About the Book: Detective Theo Barnes has the world figured out all while knowing it's a fixed game. Do your job well. Protect your family. Steer clear of the system.
But after his sting operation brings down a powerful state Senator, doing the right thing thrusts him over that line you shouldn’t cross or else “the system” bites back—hard. His career... over. Reputation... obliterated. The truth... beyond reach. Amidst the rubble, a clandestine cabal of conspiracy fanatics hell-bent on annihilating the "true power" behind the U.S. government anoint Barnes as a symbol of their own plight. They perceive Barnes as one of them; both abused by society and martyred by the Deep State.
Failing to infiltrate these zealots on their own, the FBI turns to Barnes for help. Desperate for answers and redemption he reluctantly agrees to go undercover using the most dangerous identity possible—his own. Reality and the investigation blur and Barnes' impossible choices drag his family into the crosshairs. Every move and every word contain unspeakable danger. As the cabal's atrocities collide with the conspiracy that destroyed him, Barnes must separate the lies from the truth or he won't survive.
His quest for salvation rests on one question: How much of his soul must a man give to save, not just his family, but his country?
About the Beverage: The Maple Bourbon Smash captures the spirit trials of Theo Barnes in MAIN STREET FRINGE: the comforting familiarity of a close-knit life all while something blending in perfectly awaits, capable of upending the entire experience.
Maple brings the warm traditions and reassuring rhythms of the life Theo Barnes works ceaselessly to build. It gives almost an old-time feeling of knowing everything about the world and the people who inhabit it. A feeling you almost believe won't end. But the bourbon slides next to the maple, visually indistinguishable in the heavy glass you hold with its darkness underneath, like the resentment Theo desperately fights against as the world goes to war against him. Evoking buried history, ugly secrets and those who don't quite fit the respectable nature of the Main Street façade, it's aged, complex, and carries a lingering burn much in the way the plot unfolds in this thriller book.
Then comes the citrus, cutting through the sweetness with a sharp, unexpected bite different from the bourbon kick. It's the revelation that cracks the veneer, forcing you to reconsider everything you thought you understood. The drink's smoky, lingering finish adds one final note of unease. Every sip, every chapter repeats this process until the glass is empty. But the finish, much like the story, remains long after.
The cocktail invites you in. The novel makes you question the world around you. Both leave you with the same unsettling realization: the warmth and the bite don't always come in neat, distinguishable boxes, but rather live together while hiding in plain sight.
Cocktail Recipe: Combine in a cocktail shaker with ice: 2 oz bourbon (Knob Creek was my go-to), 1 oz lemon juice, and 3/4 oz maple syrup. Strain into a heavy-bottomed glass of fresh ice. Garnish with a fresh orange peel. *Optional - Add a few drops of bitters to taste.
About the Author: Twenty years as a policy expert and political operative for some of Washington D.C.’s most influential power brokers, MATTHEW LAVOIE had a front row seat to some of the most significant shifts in American and geopolitical history. He’s been in the room where it all happened, with plenty of stories from a career where evaluating the “how” and “why” of American political and cultural movements were at its core.
Reflecting on the thousands of people he met throughout his political travels, and looking at the state of America, the idea came into focus that would complete his sentiments, giving rise to his novel MAIN STREET FRINGE. Weaving real, inspired by, and hasn’t-happened-yet, the novel is twenty years’ experience condensed into 350 pages in what he describes as politically adjacent. He currently has no plans to write a tale centered in the Oval Office. Instead, his writing centers on what’s captivated him for decades, which he describes as, “What drives us and the limitations, potential, and entanglements those motives deliver.”
MAIN STREET FRINGE is available for purchase today on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
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