“CHRIS KUZNESKI . . .
completely understands what makes for a good story:
action, sex, suspense, humor, and great characters.”
—Nelson DeMille

THE PLANTATION

“INGENIOUS . . . Chris Kuzneski’s writing has the same kind of raw power as the early Stephen King.”

—James Patterson,

New York Times
bestselling author

“EXCELLENT! High stakes, fast action, vibrant characters, and a very, very original plot concept. Not to be missed!”

—Lee Child,

New York Times
bestselling author

“RIVETING . . . Kuzneski displays a remarkable sense of suspense and action . . . will leave readers breathless and up much too late! Don’t miss it!”

—James Rollins,
USA Today
bestselling author

“POWERFUL . . . A great plot twist. Right from the opening scenes, the book takes off, and all I can say is hang on for the ride.”

—Douglas Preston,
New York Times
bestselling author

“GRAPHIC . . . Becomes more sinister with each turn of the page.”

—James Tucker, bestselling author of
Tragic Wand

“ACTION-PACKED . . . The twists and turns of a Stephen King chiller . . . will keep you on the edge of your seat.”

—M. J. Hollingshead,

author of
The Inspector’s Wife

“WOW! . . . Powerful stuff. It’s a gripping novel that smells of gunpowder and reeks of heroism, with a beautiful girl, some crazed characters, and lots of sadistic revenge . . . Kuzneski has written a sick, sensational yarn. I can’t wait for the next one.”

—Thom Racina,
USA Today
bestselling author

Titles by Chris Kuzneski

SWORD OF GOD
SIGN OF THE CROSS
THE PLANTATION

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
Published by the Penguin Group
Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

THE PLANTATION

A Berkley Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY
Paradox Publishing trade edition / April 2002
Berkley mass-market edition / July 2009

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form
without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in
violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
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375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eISBN : 978-1-101-08074-0

BERKLEY
^®Berkley Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
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BERKLEY
^®is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
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http://us.penguingroup.com

Foreword

A few years ago I nearly gave up. Like many writers, I had a tough time breaking into the industry. Agents ignored me, and publishers rejected me. My life was like a bad country song, only I didn’t have a mullet. To make matters worse, my savings were almost gone, which meant I was
this
close to doing something desperate—like getting a “real” job.

Back then, the only thing that stood between me and the workforce was a novel I had just written called
The Plantation
. It featured two main characters that I really liked, Jonathon Payne and David Jones, and a plot that was pretty original. In hindsight, maybe
too
original. At least that’s what I was told in several rejection letters. Editors and agents loved the book but weren’t sure how to market it. And in the book business, that is the kiss of death. No marketing means no sales. No sales means no book deal. And no book deal means it’s time to search the want ads.

Thankfully, I came across an article about a company called iUniverse and a new type of technology called print on demand. Simply put, copies of a book could be printed
after
a book order was placed, thereby eliminating large print runs that a struggling writer like myself couldn’t afford. Suddenly I had the freedom to print a small quantity of books that I could sell to family and friends. And if I was really lucky, total strangers would buy it, too.

Long story short, my plan worked. I sold enough copies out of the trunk of my car to ward off starvation, plus it gave me the confidence to take things one step further. I figured since readers loved
The Plantation
, maybe writers would as well. So I wrote letters to many of my favorite authors, asking if they’d be interested in reading my book. Incredibly, most of them agreed to help, and before long they were writing letters to me, telling me how much they enjoyed it. And I’m talking about famous authors like James Patterson, Nelson DeMille, Lee Child, Douglas Preston, and James Rollins. Each of them willing to endorse my novel.

Seriously, how cool is that?

Anyway, even though I had their support, I still didn’t have a publisher. But all of that changed when Scott Miller, an agent at Trident Media, bought one of my self-published copies in a Philadelphia bookstore and liked it enough to e-mail me. At the time I had a folder with more than one hundred rejection letters, yet the best young agent in the business bought my book and contacted me. Not only did I get a royalty from his purchase, but I also got the perfect agent.

By then I had written my next novel, a religious thriller called
Sign of the Cross
, which Scott wanted to shop immediately since
The Da Vinci Code
was dominating the bestseller lists at that time. It proved to be a wise decision. Within months, he had sold the American rights to Berkley and the foreign rights to more than fifteen publishers around the world.

Finally, I could throw away the want ads.

Next up was
Sword of God
, which became my second international bestseller. In my mind, it was book three in the Payne/Jones universe. But to most readers, it was only book two because
The Plantation
was never released by a major publisher.

That is, until now.

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