The Johnny Denovo Mysteries

Johnny’s first case report, “Spam & Eggs: A Johnny Denovo Mystery,” has been getting good reviews from all over. But perhaps the nicest form of flattery came the other night during a phone conversation with a friend.

This person has been under a lot of stress — relationship, job, kids, going back to school — and had reached a point where she was about to get a break, some time away from the daily grind. So she picked up my book as things wound down, and was instantly drawn in. She stayed up reading, forgetting her problems, enjoying the story. The next day, she said she had an extra bounce in her step.

She’d escaped.

To think that my novel helped a friend depressurize, escape, and refuel is one of the best I can imagine. Escapism is underrated, but in today’s trying times, it may be exactly what we all need from time to time.