The Toadvine Papers

<p>Ernest Toadvine Jr. is on course to become one of the most celebrated sculptors of the 20th Century but on a blustery October day in post-World War II Cincinnati after mustering out of the Merchant Marines he just needs a place to stay.</p><p>He is directed to a boarding house run by the single mother and aunt of Alex Kemp a boy who is just about to start school. They didn’t know that their lives would be from that time on as intertwined as the intricate toad-and-vine tattoo that Ernest sported on his forearm.</p><p>After high school Alex’s young career takes him though a stint at a burlesque theater and a funeral home until he and Toadvine launch on a trip to Central America where they discover a startling pre-Columbian artifact which can change their lives forever if only they can get it back to the States and his studio</p><p>So begins an adventure across the Caribbean that can pay off grandly or end tragically with one shot from a Mark IV Webley pistol.</p>