Traveler

When Ron McLarty's debut novel, The Memory of Running, appeared, it became clear that this man is a triple threat: actor (movies, stage, and TV), playwright and author. Now, with the publication of Traveler, he has beaten sophomore slump with another arresting story of real people, one that will keep you reading until the last page is finished, and then will leave you wondering what's next for everyone in the novel. Jono Riley is a middle-aged bartender and sometime actor just getting by in Manhattan. When he receives a note from a childhood friend telling him that Marie, his first love, has died, he travels back to East Providence, a working class neighborhood of Irish, Italians, and "Portagees" to pay his respects. His trip turns out to be a journey of discovery, told with a writing style that won't let go of the reader, conversational and revelatory without giving the game away. --Valerie Ryan

Ron McLarty is an award-winning actor and playwright best known for his appearances on television series, including Law & Order, Sex and the City, The Practice, and Judging Amy. He has appeared in films and on the stage, where he has directed many of his own plays.