No Reason to Live is the second of four novels featuring Mike Lyons, an ex-cop, born in Ireland but who has spent most of his life in the British police.
I published the first novel entitled No Margin for Error way back in 2012 and it was well received, getting excellent reviews from both The Sunday Independent and Sunday Times. These can be seen on my website: liamfloodauthor.com
The book sold well, but as I went back into full-time employment in 2013, my writing had to take a back seat. I did continue to write and I have several books ready for publication. I also published numerous articles on “Medium’ and other platforms. I decide to self-publish No Reason to Live on Amazon as many people who had read the draft told me the story was very good and I should get it out there. There are already some excellent reviews of the book on the Amazon site but I will let you judge for yourself. The link is: https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Reason-Live-Liam-Flood/dp/B0GYR25F4C
No Reason to Live
A brief synopsis of the story is as follows:
Mike Lyons, a retired Irish policeman in his late forties, has been in the US now for over a year, having retired from a long career in police and anti-terrorism work. He has already foiled a plot to assassinate the President and has established a reputation within US law enforcement (including a stint consulting for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C.). He has also acquired an American girlfriend.
However, he has always wanted to drive across the USA. Free of obligations for the first time in years, he sets off from D.C. toward Florida, deliberately choosing scenic back roads over the interstate — starting with the spectacular Blue Ridge Parkway.
His leisurely tour is interrupted on a rain-slicked stretch of mountain road when a gaunt, terrified stranger flags him down. The man, who is clearly injured, and nearly incoherent, accepts a ride but refuses to say where he’s going or what’s happened to him. Mike, his old instincts as a cop kicking in, notices the man is bleeding from a wound he’s trying to hide. When he stops for gas in a small town, the stranger reacts with sheer panic at the sight of a passing car — and bolts into traffic, getting killed instantly.
A Tragic Accident?
The local sheriff of nearby Clete Rock arrives to investigate, recognizing the dead man as “poor old Jake,” a local figure gently dismissed as simple-minded and harmless. The sheriff seems eager to close the case quickly as a tragic, straightforward accident. But Mike can’t shake the memory of the raw terror on Jake’s face in his final moments, terror that seemed aimed at something, or someone. The unexplained wound, the stranger’s desperate refusal to seek help, and the unsettling ease with which the town seems ready to move on all arouse Mike’s professional curiosity, even as he tells himself that he’s off duty and this isn’t his problem.
What did Jake see that made him so scared? The local Sheriff dismissed him as a poor simpleton but Mike is not so sure. He stays the night in the town and receives an anonymous note asking him to help but it gives him no more information. What was Jake running from? What is happening in Clete Rock that seems to have some of the locals spooked? Is it connected to the huge software plant which employs most of the population? But what harm could a software company do?
Mike Digs In
Mike feels sorry for Jake and decides to investigate but then he is personally attacked in an effort to scare him out of town and he digs in. The software plant, Preesoft, is owned by the ruthless Stanley Preese, a self-made billionaire. He has made his fortune from producing state-of-the-art gaming software. His plant has brought prosperity to the town and it seems to have everyone in its pocket, including the law men. But it has also brought terror and murder. With the help of a few brave locals, Mike uncovers a web of deceit and intrigue.
Blending atmospheric small-town Americana in a fast-paced narrative with a building sense of dread, No Reason to Live follows a seasoned detective who can’t resist one more case, even when most local voices around him insist there’s nothing here to investigate.
(c) Liam Flood
https://www.liamfloodauthor.com
About No Reason to Live:
The Blue Ridge Parkway is one of the most beautiful driving roads in the world. Mike Lyons decides to explore it. However, in a world driven by technology and profit, some games are more dangerous than they appear. Deep in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a powerful gaming company operates behind closed doors, far from scrutiny. Its success is built on innovation, but rumours persist that something far darker lies beneath the surface.
When a distressed stranger crosses paths with Mike Lyons, an Irish-born ex-cop travelling across America, what seems like a chance encounter quickly turns unsettling. The man is terrified, incoherent, and clearly running from something. Before long, Mike finds himself pulled into a mystery he can’t ignore. As he begins to dig, resistance comes fast and hard.
With the help of his girlfriend and a handful of locals, Mike edges closer to the truth, uncovering a world where ambition, secrecy, and human desperation collide. But some secrets are protected at any cost, and the deeper he goes, the more dangerous it becomes.
Gripping and atmospheric, No Reason to Live is a tense thriller about trust, survival, and the hidden dangers lurking behind closed doors.
Order your copy of No Reason to Live online here.
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