Why a Booktrail?
2000s: The dangers of the Mexican drug cartels have a ripple effect…
The Last Act
What you need to know before your trail
Former Broadway star Tommy Jump isn’t getting the roles he once did; as his final run as Sancho Panza draws to a close, Tommy is getting ready to give up the stage, find a steady paycheck, and settle down with his fiancée. Cue Special Agent Danny Ruiz. An old school friend of Tommy’s, now with the FBI, Ruiz makes Tommy an offer that sounds too good to refuse.
All Tommy has to do is spend six months in prison, acting as failed bank robber ‘Pete Goodrich’. Inside, he must find and befriend Mitchell Dupree, who has hidden a secret cache of documents incriminating enough to take down New Colima, one of Mexico’s largest drug cartels. If Tommy can get Dupree to reveal where the documents are hidden, the FBI will give him $300,000. More than enough to jumpstart a new life. But does he have what it takes to pull off this one final role?
Travel Guide
Travel BookTrail style to Morgantown, West Virginia
No matter how adventurous a traveler you think you are, the setting for my latest novel, The Last Act, is not a place I’d recommend visiting.
That’s because the bulk of it takes place in a United States federal prison in West Virginia.
If those five words—“federal prison in West Virginia”—haven’t already put a scare in you, I will say the Federal Corrections Institute at Morgantown isn’t as bad as it could be (how’s that for a ringing endorsement?). It’s minimum security, which means inmates are free to move about the campus during the day; and all the offenders are non-violent, so chances are good it’s safe to use the shower, and no one is waiting to stab you with a shiv. It’s often referred to as “Club Fed.”
That’s said, it’s still prison in West Virginia. Maybe it’s best to just drive by this one. . . and not get out of the car.
Morgantown Welcome (1st pic)
This is the entrance to FCI-Morgantown, and that wooden fence is just about the stoutest barrier you’ll see. Inmates know if they escape and get caught, they won’t be heading back to Club Fed. It’ll be medium or maximum security, which is like traveling back 10,000 years in human evolution.
Morgantown The Hill (2nd pic)
When inmates need an item that’s not on the commissary list—weed, booze, or something with a little more kick—the more daring among them will “run the hill” in the dark of night. There’s a city park just on the other side of the hill. Again, don’t get caught: The penalty is likely to be at least a month in administrative segregation.
Morgantown Satellite (3rd pic)
With gently curving paths, dormitory-style living, and lots of open space for recreating, FCI-Morgantown actually feels a bit like a community college. Except, by all reports, the food is a lot worse.
Morgantown Chicken of the Sea (4th pic)
Inmates aren’t allowed to possess cash, so this is what passes for money at FCI-Morgantown: mackerel packets. Also referred to as “cans”—because that’s the form they used to come in—inmates use them as currency in their informal economy.
Trail Gallery
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Last Act
Destination: Morgantown, West Virginia Author/guide: Brad Parks Departure Time: 2000s
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