Daniel P. Douglas, an Albuquerque indie author, has released Blood Wing: A Cold War Noir Thriller, the second entry in the Jack Morrison's Blood & Bourbon Mystery Files series. The novella, named one of ten finalists in the inaugural ProWritingAid Novel Beginnings Contest, is now available in eBook and paperback formats, following Blood Tide: A Harbor Noir Thriller.
Set in January 1951, Blood Wing follows ex-LAPD detective turned private investigator Jack Morrison as he probes the death of a Black night-shift janitor at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Long Beach. The company dismissed the incident as an industrial accident and closed the file without interviewing the widow. The family enlists Morrison because the deceased man's brother once shared a foxhole with him during the Gothic Line campaign in Italy in 1944—a debt that does not expire.
What Morrison uncovers behind the plant's windowless concrete walls is a Cold War espionage operation and a murder the federal government will classify into official nonexistence before it can be proved. The story centers on the widow, who refuses to accept a lie, and a federal prosecutor who can pursue the spying but cannot restore the man who died. The investigation navigates the McCarthy era and the Lavender Scare, the period purge of suspected homosexuals from federal and defense employment, raising questions about what justice means when the official record will never tell the truth.
The ProWritingAid contest selected Blood Wing from 14,570 entries worldwide, advancing it through a longlist of 183 to a shortlist of ten finalists judged on opening pages, voice, and character. “Being a finalist for the Novel Beginnings Contest is one of the most meaningful moments in my writing life. I'm grateful to ProWritingAid, the contest readers, and the judges for recognizing Blood Wing,” Douglas said.
At roughly 25,000 words, the novella is a complete story readable in a single sitting and requires no prior reading of the series. For readers interested in Morrison's first case, Blood Tide, set on the Los Angeles waterfront, is also available.
Writing as Daniel P. Douglas, a pen name he shares with his identical twin brother Paul, Phillip Garver has authored short stories and novels spanning space operas, supernatural westerns, and hardboiled thrillers. His background as a U.S. Army veteran and former senior analyst in the U.S. intelligence community provides authentic detail for the conspiracy and thriller elements. Daniel P. Douglas was named a 2014 Foreword Reviews IndieFab Book-of-the-Year Award Finalist in Science Fiction and is a Readers' Favorite Award winner. Phillip lives in the greater Albuquerque, New Mexico area.
The release of Blood Wing offers readers a tightly woven noir thriller that examines historical injustices and the complexities of truth, making it a timely addition to the genre. The recognition from ProWritingAid underscores the quality of the work and its potential to resonate with audiences interested in historically grounded mysteries.
