YOU HAVE YOUR WAY

An American lawyer seeking adventure and a hefty payout sets up a drug deal in Glenn’s Southern novel.

After breaking up with his longtime girlfriend, North Carolina litigator Eddie Terrell takes some time off in Montana. That’s where he meets Mikey Riewey in a bar. She heads back to Winston-Salem with Eddie and hears details of his new, decidedly illegal endeavor. He wants to buy and sell cocaine just long enough to make a substantial profit. Eddie enlists the help of clients—Rise Peak; Rise’s little brother, Kenny; and Curt Minor—each of whom he separately represented on criminal charges. As they come up with potential sellers and buyers, Eddie looks for investors, though he doesn’t necessarily let them know what they’re investing in. Unfortunately, the deal may be over before it starts, as Rise’s squeeze surmises the others are working on something without him. Keeping him quiet could mean committing a crime significantly more serious than dealing drugs. Eddie, meanwhile, continues his legit job, working an insurance fraud case with help from Mikey and his legal assistant. He can only hope that Rise, Kenny, and Curt complete the cocaine transaction without any further troubles. In spite of the brazen lawbreaking, Glenn’s tale is often humorous. For example, Rise and the others do cocaine pickups in what they believe is an inconspicuous short school bus. Eddie also likes to relay to Mikey comical accounts of family and work. These stories, however, like losing his virginity at 14, initially bog down the narrative, especially when the cocaine deal is barely underway. But the story quickly accelerates once the bus-driving cocaine dealers go on the road, and Eddie litigates a surprisingly interesting case, which entails an incriminating video (The Pussy Preacher). While there’s not much of a climax, the gratifying ending offers a thorough resolution.

A diverting misadventure about a legal representative’s illegalities.