A right-brain stroke victim related to a high profile mobster dies mysteriously at a Chicago rehabilitation facility.

A fellow rehab patient with a left-brain stroke who was a detective in his former life launches his own investigation.

The detective's wife, desperate to help her husband connect to his past, joins the investigation, makes very large waves, and is kidnapped. An environmental activist is murdered while driving his hybrid vehicle to a clandestine meeting. An aide at the rehab facility, who stumbles into the plot while ripping off the health care system, becomes yet another victim. Saint Mel in the Woods Rehabilitation Facility, aptly nicknamed Hell in the Woods by residents and employees, is the last place you'd expect violence on this scale.

The mob, family legacy, health care scams, a troubled environment, crooked politics, and federal agents authorized to commit murder . . . Why is it all zeroing in on a rehabilitation facility?

Final Stroke. The ultimate in stroke rehab . . . Figure it out, or die trying.

"From Naples, Florida to Chicago, Illinois, conspiracies abound in FINAL STROKE. Author Michael Beres terrifyingly captures the paralysis and helplessness the infirm must deal with every day of their lives. Scary stuff."
~ Julie Hyzy, author of Deadly Blessings and Deadly Interest.

"Michael Beres skillfully leads us into the fragmented, frustrating world of the injured brain, giving us an engrossing story that blends violence with compassion, and an outcome that suggests hope is something worth clinging to."
~ David J. Walker, Edgar-nominated author of many novels, including the Wild Onion, Ltd. series.

"The Investigation by the Babes and the Feds domestic spying take a back seat to the deep look into recovering stroke victims. The communications between the Babes is incredible especially the patience of both as it must be frustrating to not be able to say what you mean to the transmitter and to the receiver. Although there is perhaps too much going on in the background (though not explored to any intruding depth), readers will appreciated this character driven whodunit starring a unique pairing of an amateur sleuth and a left brain stroke former cop."
~ Harriet Klausner, The Midwest Book Review

“Michael Beres pens an unusual, exciting, and ultimately informative thriller featuring an absorbing protagonist trying to solve a conspiracy while coping with a debilitating stroke. Beres adeptly handles the conspiracy plot with characters the reader comes to cheer for.”
~ Bob Connolly, Jabberwocky Books