Jack Luellen is a Denver, Colorado, attorney with more than 30 years of experience. In practice, Jack has tried cases to courts and juries, and has written hundreds of briefs, motions, and memoranda, to state and federal courts, including federal courts of appeal and the United States Supreme Court.
In 1990, Jack first started working on cases related to the 1985 kidnapping and murder of DEA Agent Enrique Camarena and has investigated the case in the years since that time. Jack’s investigations have taken him to foreign countries and included interviews with witnesses both notorious and infamous. This work was the background for his first James Butler mystery Someone Had to Die. Jack’s investigations into the world of Mexican cartels, and continuing research into the Camarena murder form the foundation for his sequel novel, Someone Had to Lie.
Jack is the proud father of an amazing daughter.
Website
Facebook
GoodReads
Podcast
Instagram
YouTube
Twitter
Amazon
BookBub
Someone Had to Die
"A historical fiction piece that will keep you turning the page!" —Christopher Flory, author of the award-winning Paul Dodge series
There's always the one case that got away, the one with loose ends and a lack of closure that plagues those who investigate it.
For James Butler, a partner in a prestigious boutique law firm in Orange County, that case is the 1985 murder of DEA Special Agent Enrique Camarena in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Though the murder occurred more than 35 years ago, James can't shake the nagging feeling that maybe the investigators missed something. The more James digs into this cold case, the more unwanted attention he gathers from powerful forces on both sides of the border who would prefer to keep the case closed.
Someone Had to Die follows a fictional lawyer as he digs into the true story of Special Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena's abduction and murder in 1985, drawing from and exposing interviews and facts never before published.
Excerpt from Someone Had to Die:
“Have you thought that if the CIA was so intent on keeping its actions quiet that they had a fellow federal agent killed what would they do to someone who starts digging too deep or gets too close?”
James shakes his head no and starts down the stairs. No, he reflects, I really hadn’t thought about it. But I am now.
More info →
Someone Had to Lie
Reeling from the sudden death of a close friend, James Butler and Erica Walsh are pulled back into the shadow world of Mexican cartels and the CIA. Seeking to avenge the murder of their friend with only his haphazard notes to guide them, they puzzle through the possible connections searching for anything concrete. As they investigate his murder, and his notes, they find unsettling links between drug trafficking, American gangs, the CIA, and the opioid epidemic.
Determined to find the truth hidden among cases they thought were long closed, Butler and Walsh call on friends and colleagues to help them survive the crosshairs that got their friend killed. With the threat spreading across more of their contacts, they must uncover the truth before they are buried in lies.
More info →
