By Steve Neavling
Christopher LaGrone left behind his life’s work when he died of altitude sickness while on vacation in Peru in 2018.
The former Border Patrol agent had written there fictional books, called the “Delta Tango Trilogy,” inspired by his time with the agency in Southern Arizona.
His mother Sherryl LaGrone set out to get the books published.
“It was Chris’ dream to be a published author,’’ his mother told Tucson.com. “I was overjoyed that Denny volunteered to finish writing the third book. I had complete faith in him; he knew where Chris was going with the story. He said ‘I won’t do it justice, but I’ll do the best I can.’ Well, he did it justice and then some.’’
Denny Dressman, a Denver newspaper editor, finished the third book as LaGrone searched for a publisher.
“It was so heartbreaking; Chris had all but finished the third book,’’ LaGrone said. “But once we got over the shock, after we held a memorial service, I was determined to do everything I could to finish Chris’ project and get the books published.’’
She found a publisher – the New York City firm, Morgan, James Publishing. The firm published all three books – “Fleeing the Past,” “Felina’s Spell’’ and “Moments of Truth.’’
LaGrone will talk about her son’s books at the Tucson Festival of Books on Sunday.
