Ray Dan Parker
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A native of Florida, Ray Dan Parker is a consultant, instructor, and free-lance writer. He is married and now lives in Atlanta where he spends his free time writing, reading, and playing tennis. He also enjoys teaching Sunday school and works as a youth leader at his church. Over the years he has authored a variety of training materials and a number of self-study courses.
As a college student Mr. Parker studied literature and history and wrote for several campus publications. It was there that he first developed his love of writing. He has now embarked upon the realization of a life-long dream. His debut novel, Unfinished Business, takes place mostly in April of 1968. It’s the story of a young newspaperman, Tom Williams. On his return from covering the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King, Williams visits his hometown of Monrovia, Florida, where he renews his investigation into the death of Dana Padgett, a young woman with whom he’d had a brief affair as a teenager, and the lynching of Jimmie Lee Johnson, a close friend falsely accused of Padgett’s murder. Set against the turmoil of the civil rights leader’s death, the war in Vietnam, and the upcoming presidential election, this story winds its way through the dark passages of the 1950’s and 1960’s in the rural South. As he uncovers the damaging secrets of some of the most important influences in his life Williams not only runs afoul of local law enforcement and international drug smugglers. He also discovers things about himself he would rather not have known. In time he comes to realize that, in the words of close friend, “the truth won’t necessarily set you free.” Unfinished Business is available through Amazon. |
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Unfinished Business
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Mystery, Historical Fiction, Psychological
A young man must face the horrors of his past in Ray Dan Parker’s enthralling debut novel, Unfinished Business. April of 1968 finds twenty-six-year-old Tom Williams returning to his small-town roots in Monrovia, Florida, after covering the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his Tampa newspaper. But returning home brings with it memories he’d rather forget…memories of ten years before when, as a reckless teenager, Tom had a brief but passionate affair with a married woman. When she is found murdered, Tom’s best friend, a black teenager named Jimmie Lee Johnson, quickly becomes the sole suspect in their racially charged town. Before Jimmie can be brought to trial, however, he is lynched by an enraged mob. The time has come for Tom to find out who really murdered his old lover—and to clear Jimmie’s name once and for all. His search for the truth ultimately brings him face to face with dangers that lurk in the most unexpected of places.
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