Kuzneski, Chris 1969–

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Kuzneski, Chris 1969–

PERSONAL:

Born September 2, 1969, in Indiana, PA; son of Andrew (in insurance, banking, and securities) and Joyce (a homemaker and gardener) Kuzneski. Education: University of Pittsburgh, B.A., 1991, M.A., 1993. Hobbies and other interests: Sports, reading, writing.

ADDRESSES:

Home—FL. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Journalist, educator, and fiction writer. Pitt News, Pittsburgh, PA, sportswriter, 1988-91; Indiana Gazette, Indiana, PA, sportswriter, 1991-93; Franklin Area School District, Franklin, PA, English teacher and football coach, 1993-98.

MEMBER:

Mystery Writers of America.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

The Plantation, Paradox Publishing (Wexford, PA), 2002.

Sign of the Cross, Jove (New York, NY), 2006.

Sword of God, Jove (New York, NY), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Chris Kuzneski once told CA: "I've been interested in writing for as long as I can remember. As a fourth grader, I wrote my first book, which was called The Monster's Cookbook. My grade school librarian was so impressed that she had it bound and put in the school's library. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a writer."

In his first novel, The Plantation, Kuzneski tells the story of a series of people throughout America who are kidnapped and spirited away to an old plantation in New Orleans. When Jonathan Payne's girlfriend goes missing, the ex-commando teams up with D.J. Jones, a former military comrade and now a private investigator, to track her down. Before long, they confront a mysterious group called the Plantation Posse that has instituted slavery on a small island. "The Plantation is an excellent novel that caught my attention immediately and never let it go until the end," wrote Luke Croll on Book ideas.com. "It is well written, interesting and above all, different." Bookwyrm contributor Fred Phillips noted: "The Plantation is a well-paced novel that flows easily from scene to scene."

Kuzneski's next book, Sign of the Cross, is a religious thriller. The story revolves around a series of murders beginning with the killing of priests and the discovery of an ancient scroll that promises to change the world.

After finding the scroll, archeologist Charles Boyd and assistant Maria Pelati soon find themselves hunted by the Vatican and various law enforcement agencies. A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that the author provides "compelling and well-researched history, hightech 21st-century sleuthing and a lot of action." C. Michael Bailey, writing on BlogCritics, commented: "Before giving up on The Da Vinci Code genre, [readers should] give Sign of the Cross a read."