Norman's Comfort

Book excerpt: Norman Beech, depressed and alone, is back on the bottle. Struggling to fight his addiction, the forty-eight-year-old unemployed engineer turns to AA for help. He begins his recovery, unaware that his life is about to be turned upside down, as three strangers make their appearance. Thomas Banks, a diminutive veteran homicide detective, believes that Beech is guilty of murder and has been playing him for the fool; he will stop at nothing to see justice done. Tino Falcone, a good cop and devoted family man, is concerned about his partner, Banks. The hulking former offensive tackle tries to do his job while covering the little man's blindside. Debra Kayly, an attractive thirty-five-year-old blonde, is on the run from authorities. Fearful that her past may catch up with her, she is living on a remote island in Lake Huron. Beech overcomes his difficulties and is riding the wave of success. His future looks bright indeed after he builds his dream house overlooking the Chesapeake Bay. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, things begin to change for the worse. Like a powerful magnet attracting distant iron filings, NORMAN'S COMFORT begins to draw in its victims with tragic consequences.