Secrets About Car Trade, Drug Trade, and Successful Retirement Revealed In Suspense Novel: 'Retired' by Bill Vann

JACKSON, Mich., Sept. 2 -- What does a semi-retiree do when he no longer reports to work every morning after nearly four decades in automotive sales? Bill Vann decided to write a suspense novel about retirement, an automotive dealership, northern Michigan, and drug trafficking that spreads from Mexico to Beaver Island on Lake Michigan.

"Retired" (ISBN 0-9729642-0-7, published by Jenkins Group Inc.) goes far beyond the whodunit genre and deals seriously with people who find themselves very unhappy when they first retire but find a way to establish a mission and maintain their self-worth.

"Retirement can be like a 25-year reunion," says Vann. "By that point, people are 40-45 and either are making it in life or have a long ride ahead waiting for retirement. It may be a tragic point in people's lives. Retirement is the same way now for many people."

The novel also gives an inside look at the auto dealership business that very few people know.

"Everyone goes to a dealership to buy a car but for most the inner workings of a car dealership is a total mystery," says Vann, who with his three sons owns four auto dealerships in Michigan. "Some 30 million people go into a dealership every year but no one has a clue how dealerships work."

The story line develops in Michigan, with much of the intrigue playing out on North Fox Island and Beaver Island in Lake Michigan and the Leland area near Traverse City.

Vann has sailed Lake Michigan for most his life, spends hot summer days on Beaver Island, has become acquainted with Native Americans in the area, and is one of the early members of the Great Lakes Lighthouse Association.

"Retired" is a fast-paced, quick read, action-packed mystery novel with more than its share of unexpected twists. Retirees will connect to the issues raised, auto buyers and sellers will relish in the trade secrets unveiled, and residents and visitors to northern Michigan will recognize many of the sites in the novel.