Alaskan Environmental Crime Story by Roany Phelan

Because my art tends to be beautiful, dark and moody, I was approached by a collector of my art to illustrate the cover of his book. I was very honored to be asked to do this because this is a uniquely personal story and could only happen in Alaska. The book is partly fiction but mostly the real story with the names of the characters changed for obvious reasons. It is a story that needed to be told. As a teaser here is the back cover of the book....

Doyle Flynn, disbarred Alaska environmental lawyer, hobbled by depression, recently divorced, is haunted by ghosts both living and dead. Fate in the form of an aged Chinese businessman from Doyle’s past delivers to Doyle the opportunity for redemption for his transgressions, present and past. The opportunity for redemption comes in the form of an assignment uniquely suited to Doyle’s determined nature and training in environmental law. The question is whether Doyle, confronted by internal turmoil plus external threats he must face in gritty urban Anchorage and its rugged rural surroundings can beat the odds and break the cycle of self destruction he has been heretofore unable to rise above. Where better to test Doyle’s resolve than in the Alaska that Doyle inhabits.

Doyle Flynn’s story is told by author Roany Phelan, himself a former Alaska Environmental lawyer. Using a writing style befitting of the anti-hero protagonist of this story, Mr. Phelan invites the reader to hear this unique tale.

Roany Phelan has written a fresh and intriguing novel, one that is equal parts thrilling crime story and existential journey. In search of redemption, Doyle Flynn undertakes an investigation that leads him from modern Anchorage to Taiwan, his family’s dark history in the lower 48 states, and out into the primordial Alaskan bush. With a cast of lawyers businessmen, criminals, Native Alaskans and apparitions, the story builds momentum until it snaps like a whip, revealing surprising truths.

 --Alex Prudhomme author of The Ripple Effect, and co-author with Julia Child of My Life in France.