“Creative characters guide the reader through what in many ways is a sailing adventure...er...caper around Jamaica... A hidden gem.” —Richard J. Wall, Editor. “David Beckwith’s knowledge of and affection for Caribbean culture and its wind-blown intricacies are showcased in this fast-moving story set in Jamaica’s hot, salty underbelly. Having had some experience in Jamaica, I can say this story is as colorful as the country itself and is filled with unique nicknames, Jamaican dialect, and the sense of abandon that exists in the lawless parts of its society. I can still smell the jerked chicken and meat patties from here.” —Reef Perkins, bestselling author of Deep Air and Sex, Salvage, and Secrets Will and Betsy Black’s latest adventure takes them back to Jamaica. When Jamaican Shower Posse second-in-command, Harry Dog, is given what appears to be a simple, routine assignment, he delegates it to Bigga, the posse’s third-in-command, who selects Oney, Which Flava, and Twinie, three of his young up-and-comers, to carry out the task. After this “no-brainer” goes awry, however, Harry Dog is forced to send three reliables, Hi-top, Monkeyman, and Mighty Mouse, to get things back on track, but bad luck continues to strike, making it appear that if Harry Dog didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all as the hole they are digging just keeps getting deeper and deeper.

In the aftermath of a direct hurricane strike on Vero Beach, Florida, WILL AND BETSY BLACK discover the body of one of Will's colleagues, DAVE TRESSLER, in his office. The authorities consider it a storm-related casualty but Will and Betsy are not convinced. As the people in the City of Vero Beach begin to sort through the debris, live without electrical power, take cold showers, eat canned food and drink warm drinks, tempers are tested and human foibles are revealed with ironic humor. Against this backdrop of inconvenience and frustration, Will and Betsy, along with their friends GUY and PENNY WALSH decide to become amateur sleuths to uncover the truth about Dave Tressler's death. Unable to work as a result of hurricane damage to their offices, they use the time to pursue the investigation. They discover Dave Tressler was a highly unethical stock broker and encounter numerous potential perpetrators who could have killed him. With GUY and PENNY's help, their sleuthing reveals hostility towards Dave even from his widow, CONNIE TRESSLER, his father-in-law, MIKE POLLARD and his brother. Alarming evidence also links Dave with illegal security sales for a group of Colombians. When the Colombians become aware of the interest in their affairs, the Blacks and the Walshes experience a series of dangerous encounters As evidence continues to mount that Dave's death is a homicide, so does the number of potential suspects and the level of intrigue.

Latinos across the United States are redefining identities, pushing boundaries, and awakening politically in powerful and surprising ways. Many—Afrolatino, indigenous, Muslim, queer and undocumented, living in large cities and small towns—are voices who have been chronically overlooked in how the diverse population of almost sixty million Latinos in the U.S. has been represented. No longer. In this empowering cross-country travelogue, journalist and activist Paola Ramos embarks on a journey to find the communities of people defining the controversial term, “Latinx.” She introduces us to the indigenous Oaxacans who rebuilt the main street in a post-industrial town in upstate New York, the “Las Poderosas” who fight for reproductive rights in Texas, the musicians in Milwaukee whose beats reassure others of their belonging, as well as drag queens, environmental activists, farmworkers, and the migrants detained at our border. Drawing on intensive field research as well as her own personal story, Ramos chronicles how “Latinx” has given rise to a sense of collectivity and solidarity among Latinos unseen in this country for decades. A vital and inspiring work of reportage, Finding Latinx calls on all of us to expand our understanding of what it means to be Latino and what it means to be American. The first step towards change, writes Ramos, is for us to recognize who we are.

The majority of the subjects and events in this novel are real, e.g. the attack on my mother in our apartment on University Avenue, my ability to read spectographically the thermal and formal properties of souls, my lower-middle-class San Diego neighbors who came back profoundly changed (or dead) from the Vietnam War, the widely celebrated but largely choreographed "counterculture revolution," and my recurring nightmares about the Old Green Man of Time, which as I understand them now were not dreams but encounters with an actual demon.