King's Christmas

By Richard Neer

Riley King made a life-changing decision several years ago, leaving the Jersey shore for the warm weather and friendly atmosphere of North Carolina. The move leaves him lonely, hundreds of miles from friends and family for Christmas. He decides to decorate his semi-finished house to boost his melancholy spirits. In this origin story, King journeys to the mountains seeking a fresh Fraser fir. Instead he discovers a strong link to his past and a young woman who might change his future. 

Vicky Neer and Camine Pappas are responsible for the lovely cover of this short story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Richard Neer
• Release date: Nov 20, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386309239

Richard Neer

The Last Resort is Richard Neer's fourth novel featuring Riley King and his radio cohort Rick Stone, as they investigate crime along the eastern seaboard. Something of the Night was the initial offering in the Riley King series followed by The Master Builders, (May 2016). Indian Summer was published in the fall of that year.  Neer has worked in important roles at two of the most prestigious and groundbreaking radio stations in history, both on and off-air ---the progressive rocker WNEW-FM for almost thirty years, and the nation's first full time sports talker, WFAN over the past twenty eight.  He also co-founded WLIR, the first suburban progressive rock station in the country. Neer is in the final stages of preparing his next novel, "The Punch List", featuring the same protagonists.

Book preview

Stave 1

It was the Saturday before Christmas and I was alone. And hungover.

I had spent Friday night watching my New York Rangers lose a close hockey game to the Senators. No one cared about hockey in my newly adopted city of Charlotte, North Carolina. A stranger in a strange land.

Nobody cared about me either. I knew that would change in time. I’d make friends. But that gave me little solace this Christmas. Although I held out hope for Yet to Come, Christmas Present was bleak. Christmas Past was another story.

My melancholy was my own doing. The weather, congestion and criminal activity at the Jersey shore had reached critical mass, and I finally made good on my vow to seek a warmer and friendlier clime. It meant leaving my girl and dog behind. I had tried to persuade the former to come with me, but she was running a successful business of her own and needed to be near New York. She had agreed to keep the dog until I could get settled into permanent digs down here. My golden retriever Bosco was our only link and that would be gone as soon as my house was finished and safe for the pup.

I had bought the ramshackle dwelling on Lake Norman at the end of the summer and hired a local builder to help refurbish it. The house was as incomplete as my life was. I only had power in the rooms I used most frequently -—the bedroom, kitchen and office. The rest were in the drywall stage, loose wires and rough plumbing exposed in a chaotic state. Heavy craft paper took the place of carpeting over any hardwood floors that might be salvageable.

By springtime, the place would be finished. Renewed and buffed to a high sheen -—the old painted lady would be restored to her former glory, even sweeter than she was originally. I could then reclaim Bosco and once more plead for my girl to join me. I was resigned to the fact that we both were entrenched in unyielding positions. I was totally to blame, creating this issue