Diane and David Munson, two authors from Tampa Bay, draw from their law enforcement careers to create crime thrillers.
In addition to her private practice work as a lawyer, Diane worked as a federal prosecutor.
David was a special agent with what is now known as NCIS (Naval Crime Investigative Service), and also did undercover work for the Drug Enforcement Administration.
(B.C. Manion/Staff Photo)
They are the co-authors of nine novels and are in the midst of writing another.
Their most recent release, “Embers of Courage,” involves Eva Montanna, a federal agent, whose task force teammate is captured by militants during a CIA operation in Egypt.
Montanna risks her life to defeat tyrants oppressing Christians, and is plunged into a daring rescue mission.
The Munsons also wrote “The Camelot Conspiracy,” which deals with John F. Kennedy’s assassination, and “Stolen Legacy,” which involves World War II and the Monuments Men.
The couple recently spoke at the Lutz Rotary Club luncheon meeting at Heritage Harbor.
They shared their backgrounds and talked about how that experience comes in handy, when they were creating fictional accounts that involve courtroom drama and investigations to track clues to unravel mysteries.
“We like to say that Dave nailed them, and I jailed them,” Diane told those gathered.
She said the most popular question the couple gets is: “Is the NCIS show realistic?”
It is, in a lot of ways, she said. But in real life, investigations and convictions occur at a much slower pace.
As she introduced her husband, she talked about the risks he encountered as an undercover agent.
“Dave really did face danger,” she said, noting he worked on undercover operations that yielded high-level arrests.
David talked about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and about information the couple gleaned in researching their novel, “The Camelot Conspiracy.”
He brought along some props, too, including photographs of Dealey Plaza, in Dallas, Texas, where JFK was shot.
While he didn’t take a position on whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, he noted there are many interesting questions involving the case.
It doesn’t take much to create a conspiracy, David said.
Essentially, a conspiracy occurs whenever there are two or more people who agree to commit a crime, and one of the co-conspirators commits an overt act, he said.
“Most of the investigations at the federal level involve conspiracies,” he said, noting he was once involved in a case that had 40 co-conspirators.
The ideal way to crack a conspiracy case is to infiltrate the group as an undercover agent, he said, noting that’s precisely what he did when working for the DEA.
In one case, David arrested four associates of former Panamanian President Manuel Noriega, who then testified against the dictator.
Published July 29, 2015
