The Holy League of Rudy

Fats' mother names him Ian Wendell Thomas at birth, something his friends correct in early childhood. A true connoisseur of the finer things (women, beer, music, food, general self-indulgence, women), Fats leaves school behind as soon as possible and devotes his time to, well, the finer things. The central California coast of the aimless 1970s is the perfect place for such devotions. His friends (who call themselves the Holy League of Rudy) invoke the dying spirit of '60s activism by daring to deface the grotesque new downtown mall, delaying its bicentennial grand opening and costing its owners millions. Not long after the mall raid, Fats falls for and marries Amanda, achingly beautiful heiress to the largest family-owned vineyards in California. Nothing is ever simple, however. Amanda's father, unaware of Fats' past crimes, is also the primary investor in the afore-mentioned mall, and a man whose dangerous displeasure only a fool would willingly invite. When the marriage goes south, Fats finds himself on the Z-list of the brutal neighborhood mafia, forcing the Holy League to fight back with the most vicious weapon at their disposal: unrelenting, irresistible mirth. Barton McGuire lives in the coastal northwest with his beautiful wife, his brilliant son, and his dog. This is his second book about the Holy League of Rudy. The Holy League of Rudy: The Book of Bones was published in 2013.