The Bridge to Caracas

The King Trilogy, Volume 1

By: Stephen Douglass

Narrated by: Mathias Lenssen

Volume one of The King Trilogy, a truly amazing and gut-wrenching story.

How was an incredible $325,000,000 theft achieved using The Peace Bridge as a fulcrum?

It was a piece of national history. The story had to be told.

One of the largest and most audacious gasoline tax evasion scams in Canadian and U.S. history.

The perpetrator used The Peace Bridge, spanning The Niagara River, to facilitate his crime, and his private Cessna to transport the enormous fruits of the theft to the "safety"of a Cayman Island bank.

The scam netted an amount "that makes The New York State Lottery look like a Sunday school collection."

Cynical and remorselessly ruthless, the thief possesses a brilliant criminal mind, has enormous contempt for the law, police, governments, and the system in which they function. He assumes rules are for fools, and takes sadistic pleasure in breaking them.

Discover:

• The mechanics of the scam ( i.e. how such a gigantic theft was achieved)
• The extent to which the lives of two star-crossed lovers were disrupted by this criminal
• The character of the criminal, an unscrupulous individual with an absolute contempt for rules, the law, authority, and propriety
• Why and how the story ended in Caracas, Venezuela
• What happened to the fruits of his crime, and why
• How much of the story is fiction, and how much is fact.

Scroll up now and get your copy now.

©2013 Stephen Douglass (P)2014 Stephen Douglass

A Thriller

Any additional comments?

A very enjoyable action packed thrills and adventure with a heavy dose of romance thrown in Highly recommended. Give this audiobook a try

Two stories in one book

The most striking thing about this book was how it was really two stories in one. The first half of the book focuses mostly on a short history of the oil business in North America from the '60s to the early '80s told using a fictional backdrop of two characters: one trying to get ahead in business the right way, and the other ruthlessly executing (or co-opting) whatever get-rich-quick method he could find. The other half of the book is a really great love story, with the first man trying to reclaim his lost love and the other jealously trying to keep what is his or punish the lovers who wrong him. When mixed together it makes for a most entertaining read. I would highly recommend giving this a try, particularly if the historical part interests you.

3.5 Mixed Feelings

In the early 60’s in Toronto, Mike and Karen have bonded into soul mates, but Mike feels that his destiny is not in medicine as his parents have hoped, so Mike drops out of school and leaves Karen and his home on a solitary trip to discover his true career passion. Karen and a friend heads to Europe and finds herself on a hijacked plane. The plane explodes on an airstrip, and word comes back that there are no survivors. Mike discovers his passion in oil and returns to school to get an engineering degree, but he is devastated to discover the news about Karen and winds up finding solace with another woman at school, which leads to marriage. However, the news about Karen was incorrect and after she is freed from her hostage situation a year later, she discovers the news about Mike’s marriage. Meanwhile, Jim has come to Canada to dodge the draft and found a low-paying job pumping gas at a small station, but is soon introduced to a gas tax evasion scheme tied to international transport of fuel between Canada and the US. So, as Mike finds success wheeling and dealing for a major oil company, Jim is finding success in controlling a major fraud and theft gas conspiracy. However, the crossing of Mike and Jim’s paths become more impending when Jim meets Karen and convinces her to be his wife, a decision she comes to regret. This story is built around a major fraud issue that appeared to be strong in the oil industry along the Canadian-US border in the 60’s and 70’s, and the author is very knowledgeable in creating the thrilling and suspenseful actions arising out of this type of criminal conspiracy. However, the combination of events that separate and bring together the main characters often feel artificially forced, creating some inconsistency in some of the characters in order to build up the danger and thrills in the plot.

I received a copy of this book free of charge in return for an honest and unbiased review.

Mathias Lenssen was good with the delivery of the story

Thrilling and Suspenseful..

Any additional comments?

** a Few Spoilers **


This story is set during the 1960's and the 1970's and centers around
Jim Servito, is able to build a corrupt empire by not paying taxes, taking advantage of people, and stepping on anyone who gets in his way.

It also focuses on Karen Taylor and Mike King's relationship including the love that they share. Karen is kidnapped and pronounced dead. Mike moves on and soon after Karen does too..

Mike is a bit clueless at times, and Karen is numb from her experiences. I was a bit disappointed in Mike.
I don't want to give anymore away.

Overall this story was a fast read or listen and fully engaging.


Mathias Lenssen did really well with the narration.

Note:
"This audio book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review."

Suspense,Thrills & Romance - Excellent!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Stephen Douglass created an amazing book. Initially you start off with the history of oil in the 1960's to 1980's while the author is weaving in two long lost lovers and their romance. I found that to be an unexpected but delightful twist. The story itself is full of suspense and action that captivates you immediately and maintain your interest until the end. Currently, I am listening to book 2 of this trilogy - "The Tainted Trust" and so far, I am as captivated as book 1 had me. I definitely recommend this book, it is most definitely worth the credit. You will not be disappointed.

Mathias Lenssen gave an excellent performance for this book. He has excellent pace, tone and inflection. He has the ability to enhance the suspense and thrills the author is portraying. Mr. Lenssen also adds to the emotions of each characters and does an amazing job bringing both the characters and the story to life for you.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com

Businessmen....mobsters...Gasoline wars.

Would you try another book from Stephen Douglass and/or Mathias Lenssen?

Yes i would!

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Most interesting was how they told us about how taxes on gas and tax evasion on it worked!

What about Mathias Lenssen’s performance did you like?

Did a fine job keeping all the different characters voices straight.

Do you think The Bridge to Caracas needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

A little something different

I really enjoyed this book. Oil and gasoline aren't subjects that come up too often in my reading, so I found this really interesting, especially since I knew practically nothing about the business behind it, and the possible corruption. The book has suspense and a bit of romance, and kept me engaged the whole time. I listened to the Audible audio version and I enjoyed the narration by Mathias Lenssen. I thought he did a good job giving unique voices to the characters without them sounding too forced or over-the-top. I would definitely listen to other books narrated by him. Overall, I really enjoyed this book because it was a little something different, and I am looking forward to the next book in the series.

Oh. My. Goodness!

I REALLY loved this book. I have never listened to a book in this genre before as I typically only listen/read fantasy books but this one really caught my eye. I found it so captivating and intriguing.

The characters were all formed pretty well and they were all easily distinguishable from one another. I was a little frustrated with the portrayal of women, as only really a love object, but I get that it is a story about men of a certain time-period and that is common in stories that revolve around men.

The narration was VERY good. I will say that it can take getting used to as the narrator switches between story parts quickly and without a pause. This means that it can take a moment to realize that your perspective and location in the story has changed. If you know anyone who speaks incredibly fast (as I do) then you should be able to quickly catch onto what is happening. I will say though that my husband did have a hard time following when he would listen with me.

I am very excited to get my hands on the next piece of this series to see what crazy adventure Stephen Douglass will take me on next.


I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher in exchange for my unbiased opinion.