A boy in trouble. A family on the lam. A crazed ex-con bent on revenge. And a man fighting his tortured past. Can this man pull himself together in time to save his family? After selling his company for millions, Colby Walker takes his family—and his son's friend Jess—on vacation, wanting nothing more than to unwind in the sun and surf. But he spots the alarming signs in short order:Jess' downcast eyes, a familiar passivity, and angry red welts marching across the boy's bare back. Walker understands what they mean because he'd been that boy, many years ago. He'd suffered in silence, too. Can Walker stand by and let the torment continue? Does he trust the authorities—the same ones who had failed him in his youth—to take care of Jess? Hell no. With Jess in tow, Walker packs up the minivan and takes his family on the lam,keeping one step ahead of Jess' cruel father and unhinged ex-con aunt. When the stakes escalate and his headstrong actions put people's lives in jeopardy,Walker must finally conquer his past before he can save those he loves.
Author
Before Alan stepped off the corporate merry-go-round, he had an eclectic (some might say disjointed) career. As an engineer, he worked on nuclear submarines, supervised assembly workers in factories, facilitated technology transfer from the Star Wars program, and learned to stack washing machines three high in a warehouse with a forklift. He even started his own recycling and waste reduction newsletter business. Now he writes fiction. His debut mystery, DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD, was a finalist for the Best First Novel Agatha Award. He writes the Last Laff Mystery Series: KILLER ROUTINE (#1) and DEADLY CAMPAIGN (#2), and has three e-book originals, THE TASTE (horror/thriller), FIRST TIME KILLER (thriller), and RIDE-ALONG (suspense). He wrote the thrillers RUNNING FROM THE PAST and PRAY FOR THE INNOCENT (winner of the ITW Thriller Award for Best E-Book Original). His novel, I KNOW WHERE YOU SLEEP is a Shamus Award finalist for Best First P.I. Novel. His YA thriller, I PLAY ONE ON TV, comes out July 19, 2021 from Down & Out Books. His short fiction has appeared in numerous publications, including JEWISH NOIR, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, CHESAPEAKE CRIMES: STORM WARNING, Mystery Weekly, NOIR AT THE SALAD BAR, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, five consecutive issues of the BEST NEW ENGLAND CRIME STORIES, THE NIGHT OF THE FLOOD, MICKEY FINN, and MYSTERY MOST GEOGRAPHICAL. His story, “Rule Number One” (SNOWBOUND, Level Best Books), was selected for the 2018 edition of THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES anthology, edited by Louise Penny. His story, "Dying in Dokesville," won a Derringer Award, and his story "Rent Due," is an ITW Thriller Award finalist. Alan recently moved to South Florida. He loves cake and arugula, but not together. For more info, please visit his website: www.alanorloff.com Alan is sorry he wrote this bio in the third person.
