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Would You Read the Diary of a Small Fish ?

Pete Morin has been a trial attorney, a politician, a bureaucrat, a lobbyist, and an observant witness to human behavior. He has combined them all in his debut novel, Diary of a Small Fish. It is today’s Wednesday book feature on Amlokiblogs.

Of this book, Michael Davidson, Newmarket, VA says: “Morin asks the question, just what exactly
is “influence peddling?” When do the rules become so vague and
subjective that they can be used against anybody at the whim of people
with power? This theme provides the back beat to the story’s frothy
narration and renders the novel more than an entertainment. This one
will make you think for a long time after you’ve read the final page.”

So now you know what to expect.

Elevator pitch: Paul Forte
didn’t think eating osso buco could be a federal crime – but his
prosecutor is bent on settling an old family score, and he’s not above
breaking the law to do it.

Teaser Excerpt

Tomorrow promptly at ten o’clock in the morning,
Judge Charles Wheeler would call in the jury of fifteen people, instruct them
about how things work, and then he would invite Bernard Kilroy to give an
opening statement. What I imagined vividly as a perversion of that opening
statement ran through my head on a closed loop from about noon on, and by two in the morning, I’d been spinning like a top in bed for four hours,
annoying Shannon to beat the band.

I slid out of bed and went down to the futon, rolled
it out in front of the window and grabbed the throw pillows and puff from the
couch. I lay on my back and watched the stars move across the purple-black sky.
I thought about Mom and Dad, and about Kate. I thought about the times I’d
spent on the golf course that brought me to this point. I tried hard to think
about sex, so maybe I could get some sleep, but it didn’t work. In a waking
trance, I heard the soft padding of feet on wood, and Shannon’s naked body
suddenly appeared in a silhouetted apparition between the window and me.

“There’s only one way you’re going to get any
sleep, and I aim to make it happen.”

The black shadow began to sink.

“Do you think the flush will leave my cheeks
before the jury sees me?”

—–

Pete Morin’s debut novel is a darkly funny, often sardonic look at the underbelly of Massachusetts politics. Buy Diary of a Small Fish  : Amazon   Barnes and Noble  Kobo  Smashwords.
 
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If you’re an author and would like your book excerpt featured, drop me an introductory mail with a link to your book at  atozstories at gmail dot com. I’m now accepting submissions for features in November.
Damyanti Biswas

Damyanti Biswas is the author of You Beneath Your Skin and numerous short stories that have been published in magazines and anthologies in the US, the UK, and Asia. She has been shortlisted for Best Small Fictions and Bath Novel Awards and is co-editor of the Forge Literary Magazine. Her literary crime thriller series, the Blue Mumbai, is represented by Lucienne Diver from The Knight Agency. Both The Blue Bar and The Blue Monsoon were published in 2023.

I appreciate comments, and I always visit back. If you're having trouble commenting, let me know via the contact form, or tweet me up @damyantig !

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