Richard Rose

In Chicago author Richard Rose’s novel, “The Lazarus Conspiracies,” murder, mystery and one man’s quest for justice all lead back to one location: North Webster.

Now, the Hoosier-born Rose has begun a sequel, which will be set almost entirely in the local area.

In “The Lazarus Conspiracies,” Rose, tells of a Chicago police officer whose obsession with justice often leads him to break the rules. When a Vietnam veteran turns up dead, the main character takes it upon himself to solve the crime. Though the death is ruled an accidental drowning, the victim’s daughter has other suspicions.

When the body is switched with another and cremated, the main character realizes he may have a conspiracy on his hands.

Rose sets the back story along Webster Lake in North Webster, where the main character spent his summers as a child and where his brother was the victim of a brutal crime. This experience is what drives the main character’s thirst for justice and revenge.

In the pending sequel, the main character from “The Lazarus Conspiracies” returns to North Webster to reconcile with his past. However, that project is currently on hold as Rose works on a 1940s-era mystery/thriller titled, “The Gumshoe,” which Rose expects to have published later this year.

Rose chose Webster Lake because of his own love of the Lakes Area. Originally from Kokomo, he spent his childhood on Tippecanoe Lake in Leesburg and Lake Manitou in Rochester. He later purchased a condominium on Lake Tippecanoe, where he and his wife would spend their weekends.

“The Lazarus Conspiracies” is based on a screenplay that Rose composed for a writing competition. He later tweaked the screenplay to fit with changes he made for the novel. He noted that two independent producers are currently looking at the screenplay for a possible movie, though nothing is definite.

“Screenplays are a long shot,” Rose said.

“The Lazarus Conspiracies” received an internationally-acclaimed award in fiction during the 2015 Pacific Rim Book Festival in Hollywood, Calif. and has garnered numerous positive reviews.