Swindler & Son 2 is available NOW!

Ted Krever: Writing and other forms of torture Posted on by

My newest book, Swindler & Son 2: 100% Genuine Forgeries!!, is on sale on Amazon. Click here to order!

When your job is selling great fake masterpieces, what do you do when you’re handed the real thing?

Nicky and Harry Sandler are con men in Paris, selling art that’s less than it seems for more than it’s worth. Until, unexpectedly, they find themselves threatened with prison—and ‘gifted’ with a mysterious painting that sends them down a twisting trail involving art forgery, international money laundering and even a Nazi or two. Could it be the most expensive lost painting in the world?

To read an excerpt, click here.

To read the reviews, click here.

Yet another 5-star review!

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100% Genuine Fun and Fast and Full of Wit!

“Ted Krever tells a great story. In this second Swindler & Son — check out the first, it’s great, too! — he gets real, yet stays true to his lighter, wittier side, exploring aging and memory loss while keeping us on our toes figuring out who is fooling who and how. Sara is strong and divine. Harry is sweet and smart and I ended up wistfully sad at his situation. It feels like Nikki is talking right in my ear, sharing their secrets as the story unfolds. A fast read, and such FUN!”

Another 5-star review for ‘Swindler 2’!!

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Review by Diane J. Rothery on Amazon, December 20, 2020:

I enjoyed the first of this series, and 100% Genuine Forgeries did not disappoint. Like the first book, I wasn’t always certain about what was going on, much like the rest of the players in the story when the team’s hacker Diamonte went about explaining his process. No one knows what the hell he’s talking about, but they understand what it gets them, and that’s all that’s important. By the way, the character Diamonte is a fantastic character. I loved him.

I think, though, that the moment I became invested in the story was when the artwork from Nazi Germany, tied to the character Sara’s ancestry, came into play. That was the moment when the con of the plot got personal.

If you like entertaining heist stories in general, I’m going to mention the Oceans Eleven series to give you an idea of tone, then this book, and its predecessor are worth your time.

Notes on ‘Swindler & Son 2’

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This book came to me as if in a dream, playing itself out in front of me, bit by bit, each day at the keyboard. Not so much something I wanted to say as something I needed to say. 
Each of my books is a bit of a time capsule, the way I felt about the world during the period I was writing. And each of them stems from essentially the same question: how to be a decent person – not a perfect one, but a decent one – in an age where simple decency is actually frowned upon and belittled, where powerful people flaunt their inhumanity. 
My main character is a swindler, a man of no particular skills, save a quick wit and a sharp tongue – but he’s also possessed of a conscience. He wants to do well in a corrupt world but also to do as little harm as he can in the process. I think that struggle defines millions of lives around the world these days. 

To preorder, click here.

To learn more, click here.

To read an excerpt, click here.

Notes from the Inside 9

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My friend Paine, on the autism spectrum and on the frontline, continues his observations on our peculiar times:

It’s strange, there’s all this glum stuff being said on the news, so much in fact that it would make someone want to give up on our country and head for Canada.

There’s two problems with this though, 1) Canada won’t take anyone trying to cross the border and 2) running away won’t solve any problems, either nationally or individually. Yet I still see a lot of things that give me hope.

I saw a lot of people shopping at Wal Mart the other day, a majority of whom were wearing masks and gloves. There were even lines on the floor either telling people to go one way down each aisle or to stay 6 feet or a carts length apart from everyone else. I didn’t notice what any of them were buying but it was good just to see people out and about.

I also saw kids around my neighborhood playing outside again which is great to see given the current climate. There were even some people sitting on their front stoops outside their houses, some of them talking to some people, from a distance of course, Some of them sitting in a chair having a drink.

I even saw more cars on the road then before, not too much more but more than there’s previously been. There’s even been more people heading to the supermarket, Target, Wal Mart or getting take out from local restaurants. So, things are starting to get back to some semblance of normal, at least they are where I am, I don’t know about anywhere else.

What I do know is that when everything opens up again I hope that both businesses and people act responsibly because the virus is still out there and it’s not going to go away just because everything is open once again.

Notes from the Inside 7

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My friend Paine, on the autism spectrum and on the frontline, continues his chronicle of our strange times:

“Imagine all the people, living life in peace, you may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one.”

When John Lennon first sang those words, he called for people of his generation to come together to help make a better world. I think that those words ring true now more than ever.

