Driving the Bugmobile

Sometimes a pool noodle is just a pool noodle. Other times...

In two short weeks, Nick Carlin will be old enough to get his driver's license, but there's a catch-a huge one. His mom says he must first pass a swimming test, and Nick takes to the water as well as a flying fish pilots a jumbo jet. It's one more challenge as the Summer From Hell comes to an August crescendo: his slacker friend Miller is worried about "failing life," and the older girl Nick's crushing on-his robo-hottie swimming instructor-is leaving for college. But the cherry on top of the stress sundae? His mom's low-life moocher boyfriend has just moved in, and Nick is supposed to be happy about it!

As Nick struggles to get his life in shape (and master the freestyle), he learns that the best solutions aren't always the easiest ones. If he wants to relieve his friend's anxiety, shield his mom from heartache, find happiness with the right girl (hint: not the robo-hottie), and score the keys to the Bugmobile, he'll have to step up his game, big-time.

Alan Orloff has published twelve novels and more than sixty short stories. His work has won an Anthony, an Agatha, a Derringer, and two ITW Thriller Awards. He's also been a finalist for the Shamus Award and has had a story selected for THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES anthology. He loves cake and arugula, but not together. Never together. He lives and writes in South Florida, where the examples of hijinks are endless. www.alanorloff.com