Books in Jay Porter Series series

Jay Porter, the newest employee at NorthEastern Insurance in New Hampshire, is investigating an accident claim when he learns the teenager behind the wheel was arrested for minor drug possession and sentenced to a hardcore behavioral modification center. At the county courthouse, Jay meets Nicki, a young college intern, who tips him off to a possible scandal―first-time juvenile offenders being shipped to private institutions for political kickbacks. He learns that long-time family nemeses, Adam and Michael Lombardi, may have a stake in the scheme. Is Jay’s mission to help these kids a legitimate crusade? Or is his thirst for revenge driven by the guilt he feels over his own junkie brother’s death? These questions conspire to tear apart tranquility and drive a wedge between Jay and his wife Jenny. With help from new friend Nicki, and a couple of old friends, Jay finds himself thrust back into a past he had hoped to leave behind, putting everything―and everyone he loves―at risk in pursuit of the truth.

Jay Porter, the newest employee at NorthEastern Insurance in New Hampshire, is investigating an accident claim when he learns the teenager behind the wheel was arrested for minor drug possession and sentenced to a hardcore behavioral modification center. At the county courthouse, Jay meets Nicki, a young college intern, who tips him off to a possible scandal―first-time juvenile offenders being shipped to private institutions for political kickbacks. He learns that long-time family nemeses, Adam and Michael Lombardi, may have a stake in the scheme. Is Jay’s mission to help these kids a legitimate crusade? Or is his thirst for revenge driven by the guilt he feels over his own junkie brother’s death? These questions conspire to tear apart tranquility and drive a wedge between Jay and his wife Jenny. With help from new friend Nicki, and a couple of old friends, Jay finds himself thrust back into a past he had hoped to leave behind, putting everything―and everyone he loves―at risk in pursuit of the truth.

Three years have passed since estate-clearing handyman Jay Porter almost lost his life following a devastating accident on the thin ice of Echo Lake. His investigative work uncovering a kids-for-cash scandal may have made his hometown of Ashton, New Hampshire, a safer place, but nothing comes without a price. The traumatic, uncredited events cost Jay his wife and his son, and left him with a permanent leg injury. Jay is just putting his life back together when a mysterious stranger stops by with an offer too good to be true: a large sum of cash in exchange for finding a missing teenage boy who may have been abducted by a radical recovery group in the northern New Hampshire wilds. Skeptical of gift horses and weary of reenlisting in the local drug war, Jay passes on the offer. The next day his boss is found beaten and left for dead, painting Jay the main suspect. As clues begin to tie the two cases together, Jay finds himself back on the job―and back in the line of fire.

• Fourth in Joe Clifford’s Jay Porter Series • Jay Porter is a flawed handyman struggling to keep his life together while standing up to forces he perceives as evil • The author is a former homeless heroin addict—now the father of two boys, and an MFA graduate; his authenticity is unquestionable • Author has been compared to Dennis Lehane, Don Winslow and Paula Hawkins • Will appeal to readers who appreciate deeply flawed characters fighting to walk the righteous path • Very atmospheric setting in rural New Hampshire • Timely topic within the political scene and dissatisfaction with the state of American politics • The plot line borrows from the real-life criminal case involving former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort • As with all Jay Porter books, themes of addiction, recovery, and the elusive search for the American dream are prevalent • The novel is a topical examination of the failure of the War on Drugs • Lamentation, the first book in the Jay Porter series, was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Novel • The Jay Porter novels have had favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly (starred), Library Journal, Mystery Scene Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Midwest Book Review, and many others • The Jay Porter novels have blurbs from many best-selling authors. Among them James Grady, Robert Dugoni, Sheldon Siegel, David Corbett, James Hall, Allan Leverone, Sara Henry, Reed Farrel Coleman, Eileen Cook, and others • Author is a frequent speaker at conferences, libraries, and book events • Author has a large following in the San Francisco Bay area and Connecticut • Author’s personal story of addiction, living on the streets, and recovery is poignant and a popular platform for widespread publicity • Give Up The Dead book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D05pkeVYoHU

At an AA meeting, handyman and part-time investigator Jay Porter meets a recovering addict who needs his help. In the midst of another grueling northern New Hampshire winter, Amy Lupus' younger sister, Emily, has gone missing from the Coos County Center, the newly opened rehab run by Jay's old nemeses, Adam and Michael Lombardi. As Jay begins looking into Emily's disappearance, he finds that all who knew Emily swear that she's never used drugs. She's a straight shooter and an intern at a newspaper investigating the Center and the horrendous secret hidden in it_or beneath it. When Jay learns of a "missing" hard drive, he is flung back to five years ago when his own junkie brother, Chris, found a hard drive belonging to Lombardi Construction. For years Jay assumed that the much-sought-after hard drive contained incriminating photos of Adam and Michael's father, which contributed to Chris' death. But now he believes that hard drive may have harbored a secret far more sinister, which the missing Lupus sister may have unwittingly discovered. The deeper Jay digs, the more poisoned the ground gets, and the two cases become one, yielding a toxic truth with local fallout_and far-reaching ramifications.

• Fourth in Joe Clifford’s Jay Porter Series • Jay Porter is a flawed handyman struggling to keep his life together while standing up to forces he perceives as evil • The author is a former homeless heroin addict—now the father of two boys, and an MFA graduate; his authenticity is unquestionable • Author has been compared to Dennis Lehane, Don Winslow and Paula Hawkins • Will appeal to readers who appreciate deeply flawed characters fighting to walk the righteous path • Very atmospheric setting in rural New Hampshire • Timely topic within the political scene and dissatisfaction with the state of American politics • The plot line borrows from the real-life criminal case involving former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort • As with all Jay Porter books, themes of addiction, recovery, and the elusive search for the American dream are prevalent • The novel is a topical examination of the failure of the War on Drugs • Lamentation, the first book in the Jay Porter series, was nominated for an Anthony Award for Best Novel • The Jay Porter novels have had favorable reviews from Publishers Weekly (starred), Library Journal, Mystery Scene Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Midwest Book Review, and many others • The Jay Porter novels have blurbs from many best-selling authors. Among them James Grady, Robert Dugoni, Sheldon Siegel, David Corbett, James Hall, Allan Leverone, Sara Henry, Reed Farrel Coleman, Eileen Cook, and others • Author is a frequent speaker at conferences, libraries, and book events • Author has a large following in the San Francisco Bay area and Connecticut • Author’s personal story of addiction, living on the streets, and recovery is poignant and a popular platform for widespread publicity • Give Up The Dead book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D05pkeVYoHU

Three years have passed since estate-clearing handyman Jay Porter almost lost his life following a devastating accident on the thin ice of Echo Lake. His investigative work uncovering a kids-for-cash scandal may have made his hometown of Ashton, New Hampshire, a safer place, but nothing comes without a price. The traumatic, uncredited events cost Jay his wife and his son, and left him with a permanent leg injury. Jay is just putting his life back together when a mysterious stranger stops by with an offer too good to be true: a large sum of cash in exchange for finding a missing teenage boy who may have been abducted by a radical recovery group in the northern New Hampshire wilds. Skeptical of gift horses and weary of reenlisting in the local drug war, Jay passes on the offer. The next day his boss is found beaten and left for dead, painting Jay the main suspect. As clues begin to tie the two cases together, Jay finds himself back on the job―and back in the line of fire.