Novels

Mr. Davis is the author of three novels; Divorce: New York Style; Alcohol at the Family’s Soul; and In the Wake of Success

In Divorce New York Style, a divorce lawyer suffers through his own divorce and the ugly aftermath. The author draws on his years of practice in this often frustrating and demanding part of the legal profession to tell a story of the “highs” and “lows” that are experienced by one matrimonial lawyer during a particularly grueling period of his life. A must read for anyone who has been through or contemplates divorce.

Alcohol at the Family’s Soul, explores the harsh impact of alcohol on the lives of a family. It is a story of downfalls, hope, and redemption. Once alcohol invades the family’s soul, it affects all its members; drinkers and non-drinkers alike. As anyone knows, who attends AA, Al-Anon, ACOA, or has lived with an alcoholic, once alcohol places its grip on one, only decisive action can save all.

In, In the Wake of Success, a lawyer loses sight of the forest of happiness, unable to see through the trees of what he deems success. To him, the only proof of success is tangible evidence to show his father and brothers that he has surpassed them. But at what price? Through the novel, the main character must face the ultimately question of what is success, at what price, and could it ultimately turn out to be his failure.

All are available as a Kindle download through Amazon. Click on this link to be connected www.amazon.com.

A brief synopsis of each novel is available below.

Divorce: New York Style
In the course of a year, Steve Acton experienced what a divorce lawyer dreaded most– becoming his own client and being chewed up by a system he had seemingly mastered. He was divorced, but buried financially, with his wife threatening contempt for failing to pay the onerous support orders imposed after trial. Meanwhile, he formed a small firm with a boring real estate lawyer; and a criminal lawyer who was dependent on her father for business. They struggled building the practice and it fell upon Steve to “make it happen.” For Steve, this meant making enough money to pay his ex-wife to keep out of jail.

Nine months into the new practice, Steve was referred a client whose husband was a multi-millionaire restaurateur. The case could “jump start” the practice with a large fee and referrals of other rich clients. All he had to do was impress the new client who turned out to be the extremely beautiful and alluring, Eva Galatea. His interest in her quickly became more than just her legal fee.

This is not a winner-take-all “courtroom” drama. It explores the contrasts in Steve, on one hand, the noble warrior, championing the cause of a down-and-out client, while, on the other, violating the ethical rules and the law at Eva’s behest. The pressure is on as he enters into intrigue to uncover the financial keys to her husband’s restaurant empire; and battles with an unscrupulous attorney who represents Eva’s husband–who also happened to have been Steve’s wife’s lawyer. The battle is on….

Alcohol at the Family’s Soul
Narrated by Kurt Holman, the son of Roger and Marion, and the younger brother of Jessica, he tells the story of his seemingly perfect upper middle class family living the American dream. However, Kurt reveals the truth, the secret that no one is supposed to know; his mother is an active and abusive alcoholic. The family reacts to her in different ways; Jessica is a beautiful and ambitious young woman, seemingly impervious to hurt, who never seems to fail and who has vowed never to be like her mother; Roger has done his best to avoid confronting his wife about her “little problem;” and, Kurt, living on eggshells, lives in fear of her disapproval and his mother’s next outburst.

Kurt is the quintessential, adult child of the alcoholic. Though a talented writer in college, his self-doubt cripples him; he lives in anticipation of failure. Any successes that he does achieve are met with fear that the truth will soon be uncovered, that he is merely lucky, and will be doomed to a life in his old bedroom, writing page after page of unread material.

Unsympathetic to his dream of writing, Jessica acts to “save” Kurt by introducing him to her boyfriend, Graham Major, the scion of one of the richest families in America and the controlling members of the firm, Major Arbitrage, the largest firm of its kind. Jessica tells him to accept a job at Graham’s firm. Fearing his inevitable failure as a writer, Kurt opts to follow Jessica’s direction.

To Kurt’s amazement, Graham is as dysfunctional as anyone he has ever seen; he is all image and no substance, and he is taking Jessica, his indestructible sister, on her own inevitable ride. And though Kurt never has his own problems with alcohol, alcohol is a problem to him.

How the Holman family copes with this disease is a compelling and moving story.

In the Wake of Success
Capt. John Dunnigan had all he wanted; he was Irish; was a hero in the FDNY; and had his two sons, Jack and Sean. His wife, Ellen, dissatisfied with the role of suburban housewife, wanted to go back to work, so John decided to “give” her a little girl, Patricia, to keep her home and happy. Man plans; God laughs; Patrick was born; Ellen still wasn’t happy.

Thus began Pat’s life as the veritable fifth wheel. His father had done the fatherhood “thing” with his older brothers and was more interested in his own future; his brothers had each other and ostracized Pat; and his mother still wanted to go to work and did so when Pat started school. Pat grew up trying to prove his worth but was either ignored or scoffed at. The breaking point came at his choice of careers. His older brothers were fireman and cop at their father’s direction. When John tried to force Pat in those directions, he rebelled and proceeded with his plans for law school.

His ambivalent relationship with his father and brothers leads him on a life of seeking their acceptance, yet still trying to outdo them. To Pat there is only one measure of success and he pursues a career as a personal injury lawyer, the surest way for a “trial man” to make big money. As his career proceeds, Pat finds other “father” figures who influence him with mixed results.

Pat’s wife Tina supports him wholeheartedly, but doesn’t understand his motivations or what he went through growing up. She has her own anxieties, which she keeps buried. As long as Pat’s career goes as planned, their marriage remains solid; but when Pat faces some serious setbacks, he feels unable to share them with Tina and Tina is at a loss as to what is wrong.

Career, life, relationships; what is real and what is not; Pat faces all in this compelling novel, as he explores who he is and what really is meant by success.