Fishy Business

Earlier this spring, Fishy Business, the 5^th Guppy Chapter anthology was released by Wildside Press. Linda Rodriquez edited the anthology, and my story “Power of Attorney” is the final of the twenty-two stories chosen by a panel of three independent judges.

I don’t write many short stories because they need to laser focus on one specific issue and my preference is to interweave multiple story lines into a satisfactory tale. I wrote this story because even after writing Cabin Fever (Seamus McCree #3), which has at its heart a financial crime directed against seniors, my concern about these kinds of crimes remains.

Statistics under-report those crimes because seniors often don’t realize they have been cheated, or if they do, they’re too embarrassed to admit it or scared their children or a court will decide they are incompetent.

Much of the information directed at seniors relates to credit card scams, phone scams, and such committed by boiler room operations. I don’t want to diminish the size of that problem, but the issue I am more interested in is the exploitation of seniors by those they trust: their children, their financial or legal advisor, their caregivers, their friends—especially, new best friends.

“Power of Attorney” features Seamus McCree and a secondary character from one of the earlier Seamus McCree novels. The title contains a play on words: On one level it refers to the name of a particular legal document; on another level, it recognizes that attorneys’ specialized knowledge that laypersons do not have gives them a special power over us.

I’ll allow you the pleasure of reading the story without spoilers from me. I’m pleased with the way it came out and delighted to be included in the anthology. You can order copies of the anthology from the publisher, your favorite physical or online bookstore, or from Amazon. I hope you enjoy.

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James M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree series. Full of mystery and suspense, these thrillers explore financial crimes, family relationships, and what happens when they mix. False Bottom, the sixth novel in the series—this one set in the Boston area—is now available. You can sign up for his newsletter and find more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com.