Balaclava, by M. G. Field, has been released worldwide. This 273-page thriller centers on Dan Middleton, a former college athlete, now living in hiding after being charged with his wife’s murder. Although the charges were dropped, the stigma of accusation and threats from his in-laws have forced him to give them custody of his young daughter. Hiding out in Florida under the name J. R. Kincaid and trying to escape the past, the shining light in Dan’s life is his beautiful girlfriend Kateryna.
The novel kicks into action when a mysterious blackmailer wearing a balaclava forces Dan off a quiet road in Southwest Florida and demands $25,000 on the threat of revealing his true identity to the police and his girlfriend. Standing on the precipice of his life falling apart for the second time, Dan struggles with a painful dilemma. Unable to go to the police without admitting to his own fraud, he is also loath to give in to the blackmailer’s demands. But how can he risk losing Kateryna, who will surely feel betrayed and doubt his innocence?
As this mysterious, taut story unfolds, the protagonist must re-examine his troubled past, and the novel’s underlying message begins to take shape. After a painful hockey injury, Dan had descended into opioid addiction, which nearly destroyed his marriage. While events in Florida are threatening to overwhelm him, Dan is also confronting the emotions he’s buried, the mistakes he’s made, and the mystery of his wife’s murder.
With a background as a penitentiary counselor, Field uses his understanding of addictive and criminal behavior to add depth to his characters. Dan’s motivations, emotions, and actions are nuanced and realistic, making him a sympathetic, relatable character, even in the midst of his troubling situation.
This compelling, thrilling novel draws readers into its tense plot, and grapples with important questions about how to overcome traumatic experiences and self-destructive behavior through deep reflection and honesty.
Balaclava [ISBN: 9781960142153] can be purchased through retailers worldwide, including Barnes and Noble and Amazon. The paperback retails for $16.95 and the e-book retails for $2.99. Interviews and review copies are available upon request.
From the back cover:
PRAISE FOR M. G. FIELD’S
INCARCERATION
“M. G. Field’s assured first book has the feel of a James M. Cain story.” - Jack Batten, Toronto Star
“A taut thriller of powerful writing and poignant characters.” - Barbara Kyle, best-selling author of The Queen’s Lady
“A well-crafted mystery novel." - Evelyn Brown, Muskoka Magazine
BALACLAVA
Dan Middleton is forced off a quiet road in Southwest Florida and confronted by a blackmailer wearing a balaclava. Two years earlier, Dan had been charged with his wife’s murder in Massachusetts. Even though the charges were dropped, he found himself living under a black cloud of suspicion. Moreover, his in-laws threatened to sue him for wrongful death, compelling him to give them custody of his young daughter.
A former college hockey star who descended into opioid addiction after a painful injury, Dan has taken on the identity of J. R. Kincaid and forged a new life on the Gulf Coast with the beautiful and mysterious Kateryna.
Now he has been found out: the blackmailer demands $25,000 on the threat of revealing his true identity to the police and his girlfriend. He is loath to pony up the money, but how can he risk losing Kateryna – who will surely feel betrayed and doubt his innocence?
About the author:
M. G. Field was born and grew up in Toronto. He attended several universities, receiving an MA in philosophy from the University of Guelph. He has published poems and stories and recorded his own songs. Incarceration, his first novel, was published in 2014. Field lives on Prince Edward Island, Canada.
About Manhattan Book Group:
Manhattan Book Group [“MBG”], located on Broadway in New York City, is a registered trade name of Mindstir Media LLC. MBG is widely known as a premier hybrid book publisher. We have combined the best of traditional publishing with the best of self-publishing to provide authors with “the best of both worlds” in a sense. To learn more about MBG, visit https://www.manhattanbookgroup.com/
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