This is the first book of the Mallory series.
Kevin Mallory is so good at lying he has convinced himself he has almost an average life. He tries to use his exceptional skill at prevarication to hang onto his job without doing any work, win the love of his co-worker without recognizing who she really is, take advantage of the young Black man who moves in next door, and manipulate the police and the courts into accepting his warped idea of justice.
Mallory pursues his co-worker, Nell, even as his supervisor at the UniCast Cable Company attempts to prove he is cutting off customers’ calls. He joins Nell’s dysfunctional Employee Cheer Committee as it tries to avoid disaster at the upcoming holiday party. He agrees to cat sit for Nell while she goes on a series of girls’ nights out. He buys a rifle for protection from imaginary hoodlums but cannot get the box of bullets open. When Thomas, his neighbor, is assaulted by the police, Mallory impersonates a lawyer and represents him. When he is later criminally charged himself, he summons Nell as a witness, brings his rifle to court, and parks in a handicapped parking spot.
“An exceedingly kooky protagonist drives this touching, silly adventure.”
– Kirkus Reviews
“I appreciated the humor in all of Mallory’s many flaws and bad decisions, and gave the book 4 out of 5 stars. It definitely needed to be approached in the right frame of mind, and I would recommend it for a reader who can dislike the main character, but still find humor in his misery and hilariously bad choices.” – Becky Bailey, booksithinkyoushouldread.blogspot.com/2022/05
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Available as a Soundcloud podcast or Spotify podcast
Yes, he does go to therapy.
Book 2 of the Mallory series.
Mallory has his customers on hold, his supervisor on the run and his female nemesis on ice, but a new friend challenges his twisted beliefs.
After he makes an embarrassing pass at Lilly, she convinces him to attend group therapy sessions. But while Mallory’s problems are mostly in his head, Lilly must make critical romantic and ethical choices of her own.
“An intriguing critique of manly-man thinking.” – Kirkus Reviews
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Book 3 of the Mallory series.
Mallory doesn’t have a family, a decent job, a presentable apartment, a car, or even a pet. But he is coming to believe that there are sinister forces in society that are keeping him economically at the bottom of the barrel, socially a pariah, and romantically limited to the cheapest porn site he can find. His nineteen-year-old social media influencer, Spike, recreates him as an avatar of rage, rebellion, and mockery of political correctness. He is invited to speak at political rallies and eventually enters politics. But he would trade it all for a romantic connection with Kathie.
“A playful romp through modern internet culture and the half-wits in its clutches.” –Kirkus Reviews
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Book 2 of the Red State/Blue State Confessions
In dystopian Kansas, women have lost all rights except the right to reproduce. Unmarried pregnant women are rounded up, given new names, and forcibly married as second and third wives to members of Reverend Ezekial’s congregation.
Stacey desperately searches for allies to stem the political tide, while Ruth must risk her life by going underground to rescue her sister.
More frightening than the The Handmaid’s Tale because more closely tied to actual current trends, this “powerful cautionary tale” (Kirkus Reviews) should remind us never to check our humanity and compassion at the door when making rules for others to follow.
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It is five years into the future in Kansas, and women are quickly losing almost all of their rights except the right to reproduce. Law student Stacey Davenport fights back on behalf of all the women in the state, but her struggle is complicated by the compromises she must make – and even more seriously by the deep-rooted family issues that she herself helped create.
“A powerful cautionary tale about the destructive effects of restrictive religious rule.” – Kirkus Reviews
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Dr. Hartwicke Zeus sexually preys upon his women patients, including Diane, a suburban teenager who feels guilty and lost after having previously given away her baby girl. Zeus relishes the challenge of bending his intelligent and spirited young patient to his will. The Board of Medicine knows what Dr. Zeus is doing, but its young investigator is repeatedly thwarted in his attempt to bring Zeus to justice.
“With Zeus, Keech (Hot Box in the Pizza District, 2015, etc.) draws a remarkably accurate picture of an especially dangerous form of sociopath–not the serial killer of the public imagination but a white-coated, well-educated, and highly respected doctor. ….
The plot moves with energy, building toward a dramatic but believable conclusion. It’s hugely satisfying watching the efforts of Dave and his team as they try to expose Zeus’s lies. ….
A complex, multilayered, and psychologically acute tale about a predatory physician: well done.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“Star Rating: 5/5 …. The split narrative is as exciting as the plot itself and keeps you hooked in the best possible way!”
— Manhattan Book Review
“Star Rating: 4/5 …. Overall, it is a well put together crime drama that reads quickly and well ….”
— San Francisco Book Review
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A box delivered to a twenty-year-old student stirs up bitter memories just as he encounters a passionate woman who shares similar secrets. Aggravated, mystified, and tantalized by these strange creatures, Tim cannot get women right. He has other agendas, such as putting himself through community college on his salary as a bike messenger and building his body to the point where he will never again be afraid. And proving that he was right in rejecting his father’s offer to pay for an Ivy League education. Tim is proud that his life is exceptional and pretty much under his own control – until he learns that what he needs most is the same thing he most fears. Hot Box is a hard but humorous take on the American dream as it exists in the twenty-first century, full of passion and potential but often undermined by lies, betrayal, confusion, and loss.
“Hot Box is interesting and engaging.” — Manhattan Book Review
“Thomas Keech can write.” — San Francisco Book Review
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Teenagers fight back against neglect and abuse in this fast-moving novel set in contemporary suburban America. Kate’s mother moves out of the house to live with her boyfriend, the spoiled son of a well-respected neighborhood businessman. Kate’s father loves his daughter but pushes her away. Kate meets a charismatic boy, Lucky, and is drawn into his own twisted family situation. The school counselors who are supposed to help troubled students blindly put Kate into the path of a sexual predator. Suburban corruption relentlessly spreads even into the children’s family lives.
“…there is no lack of drama and intrigue.” — Kirkus Reviews