"The Pythagorean Solution" was author Joseph Badal's first thriller, released originally in 2003. This edition was rewritten, updated, and released on April 28, 2015. When recently-divorced American John Hammond arrives on the Aegean island of Samos, he is unaware of events that happened nearly seven decades earlier that will embroil him in death and violence, and change his life forever.Late one night he finds Greek fisherman Petros Vangelos mortally wounded in an alley. Vangelos gives Hammond a coded map before he expires. With that map, Hammond becomes the link to a Turkish tramp steamer named Sabiya that sank in a storm in 1945 with a fortune in gold and jewels aboard. Also on the Sabiya, in a waterproof safe, are documents that implicate a long-dead German SS Officer in the theft of tens of millions of dollars in valuables from Holocaust victims and the laundering of those valuables by the Nazi's Swiss banker partner. That partnership helped build a huge banking enterprise that is now run by that Swiss banker's son who will stop at nothing to prevent disclosure of his father's crimes.Hammond's visit to Samos quickly turns into a roller coaster ride on which he encounters violence, new friendships, and a woman he loves, all of which irrevocably alter the course of his life."The Pythagorean Solution" is a thrilling, non-stop adventure that will make the reader want to reserve a seat on a flight to Samos.
About the Author: Prior to a long finance career, including serving as a senior executive and board member of a NYSE-listed company, Joseph Badal served for six years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army in critical, highly classified positions in the U.S. and overseas, including tours of duty in Greece and Vietnam. He earned numerous military decorations. He holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in International Finance (Temple University) and Business Administration (University of New Mexico). He graduated from the Defense Language Institute, West Coast, and from Stanford University Law School's Director College. Joe now serves on the boards of several companies. He has had seven suspense novels published, including "Ultimate Betrayal," which was released in April 2014. "The Lone Wolf Agenda," which was released in 2013, was named the top Mystery/Thriller novel in the 2013 New Mexico/Arizona Book Awards competition. He also writes a monthly blog titled Everyday Heroes, and has written short stories published in the "Uncommon Assassins" and "Someone Wicked" anthologies. Joe has written dozens of articles that have been published in various business and trade journals and is a frequent speaker at business, civic, and writers' events.