Mortal Jigsaw Puzzle - Tapa dura

The Mortal Jigsaw puzzle follows the struggles of a heroic urban vice principal, as he attempts to control a large high school teetering on the verge of chaos. During the course of an infamous day known as "Fat Lip Friday," the ghetto principal tries valiantly to keep control of his school in the midst of a full blown gang war. Immersed in an environment replete with urban music, violence, verbiage, and dress, the reader is bombarded with shocking images of life in the modern hood. As the visceral educational conflagration unfolds, the protagonist, Jose Perez, unexpectedly catches glimpses of a diabolical conspiracy of which street gangs are just a small part. Thanks to his keen senses, Mr. Perez slowly collects the pieces to a profoundly disturbing global puzzle comprised of codes, lyrics, art, and symbols of Egyptian, Masonic, and satanic origin. While attempting to place the gratuitous carnage and depravity of the inner city into perspective, Mr. Perez accidentally stumbles upon an interdisciplinary mind control plan which draws upon religion, politics, economics, psychology, marketing, history, and the occult. Alarmed by his findings, Mr. Perez warns his community of their pending doom, only to be hunted down by the very "debt cattle" whom he tries to save from oblivion. In the end, both his community and his nation are condemned to fall under this nefarious plot, as this educator's quixotic mission abruptly ends with an ominous knock on his front door.

The Grieving Patriot is an urban educator in the New Jersey public schools system. He has nearly twenty years of experience in the industry and has worked in some of the most violent schools in the state. Throughout his career, he has attained success in the face of daunting challenges and has been able to rise through the ranks from teacher to administrator. Despite his apparent success, the Grieving Patriot is deeply troubled by the societal trends and current events of recent history, especially as relate to the physical, mental, and spiritual poisoning of his students. Like many of his countrymen, he senses that there is something profoundly wrong with his nation. This book represents one man's struggle to make sense of the American demise from both the inner city and global perspectives.