Dermot Sparhawk Thriller

Dermot Sparhawk, a former All American Boston College football hero, is stacking cans in a parish food pantry in Boston's Charlestown, when his godfather, Jeepster Hennessey, shows up with a knife in his back and dies at Dermot's feet. Once slated for a professional football career, now a recovering alcoholic, with a torn-up knee, Dermot sets out to solve the murder of his godfather with the help of his Micmac Indian cousin, his paraplegic tenant, and a former teammate. Dermot's investigation has him tangling with members of the IRA, FBI, and the Boston mob. He also is forced to contend with Charlestown's code of silence and the norms of the neighborhood where he grew up. Feeling like he did at the height of his game, Dermot uses his Native American intuition and Irish good looks to help him uncover clues. Dermot stumbles upon bits and pieces of information that he cobbles together into an unlikely theory which leads him on an unexpected trail and to a new mystery that could cost him his life.

This two-book series is perfect for fans of Denis Lehane and fans of urban mysteries that are steeped in atmosphere-in this case-Boston. Dermot Sparhawk is a former college football hero, now a recovering alcoholic, struggling to make it, he stacks cans in a parish food pantry. In The Charlestown Connection, Dermot is obsessed with finding his godfather's killer, venturing far out of his comfort zone to confront the IRA, The FBI, and the Boston mob. Beyond the Bridge is the second title in this set of two novels and it is a prequel to The Charlestown Connection. Dermot Sparhawk is now a struggling alcoholic who reluctantly steps in to clear the name of a murdered priest and to find his killer. What follows is Dermot's private-citizen attempt to preempt law enforcement as he defies all odds to track down a sadistic serial killer. Both novels are steeped in Boston lore and introduce a unique protagonist, Dermot Sparhawk-a descendant of the Micmac Indians. Dermot has his flaws; he's had a tough life; but his spirit is indefatigable and his

Dermot Sparhawk, a former all-American football star at Boston College, returns in Beyond the Bridge, the prequel to Tom MacDonald's award-winning debut novel, The Charlestown Connection. In Beyond the Bridge, Sparhawk, a struggling alcoholic, agrees to help find the killer of an accused pedophile priest. When two more priests are slain in Boston's Charlestown neighborhood, it becomes evident that it is the work of a sadistic serial killer who crucifies his prey after killing them. Sparhawk blazes an unconventional trail to the killer that puts him at odds with the very people he is trying to help and initiates a turf war with law enforcement. He gathers a cadre of unlikely allies, including a parish priest, a police lab criminalist, the district attorney, and a state police lieutenant who help to rebuff attempts to derail him from the case. Then, with the help of his Micmac Indian cousin and his paraplegic tenant and former Boston College teammate, Sparhawk bulldozes his way to the truth, while putting his own life at risk.