WAKING UP, Released March 9, 2010

When his 11-year old son is kidnapped and murdered, a downward-spiraling Michael Hayes faces the disintegration of his marriage and the collapse of his booming real estate career. Lack of progress by the police in finding the killer compels Hayes to embark on his own investigation, and he enlists the aid of an Eagle Realty colleague, Soo-Mee Yeong, while secretly seeking help from Joey Cortona, who has ties to the criminal underground. The trail points at Kazuhisa Enomoto, a Japanese mobster who, attempting to launder money, had suffered substantial losses in an Eagle real estate transaction mis-managed by Hayes. Their search leads Hayes and Yeong through the shadow world of drug smuggling and duplicitous real estate deals in America and Japan. Will they find and deliver the killer to justice? Can Hayes regain even a small portion of his former idyllic life? Joe Traum brings memorable characters, colorful locales, and a page-turning plot to this fascinating thriller. Click here to read the first chapter on amazon.com.

News!

Joe is Speaking at Englewood Public Library

Attention Bergen County, New Jersey. On Monday, October 3, Joe will present a talk entitled "There is Life After Life: How I Realized My Dream and Became a Published Novelist After a 40-Year Business Career." It will be at the Englewood Public Library, 31 Engle Street, at 7:30 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Joe is Featured in Gotham Writers' Workshop June Newsletter

Gotham Writers' Workshop, where Joe trained in 2005 and 2006, spotlighted Joe's novel in its June newsletter. Here's a link.

Joe on the Radio

Joe was the guest of Jeff Bushman on his popular weekly radio show, Speaking of Everything, last September 16. You can listen to an archive version of the show by going to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jeff-bushman.

Joe Will Appear Soon at Just Books, Old Greenwich, CT

Sometime in 2011, Joe will be the guest of Just Books at 28 Arcadia Road in the heart of Old Greenwich, CT. Once final plans are made, it will be announced here. Come to meet Joe, sample the wine and cheese, and talk about Waking Up.

Praise for WAKING UP

“A debut novel set in the mesh worlds of real estate, finance and pharmaceuticals....Traum draws upon a career as a real-estate investment banker to lend this procedural a touch of realism.”
-- Kirkus Reviews, April 2010.

“Waking Up is a riveting thriller, sure to entertain many a reader.”
-- The Midwest Book Review, July 2010

“I’ve negotiated several real estate transactions with Joe Traum, so I know he’s clever, creative, always prepared, and fun. I expected he’d bring all these qualities to his first novel, Waking Up, and I wasn’t disappointed. The brilliantly crafted murder-mystery kept me turning pages through the night. And as for the real estate wheeling and dealing, it’s so realistic I almost sent in a counteroffer.”
-- R. Dary Stone, vice-chairman, Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE), Dallas, TX

“Once I learned English, I became an avid reader of American crime novels, my favorite authors being Robert B. Parker, Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane. Now I add Joe Traum to the list. Waking Up is colorfully and truthfully written, especially the parts that are set in my country, Japan. Joe’s novel is as excellent as his work when I was his client. It’s hard to believe it’s just his first.”
-- Kazuhiko Shibata, representative director, Symphony Financial Partners, Tokyo, Japan