By Karen McCarraher
The Cannastar Factor, by Stephen Steele begins as Alex Farmer, M.D. gets a cryptic letter from his old friend, Maury Bernstein, asking him to come to Montana as soon as possible. When he arrives, he finds that Maury has been murdered.
Maury Bernstein was a scientist who created a hybrid plant using the common cannabis and a very poisonous desert plant called the Death Star. The leaves of the Cannastar, when dried and boiled into tea, would cure any and all illnesses—viruses, bacteria, even cancer. Maury had set up his lab in his friend, Cydney Seeley’s barn. Another friend, Otis, who was an amateur botanist, was growing the plants hydroponically in the attic of his funeral home. Shortly after Maury’s death, Cyd’s barn was burned to the ground. Maury’s lab had been destroyed and his research papers stolen. A group of masked men invaded Otis’ house and destroyed all the plants. The trio was devastated as they had planned to try to distribute the leaves free to any and all who were suffering and now there was nothing left. However, they soon learned that a large pharmaceutical company, Rxon, was behind all their troubles. Rxon certainly did not want any of their customers healed.
Maury had left a small notebook with an Indian friend. In it, the group found numbers which were later determined to be latitude and longitude coordinates located high in the mountains. Alex and Cyd started out on horseback and after several days, they found the site. Buried there were two saddlebags full of Cannastar seeds. When they realized they had been followed, they took another trail through the mountains and after a grueling trip through rugged terrain, they reached an Indian reservation and Cyd’s extremely wealthy friend Clarence Bigfoot. Clarence took them in and they met his wife and daughter. Now Clarence’s daughter had a terminal illness. Using the last of the dried Cannastar leaves, they brewed tea for her daily and within a few days, she was healed. Clarence was forever in their debt.
Now that they had the seeds, they were desperate for a place to grow them. While Clarence was looking for a place, Cyd, his wife. and daughter went into town to do some shopping. On the way home, they were ambushed by Rxon’s men and kidnapped. The ransom was to be the saddlebags full of Cannastar seeds. Alex couldn’t understand how they knew where to find Cyd and him. Clarence had phoned Sam Seeley, a U.S. Congressman, for some advice, not knowing that Sam and Rxon were in this together. Clarence and Alex took the saddlebags to the ransom spot, but when the kidnappers opened them, there were only soup beans in them. Cyd had hidden the seeds elsewhere. Clarence’s men outwitted the kidnappers and his family, and the seeds, were saved.
In the meantime, Annie Seeley, Sam’s wife learned of his duplicity. She had a huge, multimillion dollar greenhouse on her property in Virginia and offered it to the trio to grow Cannastar. Alex and Cyd began looking for ways to distribute the crop and Otis went to Virginia to begin growing the plants. They were very successful. It was curing people all over the East coast. Rxon began a smear campaign saying Cannastar caused deaths. Sam Seeley had his own campaign—getting Congress to pass laws crimilizing Cannastar. However the government was unable to find where the product was being grown. One day Sam came to Virginia unexpectedly and discovered the plants. Again, Rxon destroyed it all. Annie threatened to tell all and destroy Sam’s career if he helped them find Alex, Cyd and Otis.
The group traveled West and arrived in a farming community in Fort Dodge, Iowa. While eating in a roadside diner, they were recognized from television news reports. They welcomed the outcasts and helped them devise a plan to grow Cannastar by planting a Cannastar seed next to a corn seed. Annie Seeley joined them to help with the work. She and Abe, on whose farm they were staying, hit it off. The plants grew together and no one, not even a reconnaissance plane, could tell. The group harvested and distributed a huge amount of leaves. This worked until the corn crop was harvested and the stalks began to dry. The whole community got together and dug up the Cannastar plants. When the DEA arrived, all they found were fallow fields, and the group knew it was time to move on.
Clarence flew them to a Navajo reservation in New Mexico. The tribal council gave them a huge tract of land in the high desert and another Cannastar farm was begun. They called it The Grow. Cyd was getting restless. She wanted to go to Santa Fe to get gourmet meal, see some galleries and just have one day out. Alex had reservations but Cyd persisted. They drove to Santa Fe and while Cyd went into an art gallery to look around, Alex relaxed on a bench on the sidewalk. The gallery owner recognized Cyd, called the police, and Cyd was arrested.
So here we are folks. Does Alex manage to free Cyd or does she go to jail? What about The Grow. Is it discovered? What about the rest of the group? Is Cannastar ever legalized? For these and other answers, you will have to read the book. You won’t regret it.
This book is a great read. It is the first of a trilogy entitled “The Trouble With Miracles.” It is a mystery full of lots of twists and turns as the characters progress through their adventures. The backstories of each of the characters are heartwarming, sometimes heartbreaking and thoroughly delightful. I could hardly put it down.
Stephen Steele (aka Steven G. Mitchell) is a graduate of the University of North Texas with degrees in English literature and marketing. He is a current resident of Montana and lives in an 1800’s Victorian home with his lifelong partner and ruthless editor, Beverly, a dog, a cat, and an undetermined number of deer, bear and squirrels.
The Cannistar Factor is published by Speaking Volumes LLC, Naples, FL and available at Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com