The Prodigal

Pride, betrayal, forgiveness . . . and the eternal sea. The Prodigal tells the mystical tale of four people on Ocracoke Island whose destiny is tied to an abandoned schooner, thought to have been lost at sea more than a century ago, that one day drifts ashore. Marcus O'Reilly, a renegade Catholic priest, must confront his inner demons. Ibrahim Joseph, a Bahamian fugitive, must face his past. Aidan Sharpe, a fallen lawyer, struggles with self-doubt and his growing affection for Molly McGregor, a fearless towboat captain who cannot find the courage to love. They will all be drawn into a 2,000-year-old mystery that unfolds with the reappearance of the ship.

Michael Hurley and his wife Susan live in Raleigh, North Carolina. Born in Baltimore in 1958, he holds a degree in English education from the University of Maryland, a law degree from St. Louis University, and a captain's license--albeit long-since expired--from the United States Coast Guard. He entered the private practice of law in 1984 and has tried numerous jury cases involving allegations of medical malpractice. He enjoys keeping up with readers and life in general at mchurley.com. Michael's first book, Letters from the Woods, was a collection of essays, self-published in 2005, based on wilderness canoeing expeditions with his children. It was selected as a finalist in the Nature category for ForeWord magazine's Book of the Year award. In 2013 Hachette Book Group published his memoir, Once Upon A Gypsy Moon. The Prodigal is his first novel.