I’ve said many times that things were going to get better and I stand by those words but the way they get better is if we make them better. We cannot just sit around waiting for someone to find a way to get us out of our current situation with this virus, we ourselves need to get up and help make things better, then we will not only advance as a nation but as human beings.

I know things seem bleak now and some people might think that it’s hopeless but it’s not, now more than ever we need to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and face this challenge head on.

This virus has dealt us a huge blow, now is the time for us to get up and fight back against it in whatever way we can, whether it be by practicing social distancing or by giving to charity or by simply thanking all our first responders.

Notes from the Inside 6

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My friend Paine sends another dispatch from his unique vantage point, on the spectrum and on the frontlines, watching this strange new world play out:

Since I started writing these notes, a lot of things have happened, not just in the world, but in my own life.

I managed to find another job that pays well and I’ve heard a lot of good things about people coming together to raise money for and awareness about the virus. This is great, this needs to keep going if we are to get out of our current situation.

Our leaders need to put aside politics, put aside egos, do what they were put in office to do and help the American people.

The media needs to stop spreading fear of the disease and tell us what is being done to help contain and eventually cure it, but most of all, we as a nation need to come together and help each other get through these dark times and not just by getting together via Skype or FaceTime or whatever webcam service people use to talk to each other or have a singalong.

We need to do our part to fight this virus, whether it be washing our hands, wearing a face mask and gloves when we go out or even donating to help with the effort in combating the virus. This situation will get resolved, how long and how fast it takes for it to do so is up to us.

Notes From The Inside 5

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My friend Paine is bright, articulate and on the autism spectrum. He has a unique take on things and continues to share it with us here:

During the week I heard that a scientist said that people in our country might have to practice social distancing until the year 2022.

When I heard that, I thought that people would really start panicking, I also thought of all the things that happened to cause all of this to happen and of what needs to be done to make sure we get through this.

If our government hadn’t kept downplaying this virus then chances are, we probably wouldn’t be in the mess we’re in. As it is however, we are and we need to come together to help each other get through this tough time.

I’ve seen people on social media doing some good things such as Broadway stars singing songs from their homes. There’s even been TV specials where people sing songs from their homes, sometimes even encouraging home viewers to sing along.

This is proof that we’re all in the same boat and that we can and will get through this very tough time. I don’t know how long this will last but I do know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it might take us a little while to get there, but we will get there.

Notes from the Inside 4

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My friend Payne is on the autism spectrum and therefore sees things far more clearly than most of us. This is what he has to say:

I heard on the news the other day that a health official was being interviewed. In the interview he said something along the lines of that people would listen to Kendall Jenner before they listen to someone like him, which is why people on social media need to talk about how important it is to shelter in place, wash your hands, use a face mask, all the stuff everybody has been saying to do.

I agree, while I know that not everyone will do these things, we still need to take precautions and do all the things health officials tell us to do to slow and eventually stop the spread of the virus.

I also think that if our government had taken this virus seriously from the beginning, we wouldn’t be in the position we’re in right now and have to do these things. The government has downplayed this virus for so long and that has caused our country to almost come to a standstill. If they had taken this virus seriously we would be safer and less panicked as we are now, but this is the way things are at the moment and because of that we need to come together.

We need to listen to what health care officials say and do what we can to slow and eventually stop the spread of the virus. I know it can be tough to do all these things but the more people do them, the healthier we can get.

When this pandemic is over however, we cannot forget this virus and all the suffering it caused, otherwise we won’t be ready for when and if the next one hits

Notes from the Inside 3

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Fred Rogers once said “Look For The Helpers.”

It seems to me that people are looking for more negative things to say about this situation than they are positive things. I get it, these are scary times and it does seem that every other country in the world is taking care of the virus situation before we can, but there are many things that are happening in response to this virus.

I heard about professional athletes organizing drives to get food to help victims of the virus and celebrities and other people getting together to help people through this time. Yes we are going through some bad times right now, especially with China and South Korea seeming to get a handle on this situation faster than our country can, but even in the darkest of times there are glimmers of hope to be found, we just have to know where to look for them.

Now more than ever we need to “Look For The Helpers” and perhaps even become helpers ourselves, because when we work together and help each other we can get through any panic and any dark time like the one we are currently in.

When it is over and this virus is gone however, we cannot forget what happened because of it, how many people have suffered, gotten sick or died because of this virus because if we do, we won’t be prepared for when and if this happens again.