The Official Site of Fiction Author, Drew Valla
In 1961 children were supposed to be seen and not heard. The word of a priest, teacher or police officer was never questioned against the word of a child. Thirteen-year-old Matt Kronchek is stymied by this system when he becomes exposed to an adult world of police corruption, religious hypocrisy, racial prejudice and suspicious deaths. His only confidant is the physically and emotionally scarred Korean War veteran, Detective David Lipscomb from the State Police undercover unit.
As Matt tries to pound the truth out of the small town of Bellington, his path sets him on a deadly collision course with a desperate man. With Lipscomb's help, he begins to learn about love, life, and the horrors of war. (Published: April 2004)
In the sequel to A Shade of Gray, Matt Kronchek , now in college, receives disturbing information from an old classmate concerning the details of his friend Paulie’s death in Vietnam. Through a series of coincidences, curiosity, and his over-worked sense of justice, Matt finds himself entangled in a world of drug smuggling, murder, and government secrets.
He discovers that he can’t run away from Vietnam or his past, and that everyone he cares for may be in danger because of what he knows. He will have to cut a deal to survive, but which side does he choose? (Published: September 2006)
