Mike O'Malley's LAST BUT NOT FLEECED, the first in the STAN AND MO CHRONICLES series, won SILVER (2nd place, SciFi/Fantasy) in this year's Royal Palm Literary Awards competition.

FLEECED, a mystery-comedy with a kiss of paranormal set in Atlantic City in the early 1970s, is told in the first person by the book's protagonist, Stan, a Boardwalk psychic who can speak to the dearly departed. These "spirit-helpers" assist Stan in living up to the promise he made to his deceased father that he would use his gift to "help everyone, everywhere, every time," regardless of the circumstance.

In this case, though, it's a no-brainer. The someone who needs help is close to home.

Stan's spirit-helper this time around is the ghost of a wildly popular 1960s DJ named Fabulous Frankie, who only speaks in rhymes and delivers his clues as riddles.

Also on the case is Stan's girlfriend Mo, a waitress with a 1940s hard-boiled private eye alter-ego. She thinks--and talks--like her gumshoe heroes.

Together, along with a wacky collection of minor characters, Stan, Mo, and Frankie have to outwit the bad guys at their own game if they're going to keep what they hold dear from going out with the tide.

It's "double trouble" times two for Stan and Mo as they try to help two identical twin sisters are feuding over to keep or sell a racehorse left to them by their late uncle.

With their daily feuding in front of Stan's psychic parlor driving off customers and Stan's tenants threatening to break their leases, Stan sends out a call for a spirit helper. He gets two. Ironically, they're identical twin brothers with a lifelong rivalry akin to Cain and Able, who've returned from the dead as bickering seagulls.

With the brothers' help (or hindrance), and the sisters continuing to raise a ruckus, Stan and Mo set out to determine the true potential of the horse, which catches the attention of people interested in fixes, not fairness.

But when people start disappearing, Stan, Mo and the dive-bombing  seagulls have to get to  the   bottom of things before someone decides the team has run their last race.

DOG AND PHONY SHOW along with LAST BUT NOT FLEECED, and PIER PRESSSURE, is available on Amazon or free to read on KU.