The Word Game

"The Word Game" is a mystery revolving around protagonist Martin Nowak and his decision on Valentine's Day 1953 to disappear without a trace, leaving his wife Teresa, son Michael, and a successful managerial position. After fifty-one years, Teresa, now in her nineties, receives an anonymous letter informing her of Martin's death. She makes one last request of her son to try to solve the mystery that has haunted them both all these years. The adversary is time as we are led through seventy-five years of Martin Nowak's life from 1929 to 2004; discovering how two 68 year-old amateur sleuths, retired widowers, can piece together events of the past to solve the case they agree to jointly pursue. We learn that Martin Nowak's life centered around his love for three women: Teresa, his aforementioned wife of 18-1/2 years, blonde and beautiful, whom Martin dated in high school and returned from four years in college to marry; Margaret, brunette and equally beautiful, from his college days in San Francisco, who runs away with his unborn lovechild only to resurface twenty years later, more desirable than ever; and Karen, an energetic redhead, the daughter of Martin's boss, a west coast construction magnet. "The Word Game" takes us from a small town in Massachusetts to San Francisco and back; to the glitter of Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Experience the numerous twists in the lives of Martin and his loves, as well as the relationship between our 68 year old investigators, Mike Nowak and Dan Nelson, the childhood friend through whose eyes the mystery is presented. Fifties nostalgia, the 2004 Major League Baseball Playoffs, and a familiar parlor game all play a part in the Nowak saga. Learn what happened to Martin Nowak and what happens to Mike, Dan, and others along the way.