David Grogan asked David E. Grogan:

Since The Hidden Key is book #3 in the Steve Stilwell thriller series, help us understand how the book ties in with the first two?

David E. Grogan • The Siegel Dispositions begins in 1998 with Steve Stilwell having just retired from the Navy. Believing he will have a relaxing second career, he joins a small trusts and estates law practice in Williamsburg, Virginia. Soon after he arrives at his office, a client he has written a will for is murdered. Steve finds himself in a race to save the lives of his client’s beneficiaries. The Siegel Dispositions emphasizes the importance of human rights in a world marred by hate and bigotry that goes back to WWII.

• Sapphire Pavilion takes place in the year 2000. An old Navy friend of Steve Stilwell’s finds the wreckage of a plane lost during the Vietnam War and is jailed in Vietnam on trumped up drug charges. Steve is hired to represent his friend. He’s joined by Casey Pantel, a Wounded Warrior turned attorney. Their quest to free their client takes them to Vietnam where powerful forces seek to block their every move. Sapphire Pavilion reminds Steve that every decision has a cost and that sometimes that cost is pain and suffering.

• The Hidden Key continues in 2004 with Steve Stilwell watching helplessly as a wealthy new client dies in front of his eyes at a London restaurant. When he returns to the United States to probate his deceased client’s estate, he comes into possession of an ancient artifact that the FBI wants and others will kill for. Steve, and his law partner, Casey Pantel, follow leads to Italy and India to uncover why their client died. They must decipher the meaning and value of the artifact before they, too, fall victim to its secrets. The Hidden Key compels Steve to look in the mirror. He will be forced to assess his life after he puts himself and those around him in danger in the name of zealously representing the interests of his dead client.

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