The Middle of the World (ePub)

THE MIDDLE OF THE WORLD is a literary, noir, white crime short novel. (Yes, noir and white crime make for an oxymoron). The time and place-Pasco, Alabama, 1978.

Twenty-three year old Paul Malone, son of a bootlegger and merchant, lives alone in an apartment above the railroad tracks. He has no family left in Pasco and knows his destiny lies elsewhere. His desire is to leave and start a new life.

The trouble is: An unscrupulous estate attorney used the opportunity of Paul spending ninety days in the county jail for an offense Paul did not commit to steal a quarter million dollars from Paul's inheritance.

So, two main things hold him to his hometown: An affair with an older married woman. And his money that Edmund G. McCormick stole from him. He wants not only his money back but revenge upon McCormick. And without risking jail.

He uses McCormick to set in motion, and take the fall is there is one, one of the most successful chain letters ever devised.

Sometimes, life gives you the short end of the stick. And sometimes, if you're clever enough, the good guy gets to win.

The Middle of the World is the first of a "trilogy" which includes Coconut Key and The Mercury Estate.

Three novels. Three different settings. Three different tones.

What do they have in common to group as a trilogy?

They all are set in a period just before personal computers and private cellphones. (All the 1970's and 1980's). They all star a lead character who is yet to turn thirty. Each-Paul, Blake, and Merc-have a very strong desire: To pursue their wildest and most romantic dreams and never settle for a life of quiet desperation. Each has a mystery at its core. If that mystery can be solved, a passionate life is all but assured. If not…

These and other books may be found at PQM Books.