Back Alleys and Unauthorized Donut Shops

Written by a career street cop with decades of experience, these eleven stories focus on crime and its' ramifications as seen through the eyes of cops, criminals, and victims. As the characters wind their way through foot pursuits, gun fights, loss, first dates, and lonely nights, it becomes clear that justice is as murky now as it ever was. The collection begins with a nightmare scenario in which two veteran cops pursue a would-be rapist into a sprawling homeless shelter with disastrous consequences for everyone involved. In "Bullets Over Bourbon," an exhausted Detective leaves work only to walk in on an armed robbery of a liquor store, forcing him to make a series of choices no cop should have to. In "Bed-Stuy Burning," a disfigured young loner with a price on his head seeks refuge in a dark, trash-filled house. But the thugs he's pissed off will stop at nothing to see him finally burnt to ashes. In "Unauthorized P-@$%," a middle-aged train operator picks up a prostitute on a desolate Brooklyn street. "Big Mac" is used to getting what he wants. But by the end of this ride, all he wants is to escape with his life. And in "Unauthorized Donut Shops," a young military veteran moves to Los Angeles to pursue his dream of becoming a cop. But a chance encounter with a nice girl from New Jersey who turns out to be as weird and complicated as this strange city makes him question if he's really cut out for L.A. Often violent, always gritty yet fair, these stories will shed a little light on the shadowy back alleys running behind the scenes of modern city life.