Lieutenant Colonel Chester D. Campbell, USAF (ret.) was an Air Force intelligence officer during the Korean War.  He studied journalism at the University of Tennessee; and, throughout his life has had several jobs either involving writing or with a close association with writing.  As an example, he has been a magazine editor, a magazine and newspaper contributor, copywriter; and worked in public relations.  Chester Campbell is the author of Designed to Kill; Secret of the Scroll; Deadly Illusions; and, The Marathon Murders.

According to the book description of The Marathon Murders, “PI s Greg, a retired Air Force OSI agent, and Jill McKenzie take on what appears to be a 90-year-old murder case, dragging them into a present-day conspiracy filled with chicanery in circles of power and chaos created by a frenzied killer. It starts with a stash of yellowed records found during restoration of the long-defunct Marathon Motor Works buildings in Nashville. The documents vanish, and the construction foreman who had them is murdered. The McKenzies' clients, Col. Warren Jarvis and his girlfriend, Kelli Kane, believe the records would shed light on the fate of her great-great-grandfather. A Marathon officer who disappeared in 1914, he was accused of embezzlement and later found dead. More murders occur, appearing aimed at suppressing the secret behind the missing records. It is a tale of greed, misplaced pride, family loyalty, and the unpredictable violence of an irrational mind.”

According to a reader of Secret of the Scroll, “The Secret of the Scroll contains the high level of political deniability inherent in the espionage novel, causing the hero to rely on something other than the might and right of countries. Going it alone, Greg McKenzie picks up an intriguing entourage of sidekicks as he races through the tale. The refreshing part is that the hero isn't exceptionally gifted with super powers of observation, incredible martial art skills, or packing tons of hardware. It is a story of man's greed affecting the innocent, resolved by a lifetime of experience, and fueled by a determination born of love. While the twists and turns are intricate, it is all told with a smooth grace that never pulls the reader out of the fantasy. I have found a new author whose next work I'll anticipate from the time I close the cover.”

According to a reader of Deadly Illusions, “Greg and Jill McKenzie have opened an investigations firm and are working cases together. In walks Molly Saint. She wants them to look into her husband's past. The McKenzie's, especially Greg, are initially skeptical about taking this case. Molly has been married to Damon Saint for five years. But, Jill has a feeling that something isn't right and convinces Greg to do some preliminary investigations. If they don't find anything alarming, they will stop.

They are already working for Leisure Foods Group investigating missing funds from a King Cole specialty restaurant. Jill goes undercover as hostess in the restaurant. Greg gets friends to eat there so that they can determine if the money they pay to the restaurant is actually accounted for in the deposit the next day.”

According to a reader of Designed to Kill, “When a close friend's son, an architect, is found dead in a seaside park shortly after a balcony he designed collapsed, killing two people, the police assume it's suicide. But the dead man's parents and Greg and Jill McKenzie don't buy it. He was staying in Greg and Jill's Florida condo at the time of his death. When they go to investigate his death, they discover his original plans are missing: the hard copies stolen and the digital form deleted from his hard drive. But the "copies" in the hands of the developer and the general contractor show inferior materials and structure supports. Is this what the deceased designed? Were the plans altered to save costs? If so, by whom? Questions abound: Why did the inspector approve the inferior rebar and the defective concrete pour? What was a woman's jacket doing in Greg and Jill's condo, when the deceased was married and his wife was back in Tennessee? Why is the New Orleans mob trying to kill Greg?”