2026 International Book Awards Finalist in Humor/Comedy/Satire“The meeting had been a huge success, and there was no reason to focus on something insignificant like the fact that nothing was really accomplished.”Government employee Ace is trying to do good work and basically survive at his agency, despite a slew of efficiency mandates that actually make his job less efficient and put more personnel at risk for layoffs. When, in a moment of ...

A loud blast in the early morning shakes a neighborhood and alarms a community. An unthinkable tragedy has occurred: an explosion at a chemical plant has left workers dead and the son of a state senator missing. Plant management, emboldened by powerful political allies, scrambles to hide the real cause. It’s up to Jon Barrett, a new investigator for the government, to discover the truth. Haunted by his role in an earlier fatal accident, he struggles to find the courage to fight for answers...