary hates Frank for exposing the church to scandal, so the lovers are stuck apart.

At work, he is called on to arbitrate between two competing schemes to re-invent the company to meet the new fuel economy standards. Charles’ plan aims to secure his artistic legacy. Newt Isakssen’s scheme meets the efficiency goals, but is beyond bland. Caught between an artistic maestro and a technical genius, Frank’s task proves impossible.

When the battle between Frank and Charles turns personal, justice is the only victor.

Grand Designs is the third Frank Healy book. Set in the late 1970s, the story draws from feminism, the energy crisis and auto industry responses to the shifting regulatory sands to capture the spirit of the age.

The first book, Red Crush, set in 1967, follows Frank’s introduction into the car business and the racial divide that gripped Detroit then.

The second book, Safety Margin, set in 1974, traces the auto industry’s struggle to introduce air bags and Vietnam veterans’ struggle to return to society after the horrors of war.

Each story weaves personal, business and cultural issues of the times into tightly wound tales of power, regret and justice.

Each story is available as an eBook from amazon.com.

Dr. Richard Fancy spent most of his professional career inside the car business at GM Design. With firsthand knowledge of styling, engineering and manufacturing facets of the industry, he paints the sights, sounds and smells of the car business in vivid detail, as only an insider can.

He lives in Oakland County, Michigan.