The Death Trust

By David Rollins and David A. Rollins

Book Overview

Twelve months ago, Sergeant Peyton Scott died on patrol in Baghdad, officially killed by a landmine. Nobody looked twice, not even his father, four-star General Abraham Scott, commander of Ramstein Air Base and son-in-law of Vice President Jefferson Cutter, one of the most feared men in Washington. Now the general is dead too, his glider found smashed into a mountainside in what looks, almost convincingly, like an accident.

Major Vin Cooper of Air Force Special Investigations is sent to close the file fast and quiet, and turns out to be the wrong man for that job. Paired with Special Agent Anna Masters, Cooper finds that General Scott's death was no accident, that his son's Iraq autopsy was forged by a pathologist who has since turned up dead himself, and that a woman named Varvara Kadyrov, connected to both men, is hiding something behind a suspicious apartment fire of her own. Every door leads back to the Scott family: to Harmony Scott, the general's icy widow, and to her father, Vice President Cutter, a man Washington calls "Jeff the Cutter" for good reason, and who does not take kindly to an Air Force investigator poking around his family's business.

With only an off-book RAF contact, Flight Lieutenant Peter Bishop, willing to help him dig, Cooper follows the case from a shallow grave in Iraq to a family that believed itself untouchable, uncovering a conspiracy built on defense contracts and buried records, and the conviction among the powerful that a dead soldier is easier to manage than a live scandal. THE DEATH TRUST is the first novel in David Rollins's Vin Cooper series, a fast-paced conspiracy thriller built on the uncomfortable premise that the gravest threats to a soldier's life are not always the ones wearing an enemy uniform.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1764736060
• ISBN13: 9781764736060
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Source Marketing Pty Ltd
• Length: 396 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Bad Germans

Rollins has done an excellent job as an Australian writing about US military intrigues and set in US installations. His plot is believable and moves swiftly. Characters are well defined. The story begins in Iraq and moves to Germany, where the true villain resides. At all times, Rollins is faithful to both the current day and a believable scenario. A very good read and well worth the effort.

Intense and gripping page turner

I could not--I repeat--could not put this book down. Just when you think the plot couldn't get more complex and enthralling, Rollins throws you another delectable bone to chew on. If you're looking for a good page-turner that really will keep you up at night, this is it.

Funny and entertaining

You gotta read this. I loved it. Fast. AND funny. I gave my copy to my dad who thought it was like Ludlum crossed with Chandler, whoever he is. The main character in the book is a Special Agent in the US Air Force called Vin Cooper whose life is messed up by his ex-wife - the way she dumped him is classic. Think shower and wife and marriage counsellor...Anyway, it's a little sick and dark in places, but then Cooper makes some comment and you just find yourself laughing. And the conspiracy angle packs a punch too. Looking forward to the next one.

An impressive debut

THE DEATH TRUST, Australian author David Rollins's debut novel, is just seeing its publication in the United States in 2007, but he is already very well known elsewhere in the world for his work, which combines military thriller hardware with traditional and contemporary mystery elements. Once one has read this book, Rollins's worldwide popularity will become wholly understandable. The novel introduces Special Investigator Major Vin Cooper, who is assigned to look into the apparent accidental death of Abraham Scott, a four-star general who died while hang-gliding in Germany. Scott's death has attracted attention, given that his father-in-law is the Vice President of the United States and his son had died in combat a year previous. Cooper has no such pedigree; he has been shot up in combat, chewed up and spit out in relationships, and flirts with alcoholism when not making a total commitment to it. Oh, and he is also afraid of flying, an unusual phobia for an Air Force officer. Cooper's assignment is either going to keep his career on life support for a while longer or disconnect it entirely. It does not take Cooper long to discover that General Scott's death was the result of sabotage. As he begins his murder investigation, however, Scott's widow (whose post-mortem lack of bereavement is noteworthy) produces a suicide note. End of investigation. Well, not really. Cooper and Special Agent Anna Masters smell several rats and are not about to give things up so easily. They begin following a shadowy and dangerous trail that leads them from the explosive streets and alleys of Iraq to the sensuous nightlife of Latvia to the harrowing, war-torn countryside of Chechnya, even as they themselves are pursued by an enigmatic and powerful group known as The Establishment. Trail's end for Cooper, however, takes him to the most surprising location of all where everything is revealed, even as those revelations may well cost him his life. THE DEATH TRUST is an impressive debut, exquisitely paced and well-balanced between military and mystery. Rollins's characterizations are uniformly interesting as well; Cooper, in particular, is an impressive protagonist, not overly likable but reasonably so, an individual who oftentimes is his own worst enemy. Here's hoping that publication of the remainder of Rollins's books catches up on these shores soon. --- Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub

Great Read

Mr. Rollins first book is as good as any of the the established writers in this genre. His character development along with a plot with its many twists and turns keeps you on your toes and makes this a one sitting read. I am eagerly awaiting his next book.